Neale Thompson
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Neale Robert Thompson | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 February 1937 Invercargill, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 30 August 2024 (aged 87) Invercargill, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
| 1952/53–1978/79 | Southland | ||||||||||||||
| 1956/57–1962/63 | Otago | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Source: Cricinfo, 1 January 2022 | |||||||||||||||
Neale Robert Thompson (2 February 1937 – 30 August 2024) was a New Zealand cricketer and badminton player. He played 18 first-class matches for Otago between the 1956–57 and 1962–63 seasons,[1] and represented New Zealand at badminton.
Life and career
[edit]Thompson was born at Invercargill and educated there at Southland Boys' High School. A left-handed batsman, he played in the New Zealand Colts team in the mid-1950s.[2] At the time, even before he had played first-class cricket, he was considered a future Test player.[3][4] However, his eventual first-class career was moderate. He had his best season in 1958–59, when he scored 254 runs at an average of 42.33, and converted the only first-class fifty of his career into a century: 100 not out in Otago's victory over Northern Districts.[5][6] He played Hawke Cup cricket for Southland from 1954 to 1979; he opened the batting during Southland's long tenure as title-holders between March 1973 and February 1977.[7]
Thompson also represented New Zealand at badminton.[2] He won four New Zealand doubles titles and represented the country in five international series from 1958 to 1960.[8]
Thompson met his wife, Fay, when they both represented Southland in badminton. They were married for 63 years until Neale's death in August 2024.[8][9]
References
[edit]- ^ "Neale Thompson". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ a b "Plunket Shield Players Excel In Other Sports". Press: 11. 16 January 1958.
- ^ McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 129. 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.)
- ^ "Team for Tour of India". Press: 4. 23 July 1955.
- ^ "Northern Districts v Otago 1958-59". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "atting and Fielding in Plunket Shield 1958/59". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ "Hawke Cup Matches played by Neale Thompson". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ a b McMurran, Alistair (16 July 2009). "Badminton: Family continuing to court success". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Funeral Notices". whatsoninvers.nz. Retrieved 2 September 2024.