Arthur Cotterill facts for kids

Arthur James Cotterill (born January 22, 1848 – died September 3, 1902) was a New Zealand cricketer and a lawyer. He was known for his skills on the cricket field, especially for the Canterbury team.

Early Life and Cricket Beginnings

Arthur Cotterill was born in 1848 in Colney, England. He was the oldest of 17 children. His father, Rev. George Cotterill, later became a important church leader in Christchurch.

Arthur and his family moved to New Zealand in November 1851. They arrived in Lyttelton. Arthur and his brothers went to Christ's College, Christchurch. Five of the Cotterill brothers became first-class cricketers in New Zealand.

Arthur started his first-class career in 1865–66. He played for the Canterbury team. He stayed on the team for every match for eight seasons.

Setting Cricket Records

In the early days, first-class cricket in New Zealand was mostly one annual match. This was between the Canterbury and Otago teams. For the first five years, scores were very low. The highest individual score was only 28 runs. The highest team score was 105 runs.

Arthur's Big Score

In 1868–69, during the sixth match, something special happened. The game was played at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Canterbury batted first. Arthur Cotterill started the innings. He hit the ball all over the field. He scored 72 runs. This was called "really scientific cricket."

Canterbury ended up scoring 211 runs. This was a very high score for the time. The match ended in New Zealand's first draw. Canterbury needed 72 runs to win. But they were 55 for 7 when the game ended on the second day. Arthur was given a special bat for his amazing innings.

New Records Set

Arthur's score was a record for New Zealand cricket. The next first-class fifty was scored in 1871–72. This was by George Savile of Canterbury.

Arthur's record of 72 runs was finally beaten in 1874–75. Charles Corfe of Canterbury scored 88 runs. In that same match, Canterbury made 354 runs. This was also a new record. The first century (100 runs) in New Zealand wasn't scored until 1880–81. George Watson, also from Canterbury, scored 175 runs.

Later Life and Career

In his second-to-last first-class match in 1873–74, Arthur was the top scorer for Canterbury. He made 20 runs and 37 runs in each innings. However, Auckland won the match by seven runs. In his final match a few weeks later, he played as a wicket-keeper for the only time in his career.

Arthur became a lawyer in 1873. In 1874, he joined a law firm with John Nathaniel Wilson. Their firm was called Wilson and Cotterill. In 1877, Arthur became the Crown Prosecutor in Napier. This meant he was a lawyer who worked for the government. He held this important job until he passed away in 1902. He was also a key person in running cricket in the Hawke's Bay area.

On May 17, 1877, Arthur married Julie Moore Stuart. She was the daughter of Robert Stuart, who was the first mayor of Napier. They had three sons and one daughter. All three of their sons also played first-class cricket in New Zealand. Sadly, his wife passed away in 1883. Another cricketer, Hugh Lusk, took over Arthur's role as Crown Prosecutor.