Ces Dacre

Charles Christian Ralph "Ces" Dacre (15 May 1899 – 2 November 1975) was a cricketer from New Zealand who also represented New Zealand in football (soccer). He played in the Auckland and Gloucestershire cricket teams and was in New Zealand's first team to go to England in 1927, though no Tests were played on the tour.

Ces Dacre
Personal information
Full nameCharles Christian Ralph Dacre
Born(1899-05-15)15 May 1899
Devonport, New Zealand
Died2 November 1975(1975-11-02) (aged 76)
Devonport, New Zealand
BattingRight-handed middle order batsman
BowlingSlow left-arm
RelationsLife Dacre (brother)
International information
National side
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1914-15 to 1932-33Auckland
1928 to 1936Gloucestershire
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 268
Runs scored 12230
Batting average 29.19
100s/50s 24/59
Top score 223
Balls bowled 2142
Wickets 39
Bowling average 31.25
5 wickets in innings 1
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 5-35
Catches/stumpings 166/6
Personal information
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
North Shore United
National team
1922–1923 New Zealand 4 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Rugby career

Dacre played rugby union in the war years for the Railway club (a wartime combination of the Marist and City clubs). In 1917 he was involved in a breakaway movement from the club that switched to rugby league, playing matches against Ponsonby United and the City Rovers.[1] Railway XIII merged with Grafton Athletic for the 1918 Auckland Rugby League season, though it is unknown if Dacre was still with the club.

Cricket career

Dacre was a hard-hitting, somewhat impetuous, right-handed middle order batsman[2] and an occasional slow left-arm bowler, who also kept wicket a few times in a first-class career that spanned more than 20 years. An outstanding schoolboy cricketer, he made his debut for Auckland when only 15 and appeared regularly for the team until the 1927–28 season, and then again in two matches in 1932–33.

He toured Australia twice and England once with New Zealand cricket teams in the period before New Zealand played Tests. In 1927, in a strong batting side, he was a success with 1,070 runs at an average of 31.47 in the first-class matches. In the first innings of the match against Marylebone Cricket Club he scored 107 in an hour and a half.[2] Though he returned to New Zealand the following winter, in 1928 he was back in England where he spent two years playing occasional cricket before becoming qualified to play County Championship matches for Gloucestershire.

Winning a regular place for Gloucestershire as soon as he was qualified in 1930, he made more than 1,000 runs in each of the next six seasons, though his average declined steadily over the period.[3] His best season was 1930, when he hit his highest score, 223, with five sixes and 25 fours, in 255 minutes against Worcestershire.[4] He scored two centuries in the match against Worcestershire in 1933.[2] By 1935, he was averaging no more than 21 runs an innings and when his form declined further in 1936 his contract was terminated by mutual agreement and he returned to New Zealand.[2]

Football career

Dacre also represented New Zealand in football, appearing in 4 A-Internationals in 1922 and 1923,[5] scoring 2 goals.[6] Dacre was also a member of the North Shore side who reached the 1926 Chatham Cup final, losing 4-2 to Sunnyside.

See also

References
  1. Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009, 2009. ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4.
  2. Wisden 1977, p. 1051.
  3. "First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Ces Dacre". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  4. "Worcestershire v Gloucestershire 1930". CricketArchive. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  5. "A-International Appearances – Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
  6. "A-International Scorers – Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
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