Ray Dowker

Ray Dowker
Personal information
Full name
Raymond Thomas Dowker
Born(1919-07-06)6 July 1919
New Brighton, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Died17 December 2004(2004-12-17) (aged 85)
Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
BattingRight-hand bat
RoleBatsman
RelationsJoe Wheeler (grandson)
Ben Wheeler (grandson)
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1949–1957Canterbury
First class debut7 January 1950 Canterbury v Otago
Last First class15 February 1957 Canterbury v Auckland
Career statistics
Competition FC
Matches 24
Runs scored 1147
Batting average 30.18
100s/50s 1/7
Top score 122
Balls bowled 56
Wickets 3
Bowling average 15.66
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 2/25
Catches/stumpings 16
Source: CricketArchive, 17 October 2009

Raymond Thomas Dowker (6 July 1919 – 17 December 2004) was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket for Canterbury between 1949 and 1957.

A right-handed batsman, Dowker played 24 games – scoring 1,147 runs at 30.18 including one century, 122 against Auckland on 7 January 1955.[1] Born in New Brighton, in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand, he was one of the New Zealand Cricket Almanack Players of the Year for 1955.[2] With 366 runs at an average of 45.75, he was the highest scorer in the Plunket Shield in the 1954–55 season.[3] In 1955-56 he captained Canterbury to outright victory in all four of their Plunket Shield matches, thus winning the trophy.[4]

Dowker was also a successful football player and won the 1945 Chatham Cup with Western AFC. He went on to represent Canterbury at football in 1948.

His grandsons have also been successful in New Zealand sport. The sons of his daughter Catherine Wheeler (née Dowker), Joe Wheeler and Ben Wheeler, have played Rugby and cricket respectively for regional and national teams.

References

  1. ^ "Auckland v Canterbury - Plunket Shield 1954/55". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  2. ^ "Player Profile: Ray Dowker". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Batting and Fielding in Plunket Shield 1954/55". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  4. ^ A. D. Davidson, "The Plunket Shield, 1955-56", The Cricketer, 28 April 1956, pp. 122–24.