Gary_Beer
Gary Beer
New Zealand cricketer
Gary Douglas Beer (born 10 October 1941), was a New Zealand cricketer who played 19 first-class matches for the Central Districts and Otago in the 1960s.[1]
Beer was born at Christchurch in New Zealand,[1] educated at Christchurch West High School[2] and played club cricket for Sydenham Cricket Club in the city. He was described in 1961, before his first-class debut, as "one of the most promising cricketers in Canterbury" and as an "aggressive opening bat, a fine fielder with a good arm, and a useful, medium-pace bowler".[3] He played under-20 and under-23 cricket for Canterbury in 1961/62 and under-23 cricket for Central Districts the following season, during which he made his first-class debut in March 1963, playing for a New Zealand under-23 side against Northern Districts. He went on to make his Plunket Shield debut for Central Districts in December of the same year.[4] He played six matches for Central Districts over the following two seasons, his final first-class appearance for the side coming against the touring Pakistanis in February 1965.[4]
The following season, Beer moved to play for Otago. He played in 12 senior matches for the side, his final first-class appearance coming in January 1968 in a Plunket Shield match against Central Districts.[4] He played in a non-first-class match for the side against the touring Australians in February 1967.[4] In his 19 first-class matches he scored a total of 572 runs with a highest score of 57―his only half-century in first-class cricket.[1][5] Beer played Hawke Cup cricket for Hawke's Bay in 1963/64 and 1964/65 and for Wairarapa in 1970/71 and 1971/72.[4]