Bruce Pairaudeau

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Bruce Pairaudeau
Pairaudeau in 1963
Personal information
Full name
Bruce Hamilton Pairaudeau
Born(1931-04-13)13 April 1931
Georgetown, British Guiana
Died9 October 2022(2022-10-09) (aged 91)
New Zealand
BattingRight-handed
BowlingLegbreak googly
International information
National side
Test debut21 January 1953 v India
Last Test25 July 1957 v England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1946/47–1957/58British Guiana
1958/59–1966/67Northern Districts
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 13 89
Runs scored 454 4,930
Batting average 21.61 32.01
100s/50s 1/3 11/25
Top score 115 163
Balls bowled 6 76
Wickets 0 0
Bowling average – –
5 wickets in innings – –
10 wickets in match – –
Best bowling – –
Catches/stumpings 6/– 64/–
Source: Cricinfo, 17 October 2022

Bruce Hamilton Pairaudeau (14 April 1931 – 9 October 2022) was a West Indian cricketer who played in 13 Test matches between 1953 and 1957. Born in British Guiana, he moved to New Zealand in the late 1950s.

Early life[edit]

Pairaudeau was born in Georgetown, Guyana, on 14 April 1931.[1] He was picked for his first first-class match for British Guiana before his 16th birthday, before scoring a century in his third match aged 16 years and five months.[2] However, opportunities for first-class cricket were rare in West Indian cricket at this stage, and Pairaudeau went to England in 1950 to play Lancashire League cricket with Burnley.[3][4]

West Indian career[edit]

In late 1952, Pairaudeau returned to British Guiana and did well enough in two first-class matches to be drafted into the team for the First Test against India in January 1953. Batting at No 6, Pairaudeau scored 115 and put on 219 for the fifth wicket with Everton Weekes.[5] For the remaining four Tests in the series he was promoted to open the innings and, though he made only one score of more than 50, he finished the series with 257 runs at an average of more than 32.[1]

The following winter against the England tourists, though, Pairaudeau was picked for only two of the Tests, scoring 71 in the second match but failing in the fourth.[6] When the Australians toured in 1954–55, he was not chosen at all.[7]

Pairaudeau was selected, however, for the somewhat makeshift West Indies side which toured New Zealand in 1955–56. Lacking Clyde Walcott and Frank Worrell of the established West Indian batsmen, the side often struggled for runs, and Pairaudeau scored just 101 runs in six innings in the four Tests. The Fourth Test of the series at Auckland provided New Zealand with its first-ever victory in Test cricket.[8]

Pairaudeau played on the tour of England in 1957. He hit 127 against Cambridge University and a career-best 163 against Hampshire,[9] but in 31 other innings on the tour he managed fewer than 500 runs. He played in the First and Fourth Tests, but failed to get into double figures in his four innings. However, during the first innings of opening Test at Edgbaston, he did spend over eight and a half hours in the middle, despite being bowled by Fred Trueman for one run. He spent three and a quarter hours acting as a runner for Clyde Walcott, and then a further five hours running for Frank Worrell, who were both injured.[10] This series was to be the end of his Test career, at the age of 26.[2]

New Zealand career[edit]

Having enjoyed his tour of New Zealand in 1956, and foreseeing unrest in British Guiana as it headed towards independence,[11] Pairaudeau emigrated to New Zealand in 1958, settling in Hamilton, where he scored a century in his first club match.[12] Shortly afterwards he began playing Plunket Shield cricket for Northern Districts. In his first Plunket Shield season he scored 50 or more runs in six consecutive innings.[13] Consistent rather than spectacular – he scored only one century in eight seasons in New Zealand – he was a regular in the side for seven seasons. He captained Northern Districts from 1961–62 to 1964–65, and in 1962–63 he led them to their first-ever title in the Plunket Shield.[14][15]

In 1958–59 Pairaudeau was the second-highest run-scorer in the Plunket Shield, with 412 runs in five matches,[16] and in 1961–62 he was the leading run-scorer, with 380 runs in five matches.[17] He became eligible to represent New Zealand in 1962, but his batting form fell away, and younger men were preferred for the Test team.[18][19][20] He played his last first-class match during the 1966–67 season.[2][21]

Personal life[edit]

Pairaudeau was married to Gillian until her death in August 2020.[22] Together, they had two children. One of them, Toni, predeceased him.[23]

Pairaudeau worked in insurance in British Guiana.[24] After moving to New Zealand, he spent the rest of his working career with an insurance company in Hamilton.[25] Pairaudeau continued to play club cricket until the age of 48.[26] At the time of his death he was the oldest living Northern Districts player.[27]

Pairaudeau died on 9 October 2022 after a brief illness, aged 91.[23][21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Williamson, Martin. "Bruce Pairaudeau profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPN Cricinfo. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Cricket: Former West Indies and North Districts batsman Bruce Pairaudeau dies, aged 91". Stuff. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  3. ^ Booth, Lawrence (14 April 2016). The Shorter Wisden 2016: The Best Writing from Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2016. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472935229.
  4. ^ Mukherjee, Abhishek (2 November 2016). "Bruce Pairaudeau: Frenchman who scored hundred on West Indies debut and led a side to Plunket Shield". Cricket Country. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  5. ^ "1st Test, Port of Spain, Jan 21–28 1953, India tour of West Indies". Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. ^ R. J. Hayter, "The M.C.C. Team in West Indies, 1953–54", Wisden 1955, pp. 762–85.
  7. ^ "Australians in West Indies, 1955", Wisden 1956, pp. 861–77.
  8. ^ "West Indies in New Zealand, 1956", Wisden 1957, pp. 829–38.
  9. ^ "Hampshire v West Indies 1957". Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  10. ^ Preston, Norman (1958), England v West Indies 1957, Wisden Almanack. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  11. ^ Boock, Richard (9 March 2006). "Cricket: Beaten, but what a swell party it was". NZ Herald. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Pairaudeau Scores 144 Not Out". Press: 8. 9 December 1958.
  13. ^ "B. H. Pairaudeau, A Talented, Consistent Cricketer". Press: 13. 7 February 1962.
  14. ^ Wisden 1964, p. 863.
  15. ^ "Pairaudeau Withdraws". Press: 13. 27 August 1965.
  16. ^ "Batting and Fielding in Plunket Shield 1958–59". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  17. ^ "Batting and Fielding in Plunket Shield 1961–62". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  18. ^ "Three New Players In Team For First Test". Press: 15. 15 February 1960.
  19. ^ "Opening Batsman is N.Z. Problem". Press: 16. 3 February 1964.
  20. ^ "Important Season For Cricket Tour Candidates". Press: 11. 19 December 1964.
  21. ^ a b "Bruce Pairaudeau, the former West Indies and Northern Districts batter, dies aged 91". ESPN Cricinfo. ESPN Internet Ventures. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  22. ^ "Gillian Pairaudeau Obituary". The New Zealand Herald. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2022 – via Legacy.com.
  23. ^ a b "Bruce Pairaudeau Obituary". The New Zealand Herald. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022 – via Legacy.com.
  24. ^ Cozier, Tony (29 January 2009). "Catching up with Bruce and Sam". Stabroek News. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  25. ^ Sharma, Ateet (29 January 2014). "Blast from the past! A West Indian Kiwi who gave India jitters". India Today. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  26. ^ "On the wrong side of historic NZ win". Waikato Times. 24 December 2013. p. 21. ProQuest 1470426411. Retrieved 13 October 2022 – via ProQuest.
  27. ^ Francis Payne & Ian Smith, eds, 2021 New Zealand Cricket Almanack, Upstart Press, Takapuna, 2021, p. 14.

External links[edit]

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