Skip to main content

Story: Cricket

Bert Sutcliffe profile

Image
Bert Sutcliffe profile

The Otago and Auckland batsman Bert Sutcliffe was the most cultured left-hand batsman who has played for New Zealand. On the 1949 tour of England, out of all touring players, his aggregate of 2,627 runs was second only to Don Bradman’s 2,960 in 1930. His highest score of 385, made when Otago played Canterbury in 1952–3, was the highest score ever made by a left-hander. His test average was 40.10 and his first-class average was 47.41 with 44 centuries. New Zealand Cricket named its purpose-built ground at Lincoln University the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

Using this item

Don Neely

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Don Neely, Cricket – Test cricket 1945–1979, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/38483/bert-sutcliffe-profile (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Don Neely, published 15 November 2012, updated 1 April 2016.