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George Mills (cricketer, born 1867)

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George Mills
Mills in 1898/99
Personal information
Born(1867-03-23)23 March 1867
Dartford, Kent, England
Died13 March 1942(1942-03-13) (aged 74)
Auckland, New Zealand
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm slow
RoleBatting all-rounder
Relations
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1886/87Auckland
1894/95Hawke's Bay
1900/01–1902/03Otago
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 17
Runs scored 551
Batting average 22.04
100s/50s 1/2
Top score 106*
Balls bowled 1,041
Wickets 26
Bowling average 11.76
5 wickets in innings 3
10 wickets in match 1
Best bowling 7/36
Catches/stumpings 11/–
Source: CricInfo, 6 April 2019

George Mills (23 March 1867 – 13 March 1942) was an English-born cricketer. He played first-class cricket in New Zealand for Auckland, Hawke's Bay and Otago between the 1886–87 and 1902–03 seasons.[1][2]

Life and career

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Mills was born at Dartford in Kent in 1867 before his family emigrated from England to New Zealand in 1873, sailing on the Berar.[3] George Mills was one of Auckland's leading players in the 1890s.[4] His brothers Edward, Isaac and William also played for Auckland.[5]

Mills had a spectacular first-class debut in 1886–87 against Wellington, bowling unchanged through both innings and taking 7 for 36 and 3 for 34, as well as scoring 39 not out at number 11 in an innings victory.[6] His bowling later fell away and he bowled little later in his career. He spent a few years in Melbourne, where he played senior cricket for Essendon from 1889 to 1892.[7]

Returning to New Zealand, Mills scored Auckland's first first-class century when he made 106 against Wellington in 1895-96; nobody else in the match made more than 51, and Auckland won by four wickets.[8][9] He also made the match top score, 80, against Canterbury in 1897–98.[10] Along with his brother Isaac, he toured Australia in 1898–99 in New Zealand's first overseas touring team.

He married Louisa Carruthers in Melbourne in 1891. They had two daughters and two sons, one of whom, Jack, played Test cricket for New Zealand in the 1930s.[11] George spent 45 years as a groundsman, including spells at Essendon and at Carisbrook in Dunedin.[12] For 30 years he was in charge of the Eden Park ground in Auckland, which he transformed from a stony paddock into a first-class cricket ground in 1914 and a Test ground in 1930.[11][13]

Mills died at Auckland in 1942 at the age of 74.[1] An obituary was published in the 1943 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "George Mills". CricInfo. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  2. ^ "George Mills". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  3. ^ "The Ship Berar". Auckland Star: 17. 18 October 1924.
  4. ^ "Players of Prominence in New Zealand Cricket History". Manawatu Times: 19. 20 December 1930.
  5. ^ a b McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, pp. 92–93. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. ISBN 978 1 905138 98 2 (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.)
  6. ^ "Auckland v Wellington 1886-87". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Victoria Premier Cricket Matches played by George Mills". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  8. ^ T. W. Reese, New Zealand Cricket: 1841–1914, Simpson & Williams, Christchurch, 1927, p. 341.
  9. ^ Mills, George, Obituaries in 1942, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1943. (Available online at CricInfo. Retrieved 18 February 2024.)
  10. ^ "Auckland v Canterbury 1897-98". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Noted Cricketer". Auckland Star: 6. 13 March 1942.
  12. ^ "Noted Cricketer". New Zealand Herald: 8. 14 March 1942.
  13. ^ "Eden Park, Auckland". CricketArchive. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
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