Ronald Fox (cricketer)

Ronald Henry Fox MC (23 January 1880 – 27 August 1952) was a New Zealand cricketer and British army officer.

He should not be confused with his English contemporary, Raymond Fox

Ronald Fox
MC
Personal information
Full nameRonald Henry Fox
Born(1880-01-23)23 January 1880
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died27 August 1952(1952-08-27) (aged 72)
Bloxham, Oxfordshire, England
BattingRight-handed
RoleWicketkeeper
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 19
Runs scored 407
Batting average 15.65
100s/50s 0/1
Top score 54
Balls bowled 90
Wickets 2
Bowling average 25.50
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 1/17
Catches/stumpings 26/8
Source: Cricinfo, 20 November 2017

Ronald Fox was born in Dunedin. His father worked for the Bank of New Zealand in the nearby town of Milton.[1] After attending Haileybury and Imperial Service College in England from 1893 to 1898,[2][3] he played club cricket in England, usually as a wicketkeeper, including a few games for Kent Second XI.[4] He had played only four first-class matches for various teams between 1904 and 1906 when he was selected in the Marylebone Cricket Club side that toured New Zealand in 1906–07.[5]

Fox played 10 of the 11 first-class matches on the tour, including the two unofficial Tests against New Zealand at the end of the tour. He made his highest first-class score in the second match against Otago, when he made 54 and put on 134 for the opening partnership with Peter Randall Johnson.[6]

He continued to play for MCC in England until the First World War. He served as a captain in the Royal Field Artillery from 1914 to 1919. He was awarded the Military Cross and was mentioned in despatches.[3]

In 1927, when the New Zealand cricket team were touring England for the first time, they invited him to play in one of their first-class matches.[7] Aged 47, and 17 years after his previous first-class match, he opened the batting and made 4. The New Zealanders nevertheless beat the Civil Service cricket team, who were playing what turned out to be their only first-class match, by an innings.[8]

References
  1. "Omnium Gatherum". Otago Daily Times (11809). 11 August 1900. p. 12.
  2. Wisden 1953, p. 940.
  3. "MC – Haileybury 1862–1912". Haileybury. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  4. "Miscellaneous matches played by Ronald Fox". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  5. "First-class matches played by Ronald Fox". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  6. "Otago v MCC 1906-07". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  7. Don Neely & Richard Payne, Men in White: The History of New Zealand International Cricket, 1894–1985, Moa, Auckland, 1986, p. 85.
  8. "Civil Service v New Zealanders 1927". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
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