The ACT side has had a large number of players who have served the country in the Military Forces. In fact there have been ACT senior representative players who have served the country in all conflicts from the Boer War to the Vietnam War. Having the Royal Military College located in the ACT and their participation in the ACT Grade Competition from it’s inception up until the late 1950s meant that a large number (over 70 at last count) had represented their country as well playing senior cricket for the ACT.

Three players who have represented the ACT have died while on active service.

William Worthy

William John Worthy made his ACT debut at the age of just 18 in 1934/35. Born in Yass in 1916, he played for Hall and Ainslie up until the suspension of the grade competition in 1939/40.

He was a bus driver in Canberra and enlisted in the Army in August 1940. He fought on the Kokoda Track with his battalion and rose to the rank of Corporal. Serving in the 3rd Australian Infantry Battalion in Papua New Guinea, he was killed on active service on 26 November 1942 when the Australian force attacked the Japanese stronghold of Gona in Papua.

He is buried in the Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery. His twin brother, Leslie Charles Worthy had also died on active service in Papua New Guinea in March of 1942.

Edward Jones

Flight Sargent Edward Lloyd Jones died while flying a RAAF Boomerang operating out of the Strathpine airfield in southern Queensland. He crashed into the sea east of Caloundra on 10 November 1943. He was buried at the Lutwyche Cemetery in Brisbane.

Born in 1917, he played for the ACT in 1940/41 in the final match before representative matches were suspended for the rest of the war. He played for the Ainslie club in the grade competition.

He was formerly a member of the Parliamentary Hansard Staff in the Federal Parliament before moving to Hobart and was formerly a journalist with the Canberra Times and Wagga Advertiser.

Robert Nimmo

Robert Harold Nimmo was a member of the first ACT (then Federal Territory) side that played Cooma on Australia Day in 1923. He played for Duntroon in the initial grade competition.

He entered the Royal Military College at Duntroon in 1912 in the second intake. He was awarded the sword of honour as the top student in his intake. He landed on Gallipoli as a troop commander in May 1915 and was evacuated due to illness in August. He served throughout the Palestine campaign in a variety of command appointments. He returned to Duntroon in 1920 was an instructor at the RMC. He also served in various command positions as a Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel and Brigadier in New Guinea. He was promoted to Major General after the War and appointed a CBE in 1950.

Nimmo died in his sleep of a heart attack in 1966 at Rawalpindi, Pakistan while he was acting as the Chief Military Observer to the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan. He had served in this role from 1950 until his death. He was buried in the ANZAC section of Mount Gravatt cemetery in Brisbane with full military and UN honours.

There have been 410 Test Matches played in Australia since 1876/77 until 2016/17. Of these matches there have only been 105 people who have fortunate enough to be an Australian Test Match Scorer.

The scorers in the first Test Match were H Kennon and William Plummer. Not much is known about H Kennon but William Plummer was a scorer for the South Melbourne club and was born in Sussex, England in 1837. These two gentlemen also scored the second Test Match.

The first scorers in a Test Match at the Sydney Cricket Ground were SW Daniels and EC Weller. Daniels went on to score another seven Tests while Weller scored another three.

The first Test Match at the Adelaide Oval was scored by George Gurr and Charles Hobbs. The match was Gurr’s only known Test Match while Hobbs scored one more Test.

Ninion Batchelor, a reporter for Associated Press, became the first Australian to score a Test Match in England when he scored the three Tests on the 1890 Tour.

Joe Taylor from Melbourne and Johann Jackschonn were scoring giants of the 1890s and 1900s. Joe Taylor scored all Test Matches at the MCG from 1884/85 to 1903/04, scoring a number of them on his own when the touring side did not have a scorer with the side.

Johann Jackschon is now known as the father of the linear sheet, having invented his method in the 1890s. Born in Prussia in 1846, Jackschon was a heavily respected scorer, often travelling from Grafton in northern New South Wales to score matches for New South Wales and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Lord Sheffield, the manager of the 1891/92 English touring side, presented Jackschon with a gold medallion in appreciation of his scoring efforts.

Joe Taylor, who also scored for the Melbourne Cricket Club, scored 11 Test Matches in his scoring career while Jackschon, who scored for the Mosman club scored 13 Test Matches.

Bill Ferguson, known as “Fergie”, has scored the most Test Matches in Australia and overseas for Australian and other Test nations. He became the scorer and baggage master for the Australian Tour of England in 1905 after striking up a friendship with the Australian Test Captain, Monty Noble. He continued scoring for Australian and other touring sides of Australia and other countries just up until his death in 1957. He scored well over 200 Test Matches in his career.

Don Bradman played 1st Grade cricket for two clubs in the Sydney 1st Grade Competition. He played for St George from 1926/27 to 1932/33 and for North Sydney in 1933/34 after moving to that area after getting married. He originally trialled for Central Cumberland (now Parramatta) but they were unwilling to pay his train fare from Bowral for each match whereas St George was willing to.

He made his 1st Grade debut on November 27, 1926 against Petersham at Petersham making 110 before being run out. He also took 3 for 26.

Some statistical notes on his Sydney 1st Grade Career:

• Overall he made 3221 runs at an average of 89.47, well below his Test and First-Class averages.
• He was never dismissed for a duck in 1st Grade.
• He averaged over a hundred in a season in four successive seasons – 1929/30 (109.80), 1930/31 (215.00), 1931/32 (112.14) and 1932/33 (170.67).
• He made 14 centuries and 12 half centuries.
• Of his 14 centuries, 2 were double centuries.
• He also made a century on debut for North Sydney, scoring 127 against Western Suburbs at North Sydney Oval in 1933/34.
• His highest score was 246 against Randwick in 1931/32.
• He averaged under 50 against three clubs – North Sydney (28.25), Sydney University (39.67) and Waverley (37.00).
• His best season in terms of runs scored was in 1931/32 where he scored 785 runs in 8 innings, averaging 112.14, including 3 centuries and 2 half centuries.
• He batted at every position from opener to number 7, making a century at each batting position except as an opener.
• He scored over 1000 runs at Hurstville Oval, making 1074 runs at an average of 67.12. Nine of his twelve half centuries came at this ground.
• As a bowler, he took 23 wickets at an average of 33.96.
• His best bowling was 4 for 55 against Manly at Hurstville Oval.

In 1914/15, the first organised cricket competition was held in the ACT or as it was then the Federal Territory. This was just over a year after the Federal Territory was proclaimed.

There were seven clubs in the competition which started on 14 November, 1914. Matches were single innings one day matches for all of the rounds.

The clubs were:
Ainslie – the same club competed in the first FTCA Grade Compeition and continued until 1968/69.

Brickbats – Later became Westridge and formed in the now Yarralumla area. Based around the Brickworks and it’s employees.

Canberra – Same club as was in the FTCA competition. Home ground was based around what was to become the Acton Racecourse.

Duntroon – The same club continued in the FTCA competition and was based around the Royal Military College and included both cadets and staff.

Hall – Based on the village of Hall and played at the Hall Showground.

Power House – the former name of the original Eastlake club. The club was based around the Canberra Powerhouse and included employees of the powerhouse.

Queanbeyan – the forerunner of the current club which plays in the 1st Grade competition.

Do you use the Cricket Statistics Program CricketStatz? Are you looking for up to date and quality International, First-Class or List A databases. I have locked databases available for the below prices. All databases come with 12 months of free updates after which further updates can be purchased. These databases do not come with CricketStatz which needs to be purchased separately at http://www.cricketstatz.com. All databases are locked but all updates are provided for 12 months after purchase. Other databases can be provided on request. Contact me at adammorehouse@bigpond.com for details.

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Recently released the 2016/17 ACT Premier Grade Cricket Statistical Review. This covers all grades of ACT Premier Grade Cricket for the 2016/17 season.

ACT Grade Cricket Review 2016-17

Greg Mail, the former New South Wales cricketer, recently announced that he was in his words “not playing cricket anymore”, following Sydney University’s victory in the NSW Premier Cricket’s 1st Grade Final. The following is a brief breakdown of his 1st Grade career:

• He made his 1st Grade debut on 23 September 1995 for Parramatta against Sydney University at University No.1 Oval, Camperdown making an unbeaten 36.
• Represented Parramatta in 1995/96; Hawkesbury from 1995/96 to 1998/99; Balmain/UTS-Balmain from 1999/00 to 2003/04 and Sydney University from 2004/05 to 2016/17.
• Played against 22 1st Grade clubs and at 27 1st Grade Venues.
• 366 matches, with 237 of them being for Sydney University. Batted in 383 innings, being not out 54 times.
• Scored 1000 runs in a season five times – 1998/99 (1020), 2006/07 (1225), 2009/10 (1266), 2010/11 (1095), and 2011/12 (1066).
• Scored 15,242 runs in all 1st Grade matches which is a record. His batting average was 46.33.
• Reached 100 on 44 occasions which is a record.
• Made 50 on 72 occasions which is the equal record with Richard Chee Quee.
• Made 3 double centuries.
• Also made 28 ducks.
• Dismissed in the 90s only on four occasions.
• Dismissed most by Cameron Eve, Tony Clark and James Day (5 times).
• Highest Score of 214 not out v Randwick Petersham in 2009/10. The next round he made 212 against Northern District.
• Batted at every position in 1st Grade except for positions 10 and 11.
• As an opener he made 10,100 runs at 54.59 with 36 centuries.
• Bowled 1711.3 overs, with 316 maidens and taking 245 wickets at an average of 21.37.
• Dismissed Matt Hughston and Anthony Sams most in 1st Grade, 4 times.
• Best bowling of 7-12 against Manly-Warringah in 2011/12. Took a further 4 five wickets in an innings. Two of the five 5 fa’s were against Manly-Warringah.
• Made 6 centuries against Manly-Warringah, 5 against Eastern Suburbs and 4 against Blacktown, Mosman and North Sydney.
• Did not make a century against Bankstown, Fairfield-Liverpool, Gordon, Petersham-Marrickville, Randwick, Sutherland and UNSW. Also did not make a century in a 1st Grade Final.
• Scored 1000 runs against Eastern Suburbs, Manly-Warringah, North Sydney and Northern District.
• Played 120 1st Grade matches at Sydney University Oval, scoring 4758 runs. Also took exactly 100 wickets at the venue.
• Also scored over 1000 runs at Drummoyne Oval and Owen Earle Oval, Richmond.
• Played in the most Finals (both 2-day and 1-day) with 12.
• Has been on the winning side in 212 matches. Only Ken Hall has more wins with 256.

Do you use the Cricket Statistics Program CricketStatz? Are you looking for up to date and quality International, First-Class or List A databases. I have locked databases available for the below prices. All databases come with 12 months of free updates after which further updates can be purchased. These databases do not come with CricketStatz which needs to be purchased separately at http://www.cricketstatz.com. All databases are locked but all updates are provided for 12 months after purchase. Other databases can be provided on request. Contact me at adammorehouse@bigpond.com for details.

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