Cricketer Of Early Days Dies Aged 102

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29803, 21 April 1962, Page 5

Cricketer Of Early Days Dies Aged 102

Canterbury’s oldest representative cricketer. Mr John Wheatley, died yesterday at his home in Waimate. aged 102. He was believed to be the oldest first-class cricketer in the world. Mr Wheatley came to Christchurch from Australia at the age of I®. He played representative cricket for

Canterbury irregularly from 1882 until 1906. and for some years was sole New Zealand selector.

Mr Wheatley was born on the border of New South Wales and Queensland in 1860 and at the age of 14 joined the Bathhurst “Times" as an apprentice compositor. He continued in this trade [when he came to New Zealand and with several other compositors formed a company and established the ’‘Telegraph,” which was in existence for about two years. It was taken over by the Christchurch Press Company and merged with the “Globe" into an evening newspaper.

Mr Wheatley then joined the staff of the “Lyttelton Times," where he was employed for 40 years, first as a casethand. later as a stonehand. and finally as manager of the linotype room. He retired in 1925 at the age of 65.

In club cricket. Mr Wheatley's best scores were 114 runs against ■ Lancaster Park B teem fielding 15 men. and 106 in 58 minutes against Ellesmere County. His best bowling figures were six wickets for no runs against a scratch team of Sydenham youths. The side was dismissed for two runs, both of which came from byes. His highest representative score was 53 for Canterbury against Queensland in 1897 Mr Wheatley still attended cricket at Lancaster Park when he was in his nineties.

On his hundredth birthday. Mr Wheatley ■was given a cake on which a cricketer posed with a bat His only complaint was that the cricketer was not holding the bat the right way. Mr Wheatley is survived by four daughters and one son. There are 11 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren. and two great great grandchildren.