Murray Webb

Murray George Webb (born 22 June 1947 in Invercargill) is a prominent New Zealand caricature artist and a former New Zealand Test cricketer.

Murray Webb
Personal information
Full nameMurray George Webb
Born (1947-06-22) 22 June 1947
Invercargill, New Zealand
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast
RelationsRichard Webb (brother)
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 122)5 March 1971 v England
Last Test1 March 1974 v Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1969-74Otago
1972-73Canterbury
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class List A
Matches 3 32 6
Runs scored 12 202 12
Batting average 6.00 10.09 -
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0
Top score 12 21 8*
Balls bowled 732 6685 322
Wickets 4 133 8
Bowling average 117.75 23.39 19.87
5 wickets in innings 0 10 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0
Best bowling 2/114 7/49 3/18
Catches/stumpings 0/- 11/- 1/-
Source: Cricinfo, 1 April 2017

Cricket career

Six feet four inches tall,[1] Murray Webb was a fast bowler who played first-class cricket for Otago between 1969-70 and 1973-74 and represented New Zealand in three Test matches. He was one of the fastest bowlers ever to play in New Zealand domestic cricket.[2]

In his first first-class match, against Wellington, he took 5 for 34 and 3 for 43, and he finished his first season with 31 wickets at an average of 17.25, helping Otago to win the Plunket Shield. He played one match for New Zealand against the visiting Australian team, and Wisden noted the emergence of "a most promising fast bowler".[3] In 1970-71, he took 6 for 56 for South Island against North Island in a trial match before the two-match series against England, and made his Test debut in the Second Test, taking two wickets.

His bowling helped Otago to another Plunket Shield in 1971-72, when he took his best first-class figures of 7 for 49 against Wellington. He toured the West Indies with New Zealand at the end of the season, but took only eight wickets in six matches, and none in the one Test he played.[4]

After missing the 1972-73 season except for one match for Canterbury he returned to Otago in 1973-74 and took 40 wickets in five matches in the Plunket Shield at 14.65. He took five or more wickets in an innings five times, with best figures of 6 for 49 against Auckland. He was selected for the First Test against Australia, but took only two wickets in a drawn match on a batsmen's pitch.[5] It was his last first-class match, at the age of 26.

His younger brother Richard was also a pace bowler who played for Otago; Richard also represented New Zealand, but as a one-day player.

Artistic career

After a brief stint as a teacher in Dunedin, Murray Webb has been a prolific caricaturist since the 1970s.[6] His subjects include politicians, sports people, and other people in the public eye, both in New Zealand and abroad. As well as contemporary figures he also draws people from the past, including six portraits of Katherine Mansfield.[7]

The Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, holds more than 800 items by him in its collection, most of them single digital portraits.

The Auckland psychology academic Barry Hughes has written: "Why do Murray Webb's caricatures of public figures look, paradoxically, more truthful than their photographs?"[8]

He provided the illustrations to the book 100 Great Rugby Characters by Joseph Romanos and Grant Harding (Rugby Press, Auckland, 1991). His regular spot in the editorial pages of the Otago Daily Times was called "Webbsight".[9] He now concentrates on private commissions.[6]

Personal life

Webb has two sisters and a brother, Richard. He was a passenger on the Wahine when it sank in Wellington Harbour in 1968. He helped save a toddler from drowning.[6]

A graduate of the University of Otago where he studied geography,[10] Webb lives in Dunedin.[11] He has been married twice and has three sons and a daughter.[6]

See also

References

  1. Andy Quick, "Look Out Australia", Australian Cricket, January 1971, p. 47.
  2. Boock, Richard (7 July 2002). "Cricket: Clock turned back over pace claims". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  3. Wisden 1971, p. 960.
  4. Wisden 1973, pp. 879-98.
  5. Wisden 1975, pp. 952-53.
  6. Dekker, Diana (23 November 2013). "Inside the mind of Murray Webb". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  7. Artistic representations Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  8. New Zealand Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 29, No. 2, December 2000, p. 93.
  9. Otago Daily Times, 17 January 2013, p. 11.
  10. Bio note at Nat Lib of NZ
  11. Dunedin at Scubish.com
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