Photo Credit: New Zealand Cricket
Former NZC President and deputy chairman, Sir Allan Wright, has died, aged 93.
Appointed to the board of the New Zealand Cricket Council in 1968, Sir Allan served as a director until 1990 and was elected President of the organisation in 1993 – ahead of being made a life member at the end of his term.
Born in Darfield, he was heavily involved in agriculture throughout his life, being knighted in 1982 for services to farming, and becoming the inaugural chancellor of Lincoln University when it received full autonomy in 1990.
Sir Allan’s connection with cricket was also lifelong. He helped establish what was first known as the North Canterbury Cricket Association (now part of the Canterbury Country District Association); captained the first representative team, and led it to its first successful challenge for the Hawke Cup, in 1967.
The first player to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets for Canterbury Country, he also held positions of selector, board member, chairman, president – and at the time of death was patron and life member of the district association.
Sir Allan’s twin brother Geoff played first-class cricket for Canterbury and was the father of New Zealand Test cricket captain, and New Zealand coach, John Wright.
Sir Allan managed several New Zealand teams at home and was manager on the 1983 tour to England, in which New Zealand secured its first Test win on English soil.
The New Zealand national cricket team, known as the Black Caps, made their Test debut in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth nation to play Test cricket. After waiting 26 years for their first Test win against the West Indies in 1956, they also played their first ODI in 1972–73 against Pakistan. New Zealand are the inaugural World Test Championship champions (2021) and have won the ICC Champions Trophy (2000). They have reached the Cricket World Cup final twice and the T20 World Cup final once.
