John Sparling

Infobox Historic Cricketer


nationality = New Zealand
country = New Zealand
country abbrev = NZ
name = John Sparling
picture = Cricket_no_pic.pngbatting style = Right-hand bat
bowling style = Right-arm offbreak
tests = 11
test runs = 229
test bat avg = 12.72
test 100s/50s = 0/1
test top score = 50
test balls = 708
test wickets = 5
test bowl avg = 65.40
test 5s = 0
test 10s = 0
test best bowling = 1/9
test catches/stumpings = 3/-
FCs = 127
FC runs = 4606
FC bat avg = 24.37
FC 100s/50s = 2/27
FC top score = 105
FC balls = 18824
FC wickets = 318
FC bowl avg = 22.71
FC 5s = 17
FC 10s = 3
FC best bowling = 7/49
FC catches/stumpings = 86/-
debut date = 3 July
debut year = 1958
last date = 28 February
last year = 1964
source = http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1079/1079.html CricketArchive

John Trevor Sparling (born July 24, 1938, Mount Eden, Auckland) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played in 11 Tests from 1958 to 1964.

A stocky, fair-haired, off-spinning all-rounder, Sparling was coached in Auckland by Jim Laker and broke into the Auckland team at the age of 18. A year and a half later, he was the youngest member of the New Zealand cricket team that toured England in 1958. On a tour where New Zealand were badly outclassed and in a summer where the weather was almost uniformly dismal, Sparling was one of the few players to emerge with an enhanced reputation. Wisden called him the player with "undoubtedly most promise" and wrote: "A natural cricketer, he should come to the fore with so many years ahead of him."

In fact, Sparling's figures for the tour were fairly modest: 513 runs at an average of less than 18 runs per innings and 38 wickets at just over 20 runs a wicket. He played in the last three of the five Tests and his 50 at Old Trafford on his 20th birthday was one of only three 50s scored by the side all summer. His stand of 61 for the seventh wicket with Eric Petrie in this match was the highest stand for New Zealand in the whole series.

Predictions of a long and glorious Test career were, however, wide of the mark. Sparling played twice against the touring MCC side in 1958-59, three times on the New Zealand tour of South Africa in 1961-62, once against MCC in New Zealand in 1962-63 and twice in the home series against South Africa in 1963-64.

In none of these matches did Sparling reach 50 as a batsman and in none of them did he take more than one wicket in an innings. He remained a consistent all-rounder in New Zealand domestic cricket until the early 1970s, but his Test career ended when he was 25.

Trivia

At Auckland in the New Zealand v England Test match in February 1963, Sparling bowled an 11-ball over when the umpire, Dick Shortt, lost count of the number of balls he had bowled.

References

* Wisden, 1959 edition, pages 227 and 257