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{{short description|New Zealand cricketer}}
{{Infobox cricketer biography▼
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
| playername = Roger Blunt▼
{{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2013}}
| image = ▼
| caption =▼
|
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE|size=100%}}
▲| image = Roger_Blunt 1931.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1900|11|3|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Durham, England|Durham]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1966|6|22|1900|11|3|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[City of Westminster|Westminster]], England
| international = true
| internationalspan = 1930–1932
| testcap = 2
| bowling = Legbreak
| club1 = [[Canterbury cricket team|Canterbury]]
| year1 = {{nowrap|1917/18–1924/25}}
| club2 = [[Otago cricket team|Otago]]
| year2 = 1926/27–1931/32
| columns = 2
| column1 = [[Test cricket|
| matches1 = 9
| runs1 = 330
Line 18 ⟶ 40:
| tenfor1 = 0
| best bowling1 = 3/17
| catches/stumpings1= 5/
| column2 = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| matches2 = 123
| runs2 =
| bat avg2 = 40.99
| 100s/50s2 = 15/40
| top score2 = 338[[not out|*]]
| deliveries2 =
| wickets2 = 213
| bowl avg2 = 31.16
Line 31 ⟶ 53:
| tenfor2 = 1
| best bowling2 = 8/99
| catches/stumpings2= 88/
|
|
| source = http://
▲| testdebutagainst =
▲| testdebutdate = 10 January
▲| testdebutyear = 1930
▲| lasttestdate = 4 March
▲| lasttestagainst =
▲| lasttestyear = 1932
▲| source = http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/36301.html Cricinfo
▲| date =
}}
'''Roger Charles Blunt''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE}} (3 November 1900
==Personal life==
Blunt was born in England, but his family moved to New Zealand when he was six months old.<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/154705.html CRICKETER OF THE YEAR 1928 Roger Blunt]. ''Wisden Cricketer of the Year''. ESPN cricinfo</ref> His father, a graduate of [[Christ Church, Oxford]], was a professor at [[University of Canterbury|Canterbury College]] in [[Christchurch]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Christ's College, Canterbury, N.Z.|journal=The Cricketer|date=February 1923|volume=III|page=25|url=http://magazine.cricketarchive.com/Magazine/1922-23/vol_iii_february_1923/index.html#27/z|accessdate=12 March 2017}}</ref> Blunt was educated at [[Christ's College, Christchurch]], where he captained the First XI cricket team.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bill Francis|title=Tom Lowry: Leader in a Thousand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVPtQwAACAAJ|year=2010|publisher=Trio Books|isbn=978-0-9582839-8-4|page=34}}</ref>
==Early career==
A batsman and leg-spinner, Blunt began his first-class career at 17 on Christmas Day 1917 for [[Canterbury cricket team|Canterbury]] against [[Otago cricket team|Otago]] at Christchurch, taking six wickets. He was a prolific batsman in domestic cricket throughout the 1920s. He was the leading run-maker in the 1922–23 season, scoring 583 first-class runs at an average of 53.00, helping Canterbury to win the [[Plunket Shield]].<ref name=FCB>{{cite web |title=First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Roger Blunt |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/520/f_Batting_by_Season.html |website=CricketArchive |accessdate=30 March 2020}}</ref> He moved from Christchurch to [[Dunedin]] in 1926.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Roger Blunt's Great Record |journal=Northern Advocate |date=17 July 1926 |page=11 |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NA19260717.2.85}}</ref>
He played several representative matches for New Zealand against Australian and English teams in the days before New Zealand played Test cricket. When New Zealand made its first major overseas tour, to England in 1927, he scored 1540 runs at 44.00 and took 77 wickets at 25.29, and in recognition of these performances he was chosen as one of the [[Wisden Cricketers of the Year]] in 1928.
==Later career==
In New Zealand's first Test, against England in Christchurch in January 1930, Blunt made more runs and took more wickets than any other New Zealander (45 not out and 7; 3 for 17 and 2 for 17) as New Zealand lost by 8 wickets.<ref>{{cite web |title=1st Test, England tour of New Zealand at Christchurch, Jan 10-13 1930 |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/17592/scorecard/62572/new-zealand-vs-england-1st-test-england-tour-of-new-zealand-1929-30 |website=Cricinfo |accessdate=30 March 2020}}</ref> He played in all of New Zealand's first nine Tests: four against England in 1929–30, three against England in 1931, and two against South Africa in 1931–32. His highest Test score was 96 against England at Lord's in 1931.<ref>{{cite web |title=1st Test, Lord's, June 27 - 30, 1931 |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/new-zealand-tour-of-england-1931-62075/england-vs-new-zealand-1st-test-62595/full-scorecard |website=Cricinfo |access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref>
Batting for Otago against Canterbury in Christchurch in 1931–32, Blunt made 338 not out at a run a minute<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/36301.html Roger Blunt]. ESPN cricinfo</ref> out of a total of 589 all out, in a match that Otago nevertheless lost. It was the highest first-class score by a New Zealander until [[Bert Sutcliffe]] beat it with 355 in 1949–50. Blunt also held the record as the highest-scoring New Zealand batsman with 7769 runs until Sutcliffe surpassed it in 1953.<ref name=W68/> Blunt's best first-class bowling figures were 8 for 99 for Otago against Auckland in Dunedin in 1930–31.<ref>{{cite web |title=Otago v Auckland 1930-31 |url=http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1930S/1930-31/NZ_LOCAL/PS/OTAGO_AUCK_PS_01-05JAN1931.html |website=Cricinfo |access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref>
After the 1931–32 season Blunt played no further cricket in New Zealand, but did appear in three first-class matches in England in 1934 and 1935. He played many minor matches for Sir [[Julien Cahn]]'s XI in England from 1933 to 1938, and toured North America with Cahn's XI in 1933.<ref>{{cite web |title=Miscellaneous Matches played by Roger Blunt |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/520/Miscellaneous_Matches.html |website=CricketArchive |accessdate=30 March 2020}}</ref>
==After cricket==
After retiring from first-class cricket, Blunt lived in England, where he was a successful businessman. He captained [[London New Zealand Cricket Club]] in its inaugural match in 1952 and remained a prominent member of the club. In his memory the Roger Blunt Award is given annually for services to the club.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roger Blunt Award for Services to the Club |url=http://www.lnzcc.org/services-to-the-club.html |website=LNZCC |accessdate=23 March 2020}}</ref>
Blunt also became a radio commentator on cricket broadcasts, joining the [[BBC]] team for the [[New Zealand cricket team in England in 1949|1949 New Zealand tour of England]].<ref>[[Christopher Martin-Jenkins]] (1990) ''Ball by Ball'', Grafton, London, p. 89. {{ISBN|9780246135681}}.</ref> In 1953, he was awarded the [[Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/nz_gazette/1953/37.pdf |title=Coronation Medal |work=Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette |issue=37 |date=3 July 1953 |access-date=17 April 2021 |pages=1021–1035}}</ref> He was appointed a [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] in the [[1965 Birthday Honours|1965 Queen's Birthday Honours]].<ref name=W68>''[[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack]]'' 1967, p. 963.</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Roger Blunt}}
* {{cricinfo|id=36301}}
* [http://donningthewhites.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/new-zealands-wisden-cricketers-of-year.html Brief biography and photograph]
* [http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/cricket/143539/finally-scored-century Photograph of Roger Blunt and Alec Knight]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blunt, Roger}}
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1966 deaths]]
[[Category:New Zealand cricketers]]
[[Category:New Zealand Test cricketers]]
[[Category:Pre-1930 New Zealand representative cricketers]]
[[Category:People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch]]
[[Category:Canterbury cricketers]]
[[Category:Otago cricketers]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:South Island cricketers]]
[[Category:Sir Julien Cahn's XI cricketers]]
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