Hunter Robert George Poon (14 May 1894 – 25 January 1980) was an Australian cricketer and the first player of Chinese descent to appear in Australianfirst-class cricket.[1]
Hunter 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]
Hunter Poon in uniform.
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]
Terry Foenander. "Hunter Robert George Poon". tfoenander.com/. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
January 01, 1970
hunter, poon, hunter, robert, george, poon, 1894, january, 1980, australian, cricketer, first, player, chinese, descent, appear, australian, first, class, cricket, personal, informationfull, namehunter, robert, george, poonborn, 1894, 1894ballina, south, wales. 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 Hunter PoonPersonal informationFull nameHunter Robert George PoonBorn 1894 05 14 14 May 1894Ballina New South Wales AustraliaDied25 January 1980 1980 01 25 aged 85 Greenslopes Queensland AustraliaBattingRight handedRoleRight arm leg spinDomestic team informationYearsTeam1923QueenslandFirst class debut21 December 1923 Queensland v VictoriaLast First class1923 Queensland v VictoriaCareer statisticsCompetition First classMatches 1Runs scored 12Batting average 6 00100s 50s 0 0Top score 10Balls bowled 0Wickets Bowling average 5 wickets in innings 10 wickets in match Best bowling Catches stumpings 7 0Source CricketArchive 21 September 2008 Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksBiography 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 nee 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 nbsp Hunter Poon in uniform 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 editRichard Chee QueeReferences 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 editTerry Foenander Hunter Robert George Poon tfoenander com Retrieved 20 October 2008 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hunter Poon amp oldid 1219861026, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
