Cliff Shirley

Clifford Vernon Shirley (22 March 1917 – 25 December 2001) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played one first-class match for Otago during the 1945–46 season and played Hawke Cup and other matches for Southland for more than 15 seasons.[1][2]

Cliff Shirley
Personal information
Full name
Clifford Vernon Shirley
Born(1917-03-22)22 March 1917
Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand
Died25 December 2001(2001-12-25) (aged 84)
Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
RoleOccasional wicket-keeper
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1940/41–1957/58Southland
1954/55Otago
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 23 May 2016

Shirley was born at Invercargill in Southland in 1917 and was educated at Invercargill South school.[3] He played club cricket for Colts and then for Appleby Cricket Club―a 1936 report credited him with being the side's "most dangerous" bowler and said that "he kept a good length and appeared to be unlucky not to get more wickets".[4]

He made his Southland debut during a wartime match at Carisbrook against an Otago XI in January 1941, but war service meant he did not play again for the side until the end of 1944, although he did play cricket whilst a soldier.[2][5][6] He continued to play for Southland until the 1957–58 season, making around 35 appearances for the team and, according to The Press in 1956, scoring over 1,000 runs.[7] He played in two Hawke Cup matches during the 1954–55 season as Southland challenged for the trophy, and against touring sides from Australia, Fiji and the West Indies.[2]

He was called into the side towards the end of the 1946 season following a number of good batting performances, with some commentators suggesting that he should have been called into the Otago side earlier in the season.[8][9] A "sound and stylish" innings of 46 for Southland―who he was captaining―against Canterbury in January had been praised,[10] and his 76 in the second innings of the match considered "bright".[11] By March The Evening Star considered him "undoubtedly Southland's most stylish batsman"[12] whilst the Otago Daily Times praised his "sound and polished stroke play" and the "crispness and certainty with which his strokes were made".[13]

Shirley's only first-class match was against the touring Australians in March 1946 at Carisbrook. He scored 16 and 10 in his two first-class innings, although press reports suggest that he had started soundly in both innings and was unlucky to be out in his first innings.[14][15]

During World War II Shirley served in Egypt with 20th Infantry Battalion, part of the 2nd New Zealand Division.[16][17] After the war he worked as a legal clerk.[18] He died at Oamaru in North Otago in 2001 aged 84.[1] An obituary was published in the following year's New Zealand Cricket Almanack.[18]

References
  1. "Cliff Shirley". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  2. Cliff Shirley, CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 June 2023. (subscription required)
  3. The Schools, Southland Times, issue 20965, 24 December 1929, p. 12. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  4. Cricket, Southland Times, issue 22823, 24 February 1936, p. 8. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  5. Cricket, Otago Daily Times, issue 25709, 4 December 1944, p. 6. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  6. Sport overseas, New Zealand Herald, volume 81, issue 25041, 3 November 1944, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  7. People in the play, The Press, volume XCIII, issue 27926, 24 March 1956, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  8. Otago's prospects, Otago Daily Times, issue 26101, 14 March 1946, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  9. A fine start, Otago Daily Times, issue 26095, 7 March 1946, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  10. Cricket, The Press, volume LXXXII, issue 24766, 5 January 1946, p. 8. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  11. Canterbury beats Southland, Otago Daily Times, issue 26044, 7 January 1946, p. 6/ (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  12. Spotlight on sport, Evening Star, issue 25692, 16 January 1946, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  13. Southland cricketers' promise, Otago Daily Times, issue 26053, 17 January 1946, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  14. Bright day's cricket, Otago Daily Times, issue 26103, 16 March 1946, p, 8. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  15. A brilliant innings, Otago Daily Times, issue 26105, 19 March 1946, p. 6. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  16. Clifford Vernon Shirley, Online Cenotaph, Auckland Museum. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  17. General sports, New Zealand Herald, volume LXXVII, issue 23674, 5 June 1940, p. 17. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 3 June 2023.)
  18. McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 105. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. ISBN 978 1 905138 98 2
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