Many thoughts run through my mind as I pen a few words on the passing of former Wellington and New Zealand cricketer Bruce (B.A.G.) Murray. Foremost in my thoughts was that Bags was firstly a family man. His family came before everything. In these hectic days I think we can reflect on the very orderly way he lived. He was a product of HVHS in the Hutt Valley at a time when it had produced such great sportsmen as John Reid (later his captain) and Ron Jarden.
To be in his company was to be in the presence of a friend who always seemed to be at peace with the world, always pleased to see you, a ready smile, a quick joke – he wasn’t shy in that department, good company and above all wise counsel. He saw the good in everyone.
As a youngster I was to see Bruce Murray and Graham Bilby open the batting for Wellington on many occasions. Both were very aggressive batsmen, Bilby the shorter of the two, quick on the hook and cut, while the languid Murray hooked with time on his hands, drove anything full and any bowler who pitched short and wide of off was punished with a cut to the fence. Both openers stood side by side in the slips and had great hands. This was a time when Wellington had Collinge, Coles, Taylor and a young Chatfield and edges in that region were plentiful.
My recollection of Bags was for one game, when at the end of his career he agreed to captain a Wellington B side full of promising young cricketers. A vivid recollection of that match against Canterbury B, captained by his former teammate Keith Thompson, was having Canterbury eight down in their second innings, well short of the Wellington total. In those days the captain had to claim the extra half hour before the allotted time and Bags had forgotten to do so. The umpires picked up stumps and we had drawn with Canterbury. That was as close as I ever saw him getting angry. He flopped and flipped his way off Anderson Park much to the delight of his opposing skipper.
He was later to become a respected and much- loved selector at a time when Wellington was building a formidable side through the 1980s. He was great value to have in and around the dressing room sharing stories with the likes of John Morrison, Jerry Coney, coach Artie Dick and fellow selectors Trevor McMahon and Mike Curtis. A ready smile and an encouraging pat on the back was never far away. While Bags was not a drinker he did like a party and many a Wellington team cricket dinner was enriched by the company of Bags holding fort telling stories.
He was a keen historian, he wrote many books about the Tawa area where he lived much of his life, and he was an admired Headmaster at initially Naenae College and then Tawa College. At the conclusion of a long career he was to be seconded back as a relieving Headmaster at many colleges including Tawa and he was always a great sounding board for not only aspiring teachers but also the Education Board.
His family meant the world to him, his wife Shona (the best catch he ever made) and he were a great partnership. Shone loved music and was instrumental in starting the Tawa Schools and Community Music Festival still going 30 plus years later. Their children Duncan and Jo are both heavily involved in cricket and the community, Duncan himself a fine player has coached many Wellington youth sides, Jo a former Wellington representative has been a long-time member of the NZ Cricket Players Association Executive. Bags and Shona have numerous grandchildren and he is as proud of each and every one of them as he is of Jess and Melie Kerr, our Black Ferns.
I always looked forward to Tests at the Basin or Blaze matches sitting in the sun at Karori talking to Bags as we watched New Zealand or the Blaze. The last time I saw him was at Don Neely’s memorial service. As always while reflecting on the life of his teammate he had a kind word and a ready smile for everyone.
Bruce has played his final innings, he joins many of his former teammates in the pavilion, he is missed by all and he is remembered very fondly.