Sutcliffe, Bert

▪ 2002

      New Zealand cricketer (b. Nov. 17, 1923, Ponsonby, Auckland, N.Z.—d. April 20, 2001, Auckland), was the golden boy of cricket in post-World War II New Zealand. Between his first-class debut for Auckland in 1941 and his final retirement in 1965, the left-hander scored 17,447 first-class runs (average 47.41) and 44 centuries, including 2,727 runs (average 40.10) and five centuries in 42 Test matches. Sutcliffe scored two triple centuries; his 385, batted for Otago against Canterbury in 1952, stood as the world record for a left-hander until 1994 and remained the record for a New Zealander. His highest Test score (230 not out against India in 1955–56) was overshadowed by his performance in South Africa in December 1953. Knocked unconscious by a bouncer to the head, Sutcliffe returned from the hospital with his head swathed in bandages and scored 80 not out in 112 minutes. Off the field Sutcliffe worked as a physical education teacher.

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