Betts, Stanley

At the death of Stan Betts, he was widely considered in Taranaki to be the best Taranaki cricketer never to have played for New Zealand.

Stanley Henry Betts was born on Thursday 4 May 1911. The son of Charles and Hilda (nee Hollard), he attended Kaponga Primary School and Hāwera High School. Later, he worked as a linesman and an electrician.

Stan was a very prominent South Taranaki sportsman. He excelled in hockey and cricket.

In the 1930s he was regarded as the best hockey player in Taranaki. Joining the very strong Kaponga club, the senior team went on to win six Taranaki titles in a row. Stan’s greatest achievement in the game was selection to the New Zealand side for a test match against Australia, played at Carisbrook in Dunedin, on Saturday 8 September 1934. New Zealand won the game 5-3 and Stan scored one of the goals.

Many of Stan’s contemporaries believed he was unlucky not to have represented New Zealand in cricket as well.

Starting in the 1930s, newspapers are replete with mentions of his run scoring in club cricket, and for the Taranaki team.

On two occasions, Stan scored over a thousand runs in a season. It was once reported that he scored a total of 35 centuries in all grades of cricket. He deserved a chance at a higher level.

Unfortunately, how the game was structured at the time never allowed him the opportunity. He was selected to play in so-called ‘trial’ matches for Wellington, however, the games were poorly organised, and the selectors disregarded them, paying little heed to performances.

Taranaki contemporary Tom Larkin played cricket with and against Stan. Many years later, Larkin said of his batting “Oh he was great. He was a good bowler too.” Larkin then added “Most impressive person too.”

Stan married Dorothy Jean (nee Guy) in April 1937, and they went on to have three children. One of them, Maurice, also played cricket for Taranaki and was an elected councillor.

In December 1939, Stan went into camp at Trentham as part of the Second Echelon of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He served in England, then saw active combat in the Middle East, including El Alamein in 1942, eventually rising to the rank of Captain. In 1943 he was awarded a military MBE.

His commendation said he was “salvaging vehicles from minefields while under heavy fire. Throughout, his courage, cheerfulness and skill were a continuous source of inspiration to his men and of quite outstanding benefit to the Brigade.”

After returning from the war, Stan continued to play cricket until 1951. For Taranaki, he played 27 games, scoring three centuries and taking 79 wickets.

He later became a long-serving administrator in the game. He coached at the Boys’ High School and had several roles in the Taranaki Cricket Association, including as a selector and patron. In 1994 he was elected a life member.

By the 1970s, Stan and Jean lived in Ōākura. Retiring to a house in Carrington Road in the 1980s, Jean died in 1999 and Stan died in November 2007.

Related documents

Winners of the 1934 hockey test, Christchurch Star 10 September 1934, photograph

Captain Betts made Order of the British Empire, Taranaki Daily News 4 Dec 1943, photograph

Someone's son, Puke Ariki Anzac exhibition, Stuff 25 April 2016

Book

Taranaki Cricket: The Hawke Cup Years Volume One: 1920s & 1930s, by Brian Beer, page 95 et al