Gren Alabaster

Grenville David "Gren" Alabaster (born 10 December 1933 in Invercargill) is a former New Zealand first class cricketer for Otago, Canterbury and Northern Districts. A winner of the New Zealand Cricket Almanack Player of the Year Award in 1972, Alabaster was a right-arm off-break bowler. He represented New Zealand on occasions, including the tour to Australia in 1973-74, but never in a Test match. His brother Jack Alabaster played 21 Tests.

Gren Alabaster
Personal information
Full nameGrenville David Alabaster
Born (1933-12-10) 10 December 1933
Invercargill
BattingLeft-handed batsman
BowlingRight-arm off-break
RelationsJack Alabaster (brother)
International information
National side
Career statistics
Competition First-class List A
Matches 96 10
Runs scored 3200 123
Batting average 23.88 17.57
100s/50s 3/14 0/0
Top score 108 32
Balls bowled 17514 384
Wickets 275 9
Bowling average 23.24 32.66
5 wickets in innings 15 0
10 wickets in match 2 N/A
Best bowling 8-30 2-11
Catches/stumpings 54/0 3/0

Life and career

Gren Alabaster took 8/30 for Northern Districts against New Zealand Under-23s in March 1963.[1] This established a new record for the side in first-class cricket, beating Don Clarke's 8/37 of just two months previously. Alabaster's mark stood for less than a year, until Maurice Langdon claimed 8/21 against Auckland in January 1964.[2]

In a first-class career stretching from 1955-56 to 1975-76 he took 275 wickets at 23.24, and made 3200 runs at 23.88, with three centuries including a highest score of 108 for Otago against Central Districts at Wanganui in 1964-65. His most successful season with the ball was 1974-75; despite turning 41 during the season he took 34 wickets at 20.11 and helped Otago to victory in the Plunket Shield.

He also played 31 matches for Southland and Thames Valley in the Hawke Cup between 1961 and 1979.[3] He captained Southland during their reign as title-holders between 1973 and 1977. When a Hawke Cup "team of the century" was selected to mark the centenary of the competition in 2011, he was named as the captain.[4]

He became a New Zealand selector in the late 1980s and managed the New Zealand team on tours of Sri Lanka and Australia in 1987, and again in the 1990s.[5]

Alabaster made his career in teaching, finishing as Principal of Waiau College in Tuatapere.[6] He lives in retirement in Oxford in North Canterbury.[5]

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References
  1. "Northern Districts v New Zealand Under-23s". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  2. "Most Wickets in an Innings for Northern Districts". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  3. Hawke Cup matches played by Gren Alabaster
  4. Hawke Cup Centennial cricket team named Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  5. Edwards, Brent (11 January 2011). "Cricket: Brothers sultans of spin". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  6. School of Physical Education, University of Otago, Alumni newsletter 2009
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