Obituary Mr lan Cromb

Press, 8 March 1984, Page 3

Obituary Mr lan Cromb

Mr lan Burns Cromb, a prominent Canterbury sporting identity, of Panorama Road, Clifton Hill, was killed on Tuesday evening when his car crashed through a safety fence on Panorama Road.

He was the sole occupant of the car.

Mr Cromb, who was 78, was an outstanding competitor in his younger years and he never lost his love for sport when his playing days were over. He was always involved as an administrator or adviser, coach or promoter. He was a person not afraid to scout around for sponsors and Canterbury cricket benefited from his seemingly endless enthusiasm.

To many of today’s younger cricketers, Mr Cromb was a father figure. He was never far from the playing fields on Saturdays and if a younger player approached Mr Cromb for advice, he would gain the benefit of the older man’s considerable experience. Mr Cromb was good enough to play cricket for Canterbury and New Zealand, but his sporting talents went much further. He was a leading golfer for many years and played in the Freyberg tournament in 1953, finishing with a 50 per cent record.

Rugby was his winter pursuit and he was a skilled footballer, playing senior and representative rugby for many years. After attending Elmwood Primary School, Mr Cromb’s secondary education was at Christchurch Boys’ High School where his all-round ability won him positions in the school’s First XI and First XV.

However, it was to cricket that Mr Cromb made his chief contribution. He made his first-class debut in the 1929-30 season and played his last match 17 seasons later. He had 88 matches, 54 for Canterbury, and scored three centuries

in compiling 3950 runs at an average of 29.04.

There were 23 half-cen-turies. His highest score was 171 for Canterbury against Wellington in 193940.

He was a right-hand batsman and a more than useful right-arm swing bowler. He. took 222 first-class wickets at an average of 27.71. His best return was seven for 21 for the South Island Army against its North Island counterpart. In the match he took 12 for 95. For New Zealand, Mr Cromb played 22 matches on the tour to England in 1931, and his other six appearances were against South Africa in 1931-32 and the M.C.C. in 1935-36. He was the New Zealand captain for three of the tests against the M.C.C.

Mr Cromb had a long senior club cricket career and was associated with four clubs — St Albans, High School Old Boys’, Lancaster Park, and East Christchurch — during his

long stint at the top club level.

He first played in 1922-23 and his last season was that of 1957-58. He scored 13,551 runs in total and averaged 36.6. His top score was 222

for Lancaster Park against St Albans in 1934-35, and he took almost 700 wickets and 150 catches. After his playing days had ended, Mr Cromb became involved with the administration of Canterbury cricket. He was president of the association and selected and coached Canterbury teams. He served a long term on the Victory Park Board. For almost 30 years Mr Cromb played top inter-club golf for Christchurch and Kaiapoi. He had more than 100 matches in the Woodward Cup competition. Mr Cromb won a South

Island golf title and a number of Canterbury championships. He also played a big part in getting New Zealand’s best known golfer, Bob Charles, started in his professional career.