tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4338058276614620992024-03-13T00:11:56.875-07:00NZ Cricket: Frank Cameron M.B.E. - 80th birthday - 2012The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry.Frank Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17003684848843914366noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-433805827661462099.post-3035312848578134472011-09-07T16:42:00.000-07:002011-10-15T14:28:21.713-07:00NZ Cricket: The Real Frank Cameron - His Family's Story<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: tahoma;"></span><br />
<div align="justify"><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Related Links: </span><a href="http://www.dunedincricket.co.nz/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Dunedin Cricket</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.carisbrookdunedin.co.nz/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Carisbrook Cricket Club</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.otagocricket.co.nz/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Otago Cricket</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.blackcaps.co.nz/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">NZ Cricket</span></a><br />
<a href="http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/index.php"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">International Cricket Council</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.procricket.co.nz/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">NZ Cricket Players Association</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.obhs.school.nz/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Otago Boys High School</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">, </span><a href="http://www.cbhs.school.nz/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Christchurch Boys High School</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Cameron">Frank Cameron</a> is my uncle - my mother's brother. Playing first class test cricket for New Zealand as a bowler, followed by many years as a selector - his has been a charmed life of world travel, beautiful wives, wealth, status and success. But it has been at the expense of others. His character was less than impeccable, and indeed had disastrous consequences for my own family - while also reducing the integrity of international cricket. </span></div><div align="justify"><br />
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSghsmJvbcFGyaSaTGQtz2YUQiL5YM9gklWb9N-Tz9MQOuN0UOsUQ7EPXP1l5YEMixaIplFMCtTWtdYDJCCdgNKZZZjWwy50ZSVGKqFEwS7spMloBfVUpXB03UM5ilvhus5Ix-OrIhxE/s1600/frank-cameron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSghsmJvbcFGyaSaTGQtz2YUQiL5YM9gklWb9N-Tz9MQOuN0UOsUQ7EPXP1l5YEMixaIplFMCtTWtdYDJCCdgNKZZZjWwy50ZSVGKqFEwS7spMloBfVUpXB03UM5ilvhus5Ix-OrIhxE/s1600/frank-cameron.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Privately, "Frank the Lionheart" was more "Frank the Hyena Heart" - and his dubious character revealed itself publicly when he became the team manager.</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Cameron was an astute thinker of the game and one of his behind-the-scenes ploys was a major factor in New Zealand's dramatic one-wicket win over the West Indies at Carisbrook in 1980.” </span><a href="http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/cricket/142735/frank-lionheart"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(ODT)</span></a></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>Astute?</i> It went like this. Fearing that his team were going to lose on his own home ground, Frank called a news conference and lied about “expecting the pitch to turn” (softer), hoping the other side would play their (weaker) spin bowler, instead of their formidable fast bowlers. They did – and NZ won the match by a hair’s breadth.</span><br />
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</div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"That was Frank Cameron."</span><br />
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<div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Indeed it was. Dishonest, unsportsmanlike, cheap and manipulative.</span><br />
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<div align="justify"><a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/newzealand/content/story/131052.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Shrewd, a thinker who squeezed everything out of his own ability...</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">" yes, and out of his own family, who in turn squeezed every last thing <i>they</i> could out of people.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The following year, in February 1981, Trevor Chappel played the infamous </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underarm_bowling_incident_of_1981"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">underarm bowl</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">against NZ in Australia - an incident roundly decried by Australians themselves as shocking and unsportsmanlike, and lowering the integrity of the game.</span></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbAvNExcYTNd46I7CS1L_4qek8zGFCWV18DFwxUCG6YPGMSYboUqe14aCfJswkXpTFphkuPG33nJI_ZFI9bjwIr6qFBU_Ng3-cv8EG1AuFyq3UXV-64oGDruq7yik00VFx06orLHvyDs/s1600/frank-cameron-bowling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbAvNExcYTNd46I7CS1L_4qek8zGFCWV18DFwxUCG6YPGMSYboUqe14aCfJswkXpTFphkuPG33nJI_ZFI9bjwIr6qFBU_Ng3-cv8EG1AuFyq3UXV-64oGDruq7yik00VFx06orLHvyDs/s320/frank-cameron-bowling.jpg" width="230" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It was Frank Cameron who set that up. He introduced underhanded tactics into the game in 1980, and while on tour with the team the following year, Greg Chappel merely followed suit against him. This is Frank Cameron's true legacy to cricket - the lowering of international standards to the Cameron's level.</span></div></div></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">An untrained “stock bowler” who got by on height and stamina, he entered the NZ team very late (at almost 30) and played for NZ for only three years before being dropped from the team. After that he opportunistically climbed the administrative ladder - first as a selector, then as Chairman of the Selection Panel. He later received an MBE for his “services” to cricket.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Frank wanted his salad days of free overseas jaunts to never end, and he manoeuvred himself accordingly. <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">He was the stock bowler who promoted himself to Chairman of the Board. </span></span></span><br />
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</div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Privately, Frank Cameron completely neglected his familial responsibilities. He would make an appearance only once a year on Christmas Day for the dinner, then leave. <a href="http://the-camerons.6te.net/#housefire">When his parent's house burned down,</a> he did nothing to help them when they returned from an overseas cruise to a burnt out shell and nowhere to live. Wealthy, worldly and connected, he could have easily made proper arrangements for his family, but he did not, and neither did his elder brother Ewen Cameron, a headmaster. Instead, they dumped the full burden on our family, who put them up for an entire year - crowded into a home with four children under nine, one of them a newborn baby. There has never been any restitution of these costs. Nor did either brother visit them.</span></span><br />
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Frank was not present when his mother died, <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">yet before the body was barely cold, he suddenly appeared with a furniture truck and cleaned out her house of all the furniture, which rightfully belonged to his sister, who had looked after their mother all her life, and who received only a double share of the estate as compensation - not much, just enough for a deposit on a small unit, but not enough for furniture. So Frank then <em>loaned</em> her some money, and charged her interest <i>at the full bank rate</i>, while he sat on his mother's furniture for nothing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It gets worse. <a href="http://the-camerons.6te.net/#fatherfraud">Frank Cameron palmed his mentally and morally defective sister off to my father</a> in an arranged marriage in which he misrepresented her and his own family - a ploy which was to have catastrophic outcomes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Frank was oblivious to any of his responsibilities, or the consequences of his negligence. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For the full story, go to: </span><a href="http://the-camerons.6te.net/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://the-camerons.6te.net/</span></a><br />
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For Neil Cameron's story go to; <a href="http://neil-cameron.6te.net/">http://neil-cameron.6te.net/</a><br />
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Neil Cameron is Frank's nephew - a prominent Buddhist, and media spokesman for the Dalai Lama. He is also a fraud.<br />
<div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">_______________________________________________________________________</span></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Frank Cameron's Teaching Career:</strong></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After teaching at Otago Boys' High School for 33 years , Frank then moved to Christchurch, where </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">he was </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">a substitute teacher at Christchurch Boys' High School. Now in his seventies, he was still squeezing every last drop of mileage from his three short years of test cricket some <em>forty five</em> years later.</span></div><div align="justify"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Some student comments from <a href="http://nz.ratemyteachers.com/frank-cameron/6687-t/1">Rate My Teacher</a>:</strong></span><br />
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</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">"sheer waste of time. Needs to go into retirement" ..</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"no wonder they ditched him from <i>OBHS"</i></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"ya dnt do a thing if you mention cricket" ..</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Reminiscant on past international games. Rates himself on his don bradman stories a bit though, stretched the truth as such.."</span></div><div align="justify"><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"had some good stories to tell, and the only teacher at the school whos in a playstation game!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Frank is a cartoon character a<em> playstation</em> game? Yet he was never team captain, vice captain, nor a star player like Richard Hadlee, Lance Cairns or Martin Crowe - and doesn't even rate a mention on Wikipedia's </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_national_cricket_team"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">NZ National Cricket team personalities</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Franky did u ever know that ur my hero???"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"well where do I start about old franky cameron? to put it bluntly he's the man, dosn't have the patience for any PC crap like ncea, go the oldschool! your the man franky" </span><br />
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</div><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFuiWqPoUeGSIfRgNwvFf1Oa-X6OBhT_beiAoWZnCJGh7XBWE0EfoNvPaZ6OgiEJXXuGhq-xpld3h8PTCJRNzhxF8-MAuxopq3pK4eZsymoUvRhU_Gu1b88NkiAPywn2CPnTcrazD02o/s1600/frank-cameron-today.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFuiWqPoUeGSIfRgNwvFf1Oa-X6OBhT_beiAoWZnCJGh7XBWE0EfoNvPaZ6OgiEJXXuGhq-xpld3h8PTCJRNzhxF8-MAuxopq3pK4eZsymoUvRhU_Gu1b88NkiAPywn2CPnTcrazD02o/s1600/frank-cameron-today.jpg" /></a></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Christchurch Boy's High School uses this student's quote as its introduction to Frank:</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<strong></strong></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Mr Cameron epitomises CBHS he's great man and was the man at cricket (look for his card in the pavillion) always great to sit back and have a chat with him about NZ cricket."</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Yet Frank never attended CBHS, nor taught there. He was merely an occasional substitute teacher, apparently unconcerned with the </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications-standards/qualifications/ncea/%22%3E"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">NCAE educational certificate</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Nor do these students seem to have mastered even basic English, yet Franky baby was an <em>English teacher</em>. And this <em>epitomise</em>s CBHS?</span><br />
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</div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"He's the man! been teaching for 40 years and still going strong, enjoy a chat with him."</span><br />
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</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So Frank would turn up to class, ostensibly to teach, then spend the class talking about <em>himself</em> and his cricketing days. One student commented "I asked him for his autograph and he screamed at me. If you don't want to give out autographs why did u play cricket for New Zealand?!?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Good question.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Was Frank practising <strong>onanism in public</strong> while stealing his wage, </span><a href="http://the-camerons.6te.net/#margaret""><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">like his sister did in front of a full length mirror</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> - while stealing someone <em>else's</em> wage?</span> <br />
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</div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The truth is, Frank Cameron was a stock bowler, not a star player, and of dubious value as a selector.</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">He himself says: </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"<a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/newzealand/content/story/131052.html">As a selector you got rubbished everywhere because we never won</a>. There weren't too many queuing up as selectors. You knew when you stood up you were going to take punishment. It got so bad at one lunch I attended at Eden Park that I got up and walked out." </span><br />
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<div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Recently, the entire structure of the Cricketing Selection Panel was </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/a%20href=%22http://tvnz.co.nz/cricket-news/new-selection-panel-nz-4214353%22%3E"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">abolished</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. </span></div></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">What Frank <em>really </em>did well was sniff the pitch. He would be out sniffing that wicket at all hours. He even had the pitch <em>moved</em> once, because he didn't like the way it was seaming. </span><br />
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<div align="justify"></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> If they don't have his ferret head bobbing up from the ground behind the stumps in the playstation game, sniffing that pitch, then they should. Because that is the <em>real</em> him. Frank Cameron's true value was <em>feral</em>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And anything <em>but</em> chivalrous.</span><br />
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<div align="justify"><div align="justify"> <span style="font-family: Georgia;">Email: the </span><a href="mailto:the.dunedin.camerons@gmail.com"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">the.dunedin.camerons@gmail.com</span></a><br />
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</div></div>Frank Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17003684848843914366noreply@blogger.com0