Gren Alabaster

Who is Gren Alabaster?

Grenville David Alabaster is a former New Zealand first class cricketer for Otago, Canterbury and Northern Districts. A winner of the New Zealand Cricket Almanack Player of the Year Award in 1972, Alabaster was a right-arm off-break bowler. He represented New Zealand on occasions, including the tour to Australia in 1973-74, but never in an official Test match. His brother Jack Alabaster played 21 Tests.

Gren Alabaster took 8/30 for Northern Districts against New Zealand Under-23s in March 1963. This established a new record for the side in first-class cricket, beating Don Clarke's 8/37 of just two months previously. Alabaster's mark stood for less than a year, until Maurice Langdon claimed 8/21 against Auckland in January 1964.

In a first-class career stretching from 1955-56 to 1975-76 he took 275 wickets at 23.24, and made 3200 runs at 23.88, with three centuries including a highest score of 108 for Otago against Central Districts at Wanganui in 1964-65. His most successful season with the ball was 1974-75; despite turning 41 during the season he took 34 wickets at 20.11 and helped Otago to victory in the Plunket Shield.