Inspired Nelson’s cricket revival

Press, 11 June 1977, Page 10

Inspired Nelson’s cricket revival

By

BARRY SIMPSON

Les Townsend, England, Derbyshire and Northumberland cricketer, did not like Christchurch, or at least some aspects of cricket in the province. As a result, Canterbury cricket lost as much as Nelson and New Zealand gained when he shifted to Nelson.

Today, happily retired and living an idyllic life at Ruby Bay. Les is still prepared to talk about the problems he encountered in his years’ stay in Christchurch. But he would much prefer to talk about cricket in Nelson, about the players he has helped towards international status, and particularly about the Nelson Ramblers’ Club, established by another Nelsonian and himself.

Who is Les Townsend, some of the youngsters and the older uninitiated might ask? The answer requires a return to the English cricket scene in the early 1920’5. Then, Les Townsend left Derbyshire’s cricket nursery and played for the county for the first time. He was not an instant success. In fact, it was five years before his latent talents began to shine through. In 1927 he made 564 runs and took 66 wickets. He was on his way.

He scored the double the following year, notching 1001 runs and taking 104 wickets. He was to. repeat this in 1932 to become the first Derbyshire

player to accomplish this feat m county engagements.

He had no better year than in 1933 when, against Leicestershire, he scored 233 and topped this by becoming the first Derbyshire cricketer to score six centuries in a season.

For the third time, too, he scored more than 1000 runs and took more than 100 wickets. His season’s record was 2268 runs from 59 innings for an average of 44.47. His bowling record was 100 wickets at an average of 18.71.

Derbyshire won the coveted first class county championship in 1936 and Townsend contributed in no small way to the success. His principal efforts were 182 not out (against Sussex), 10! (Yorkshire) and 12 wickets for 90 runs against Warwickshire; 153 not out against Hampshire and 115 and 78 not out against Kent. A truly golden year. So, for Derbyshire between 1922 and 1936. Les Townsend scored 15,746 runs from 642 innings (64 of them unbeaten). He never beat the double century against Leicestershire and 233 remained his highest score. Over this period his batting average was 27.24.

He was no less successful with his bowling—- — off-spinning. He bowled 9893 overs for 3033 maidens, and conceded 20,498 runs for his 979 wickets, to give him an average of 20.93 runs.

After .the war. Les Townsend accepted a place in the Northumberland team and in 10 innings in his first year he had an average of 51.14. So much for his county cricket. In 1948 he came to New Zealand, orginally destined for Auckland but finally arriving in Christchurch.

His cricketing history in Enaland, however, would not be complete without reference to his international appearances. After being twelfth man for England against the West Indies in 1927, he was picked in 1929-30 for the M.C.C. to tour the West Indies. There he finished top of the bowling averages. Again, in 1933-34 he toured India with Jardine's team and performed with

great credit with bat and ball. His first class career aggregate up to 1939 was only 45 runs short of 20,000 runs. A match for Derbyshire against New Zealand in 1927 changed the course of Townsend’s life. He liked the New Zealanders and obviously the New Zealanders liked him, for he was invited to Auckland as player-coach in 1934 to 1936. He took a liking to the country and resolved that when he finished his first class career in England. New Zealand was where he. would settle down.

Auckland was where he beaded, but. he got short circuited. lan Cromb heard that things were not working out. in Auckland and Les was invited to Christchurch. There he stayed for six years, as coach to the Canterbury association for three vears, and to the St Albans club for three years. At a time when all was not sweetness and joy in Christchurch, Townsend came to Nelson and decided to move north permanently. He was assisted by a well-known sportsman, Joe Herrick, and it was not long before the two of them decided to form the Nelson Ramblers’ Cricket Club. As Townsend said, it was a small thing to start with, then it snowballed. Membership of the club was by invitation only,

and it was run entirely on Townsend’s own lines. He made the rules, the members obeyed them. The club and its membership, at this stage, were completely independent of the representative team. Townsend said he had seen the representative squad practising and he was “appalled” at what he saw. “What a sight,” he said, “everybody dressed in their work clothes.” His attitude was — and still is —-that a cricketer should look like a cricketer. The Ramblers, correctly attired, practised on alternate nights of the week, with 6 to 9 players a night. At. the same time Townsend was coaching at Nelson, Waimea and later Nayland colleges.

When the Ramblers were two years old, he chose a side to play Canterbury colts in Christchurch. Obviously, this was an important match for him. It. was also a triumph. Canterbury was routed by lunch on the second day. “I was pleased about that, because I wasn’t feeling too friendly towards Canterbury,” he said. The Nelson association sat up and took notice. Would Townsend coach the Nelson Hawke Cup team? He did, and in 1958 his team scored a narrow win over Waikato to take the cup. Then began Nelson's golden era in Hawke Cup cricket. The team resisted 29 challenges for the Hawke Cup while Towns-

end was coaching. The Ramblers were still being coached. This he gave up in 1969 although he continued coaching at colleges for another four years. In these years he travelled extensively through the Central Districts area, and ran a Central Districts colts tournament for about 12 years. The greatest player he coached? Les Townsend thought long and hard, and then plumped for the late Ken Wadsworth. "Ken and Barry Hampton were the only two players in New Zealand I can recall who could play the drive in the air over extra cover for six. It was a favourite shot of Wally Hammond’s and mine.” Wadsworth’s name came first. There were many others who reached the top in Nevr Zealand first class cricket — Bevan Congdon, Richard Coinage, lan Leggat, John Guy, Barry and lan Hampton, Laurie Reade, Grahame Lowans, Jock Edwards (begining at intermediate school: “keen as mustard, he was”). Graham Douglas and. of the new crop, Matthew Toynbee and Terry Horne. Les Townsend’s cricketing days are over, but his interest in the game has not waned. Nor his love and interest in billiards declined. At his home he owns a magnificent fullsized table and his form is almost as good as when he played the game competitively in England.