Martin Donnelly (sportsman)

Martin Paterson Donnelly (17 October 1917 – 22 October 1999) was a New Zealand-born sportsman who played

Born in Ngāruawāhia, New Zealand, Donnelly's twin brother Maurice died in the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918. Donnelly's maternal great-grandfather, William Butler was a British Army veteran in the 20th Regiment of Foot later renamed the Lancashire Fusiliers and settled in Howick, New Zealand in 1847 as part of the Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps.

Cricket career

1930s

Donnelly's sporting talent emerged quickly and Donnelly became known for his batting and fielding skills, as well as his prowess at Rugby Union. While still a student at

Aged only 19, Donnelly was a surprise selection for the 1937 New Zealand tour of England, having played only one first-class match. After showing more promise than results in the warm up matches, the selectors showed patience and Donnelly made his Test debut in the 1st Test at Lord's. He made a duck and 21, but remained in the team to make 4 and 37*, and 58 and 0 in the following two Tests. He achieved greater success against the county sides, finishing second in the batting averages, and earned praise from Wisden, which called him "a star in the making".^[1]

Returning to New Zealand, Donnelly moved to Christchurch in 1938 to attend the University of Canterbury and play for Canterbury. While there, he won the Redpath Cup as the best batsman in the Plunket Shield in 1939. He also played rugby for Canterbury University, the Canterbury Provincial XV, and for New Zealand Universities.

1940s

At the completion of his degree, Donnelly returned to Wellington but played only one more first-class match before enlisting in the New Zealand Army in 1940. Commissioned in 1941, he served as a tank commander in northern Africa and Italy, rising to the rank of Major. While in Cairo, he purchased what would become his lucky cap, an old multi-striped number, that he would wear whenever he took the field in his post-war cricketing career.

At war's end, Donnelly was a member of the

Following his graduation from Oxford, Donnelly commenced working for Courtaulds while playing cricket for Warwickshire. In 1948, playing for Warwickshire against Middlesex, he was bowled by left-arm spinner Jack Young from the wrong side of the stumps, the ball having bounced off his foot and over his head before landing behind the stumps and spinning back to dislodge the bails.

He continued to impress observers with his attacking style of play, including former champion

In 1960, Neville Cardus expressed the opinion that Donnelly was the finest left-handed foreign batsman to play in England since World War II. Donnelly's favourite shot, a legside flick off the pads, often had spectators gasping in admiration, while some commentators suggested he was the best cover-point of all time.

Rugby career

Donnelly also played rugby for the

After four first-class matches in 1950, Courtaulds transferred the newly married Donnelly to their Sydney office to assume a managerial role. He developed a preference for fishing over cricket.

Despite having played only 13 of his 131 first-class matches in New Zealand, and in only seven Test matches, none of which were in New Zealand, he was elevated to the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. He died in Sydney on 22 October 1999, survived by his wife, three sons and one daughter.

Donnelly House, one of four houses at New Plymouth Boys' High School, is named in his honour.

Wesley Harte wrote Martin Donnelly: His Record-By-Innings in 1990. A biography titled Martin Donnelly: New Zealand Cricket's Master Craftsman was written by Rod Nye and published in 1999.

References

Further reading

• _________ (1999) "Martin Donnelly – Obituary", The Times, 25 October 1999, p. 21.
• Nye, Rod (1999). Martin Donnelly: New Zealand Cricket's Master Craftsman. New Zealand: HarperCollins.
  ISBN 1-8695-0293-0
  .
• Wright, G. (1999) "Obituary – Martin Donnelly", The Independent – London, 28 October 1999, p. 6.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Martin Donnelly (cricketer).

• Martin Donnelly at ESPNcricinfo
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1948, from
  Cricinfo
• Martin Donnelly – Summer sun on a winter’s day, Trevor Chesterfield, 25 October 1999, from
  Cricinfo
• Rugby profile on scrum dot com