Central Districts Cricket Association has been saddened by the passing of Life Member and former CDCA Chair, PETER MOODY. 

Mr. Moody served our CD game as a dedicated administrator for more than three decades — a familiar and friendly face for many years at Central Districts venues, as well as serving on the Board of New Zealand Cricket.

A farmer from Koputaroa, north of Levin, his talent for problem-solving, people management and pragmatic change helped CDCA to keep going and grow through its amateur and transitional eras. 

His lifelong affinity for cricket began early, playing on a Koputaroa farm as a boy.

Despite his eyesight being affected by albinism — limiting his capacity in the field and with the bat, he would develop into a lively medium pace bowler. 

When he was a pupil at Palmerston Boys’ High School, his sports master was the Central Stags’ first-class wicketkeeper and Test representative, Ian Colquhoun. Many years later, in the 1980s, the two would team up again to work tirelessly on the administration front for CD Cricket. 

Moody joined the Levin Cricket Club (now Levin Old Boys) in the early 1950s, and relished playing opportunities over the next 20 years. He was admired for his determination to stay in for his team with the bat, even though batting was more difficult for him than for most tailenders. 

Moody’s greatest contribution to the sport would come as an administrator. Having become involved locally for Horowhenua, by 1973 he was on CD’s management committee, and chaired CDCA’s Junior Advisory Board — leading a successful structural overhaul of junior cricket. 

He then stepped up as the first elected Chair of the CDCA Board in 1979, just the fourth person to hold this role. It was the first time elections had been held for any of CD’s Board positions, and Moody inherited the familiar challenges of the sweeping cricket catchment. 

Spread across the provincial heartland of both main islands, CD had very limited financial resources and opportunities, while operational costs were necessarily higher than those of other Major Associations around New Zealand. 

This was still the era when much of the day-to-day running of CD cricket had to be undertaken by the Board itself and a network of volunteers, and there was much to do for the late Brian Bellringer as Secretary-Treasurer during the early part of Moody’s tenure as Chair. 

Board members would all roll up their sleeves and give up their time and energy willingly to ensure the continuation and standards of the game in CD — yet even getting everyone together for a meeting was a tricky exercise in travel, planning and logistics.

 

"Two prominent local cricket administrators, Mr Peter Moody on the left, chairman of the Central Districts Cricket Association and Mr Basil Netten, chairman of the Horowhenua Cricket Association. Surprisingly, both are farmers from Koputaroa. The two men have been actively engaged in the preparation of the Levin Park Domain for the Central Districts v Auckland Shell Cup game on Sunday., They are shown making an inspection of the domain with the new wicket in the background. Mr Netten is match manager for the game which is being staged by the Horowhenua Cricket Association" - courtesy of Whanganui Chronicle Archive, January 1985

Meanwhile, men’s domestic cricket in the form of the Shell Trophy and Shell Cup was quickly evolving to the point where a full-time administrator in CD would be needed.

The Shell Cup was by now a high profile television product that frequently attracted crowds of several thousand people, around the country — bringing with it greater commercial scope and possibilities. 

Moody recognised that these were watershed years for CD Cricket. He knew that the organisation needed to get into a position where it had the ability to take advantage of the new opportunities.

CD needed to bring in substantially more revenue to fund its activities and teams — and that meant replacing or supplementing volunteer efforts with full-time employees. 

Under Moody’s stewardship, by 1983 CD was on the path to creating its first paid, full-time role to develop sponsorship, funding and promotional opportunities for CD Cricket: an executive officer. 

Moody worked with fellow administators Jock Sutherland (Nelson) and Graham Young (Whanganui) to define the job description and manage the appointment process — and in April 1984, former Wellington Cricket Deputy Chair Ian Dee was appointed to the new role. 

Dee would depart before the end of the year, however, so Ian Colquhoun stepped up in his place, before the eventual appointment of Blair Furlong to lead CD forward over the next big 20 years.

Courtesy of Whanganui Chronicle Archive, Shell Cup preparations in January 1985

During his time on the CD Board, Moody felt that one of his other achievements was developing a better relationship with CD’s neighbour, Northern Districts — another far-flung Major Association that understood CD’s challenges. The respective administrators began to hold annual get-togethers.

The realisation that Otago also faced similar challenges led to the three Major Associations no longer feeling alone when they advocated on behalf of their Associations at national level. 

Moody stepped down from the CDCA Chair in September 1986, after seven years at the helm (amid a total 19 years of service). He carried on as a member of the CD executive board, and now stepped up also to serve as CD’s member on the New Zealand Cricket Council Board of Control, to advocate for an increased allocation of funding.

In 1992 New Zealand and Australia hosted a memorable ICC Men’s World Cup, Moody officiating as the Match Referee when Pukekura Park and McLean Park provided the stage for two of the One-Day Internationals. 

That year would also mark the end of his long service to the CDCA Board, with Moody deciding it was time to retire from the executive. He was awarded a Life Membership of CDCA in 1994, and appointed as CD’s Patron in 2005 — a role he held for five years. 

He was a Past President and Life Member of Horowhenua-Kāpiti Cricket Association, and continued to serve as HKCA Patron until he passed away in July. From 1985 to 2013, he was also the founding Chair of the Levin Cricket Foundation, created to help fund and improve local facilities. 

To mark its centenary, in 2009 the ICC presented Centenary Medals to 50 volunteers in each of its Member countries — in recognition of the vital and often unsung work that volunteers perform to maintain and develop the sport. Moody was one of the 50 people chosen from New Zealand, and nine in CD, to receive this special honour. 

He was a Central Districts person through and through who passed away at 91.

The team and Board at Central Districts Cricket offer deepest condolences to Peter’s wife Gail, to Suellen, Kathryn, Stephen and families and to all who had the pleasure of knowing Peter.

Article added: Friday 17 August 2024