| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Neale Robert Thompson | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1937-02-02)2 February 1937 Invercargill, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 30 August 2024(2024-08-30) (aged 87) Invercargill, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
| 1952/53–1978/79 | Southland | ||||||||||||||
| 1956/57–1962/63 | Otago | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Source: Cricinfo, 1 January 2022 | |||||||||||||||
Neale Robert Thompson (2 February 1937 – 30 August 2024) was a New Zealand cricketer and badminton player. He played 18 first-class matches for Otago between the 1956–57 and 1962–63 seasons, and represented New Zealand at badminton.
Life and career
Thompson was born at Invercargill and educated there at Southland Boys' High School. A left-handed batsman, he played in the New Zealand Colts team in the mid-1950s. At the time, even before he had played first-class cricket, he was considered a future Test player. However, his eventual first-class career was moderate. He had his best season in 1958–59, when he scored 254 runs at an average of 42.33, and converted the only first-class fifty of his career into a century: 100 not out in Otago's victory over Northern Districts. He played Hawke Cup cricket for Southland from 1954 to 1979; he opened the batting during Southland's long tenure as title-holders between March 1973 and February 1977.
Thompson also represented New Zealand at badminton. He won four New Zealand doubles titles and represented the country in five international series from 1958 to 1960.
Thompson met his wife, Fay, when they both represented Southland in badminton. They were married for 63 years until Neale's death in August 2024.
References
- "Neale Thompson". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Plunket Shield Players Excel In Other Sports". Press: 11. 16 January 1958.
- McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 129. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. ISBN 978 1 905138 98 2 (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.)
- "Team for Tour of India". Press: 4. 23 July 1955.
- "Northern Districts v Otago 1958-59". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- "atting and Fielding in Plunket Shield 1958/59". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- "Hawke Cup Matches played by Neale Thompson". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ McMurran, Alistair (16 July 2009). "Badminton: Family continuing to court success". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- "Funeral Notices". whatsoninvers.nz. Retrieved 2 September 2024.