Test Cricket Tours - Australia to
New Zealand 1945-46
|
Tour of New Zealand
1945-46 Captain: Bill
Brown |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Twentieth
Australian Test tour First
Test-playing tour of New Zealand by Australia (February - April 1946) |
International
cricket was resumed after the Second World War. The tenth tour of New Zealand
by an Australian national side was the first to include an official Test
match, although the match at Wellington was not so designated until
1948. Previous
Australian visits to New Zealand had taken place incidentally in 1878, 1880,
1886, 1896 and 1905 en route to or returning from
England. The four latest tours were made specifically to New Zealand:
1909-10, 1913-14, 1920-21 and 1927-28.
Bill Brown led the team. Lindsay Hassett,
who was the popular captain of the Australian Forces team in 1945, was
discarded by the Australian Board, gaining only one of 13 votes for the
captaincy. Only
Brown, Hassett, Bill O'Reilly and Sid Barnes had
represented Australia before the War, while Hamence,
McCool, Miller, Johnson and Tallon had appeared in
pre-War first-class matches. When the Test
match ended early in an easy Australian victory, the tourists gave a two-hour
batting exhibition. |
All Australian tours Previous tour England 1938 Next tour England
1948 Next tour to New Zealand 1973-74 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Members of the Test tour party (13) Openers: Bill Brown, Ken Meuleman Batsmen: Lindsay Hassett, Ron Hamence, Sidney Barnes, Keith Miller Wicket-keeper: Don Tallon Slow bowlers: Bruce Dooland, Ian Johnson, Bill O’Reilly,
Colin McCool Medium-paced: Ernie Toshack Fast bowler: Ray Lindwall |
|
State representation Sheffield
Shield teams N New South
Wales (3) Q Queensland (4) S South Australia (2) V Victoria (4) W Western Australia (0) Average age of team at time of first Test match (29 March 1946) : 29
yrs 5
months. Key to type: RHB Right-handed bat RM Right arm medium-paced bowler RFM Right-arm fast medium OB Off break WK Wicket-keeper |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Test Appearances made before the tour |
O'Reilly 26, Brown 16,
Hassett 4,
Barnes 1, Dooland
0, Hamence
0, Johnson 0, Lindwall 0, McCool 0,
Meuleman 0, Miller 0, Tallon 0, Toshack 0. |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tour Officials |
Mr
Yeomans was Chairman of the Victorian cricket
association and a delegate to the Board of Control. |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Selectors |
Don Bradman (South Australia), Chappie Dwyer (New South Wales), Jack
Ryder (Victoria). |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Selection |
The Board confirmed Bill Brown's
appointment to the captaincy on 12 February. Unavailable :
Don Bradman was unfit. He had
been invalided out of the Army but denied reports that he had been confined
to bed. Arthur Morris was not demobilised from
the Pacific in time for the tour. Tour Party Announced
: 11 February 1946. "Players
were selected mostly on reputation and the form of 1945-46, although that
season naturally had been one of carefree irresponsibility after the
intensity of five years of war." (Ian Johnson, 'Cricket at the
Crossroads'.) Meuleman could be
regarded as the first Western Australian representative to make a Test tour,
since he later transferred to that state. Not selected
: Bill
Alley (after scoring 3 centuries in the season, but Hamence
got his place). It was expected that
Ben Barnett would be player-manager. Cec Pepper made an apology to the Australian Board for
his outspokeness to the umpire when appealing against Don Bradman at Adelaide in 1945-46 but
he was never chosen for Australia. |
Time between selection and departure from Australia 15 days (11 February - 26 February) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Travel Wellington Q Southampton |
At dawn on 26 February 1946
the team flew from Sydney. "The New Zealand Air
Force provided a Catalina for the long flight across the Tasman Sea" (Ian Johnson). It landed at Auckland Airport that morning.
They were the first team to travel to New Zealand by air: |
Time spent in New Zealand 41
days (26 February to 8 April) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
On-tour selection |
Brown (captain),
Bill O'Reilly (vice-captain), Lindsay Hassett (3rd selector). |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Reinforcements |
None |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Fixtures/Results |
|
†not first-class Time
spent in New Zealand before First Test:
31 days (26 February - 29 March) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Test appearances on tour |
1 -
Barnes, Brown, Hassett, Johnson,
Lindwall,
McCool, Meuleman, Miller,
O'Reilly, Tallon, Toshack 0 - Dooland, Hamence |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Highlights |
- The Test match was scheduled for four days
but the Australians wrapped up their victory in just two days. - Bill O'Reilly completed his Test career
with bowling figures of 5-14 and 3-19. |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tour Summary |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Return to Australia Wellington Q Southampton |
On 8 April 1946 the team flew
back to Sydney and dispersed. |
Time away from Australia 41 days (26 February to 8 April) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Finances |
Including £3,200 from the Test match, the gross receipts of the
tour amounted to £12,500. |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Written accounts of the tour |
chapter in 'Cricket at the
Crossroads' by Ian Johnson [Cassell, 1957] chapter in “The Innings of a
Lifetime”¯ by Walter Hadlee [David Bateman, 1993] |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Postscript |
The Australian
Cricket Board did not regard New Zealand as good enough to merit playing them
in Test matches (perhaps this was
justified by being dismissed at Wellington for only 42 and 54 in 1945-46),
and did not meet them in a Test match on New Zealand soil again until
1973-74. Their next five Australian tours to NZ were: 1949-50 (captain Bill
Brown, one representative match) 1956-57 (captain Ian
Craig, three representative matches) 1959-60 (captain Ian
Craig, four representative matches) 1966-67 (captain Les
Favell, four representative matches) 1969-70 (captain Sam
Trimble, three representative matches). |
|
|