Ian Cromb

Ian Burns Cromb (25 June 1905 – 6 March 1984) was a New Zealand cricketer who played in five Tests from 1931 to 1932, including all three Tests of the 1931 tour of England.^[1]

Ian Cromb

Ian Cromb in 1936
Personal information
Full name	Ian Burns Cromb
Born	(1905-06-25)25 June 1905 Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Died	6 March 1984(1984-03-06) (aged 78) Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast-medium, right-arm spin
International information
National side	New Zealand (1931-1932)
Test debut	27 June 1931 v England
Last Test	4 March 1932 v South Africa
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 5 88 Runs scored 123 3950 Batting average 20.50 29.04 100s/50s 0/1 3/24 Top score 51* 171 Balls bowled 960 13550 Wickets 8 222 Bowling average 55.25 27.71 5 wickets in innings 0 10 10 wickets in match 0 2 Best bowling 3/113 8/70 Catches/stumpings 1/– 103/–
Source: Cricinfo, 1 April 2017

Cromb was born in Christchurch and attended Christchurch Boys' High School.^[2] He was an all-rounder: an aggressive batsman and a fast-medium bowler in his younger days and a spin bowler later in his career.^[3] He played for Canterbury from 1929–30 to 1946–47, captaining the side from 1935–36 to 1937-38 and again from 1945–46 to 1946–47, and he also captained New Zealand in the four-match series against the visiting MCC in 1935–36.^[4] As a captain, he had a "penchant for the unexpected".^[3]

Cromb made his highest first-class score of 171 in Canterbury's innings victory over Wellington in the 1939–40 Plunket Shield, after taking five wickets in Wellington's first innings.^[5] His best bowling figures were 8 for 70 for the New Zealanders against Middlesex in 1931.^[6] Two weeks earlier he had taken 6 for 46 in the New Zealanders' innings victory over the MCC at Lord's.^[2] After he retired from playing he was a coach, administrator and selector.^[3][7] He served as president of the Canterbury Cricket Association in the 1970s.^[8]

In 1930 Cromb opened a sporting goods shop in Cashel Street, Christchurch, in partnership with his fellow Canterbury and New Zealand cricketer Bill Merritt.^[9] The shop was still operating under the same name in the 1990s.^[10]

Cromb was also a prominent golfer, winning the South Island championship and several Canterbury championships. He helped launch the career of the New Zealand champion golfer Bob Charles.^[11] Together they had a golfing tour of the United States and Great Britain between January and August 1958, Charles playing in several of the major tournaments.^[12][13]

Cromb married Valmai Kelly in Wellington in February 1935.^[14] She died in July 1956; they had a son and two daughters.^[15] Cromb died in a car accident in Christchurch in March 1984, aged 78.^[8]