Tom Reese

Not to be confused with Tom Reece.

Tom Reese
Reese in 1937
Personal information
Full name
Thomas Wilson Reese
Born(1867-09-29)29 September 1867
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died13 April 1949(1949-04-13) (aged 81)
Merivale, Christchurch, New Zealand
Relations
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1887/88–1917/18Canterbury
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 24
Runs scored 374
Batting average 10.10
100s/50s 0/1
Top score 53
Catches/stumpings 20/0
Source: CricketArchive, 10 October 2014

Thomas Wilson Reese (29 September 1867 – 13 April 1949) was a New Zealand first-class cricketer who played for Canterbury from 1888 to 1918, and later wrote a two-volume history of New Zealand cricket.

Life and career

Reese was one of the first pupils at Christchurch Boys' High School.[1] He was the older brother of Dan Reese, who captained the New Zealand cricket team from 1907 to 1914. Jack Reese, a younger brother, also played cricket.[2] His younger brother Alexander went as a missionary to Brazil.[3] His youngest brother, Andrew Reese, was an architect; he was killed in action in 1917.[4] Their father, Daniel Reese, was a builder and a member of parliament.[5]

Tom played irregularly over two decades for Canterbury, batting low in the order. He reached fifty only once, when he made 53 against Hawke's Bay in 1903–04.[6] However, he was regarded as one of the best fieldsmen in New Zealand.[7] A spectacular catch he took in his first first-class match established his reputation:

Niven sent Dunlop hard to leg, and Reese, running along the boundary for some twenty or thirty yards, took a headlong dive, and was next seen at full length on the ground with his left arm extended just clear of the turf, and the ball held, to the surprise of the whole field. Niven's innings thus ended with the most brilliant catch that had ever been seen on the ground.[8]

Reese was a prominent batsman in Christchurch club cricket; in the 1906–07 season, playing for St Albans, he was the only player in the competition to score three centuries.[9] He captained Canterbury once, leading them to a five-wicket victory over Wellington in 1906–07.[10]

He formed a successful business partnership with Dan.[11] After many years of research, he wrote the first volume of his 1200-page history of New Zealand cricket, New Zealand Cricket, 1841–1914, in 1927,[12] and the second volume, New Zealand Cricket, 1914–1933, in 1936.[13]

Reese and his wife Georgina, who predeceased him, had a daughter and two sons. He died at his home in the Christchurch suburb of Merivale in April 1949, aged 81.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Mr. T. W. Reese". Press: 8. 14 April 1949.
  2. ^ "John Reese". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Personal". The Star. Vol. XLIV, no. 305. 24 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Deaths". The Star. No. 12044. 27 June 1917. p. 1. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Obituary". Lyttelton Times. Vol. LXXVI, no. 9536. 5 October 1891. p. 5. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  6. ^ Hawke's Bay v Canterbury 1903–04
  7. ^ Wisden 1950, p. 912.
  8. ^ "Cricket history: Recorded by Tom Reese: Dominion's best team from 1860 to 1914". Nelson Evening Mail. 31 March 1927. p. 4.
  9. ^ Long Slip (28 March 1907). "Cricket". Otago Daily Times: 5.
  10. ^ Canterbury v Wellington 1906–07
  11. ^ Greg Ryan, "Where the Game Was Played by Decent Chaps", PhD thesis, University of Canterbury, 1996, p. 217.
  12. ^ "Tom Reese Writes N.Z. Cricket History". The Star: 10. 26 March 1927.
  13. ^ "The Best N.Z. Eleven". Press: 17. 3 April 1937.
  14. ^ "Deaths". Press: 1. 14 April 1949.