Guy Overton

A sheep farmer in Southland,[1] Overton played a number of games for Southland in the 1940s as a right-arm opening bowler before making his first-class debut for Otago. In 1944–45 he took 8 for 24 and 3 for 10 in a drawn two-day match against Otago.[2] In 1945–46, after taking 4 for 28 and 6 for 13 for Southland against Otago,[3] and 4 for 12 and 2 for 13 against North Otago, he played for Otago against the touring Australians, taking 3 for 86 in the first innings, including Lindsay Hassett as his first first-class victim.[4]

He established himself in the Otago side in 1946–47. In his first Plunket Shield match, against Canterbury, he took a hat-trick.[1] In 1949–50 he took five or six wickets in the first innings of each of the three Plunket Shield matches and was the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 17 at 19.00.[5] In 1952–53 he took 19 wickets at 18.52 in the Plunket Shield, and was selected to tour South Africa the following season.

Overton played in the First, Second and Fourth Tests in South Africa, taking nine wickets. At one stage in the first innings of the Fourth Test, "Overton, swinging the ball either way, took three wickets for one run in thirteen balls"[6] to leave South Africa 125 for 5. When the New Zealanders played three matches in Australia on the way home, Overton took 7 for 52 in Western Australia's second innings, including the first three wickets in nine balls.[7]

He played the 1954–55 season, in which he took 7 for 88 against Central Districts, and retired after two games in 1955–56.

His tally of wickets exceeded his tally of runs, but he twice batted long enough at number 11 to give Otago victory by one wicket: against Wellington in 1948–49, when he and Noel McGregor put on 37 for the last wicket (Overton 8 not out)[8] and against Wellington again in 1952–53, when he and Alan Gilbertson put on 25 (Overton 5 not out).[9] His highest score was 17 not out in 1954–55, against Wellington once again, when he and Les Watt took the Otago score from 139 for 9 to 205 all out.[10]

Dick Brittenden wrote, "No one in New Zealand cricket was more highly-regarded than Overton: no player can recall ever hearing a word said against him by anyone."[1] After he retired from playing he became an umpire.[1]

• List of Otago representative cricketers

• Guy Overton at Cricket Archive
• Guy Overton at Cricinfo