Edward Barnes (cricketer)


William Edward Parker "Jum" Barnes was a New Zealand cricketer who played 16 first-class matches for Canterbury between 1882 and 1894.
Born in Geelong in Australia, Barnes played cricket for the East Melbourne club and represented Victoria at Australian rules football. He went to Christchurch as an official with the Christchurch Exhibition of 1882 and stayed, working for the Lyttelton Times, where for some years he was a sports reporter. He played rugby union in New Zealand, and was noted for his weight and strength.
Barnes began playing cricket for Canterbury a few months after he arrived. His highest first-class score was 49 not out against Wellington in 1886-87, by far the highest score in a match in which 40 wickets fell for 309 runs. A few weeks earlier he had made 35, equal top-score in the match, when a Canterbury XVIII outplayed the touring Australians in a drawn match. He stood six feet three inches tall, and aside from his batting he was a useful bowler, an occasional wicket-keeper, and one of the outstanding slip fieldsmen in New Zealand.
In the last year of his life he suffered from severe jaundice, aggravated by heavy drinking. On the night before his death his drinking companions had helped him to a shed and left him there asleep, covered with his coat. He was discovered unconscious the next morning and taken to hospital, but died shortly after being admitted.