Henry Claude Hickson (4 September 1878 – 15 July 1948) was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket for Wellington from 1898 to 1912, and represented New Zealand in the days before New Zealand played Test cricket.
![]() 1909 portrait of Claude Hickson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Henry Claude Hickson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | (1878-09-04)4 September 1878 Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 15 July 1948(1948-07-15) (aged 69) Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1898/99–1911/12 | Wellington | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 23 January 2018 |
A batsman who sometimes opened the innings, Claude Hickson was described in 1899 as a steady batsman with a "splendid defence ... a veritable heart-breaker to the opposing trundlers" and a "capital field in the slips".[1] He was selected to play for New Zealand against Lord Hawke's English team in 1902-03 after scoring 73 and 20 for Wellington against them. However, he was not successful, and New Zealand lost heavily.[2]
In 1904-05 he again performed well against the touring team, scoring 56 not out in Wellington's second innings to play the leading part in saving the match against the touring Australians.[3] He played in the second of New Zealand's two matches against the Australians, but again without success.[4]
He made his only first-class century a year later when he scored a chanceless 135 against Auckland. "No chance could be urged against him, and he batted with a welcome freedom that ought to encourage him to abandon his somewhat precise methods in future." Wellington won by 214 runs.[5][6]
Hickson was also a prominent hockey player who captained Wellington.[7] He worked for the Pensions Department in Wellington.[8]