Curly Page      

Curly Page was the second of New Zealand's Test captains. A fine performer in whatever sport he chose, he was especially prominent in cricket and rugby; he was an All Black scrum-half in 1928. He was 18, still attending Christchurch Boys' High School, when selected to play for Canterbury against strong Australian side in 1921 and he continued to represent the Province until 1937. The Plunket Shield programme in those days provided for only three games, but none the less he scored 2,424 runs for Canterbury, with an average of 33.20. He made his highest score, 206, against Wellington in 1931-32. Altogether, he scored 5,857 runs in first-class cricket, averaging 29.88, and hit nine hundreds. He was a member of New Zealand's first team to England in 1927, when he passed 1,000 runs, returned in 1931 and was captain of the touring team in 1937. He played in fourteen Tests, scoring 492 with an average of 24.60. His one century, 104 at Lord's in 1931, was the first of New Zealand's dramatic comebacks. He was also a useful slow-medium bowler and an Astaire-like slip or gully. Self-effacing and modest, he was an unobtrusive captain, one of the game's quietly spoken, gentle figures.
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack