Former 1953-54 Wellington representative Trevor Stuart Malloch QSM, quietly passed away earlier this month at a Fielding rest home. At the time, he was exactly one month short of his 92nd birthday.
A fine medium-fast bowler who according to his ex-Kilbirnie club team-mate Don Neely, was always ‘very accurate and attacked the stumps’, Trevor Malloch played only two matches for Wellington in which he scored 19 runs at an average of 9.50 (with his top score being a first innings score of 12 during his side’s eventual 3 run loss to Otago at the Basin Reserve), while capturing six wickets at 30.33, with his best figures being 2 for 59 against Central Districts).
However at club level, the statistics change dramatically from modest to excellent with Malloch capturing 370 wickets at 17.11 from 90 games in a ten year senior career between 1948 and 1958. A modest tail ender, Malloch’s top score was an unbeaten 36, while scoring a total of 625 runs at 7.91 while also collecting 54 catches.
In the 1953-54 and 1957-58 seasons, Malloch captured the most senior wickets by an individual with 59 (average 12.71) and 51 wickets (at 13.03) respectively, while in 1954-55 he secured 43 wickets at 14.90. The following season he took 48 wickets at 15.31 and in 1956-57 his 40 wickets at 19.45, again demonstrated why he should have been in the Wellington side more often, especially given when he captured ten wickets for Wellington against New Zealand Universities in a non first class fixture at the Basin Reserve in April 1956. His best bowling figures for Kilbirnie came in December 1957 when he took eight for 39 off 22 overs. Other impressive figures came in November 1954 with eight for 54 off 18 overs and seven for 60 off 19 overs in October 1956.
It therefore seemed only appropriate that Malloch should play for Kilbirnie as his boyhood home was on Wellington Road close to Kilbirnie Park. After attending Kilbirnie School, Malloch then attended Wellington Technical College between 1943 and 1946, with engineering as his main trade subject. In his second year at the college, he made the school second eleven along side future New Zealand player Trevor McMahon, while in 1945 he was elevated into both the first eleven of cricket and soccer as well as writing articles for the yearbook. The following year he captained the Wellington Technical College first eleven cricket side as well as playing again in the soccer first eleven and boy’s tennis side.
Malloch moved to Palmerston North in late 1958 and joined the Old Boys Cricket Club, which within a few years featured not only Malloch in its senior side but ex and future New Zealand players Ian Colquhoun and Bryan Yuile along with future television personality Doug Armstrong.
After his cricketing days ended, Malloch then took up golf and in one memorable local club tournament, won the Manawatu Golf Club championship before eventually becoming a Life Member of both the New Zealand Golf Association and New Zealand Sports Turf Institute. After being an engineer and later a company manager, Malloch also became active in community affairs and went onto Chair both the Central Power Electricity Trust and Palmerston North Hospital Board.
He was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal in the 2004 Queen’s Birthday Honours for Public Service.
At the time of his death, Trevor Malloch was survived by his wife Souter of more than 60 years along with his children Karen and Tony.
Article added: Friday 27 November 2020
