Ernest Bernau

Who was Ernest Bernau?

Ernest Henry Lovell Bernau, sometimes known as Bill Bernau, was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1914–15 to 1927–28, and accompanied the New Zealand national cricket team on their tour of England in 1927.

Bernau took 12 wickets in a Hawke Cup match for Wanganui against South Taranaki in December 1914, and made his first-class debut in January 1915 for Hawke's Bay against Canterbury, scoring 31 and 8 and taking 4/88 in an innings defeat. He did not play at that level again until he appeared for Minor Associations against the Australians at the Basin Reserve in March 1921. This was another innings defeat, and Bernau was personally unsuccessful, taking the single wicket of Alan Kippax.

Bernau finally tasted victory at first-class level when he played for Wellington against Auckland in the Plunket Shield in December 1922. Wellington ran out easy victors, thanks in no small part to Bernau, who scored 117 in the first innings, and took five wickets in the match.

In 1927, after several years playing minor cricket for Wanganui, Bernau was selected to tour England with the national side, and played in 16 first-class matches.