Sel Belsham

Selwyn Eric "Sel" Belsham (28 September 1930 – 11 March 2016) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand at the 1957 World Cup. His position of preference was at Halfback. He also played cricket for Auckland.

Sel Belsham

Personal information
Full name	Selwyn Eric Belsham
Born	26 September 1930 Auckland, New Zealand
Died	11 March 2016 (aged 85) Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Position	Halfback
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P Richmond Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P Auckland 1955–1957 North Island 3 1955–1957 New Zealand 10 2 0 0 6 1957 Rest of the World 1
Source: [1]
Cricket information
Batting	Right-handed
Role	Wicket-keeper
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1953/54–1958/59	Auckland
First-class debut	6 March 1954  v Fiji
Last First-class	24 January 1959  v Northern Districts
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 6 Runs scored 105 Batting average 11.66 100s/50s 0/0 Top score 41 Catches/stumpings 13/4
Source: CricketArchive, 26 March 2016

His brother Vic was also a New Zealand national rugby league team representative. Vic later became a referee, controlling his brother's team in the 1957 World Cup.[2] Their father Alf represented Auckland in rugby union.

Sporting career

Rugby league

An Auckland representative, Belsham played for the Richmond club in the Auckland Rugby League competition.[3] He represented the North Island on three occasions, in 1955, 1956 and 1957.[3]

Belsham represented the New Zealand national rugby league team, playing 10 consecutive test matches between 1955 and 1957. He was first selected for the 1955 tour of Great Britain and France, but began the trip with a broken collarbone, suffered in New Zealand. He played in only two games during the England leg of the trip before making his test debut in the first test against France.[3]

Belsham played for the Rest of the World against Australia after the 1957 World Cup.[4] His final test match was for New Zealand against a combined Great Britain-France side.[3]

Cricket

Belsham played six first-class cricket matches for Auckland as a wicket-keeper, taking 13 catches and four stumpings. With the bat, he scored 105 runs at an average of 11.66 and a high score of 41.[5]

Death

Belsham died in Queensland, Australia, on 11 March 2016.[6]

See also

• List of Auckland representative cricketers

References

1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. Neutral refs have always been a sticky issue Sunday Star-Times, 30 November 2008
3. "RIP Sel Belsham Kiwi 367". nzrl.co.nz. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
4. Belsham, Selwyn Eric 1955 - 57 - Kiwi #367 Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
5. Sel Belsham at CricketArchive (subscription required)
6. "Belsham, Selwyn Eric". Gold Coast Bulletin. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.