Walter Strang
Strang in 1932
Personal information
Full name
Walter Wilson Strang
Born(1888-04-15)15 April 1888
Wellington, New Zealand
Died28 February 1944(1944-02-28) (aged 55)
St Clair, Dunedin, New Zealand
BattingRight-handed
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1929–30Otago
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 25 May 2016

Walter Wilson Strang (15 April 1888 – 28 February 1944) was a New Zealand cricketer and businessman. He played one first-class match for Otago in 1929–30, when he captained the team in the final match of that season's Plunket Shield.[1][2]

Life and career

Strang's father, Captain Robert Strang, was a ship's captain from Scotland who moved to New Zealand in the 1880s and held senior positions with the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand.[3] The youngest of five children, Walter Strang was born in Wellington in April 1888, and his mother died a few days later.[4] Walter attended Otago Boys' High School in Dunedin.[5]

Strang was working as an ironmonger in Dunedin when he enlisted in World War I. He served in Europe as a sergeant in the Canterbury Infantry Regiment of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.[6]

When he returned from the war, Strang married Christina Ness in Dunedin in January 1920.[7] After working for the ironmongers Paterson and Barr for several years, in 1928 he opened his own sporting goods business, Walter Strang, Limited, in Princes Street in central Dunedin.[8][9]

Strang first played senior cricket in Dunedin in the 1907–08 season for the Albion club, and retired 25 years later during the 1932–33 season after 12 seasons with the Dunedin club.[5] During the late 1920s his batting form brought him close to selection for the Otago team several times.[10][5] For Otago's final match in the Plunket Shield in the 1929–30 season, many senior players were unavailable for the trip to Christchurch, including Arthur Alloo, who had captained the team in previous matches.[11] Strang, aged 41, who was selected to captain the team, was one of four Otago players who made their first-class debuts; for three of them, including Strang, it was their only first-class match. Strang opened the batting, scoring 32 in the first innings, Otago's highest score in the match, and 5 in the second. Canterbury won by an innings on the second day of the four-day match.[12][13]

Strang served as an officer in the National Military Reserve during World War II. He died at his home in the Dunedin suburb of St Clair in February 1944, aged 55.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Walter Strang". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "Walter Strang". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "Captain Strang". Evening Star: 6. 3 September 1917.
  4. ↑ "Death". Wairarapa Daily Times: 2. 30 April 1888.
  5. 1 2 3 "Personalities in Sport, No. LXXVII: W. Strang". Evening Star: 4. 2 December 1932.
  6. ↑ "Walter Wilson Strang". Online Cenotaph. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  7. ↑ "Marriages". Otago Daily Times: 4. 24 February 1920.
  8. 1 2 "Mr Walter Strang". Evening Star: 2. 29 February 1944.
  9. ↑ "Advertisements". Evening Star: 2. 6 September 1928.
  10. ↑ "Cricket: Notes". Evening Star: 12. 1 February 1929.
  11. ↑ "Cricket: The Canterbury Match". Evening Star: 14. 14 February 1930.
  12. ↑ "Canterbury v Otago 1929-30". Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "Canterbury v Otago 1929-30". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
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