A Civil Service cricket team made just one appearance in first-class cricket, when they played the touring New Zealanders, who were on their first tour of England, at the Civil Service Sports Ground in Chiswick in 1927. The New Zealanders proved too strong for their hosts, winning by an innings and 15 runs, although the result might have been different had Jackie Mills (104*) and Cyril Allcott (102*) not shared an unbroken stand of 190 for the eighth wicket to allow the New Zealanders to declare at 421/7. [1]
For the Civil Service, the best performer with the bat was Edwin Bennett, who hit 73 and 60, while the best bowling came from Allinson Chapman, playing his one and only first-class match, who claimed 3-73 from his 21 overs. The team was captained by Reginald Collins, the brother of the Australia Test captain Herbie Collins.
The team also played the touring Australians in 1926 and the West Indians in 1928, both matches being of two days' duration and not first-class. [2]
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The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 New Zealand had to wait until 1956, more than 26 years, for its first Test victory, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. They played their first ODI in the 1972–73 season against Pakistan in Christchurch. New Zealand are the inaugural champions of WTC which they won in 2021 and they have also won ICC CT in 2000. They have played in the CWC final twice and the T20 WC final once.
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The New Zealand cricket team toured England in the 1931 season. The tour was the first tour by a New Zealand team in which Test matches were arranged. Originally, only one Test was planned, but New Zealand acquitted themselves so well in the first match and in the game against MCC that matches against Surrey and Lancashire were hastily replaced by two further Test matches. Of the three Tests played, the first was drawn, the second was won comfortably by England; the third was heavily affected by rain and also drawn. The tour as a whole was blighted by poor weather, and 23 of the 32 first-class matches ended as draws.
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This article describes the history of New Zealand cricket from the 1890–91 season until 1918.
David Charles Collins was a New Zealand cricketer. He played 53 first-class matches between 1905–06 and 1926–27, the bulk of these being for Wellington in New Zealand and Cambridge University in England; he won a blue for Cambridge and headed their batting averages in 1910.
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