21/08/2026
Two days ago, several social media pages ran articles commemorating 50 years since the New Zealand wicketkeeper at the time, Ken Wadsworth, tragically died of cancer, aged only 29.
Before he died, Wadsworth had been a regular player in the New Zealand side between 1969 and 1976, in which he played in 33 Tests and 14 one day internationals.
Although he scored only two centuries at first class level (including one in his final innings of first-class cricket during the Shell Trophy final against Otago at Lancaster Park in Christchurch), triple figures eluded him at international level; Except one, when he scored 104 off 98 balls against Australia, also at Lancaster Park, in 1974. During his innings he put on 130 for the sixth wicket with his captain Bevan Congdon, who the following year, became the second New Zealander following Wadsworth to score an ODI century.
Ken Wadsworth was a popular player both within his own team and with spectators and even with the Australians, who given his aggressive never say die nature at the batting crease and behind the stumps, made them feel like he was one of their own.
What is little remembered however was that just two after Wadsworthâs tragic death, another former New Zealand wicketkeeper, Ken James, also died. A year later Elvis Presleyâs death made headlines throughout the world, but such was that impact that Groucho Marxâs death, just two days later, hardly registered with any of the media, even though he was nearly as famous.
A son of chemist and optician Wallace James, Ken James was born in Wellington on March 12, 1904, which under his passport, strangely puts 1905, as his year of birth. He grew up in Lyall Bay and attended Wellington College. It was there he developed a love of cricket and made the First XI, but without any outstanding individual efforts.
All the same after leaving college, he attended Victoria University to study law and began playing senior cricket with the Wellington College Old Boys club in 1922. At the time the Wellington side had two elderly wicket keepers in 44-year-old Alf Cate and Gallipoli veteran Jim Condliffe, who began representative cricket in 1909, before moving to and playing for the capital from 1918. After searching around at various talent among the clubs, the 19 year old James seemed to be the obvious new choice as he had scored 73 against Hawkes Bay in an unofficial representative match the season before. His first class call up began on Christmas Day in 1923.
After Malcolm âMickâ Boon (who later represented New Zealand at bowls in the 1962 Commonwealth Games) was unable to obtain leave from his work, James was selected into the New Zealand side for the first time in March 1924 at Wellingtonâs Basin Reserve; A rarity for a player who made both his first class and national representative debuts in the same season.
It was a game to forget as NSW won by an innings and 126 runs in bowling New Zealand out for 89 and 79 after batting first and scoring 294. It was also a game for James to forget as he made no dismissals behind the stumps and was dismissed for 0 and 9 including a very strong opposition, which included the Australian wicketkeeper Bert Oldfield, who as it happened, was to die eleven and nine days respectively before James and Wadsworth.
Despite this sad start, James continued to stay in the Wellington side and went on the Australian tour of 1925-26, despite behind second choice behind his future Test captain Tom Lowry, who was also playing for Wellington. After returning home again, he once again had to bide his time as the 1913-14 New Zealand wicketkeeper Henry Tattersall, was now playing for Wellington.
His breakthrough came in a game against Otago that started at the Basin Reserve on Christmas Day 1926. Batting first Wellington made 448 with James making an unbeaten 16 at number nine, before Otago was then dismissed for 207. During their second turn at bat Wellington was in stark contrast to their first innings and was now delicately placed at 169 for 8 before James at number nine again came to the rescue and scored an unbeaten 107, which included a tenth wicket partnership of 138 with Stan âSixerâ Brice, who made 70 at number eleven. Otago now needed a bear impossible 621 to win and were bowled out for 174 with Ted Badcock claiming seven for 59 to go with his five for 54 from the first innings.
The maiden first class hundred by James soon sparked him into a match double of 56 and 44 in his next match against Canterbury. It ensured him that went on New Zealandâs inaugural tour of England a few months later (which did not include any Tests) as the first-choice wicketkeeper. Although his top score was 44 from 23 first class games on the tour, his wicketkeeping was deemed as sensational, especially as he superbly teamed up with leg spinner Bill Merrett, by effecting 31 stumpings and 34 catches. On the boat trip home, the team stopped off in Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) and played in an unofficial one-day game with James gaining a hat trick of stumpings in three balls off Merritt.
James made his second first class hundred in December 1928 with an unbeaten 109 against Canterbury in Christchurch in December 1928. A year later the MCC side toured New Zealand for the first official Test matches and James was selected for all four scheduled games. Like his first-class debut, his Test debut was auspicious by making a pair of ducks and not effecting one dismissal. James continued playing for Wellington the following season and then made the first official Test tour of England in 1931. Although he again found runs hard to come by, his wicket keeping continued to be praised, with his leg side takes and dismissals being one of his great features.
James continued to play for Wellington until 1933 (which now included the extra burden of being both the team captain and coach), when he opted to go and play club cricket in Blackpool in 1934. He was also leaving behind his New Zealand career after eleven Tests (highest score 14). His cheerful personality that saw him being picked into the Northamptonshire County side between 1935 and 1939. His major highlight of 1935 was marrying in September 1935. Before his last year with Northamptonshire, he went to South Africa in October 1938 under a Government coaching scheme, before returning to England five months later. Overall, he appeared in 178 first class games for Northamptonshire and scored just under 3500 runs including two centuries in a county side, that was the weakest in England at the time.
On July 10 1941, James enlisted into the RAF as 2384 AC2 K.C. James but subsequently accepted a commission in the A and S.D. (Admin) Branch, with effect from December 15 1943, six months after he became a father for the first time with the birth of Pamela Louise. It was not the first time however he wore a services uniform. Between 1918 and 1925 he had been a Private into the New Zealand Territorial Force Army.
In January 1944 James transferred into the RNZAF with the rank of Pilot Officer followed by Flying Officer on August 10, 1944. Now a resident at 31 Ladbroke Road on Notting Hill, London, James had by most an easy war, by being an administrator, rather than an airman in the sky. It allowed him to continue to play cricket for various RNZAF and New Zealand service sides, in which he was reunited with his old New Zealand teammates Roger Blunt, Ted Badcock and Stewie Dempster along with future Kiwi international Martin Donnelly. James went on to score the most runs for the New Zealand services side (at a time he was also secretary of the organisation) of 1945 with 985 runs from 27 innings including a top score of 129 against East of England at Clacton-on-Sea in July 1945.
After four years and 249 days of service, James was discharged from the RNZAF and soon moved back to Wellington with his young family. He tried to play for Wellington again, but now at the age of nearly 44, he realised it was not going to happen, while the prewar New Zealand Test player Eric Tindill, was still donning the gloves, for his old province. All the same he played several years of Hawke Cup cricket for the Hutt Valley and was a mentor to a young up and coming promising cricketer called John Reid. In February 1949 Reid made 194 against Nelson at the Hutt Recreation Ground, while at number eight James scored 69 before being run out.
Reid later said in his first autobiography Sword of Willow that Ken James was one of his greatest influences after he came to the Hutt Valley after the war to coach cricket and inject his profound love of the game.
âI will never forget evenings spent at his home. We clustered about him, for all the world like a modern version of that old painting which once hung in every second home â of the old seaman telling stories of the sea to a group of engrossed ragamuffins.â
After cricket he became a popular publican for a while before moving to Hawkes Bay and remarrying. Not far from his Taradale home was his old captain Tom Lowry, who by another remarkable confidence, died two months and one day before James passed away aged 72 while on a brief road trip to Palmerston North. He was cremated (which given that he was somewhat of a heavy smoker was ironic) and buried in a modest plot not far from his home, with his second wife Dulcie outliving him by a further 17 years.
