Verdun Scott
Encyclopedia
Verdun John Scott, born 31 July 1916 and died at Devonport, New Zealand on 2 August 1980, was a sportsman who represented New Zealand in both Test cricket
and rugby league
. As of 2011 he is the only player to have done so.
and in 1939 was selected for the New Zealand Kiwis touring squad. He played in one Test match before the start of World War II
cut short the tour. He was one of five players who did not play in the two club matches the Kiwis played before the tour was canceled.
, Scott served in Egypt and Italy. After the War, Scott was part of the North Shore Albions side that won the Auckland Rugby League
's Roope Rooster and Stormont Shield in 1945.
debut for Auckland versus Canterbury in 1937-38. He made his Test
debut against Australia
in the match arranged after the Second World War in March 1946 and was top scorer in the first innings with 14 out of a total of just 42. New Zealand
totalled just 96 runs in the two completed innings.
He was one of the more reliable batsmen on the New Zealand tour of England in 1949
, and played in all four Tests. Though his top score in these games was only 60, he and left-handed opening partner Bert Sutcliffe
gave the touring team a solid start in three matches, with partnerships of 122, 89 and 121. He later played in home Tests against England
and the West Indies, reserving his best Test performance for his last game, when he made 84 out of New Zealand total of 160 in reply to the West Indies 546 for six wickets, a four-hour innings that took up enough time for bad light and rain to come to his side's rescue. In all, he played ten Tests for New Zealand.
Scott was a prolific scorer in Plunket Shield cricket and in all first-class cricket averaged only just under 50 runs per innings.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
. As of 2011 he is the only player to have done so.
Rugby league career
Scott began playing rugby league in the mid 1930s, favouring league over soccer where he had previously represented "Auckland B". In league Scott quickly made the Auckland rugby league teamAuckland rugby league team
The Auckland rugby league team is the team which traditionally represents all of the clubs which play in the Auckland Rugby League competition. The Auckland Rugby League team has traditionally been a powerhouse of New Zealand domestic rugby league...
and in 1939 was selected for the New Zealand Kiwis touring squad. He played in one Test match before the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
cut short the tour. He was one of five players who did not play in the two club matches the Kiwis played before the tour was canceled.
World War II
During the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Scott served in Egypt and Italy. After the War, Scott was part of the North Shore Albions side that won the Auckland Rugby League
Auckland Rugby League
The Auckland Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region and was the owner of Carlaw Park, once the "spiritual home of rugby league in New Zealand".-History:The Auckland Rugby League was...
's Roope Rooster and Stormont Shield in 1945.
Cricket career
A burly and upright right-handed opening batsman with little or no backlift, Scott started his cricketing career by scoring a century on first-classFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut for Auckland versus Canterbury in 1937-38. He made his Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in the match arranged after the Second World War in March 1946 and was top scorer in the first innings with 14 out of a total of just 42. New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
totalled just 96 runs in the two completed innings.
He was one of the more reliable batsmen on the New Zealand tour of England in 1949
New Zealand cricket team in England in 1949
The New Zealand cricket team toured England in the 1949 season. The team was the fourth official touring side from New Zealand, following those in 1927, 1931 and 1937, and was by some distance the most successful to this date...
, and played in all four Tests. Though his top score in these games was only 60, he and left-handed opening partner Bert Sutcliffe
Bert Sutcliffe
Bert Sutcliffe MBE was a New Zealand Test cricketer. Sutcliffe was a successful left-hand batsman. His batting achievements on tour in England in 1949, which included four fifties and a century in the Tests, earned him the accolade of being one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year...
gave the touring team a solid start in three matches, with partnerships of 122, 89 and 121. He later played in home Tests against England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
and the West Indies, reserving his best Test performance for his last game, when he made 84 out of New Zealand total of 160 in reply to the West Indies 546 for six wickets, a four-hour innings that took up enough time for bad light and rain to come to his side's rescue. In all, he played ten Tests for New Zealand.
Scott was a prolific scorer in Plunket Shield cricket and in all first-class cricket averaged only just under 50 runs per innings.