Robert Davenport (cricketer)

Robert Noel Davenport (26 November 1852 – 22 December 1934) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played two first-class matches for Otago, one in each of the 1881–82 and 1883–84 seasons.[1]

Robert Noel Davenport was born at Adelaide in 1852.[1] He was the son of Robert Davenport, a pioneer and politician in the early days of the Colony of South Australia. His uncle, Samuel Davenport, was also an early pioneer, the brothers having arrived in Australia in 1843.[2][3][4] Davenport was educated at St Peter's College in Adelaide and then in England at Mill Hill School. He worked for the National Bank of Australasia before farming in Queensland.[2][5]

As a young man, Davenport was considered a "brilliant athlete" and a "well-known cricketer".[2] He played against a touring English side led by WG Grace at Melbourne[2] and played club cricket in New Zealand for Phoenix Cricket Club in Dunedin. He was described in January 1882 by the Otago Daily Times as a "high order" batsman with "the strongest defence" who was also "an excellent field". The paper went on to suggest that "as an all-round player, in short, he cannot be far off being the best man in the Southern Province".[6] He played for an Otago XI against a visiting English team led by Alfred Shaw later in the month and in February played the first of his two first-class matches, playing against Canterbury in Otago's only first-class match of the season. He played again for the province in February 1884, this time against a touring Tasmanian side. He scored a total of 54 first-class runs, with a highest score of 38 not out scored against Tasmania.[7]

Davenport lived at Port Elliot with his wife in a home which had been established by his father. The couple had no children. He died in 1934 aged 82.[2]