Tour of England 1958                     Captain : John Reid
	Sixth New Zealand Test tour. (April - September 1958)     Fourth Test-playing tour of England by New Zealand    (previous tour 1949)                          (⋆source: David Jeater in the ACS Journal)	The tour was blighted by wet weather.  Only the first and last matches were not affected by rain.  New Zealand started well by winning six of the first nine first-class matches with only one defeat. However, they went down in the Test series losing to England by four matches to nil, with one match drawn when New Zealand were saved by more than three days of play being lost to rain.   The Test programme consisted of 5 matches of five days each, compared with 4 matches of three days each on the previous tour of England in 1949. The batsmen selected - Meale, Miller, Harford - were not up to the task against Lock and Laker (although Reid and Sutcliffe fared almost as badly) while the younger ones - D'Arcy, Playle and Sparling - were grimly determined but as yet ill-equipped to score significantly from bowling of international standard. It was clear that the selectors had chosen too many players of promise and had left experienced men at home. Four times England dismissed the side for less than 100 runs.  As Sutcliffe said, "This tour put New Zealand right back at the bottom of the international ladder." Freddie Brown presented John Reid with an award for "the most outstanding performance by a member of a touring side visiting this country".  Later at a farewell dinner, manager Jack Phillips presented the London New Zealand cricket club with the team pennant flown at all matches, saying 'I can guarantee it's waterproof.' It was one of the worst seasons for rainfall experienced by any touring party to England, up there with 1912, 1924 and 1931 (⋆)  The team also played more often than not on a pitch rendered difficult by rain, as well as having their share of injuries at vital times.	All New Zealand tours       Previous tour India 1955-56   Next tour South Africa 1961-62       Next tour of England 1965
	Members of the Test tour party (16)       Opening batsmen   Jack D'Arcy, Trevor Meale Laurie Miller. Middle-order batsmen  Bill Playle, Noel Harford, Bert Sutcliffe, John Reid, John Sparling. Wicket-keepers: Eric Petrie, John Ward Spin bowlers:  Jack Alabaster, Alex Moir Fast bowlers: John Hayes, Tony MacGibbon, Harry Cave, Bob Blair.	J C Alabaster O 27 LBG   R W Blair W 25 RFM   H B Cave CD 35 RFM       vice-captain   J W D'Arcy C 22 RHB  opener   N S Harford CD 27 RHB   J A Hayes A 31 RFM   A R MacGibbon C 33 RFM   T Meale W 29 LHB   L S M Miller W 35 LHB  opener   A M Moir O 38 LBG   E C Petrie ND 31 WK   W R Playle A 19 RHB  opener   J R Reid O 30 RHB       RM         captain   J T Sparling A 19 RHB       OB   B Sutcliffe O 34 LHB  opener      (SLA)   J T Ward - 21 reserve WK	Provincial representation    (Plunket Shield teams)   A - Auckland (3) C - Canterbury (2) CD - Central Districts (2) ND - Northern Districts (1) O - Otago (4) W - Wellington (3)     Ward had represented Timaru but had appeared in no first-class cricket except the North Island v South Island trial. Meale played no first-class cricket in 1957-58       Average age of  team at time of first Test match (5 June 1958) :   28 yrs  11 month.
	Test Appearances made before the tour	Sutcliffe 28,  Reid 27,  MacGibbon 21,  Cave 17,  Moir 13,  Hayes 11,  Blair 9,  Miller 9,  Alabaster 6,  Harford 4,  Petrie 4,  D'Arcy 0,  Meale 0,  Playle 0,  Sparling 0,  Ward 0.
	Tour Officials	Mr Jack H Phillips Manager George Duckworth Scorer / baggage
	Selectors	Harry Cave,  Lackford D Smith,  Giff Vivian. John Reid wrote “A touring captain should be consulted on the composition of the team he is to lead. This privilege was not afforded me” (‘Sword of Willow’)
	Selection	There were two trial matches (North Island v South Island  and New Zealand v The Rest) to guide the selectors.   Unavailable  : Eric Dempster (W);  Geoff Rabone (A); John Hayes was not available at first. It seems unlikely that Sam Guillen was considered because he was a West Indian by birth.   After strong representations to the New Zealand Board of Control, the selectors were allowed to pick a sixteenth player.  Skipper John Reid was not consulted about the composition of the team and complained that the selectors had picked on potential not performance. Despite Reid's urging, they did not pick Merv Wallace for the trip and after the tour he reminded his interviewers that Wallace or Don Taylor could have been invaluable.   Tour Party Announced  : 24 February 1958. Meale had not been chosen for Wellington during the season but gained his touring place on the strength of two seasons in English cricket with Ealing and his performance in the trial matches.   Not selected:   Don Beard,  Noel MacGregor,  Murray Chapple,  John Guy,  Don Taylor (who then retired).	Time between selection and departure from New Zealand   47 days (24 February to 12 April)
	Travel Auckland  Q London	There was a three-day fixture against Auckland before departure. Then the team flew out of Auckland on Saturday morning 12 April 1958. They flew to Sydney, and boarded a London flight, landing at Darwin, Singapore, Rangoon, Karachi, Beirut and Zurich before coming in to Heathrow Airport, landing on Tuesday 15 April.  They were greeted by the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr C F Skinner, and the Secretary of M C C,  Mr Ronald Aird.	Time spent in England    162 days (15 April - 24 September)
	On-tour selection panel	John Reid,  Bert Sutcliffe,  Harry Cave,  John Hayes.
	Reinforcements	None.  At Lord's playing against MCC, Bert Sutcliffe trod on a ball while fielding, fell and broke his wrist.  John Guy was playing in England to qualify for county cricket with Northamptonshire but the NZ management decided not to recruit him. Bob Blair wrenched his shoulder muscles. Both he and Sutcliffe missed the first Test match.
	Fixtures/Results	a Eden Park, Auckland An Auckland XI Drawn         b ϯ Kennington Oval London New Zealand CC Won 9 w c ϯ Worcester Park, Surrey Maori CC Drawn d ϯ Eastbourne Col L C Stevens XI Drawn e ϯ Arundel Duke of Norfolk's XI Drawn f Worcester Worcestershire Drawn g Leicester Leicestershire Won inns 64 r h Kennington Oval Surrey Lost inns 163 r i Ilford Essex Won 48 r j Cambridge Cambridge University Won 10 w k Lord’s M C C Won 13 r l Oxford Oxford University Drawn m Cardiff Glamorgan Won 9 w n Taunton Somerset Won inns 71 r o Southampton Hampshire Drawn p EDGBASTON ENGLAND   First Test LOST 205 r q Derby Derbyshire Drawn r Hove Sussex Drawn s LORD’S ENGLAND   Second Test LOST inns 148 r t Old Trafford Lancashire Drawn u Sheffield Yorkshire Drawn v HEADINGLEY ENGLAND   Third Test LOST inns 71 r w ϯ Selkirk Scotland Drawn x Glasgow Scotland Won inns 32 r y ϯ Belfast Ireland Drawn z ϯ Dublin Ireland Drawn a’ Lord’s Middlesex Drawn b’ OLD TRAFFORD ENGLAND  Fourth Test LOST inns 13 r c’ Kennington Oval Surrey Lost inns 103 r d’ Swansea Glamorgan Drawn e’ Edgbaston Warwickshire Drawn f’ Cheltenham Gloucestershire Drawn g’ Northampton Northamptonshire Drawn h’ Trent Bridge Nottinghamshire Drawn I’ KENNINGTON OVAL ENGLAND  Fifth Test DRAWN j’ Canterbury Kent Drawn k’ Hastings A E R Gilligan's XI Drawn l’ Blackpool Lancashire Drawn m Scarborough T N Pearce's XI Tied n’ ϯ Jesmond Minor Counties. Drawn	† not first-class   Time spent in England before First Test:  51 days (15 April - 5 June)
	Test appearances on tour	5  -  D'Arcy,  MacGibbon,  Petrie,  Playle,  Reid 4  -  Harford,  Hayes,  Miller,  Sutcliffe 3  -  Blair, Sparling 2  -  Alabaster,  Cave,  Meale,  Moir 1  -  0  -  Ward.
	Match appearances           T  Test match x other match  ∙  played for opposition   W won  L lost  D drawn   N no result   A abandoned   u unknown result	a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a ‘ b ‘ c ‘ d ‘ e ‘ f ‘ g ‘ h ‘ I’ j’ k’ l’ m’ n’ J C Alabaster x x ∙ x     x   x x x   x x   T     T   x   x x x       x   x x   x     x     x R W Blair x x ∙       x   x x x       x   x x T x     x x x   x T   x x   x   T x x x   x H B Cave x   x ∙ x x   x x x   x x x   T x x   x x T x x   x x   x x   x x     x x   x x J W D'Arcy x   ∙ ∙ x   x     x   x x x x T x x T   x T   x x x x T   x x   x   T   x   x x N S Harford x x ∙ x x x x   x x x x x x x T   x T x x T x x x   x T x x x   x x   x x x x x J A Hayes ∙   x x x x   x x   x x   x x T   x T   x T     x x   T x   x x   x   x     x   A MacGibbon x x x x x x x x x x x   x x x T x   T x x T   x x x x T x   x     x T   x x x   T Meale x   x x x x   x x     x x x   T x           x x   x x     x x x x x T x   x   x L S M Miller x x x x   x x x x   x x   x x T x x T x x T x   x x x   x x   x x x T x x x x x A M Moir ∙ x x x x x   x   x   x x   x   x     x     x x   x x T   x   x x   T x   x     E C Petrie ∙ x x ∙ x x   x   x x x x   x T   x T x x T x   x x   T   x   x x   T x         W R Playle ∙ x x x x x x x   x x   x x x T x x T   x T x   x x   T x   x x   x T x   x x x J R Reid x x x x x x x x   x x x x x x T x x T x x T     x x x T x x x x x x T x x x     J T Sparling ∙ x x x     x x x   x x x   x   x x   x   T   x x x   T x x   x x x T   x x   x B Sutcliffe x x x x x x x x x x x             x T x x T x x     x T x x x x x x T x x x x x J T Ward x ∙   x     x   x     x   x     x     x     x x     x   x   x     x     x x   x  R E S U L T S                                                                                   a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a ‘ b ‘ c ‘ d ‘ e ‘ f ‘ g ‘ h ‘ I’ j’ k’ l’ m’ n’
	Highlights	•  Bert Sutcliffe started the tour with a fine century at Worcester. •  Jack Alabaster took 6-37 and 5-43  (11 for 80) against Leicestershire •  New Zealand recorded an excellent win against M.C.C. at Lord’s when Hayes’s 7 for 49 won the match •  After Noel Harford’s maiden century, 158 against Oxford University, the tourists were caught on a soaking wicket and dismissed for 45, the lowest score on any New Zealand tour •  At Lord’s the New Zealanders were dismissed for 47 (again after rain had turned the pitch into a spinner’s delight), the lowest Test score on that ground and the lowest in England since South Africa’s total of 30 in 1924  •  John Reid (118 with 5 sixes) went to the fastest century of the season in 86 minutes against Derbyshire •  Tony MacGibbon took 20 Test wickets in six England innings in the series, at a cost of only 19.45	New Zealand’s previous Test tour results: in India & Pakistan 1955-56 (8 Tests)  - lost 0-2 and lost 0-2 in South Africa 1953-54 (5 Tests)  - lost 0-4 in England 1949 (4 Tests)  - drew 0-0 in England 1937 (3 Tests)  - lost 0-1 in England 1931 (3 Tests)  -  lost 0-1
	⋆ Tour Summary	F W L  D T Aban Test Matches   5 0 4   1 0 - Other first-class matches 26 7 2 16 1 - Minor matches   8 1 0   7 0 - All Matches ⋆ 39 8 6 24 1 -   ⋆  excluding the pre-tour practice match in Auckland.	F  Fixtures   W  Won   L  Lost   T  Tied   D Drawn   Canc  Cancelled Aban  abandoned
	Return to New Zealand   LondonQ Auckland	At the end of that tour, Tony MacGibbon remained in England to read Civil Engineering at Durham University. The touring party took off from London Airport on 24 September 1958 and flew on the American route, via New York and San Francisco.  They landed at Whenuapai Airport (Auckland) in the afternoon of Wednesday. That night the South Island players flew to Christchurch. Reid accompanied the team and then went to his home in Oamaru.	Time away from New Zealand    166 days   (12 April to 25 September)
	Finances	The married men each received £15 a week to cover expenses while the bachelors received £10. The tour costs were approximately £30 000  which were covered with a profit  of £4 000.
	Written accounts of the tour	"John Arlott's Cricket Journal"   (1958)  by John Arlott  [Heinemann] The tour is described in a chapter in “Sword of Willow” (1977)  by John Reid
	Postscript	Jack D’Arcy played in all five matches in his maiden Test series but did not represent New Zealand again though he continued to play first-class cricket until 1962. The tour also brought to an end the Test careers of  Cave, Harford, Hayes, Meale, Miller and MacGibbon. For the next tour, to South Africa in 1961-62, John Reid insisted on becoming part of the selection panel and was given the touring team he wanted, with much better results.
	Other Test tours in 1958	None