A solid middle-order batsman and an accurate medium-pace bowler who was able to move the ball sharply off the wicket, McLean played for the Institute club in Wellington.
He topped the Wellington Cricket Association averages in the 1936-37 season with 43 wickets at 11.23.
[3] The Second World War intervened before McLean could play first-class cricket.
A carpenter by trade, he served as a sapper with New Zealand forces in North Africa.
At the end of the season, he played for Wellington in a first-class match against the touring Fijian team, making 21 and 73 and taking 0 for 12 and 2 for 30.