Hunter Robert George Poon (14 May 1894 – 25 January 1980) was an Australian cricketer and the first player of Chinese descent to appear in Australian first-class cricket.[1]
 Poon during World War I | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hunter Robert George Poon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 14 May 1894 Ballina, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 25 January 1980 (aged 85) Greenslopes, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Right arm leg spin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1923 | Queensland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First-class debut | 21 December 1923 Queensland v Victoria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last First-class | 1923 Queensland v Victoria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 21 September 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biography
editHunter Robert George Poon was born near Ballina, New South Wales to a Cantonese man, William ("Lam") Poon, who had migrated to Australia to work on the north Queensland goldfields, and his half Chinese, half Anglo-Australian wife, Elizabeth (née Key). Hunter Poon's name appears on his birth certificate as Ander Leppit George Poon as the clerk registering his birth could not understand his father's accent.[2] Poon moved with his family to Toowoomba, Queensland and was educated at Toowoomba Grammar School, becoming a school teacher after graduation. A right arm leg spin bowler and right-handed batsman, Poon became a leading cricketer around Toowoomba.[1]
His career was interrupted by World War I, and Poon enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 5 September 1916, serving as a Lance Corporal with the 15th Battalion in France, where he was injured.[3]
Returning from the war, with shrapnel wounds in his right hand and lower back, Poon continued to star in Toowoomba cricket and was chosen to represent Queensland in a first-class match against Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting 21 December 1923. While Poon was unable to take a wicket and scored only 10 and two, his selection caused international headlines.[4]
Although Poon never again played first-class cricket, he did play against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club twice. Representing Toowoomba, Poon played against MCC in December 1924, taking 0/19 and, batting at number four, scoring 11 and 0.[5] In February 1933, during the Bodyline series, Poon represented Queensland Country against MCC in Toowoomba, taking 2/123 and 0/23 and scoring one with the bat. Poon took the Wickets of Herbert Sutcliffe, stumped by future Test wicket keeper Don Tallon, and Gubby Allen.[6]
Poon died in Greenslopes, Brisbane in 1980, aged 85. The second cricketer of Chinese background to play first-class cricket in Australia, Richard Chee Quee, would not make his first-class debut until 1993.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Cashman, R., Franks, W. et al. (1997) The A-Z of Australian Cricketers, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
- ^ Original Birth Certificate.
- ^ "World War I Nominal Roll", File 42-077, Commonwealth of Australia, http://www.awm.gov.au/nominalrolls/ww1/results.asp Archived 13 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
- ^ The Evening Post "Chinaman picked for Queensland", 24 December 1923, Wellington, New Zealand.
- ^ Scorecard, Cricket Archive, https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/109/109259.html Archived 25 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 12 March 2008.
- ^ Scorecard, Cricinfo, http://content-www.cricinfo.com/bodyline/engine/match/316042.html Archived 7 July 2012 at archive.today Retrieved 2 March 2008.
- ^ Scorecard, Cricinfo, http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/57/57042.html Archived 16 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 14 March 2008.
External links
edit- Terry Foenander. "Hunter Robert George Poon". tfoenander.com/. Retrieved 20 October 2008.