Vernon Leader

John Vernon Leader (14 May 1908 – 22 March 1995) was a New Zealand cricketer and mountaineer.^[1][2] He played eleven first-class matches for Otago between the 1928–29 and 1940–41 seasons.^[3]

Vernon Leader

Personal information
Full name	John Vernon Leader
Born	(1908-05-14)14 May 1908 Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Died	22 March 1995(1995-03-22) (aged 86) Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1928/29–1940/41	Otago
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 11 Runs scored 292 Batting average 17.17 100s/50s 0/1 Top score 58 Balls bowled 1315 Wickets 18 Bowling average 26.38 5 wickets in innings 1 10 wickets in match 0 Best bowling 6/44 Catches/stumpings 2/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 7 February 2024

Leader was born at Christchurch in 1908 but was educated at Otago Boys' High School in Dunedin.^[4] He played schools representative cricket for Otago.^[5]

Leader made his senior representative debut during the 1928–29 season in a Plunket Shield match against Auckland at Carisbrook, scoring seven runs and not taking a wicket. He played irregularly for the provincial side―his next two first-class appearances were during Otago's Plunket Shield winning campaign of 1932–33. In a total of 11 first-class matches he scored 292 runs and took 18 wickets, making his last first-class appearances during the 1940–41 season.^[1][6] His best performance came in the 1938–39 Plunket Shield, when he took 6 for 44 and 3 for 58 against Auckland.^[7] In the 1950s he was one of the selectors for Otago.^[8]

Leader was a notable mountain climber. In 1935 he became the first person to climb West Peak on Mount Earnslaw alone.^[2] In 1972, aged 64, he became the oldest person to make the "grand traverse" of Mount Cook's three peaks.^[9]