Softball communities on both sides of the Tasman are mourning former New Zealand infielder Lindsay Anderson.
Anderson, 53, died suddenly in Perth early last week after a brain haemorrhage.The third baseman represented New Zealand in a domestic series against top American club Peterbilt Western in 1981 before moving to Perth.
He captained the first Australian team to attend a men’s world championship in 1988, and remains the only man to captain and coach the Australian national team.
Anderson lived in Perth for almost 30 years.
Former New Zealand coach Mike Walsh said Anderson had a outstanding series against Peterbilt in 1981 and would have been in the 1984 New Zealand team had he not moved to Australia. “He was a super guy in every way.”
Anderson grew up in Dunedin and played for the Dodgers club and Otago before moving to Christchurch to join his brother Graeme, a leading catcher and first baseman.
Softball Australia said Anderson was Australia’s No1 capped player.
The Kiwi made an impressive international debut on the pitching mound against Mexico at the 1988 world championships in Saskatoon, Canada. He pitched seven complete innings to lead Australia to a historic 4-3 victory over Mexico.
Anderson played in and also coached the Western Australia state team which won seven of the first 10 domestic men’s championship titles. He coached the Australian Steelers national team at the 1992 world championships in Manila.
The Softball Australia Hall of Fame member travelled to Christchurch in 2004 to see the New Zealand Black Sox win their third consecutive world championships title and witness the Steelers claiming their first medal – bronze.
The Softball Australia website said: “In 2009 [Anderson] returned to where his own international career commenced – Saskatoon, Canada – where he and fellow Hall of Fame inductee Bill Downing (a former West Coaster) watched Australia win the gold medal game against their native New Zealand.”