Tom Reese

Thomas Wilson Reese (29 September 1867 – 13 April 1949) was a New Zealand first-class cricketer who played for Canterbury from 1888 to 1918, and later wrote a two-volume history of New Zealand cricket.

Tom Reese

Personal information
Full name	Thomas Wilson Reese
Born	(1867-09-29)29 September 1867 Christchurch, New Zealand
Died	13 April 1949(1949-04-13) (aged 81) Christchurch
Relations	Dan Reese (brother)
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1887-88 to 1917-18	Canterbury
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 24 Runs scored 374 Batting average 10.10 100s/50s 0/1 Top score 53 Balls bowled 6 Wickets 0 Bowling average – 5 wickets in innings – 10 wickets in match – Best bowling – Catches/stumpings 20/0
Source: Cricket Archive, 10 October 2014

Tom Reese was the older brother of Dan Reese, who captained New Zealand from 1907 to 1914. Tom played irregularly over two decades for Canterbury, batting low in the order. He reached fifty only once, when he made 53 against Hawke's Bay in 1903-04.[1] However, he was regarded as one of the best fieldsmen in New Zealand.[2] A spectacular catch he took in his first first-class match established his reputation:

Niven sent Dunlop hard to leg, and Reese, running along the boundary for some twenty or thirty yards, took a headlong dive, and was next seen at full length on the ground with his left arm extended just clear of the turf, and the ball held, to the surprise of the whole field. Niven's innings thus ended with the most brilliant catch that had ever been seen on the ground.[3]

Reese captained Canterbury once, leading them to a five-wicket victory over Wellington in 1906-07.[4]

He formed a successful business partnership with Dan.[5] He wrote the first volume of his 1200-page history of New Zealand cricket, New Zealand Cricket, 1841–1914, in 1927, and the second volume, New Zealand Cricket, 1914–1933, in 1936.