Herb McGirr

Who was Herb McGirr?

Herbert Mendelson McGirr was a New Zealand cricketer who played in two Tests in 1930.

An all-rounder, McGirr played first-class cricket for Wellington from 1913-14 to 1932-33. He was a middle or lower order batsman who hit the ball hard and a steady medium-paced bowler.

He toured England with the New Zealand cricket team under Tom Lowry in 1927, and scored more than 700 runs and took 49 wickets. No Tests were played on that tour.

In the 1929-30 season, when the MCC side under Harold Gilligan played the first Tests against New Zealand, McGirr played in only the third and fourth Tests, both at Eden Park, Auckland. The third Test was ruined by rain; McGirr did not bat and, opening the bowling, took no wickets. The fourth, arranged hastily to compensate for the washout, fared little better in terms of weather, but McGirr scored a half-century and took his only Test wicket, that of Stan Nichols. He holds the Test match record for the fewest runs in a complete career to include a half-century. He also holds the record as the oldest New Zealand player to make his Test debut: 38 years and 101 days.