Hugh Lusk (cricketer)
Hugh Butler Lusk (12 January 1866 – 26 February 1944) was a New Zealand cricketer and lawyer.
 Hugh Lusk, 1898-99 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Hugh Butler Lusk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 12 January 1866 Mangonui, Northland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 26 February 1944 (aged 78) Napier, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Hugh Lusk (father) Harold Lusk (cousin) William Lee Rees (father-in-law) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1889-90 | Auckland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1891-92 to 1908-09 | Hawke's Bay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricket Archive, 3 October 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Life and career
After attending Auckland Grammar School, Lusk studied law. He was admitted to the Bar in 1890.[1]
He made his first-class cricket debut for Auckland in 1889-90, playing five matches as a middle-order batsman and opening bowler. He had little success with the bat, but took eight wickets in two matches against the touring New South Wales team, including figures of 5 for 35 in the first match.[2]
He moved to Napier, and began playing for Hawke's Bay in 1891-92. In his first match he top-scored with 62 in an innings victory over Taranaki.[3] He was selected for North Island against New South Wales in 1893-94, second-top-scoring in each innings with 39 and 21. Now captaining Hawke's Bay, he played a leading part in the match against Wellington in 1895-96, making 14 and 41 and taking 4 for 18 and 7 for 53.[4]
He made his debut for New Zealand in 1896-97, making 59 and 23 in a victory over Queensland.[5] He was the only Hawke's Bay player to represent New Zealand during Hawke's Bay's period as a first-class side (1884 to 1921).[6] With 250 runs at an average of 31.25, he was the highest-scoring New Zealand batsman of the season.[7]
In the first match the next season Lusk scored his and Hawke's Bay's first century, 119 in a loss to Canterbury.[8] It was the highest score of the season, and again he topped the national run tally, this time with 280 runs at 40.00.[9] He went on New Zealand's short tour of Australia in 1898-99, but had little success in the two first-class games. In 1900-01 he scored his second century, 120, when he led Hawke's Bay to an innings victory over Auckland.[10] He played for New Zealand against Lord Hawke's XI in 1902-03. He scored his third and final century against Wellington in 1907-08.[11]
He played his last first-class match, still as captain of Hawke's Bay, in 1909, just before his 43rd birthday. In all 28 first-class matches for Hawke's Bay he scored 1395 runs at 28.46.[12]
His wife Elizabeth was a daughter of William Lee Rees and a niece of W. G. Grace.[13][14] Lusk became Crown Solicitor for Hawke's Bay in 1902, succeeding another cricketer, Arthur Cotterill.[15] He retained the position until his death.[16]
References
- Auckland Star, 28 February 1944, p. 5.
- Auckland v New South Wales 1889-90
- Taranaki v Hawke's Bay 1891-92
- Hawke's Bay v Wellington 1895-96
- New Zealand v Queensland 1896-97
- Greg Ryan, "Where the Game Was Played by Decent Chaps", PhD thesis, University of Canterbury, 1996, pp. 247.
- 1896-97 batting by average
- Hawke's Bay v Canterbury 1897-98
- 1897-98 batting by average
- Hawke's Bay v Auckland 1900-01
- Hawke's Bay v Wellington 1907-08
- Hugh Lusk batting for each team
- "Object details". NZ Cricket Museum. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- Dan Reese, Was It All Cricket?, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1948, p. 190.
- Bush Advocate, 5 September 1902, p. 2.
- New Zealand Herald, 28 February 1944, p. 1.