Almanac Book Review: ‘On Our Selection: An Alternative History of Australian Cricket’ by Bernard Whimpress

 

 

 

On our selection: An alternative history of Australian cricket
by Bernard Whimpress
Self published, Kent Town SA 2011

 

Reviewed by Barry Nicholls

 

Above my lounge room couch hangs a framed black-and-white photo of the SCG, dated 19 December 1931. What catches my eye is how crowded the ground appears, despite the official attendance being just 27,845. The crowd on the hill is mostly men in suits and hats, some of whom turn to look at the camera. The scoreboard shows that Don Bradman and Keith Rigg are batting. For Rigg, it marked the peak of his Test career, where he scored 127 in Australia’s total of 469. For Bradman, who made 112, it was just another day at the office. Rigg is one of the players featured in Bernard Whimpress’s updated edition of On Our Selection: An Alternative History of Australian Cricket. Rigg’s career is interrupted by non-selection for periods, limiting his appearances in the baggy green to just eight.

The composition of the Australian Test team has always been a hot topic among cricket fans. You only need to consider the speculation surrounding the current Ashes selections. Take, for example, the discussion about who would open the batting for Australia in the First Test in Perth. In the end, all predictions were wrong because of Khawaja’s injury and his poorly timed absence from the field on day one.

 

In On our Selection, Whimpress, a sports historian and 2025 recipient of an Order of Australia for Services to Literature as a sports writer and author, has published another detailed and intelligent book raising relevant questions about selectors’ decisions across the game’s history.  First published in 2011, it is presented under chapter headings, including ‘By Invitation Only (1876-77)’, ‘Definitely a Passenger: Bert Hopkins (1902-09)’, ‘When Grown Men Wept: Alan Kippax (1926)’, ‘Fringe Dweller: Eddie Gilbert (1930-33)’, and more. You get the picture. The preface highlights the addition of case studies, bringing the total to 72, and notes that the book provides an overview of key moments and figures in Australian cricket history.

As a side note, if there were ever a topic that you’d think could be sold to a publisher, this is it. Selections are, after all, the ultimate conversation starter among cricket fans. But alas, Whimpress has had to go it alone. Again.

Having just written about the 1972 Ashes in Playing to Win, I realised that the omission of Graham McKenzie, Ian Redpath and Bill Lawry might have cost Australia the series. There was outrage when the selectors chose a mix of youth and experience, earning the side the label of the ‘worst ever to tour England’. Whimpress has examined this, along with another mystery from the 1970s: the unconventional choice of leg spinner John Watkins, discussed in the chapter titled ‘You gotta be able to bowl.’ The line was Terry Jenner’s response when Watkins talked about his plan to get fit enough to bowl 20 overs. Watkins’s selection for Australia was ambitious, to say the least. Still, he partnered with Bob Massie in the late order to help Australia reach a defendable total in the final home Test against Pakistan at the SCG in 1973. During the subsequent West Indies tour, both Massie, due to injury, and Watkins, because of poor form, were more like spectators than players. Neither of them ever played for Australia again.

 

More recently, if you’re interested in Usman Khawaja’s early struggles as a Test batsman, it’s all here, explained in a way that makes you nod in agreement. There’s also self-deprecating humour, as seen in the chapter on Cooper Connolly, in which the author begins, ‘Never heard of him, I muttered to myself’. 

The book includes panels and notes on the selectors at the back, which serve as conversation starters. On our Selection is a perfect companion for pub chats about the decisions of selectors — both right and wrong.

 

Importantly, this book reminds us that understanding history provides valuable insights into what may come next. Human nature remains the same, as does the way selectors choose sides. It’s still three blokes deciding the future of a group of eager players who hope and pray they someday earn a baggy green.

 

 

If you wish to acquire a copy of On Our Selection, address enquiries directly to Bernard Whimpress: [email protected]

To read more by Barry Nicholls click here.

 

To return to our Footy Almanac home page click HERE.

 

Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?

And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help things keep ticking over please consider making your own contribution.

 

Become an Almanac (annual) member – click HERE.