Ned Sale

Edmund Vernon "Ned" Sale (6 July 1883 – 16 November 1918) was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket for Auckland from 1905 to 1915, and played four times for New Zealand in the days before New Zealand played Test cricket.

A middle-order batsman and superb fieldsman, Ned Sale played one match for Auckland in 1904–05, and none in 1905–06. Playing for his club Parnell in January 1906, he made a record score for Auckland senior cricket of 284 in four hours out of a team total of 411.^[1] He was reasonably successful in two matches for Auckland against the touring MCC in 1906-07, and was selected for both of New Zealand's matches against the MCC at the end of the tour. In the first he opened in the second innings and made 66 in 90 minutes,^[2] putting on 112 for the first wicket with James Lawrence, but it was not enough to prevent defeat.^[3] In the second match he was less successful with the bat, but took a brilliant catch at a crucial stage in the MCC's second innings: "running across from mid-off [Sale] took the ball sideways with one hand, a wonderful catch, of a sort that is not seen once in a thousand times".^[4] New Zealand went on to win by 56 runs and square the series.^[5]

The Free Lance said of his fielding after the victory over the MCC: "As a fieldsman ... Sale is as good as we have seen on the Basin Reserve for many a day. He covers a tremendous lot of ground, has a fine safe pair of hands, and picks up the ball cleanly every time. It stopped the Englishmen whenever they noticed Sale getting over the ground to intercept the ball in its flight."^[6] When the Australians toured in 1909–10 and played New Zealand, the speed and cleanness of his fielding and his returns to the wicket were remarked upon as an example to other New Zealand cricketers.^[7]

En 1909-10 Sale anotó 121 para Auckland contra Otago , un partido en el que también guardó el wicket. ^{[ 8 ]} Su único partido de primera clase en 1913-14 fue el segundo de los dos partidos que Nueva Zelanda jugó contra los australianos de gira . En la primera entrada, entrando al wicket con el marcador en 40 para 4, jugó "golpes limpios y fuertes alrededor del wicket" y anotó 109 no out en tres horas y media de un total del equipo de 269. ^{[ 9 ]} Fue solo la segunda persona en anotar un siglo para Nueva Zelanda en un partido de primera clase, después de Dan Reese .

Sale también jugó al fútbol . Fue capitán del equipo de Auckland en 1909. ^{[ 10 ] [ 11 ]}

Sale era dentista en Auckland . ^{[ 12 ]} Se casó con Ivy Burgess en Devonport en febrero de 1914. ^{[ 13 ]} Murió en Auckland a la edad de 35 años, víctima de la epidemia de gripe de 1918. ^{[ 14 ]}

Su hijo Scott jugó como bateador para Auckland en la década de 1930. ^{[ 15 ]}

• Ned Sale en Cricinfo