Vernon Leader
John Vernon Leader was a New Zealand cricketer and mountaineer. He played eleven first-class matches for Otago [cricket team|Otago] between the 1928–29 and 1940–41 seasons.
Leader was born at Christchurch in 1908 but was educated at Otago [Boys' High School] in Dunedin. He played schools representative cricket for Otago.
Leader made his senior representative debut during the 1928–29 season in a Plunket Shield match against Auckland at Carisbrook, scoring seven runs and not taking a wicket. He played irregularly for the provincial side―his next two first-class appearances were during Otago's Plunket Shield winning campaign of 1932–33. In a total of 11 first-class matches he scored 292 runs and took 18 wickets, making his last first-class appearances during the 1940–41 season. His best performance came in the 1938–39 Plunket Shield, when he took 6 for 44 and 3 for 58 against Auckland. In the 1950s he was one of the selectors for Otago.
Leader was a notable mountain climber. In 1935 he became the first person to climb West Peak on Mount Earnslaw alone. In 1972, aged 64, he became the oldest person to make the "grand traverse" of Mount Cook's three peaks.