Mark Burgess

Who is Mark Burgess?

Mark Gordon Burgess was a New Zealand cricketer, and captain of the New Zealand cricket team from 1978 to 1980. He was a right-handed batsman, and bowled right-arm off-breaks.

He was raised in the Auckland suburb of Remuera and attended Remuera Intermediate School. Between 1958 and 1963 he attended Auckland Grammar School, where he showed his talent as a natural sportsman by becoming a member of both the cricket and soccer 1st Elevens for several years.

During the 1970s, the decade when Burgess played most of his international cricket and before the advent of professional sport in New Zealand, sportsmen were required to support themselves and take unpaid leave to complete overseas tours. In the mid-1970s he joined the staff of a leading Auckland sportsgoods wholesaler, Brittain Wynyard & Co. Ltd. Beginning as a sales representative, he became promotions manager of the company.

His father Gordon Burgess played for Auckland between 1940-41 and 1954-55 and managed the New Zealand team that toured England, India and Pakistan in 1969.