Edward Barnes (cricketer)

William Edward Parker "Jum" Barnes (1856 – 19 August 1897) was a New Zealand cricketer who played 16 first-class matches for Canterbury between 1882 and 1894.

Born in Geelong in Australia, Barnes played cricket for the East Melbourne club and represented Victoria at Australian rules football.[1] He went to Christchurch as an official with the Christchurch Exhibition of 1882 and stayed, working for the Lyttelton Times, where for some years he was a sports reporter.[2] He played rugby union in New Zealand, and was noted for his weight and strength.[1][3]

Barnes began playing cricket for Canterbury a few months after he arrived. His highest first-class score was 49 not out against Wellington in 1886-87, by far the highest score in a match in which 40 wickets fell for 309 runs.[4] A few weeks earlier he had made 35, equal top-score in the match, when a Canterbury XVIII outplayed the touring Australians in a drawn match.[5] He stood six feet three inches tall, and aside from his batting he was a useful bowler, an occasional wicket-keeper, and one of the outstanding slip fieldsmen in New Zealand.[2][1]

In the last year of his life he suffered from severe jaundice, aggravated by heavy drinking. On the night before his death his drinking companions had helped him to a shed and left him there asleep, covered with his coat. He was discovered unconscious the next morning and taken to hospital, but died shortly after being admitted.[6]