Personalities In N.Z. Sport

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 809, 1 November 1929, Page 7

Personalities In N.Z. Sport

A. F. Wensley Has Served on H.M.S. New Zealand

ALTHOUGH he is making his first visit to the Dominion, A. E. Wensley, the Sussex professional cricketer who has taken up his duties as coach to the Auckland Cricket Association, was at least connected with this country during- the war period when he served on 11.M.5. New Zealand.

Before deciding to take op cricket as his career, Wensley studied engineering, and that is how he came to be a member of the engineering crew of the Dominion’s battleship M'hen the fight with the Huns was on. Wensley Mas born at Brighton just over thirty years ago. and was educated at the Brighton Municipal Technical College. His father, although not an outstanding cricketer, played the game in his younger days. The son studied engineering M'hile at school, but found time to play quite a lot of cricket. When war broke out Wensley went to the De.vonport Naval Base and was there trained for engineering at sea. In 1918. at the age of 19, he was drafted on to the New Zealand The gift of U.M.S. New Zealand to the British Government, it will be remembered, Mas the outcome of the visit of the present Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Sir Joseph Ward to the Imperial Conference in 1909. Wensley spent about a year on the New Zealand, and the only “engagement” she was concerned in at that time was the surrender of the German Grand Fleet, when the New Zealand was second in line in the British second battle-cruiser squadron, one of the other vessels being H.M.A.S. Australia. After hostilities M'ere over, Wensley joined tho Sussex cricket nursery, and after three years there in 1922 he won his place in the Sussex County eleven, and has been a member ever since. Chatting to the writer the other day, the. coach honestly admitted that he could not give any averages. He did not even know his figures for the past season. “Most of us do not Morry about averages,” he said. “We play for our side.” A feat of M-hieh he was justifiably proud, however, was the fact that he

Mas the first professional in England in the past season to get the coveted cricketers double—l,ooo runs and 100 M'ickets. Since then Tate and Nichols (who is oh the way to New Zealand with the M.C.C. side) and Nigel Haig among the amateurs have won the distinction. Wensley, on his own admission, is a forcing type of batsman. “On occasions I might manage to keep quiet for half an hour or so,” he added facetiously. He never had any coaching till he joined Sussex. M'hen G. R. Cox, wellknown in Auckland as coach to the Auckland City and Suburban Association last season, devoted quite a bit of time to him. He also learned a lot from A. E. Relf, Auckland’s first coach, also of Sussex. "Wisden” gives the folloMing facts about Wensley’s county cricket record for the past three seasons: 19.845f1: jonm ”1927.—Batting: 754 average, 19.54. Bowling: 37 M'ickets; average, 37.51. “192 S.—Batting total. 1,006 runs: one century, 127, v. Hampshire, at Eastbourne; average, 23.95. BoM'ling: 74 M'ickets: average, 30.53. “1929.—Batting total. 1.334 runs: three centuries, 140 v. Glamorgan, 107 v. Lancashire, and 102 v. Hampshire; average, 27.79. BoM'ling: 75 M'ickets; | average, 32.05.” Wensley has already had considerable experience as a cricket coach. For several seasons he has acted as coach to Cambridge University in April, and Duleepsinhji was one of his pupils. The Indian prince was also coached by A. E. Relf. Last year AVensley went out to South Africa as coach to the Kimberley I Cricket Club.