John Fowke (cricketer)
John Nicholls Fowke was a New Zealand cricketer, born in Wales. He played first-class cricket for Auckland and Canterbury between 1880 and 1907.
A wicket-keeper, in 1893-94 he played for New Zealand in New Zealand's first international first-class match. He played club cricket in Christchurch into his fifties. He was notable among wicket-keepers for always standing up to the stumps. He was a useful lower-order batsman, noted for his strong defence in adversity.
He continued to work for cricket in Canterbury after his playing days were over. In 1910–11, when Canterbury were struggling to find funds to send their team to Auckland to contest the Plunket Shield, he began a public appeal, which raised the required money. Canterbury won the match, taking the Shield from Auckland for the first time since 1907.
A bootmaker by trade, Fowke also worked as a tally clerk at the Lyttelton wharf. He married Emma Elizabeth Wagstaff in Christchurch in December 1883.
