Almanac Teams: Cricketing politicians

 

Who said sport, and politics don’t mix? It’s that time of the year, to put the flannels on then roll the arm over. The footy’s over, the weather’s warming up, cricket season is back on the agenda: World Cup, touring teams taking on Australia, and a myriad of other levels of competition happening. We also have referendums, state elections, and a myriad of other events in the world of politics.  Anyhow I thought I’d try picking an Australian side comprising politicians that have played cricket at a high level: not that simple, not to be.

So, I’ve picked a side of players who have cricketing and political links. Some have played for Australia as well as being elected to represent their communities. Others though being elected have not managed to play for the Australian side but have turned out at first class level. Then there’s others who get in by circumstance. Let’s introduce them.

Ric Charlesworth: Rick Charlesworth was a Western Australian batsman. He captained the Western Australian Under 19 team in 1969-70 before making his state debut in 1972-1973. This was during a golden era for Western Australia with Charlesworth being part of a very strong side, as Western Australia won three Sheffield Shields in this time. He was apparently considered for Australian selection during the summer of 1977-78, the summer of the World Series Cricket split.

 However, although he played first class cricket he is better known for his feats on the hockey field. Five times he was selected in the Australian Olympic Hockey team, being a Silver Medallist in Montreal in 1976.  He has also coached both the Australian Men’s and Women’s teams to success. These successes include, but are not limited to, two Olympic Golds for the Women’s team and a Commonwealth games Gold for the Men.

As well as appearing in the cricketing and hockey arenas Charlesworth was a Federal Member of Parliament, (MP), representing the electorate of Perth from 1983 until 1993. He was a representative of the Australian Labor Party, (ALP). He retired in 1993 frustrated at never holding a ministerial portfolio.

Oh yes, one further note, Ric Charlesworth is a Doctor.

Joe Darling: Joe Darling was a left-handed batsman who also captained Australia. His 34 Tests saw him score 1657 runs with a top score of 178: this was among his 3 Test centuries. His batting certainly improved during his Test career as his first innings was a Golden Duck. As Captain he led Australia 21 times for 7 wins, 4 losses. He was the first cricketer to score 500 runs in a series, also three centuries in a series.

After his international career, Darling moved from Adelaide to Hobart. Here he ran for the state parliament to which he was elected. He sat as an Independent in the Tasmanian Legislative Council seat of Cambridge from 1921 until his death in 1946. There’s something about Tasmania with cricket and politics. We’ll see a few more Tasmanians in this team.

Ian McLachlan:  Ian McLachlan was a South Australian middle-order batsman of note. He carried the drinks for Australia in the 1962-63 Ashes clash at the Adelaide Oval, though never played a Test.  For South Australia his 72 first class matches saw him score 3,743 runs at an average of 31.72. This included a top score of 188. Prior to playing for his state, he played first-class cricket for Cambridge University.

He led the National Farmers Federation, which became infamous for its concerted political onslaught on workers’ conditions from the mid 1980s. Subsequently he became a Federal Liberal MP representing the seat of Barker from 1990 until 1998, during which he was the Defence Minister in his final two years in parliament.

It’s also worth noting one of his nephews is Gillon McLachlan, former Chief Executive of the Australian Football League.

Jeff Moss: Jeff Moss is/was, not an MP, but his partner Cindy McLeish is. She is a Victorian state MP.  Jeff Moss is probably best remembered for a sterling 1978-79 domestic season scoring 748 runs for Victoria at 68.00.  He then made his Australian Test debut in the match against Pakistan at Perth. In this, his only Test, he scored 22 and an undefeated 38, giving him a test average of 60. As well as this Test he played a One Day International (ODI) for Australia, scoring 7. In 1981 he and teammate Julian Weiner shared a third wicket stand of 390 for Victoria v Western Australia at the Junction Oval, this being an Australian third wicket record.

Moss’s partner is Cindy McLeish who is currently the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in Victoria. She has held the seat of Eildon since 2014. Prior to this she held the seat of Seymour before its abolition. This gives us the link Jeff Moss needs for inclusion in this team.

Sam Loxton:  Sam Loxton was another Victorian, the right-handed all-rounder, was a member of Sir Don Bradman’s legendary 1948 Invincibles. He scored a Test century when Australian played at Johannesburg in the opening Test of the victorious 1949-50 tour of South Africa.

Loxton played 12 Tests scoring 554 runs with an average of 36.93. The score of 101 at Johannesburg in December 1949 was his highest. His bowling netted him 8 wickets at 43.62.

He was a Liberal Party MP for the state seat of Prahran, a marginal ALP seat when he first ran in 1954. His victory, and subsequent gains in the following elections, saw him hold the seat until retiring in the lead up to the 1979 election. Interestingly one of the ALP candidates he defeated was Richmond legend Jack Dyer who ran against him in 1967. Loxton was awarded an Order of the British Empire in 1979.

Loxton was a Victorian selector from 1957 until the 1980-81 season. He also sat on the Australian selection panel from 1970 until 1981, as well as fulfilling other roles within cricket administration.

Gil Langley:  Gil Langley is our wicket-keeper, a role he filled with aplomb for both South Australia, and Australia. He also had a sterling football career primarily with Sturt in the South Australian National Football League, as well as with Essendon briefly.

For Australia he played 26 Tests effecting 98 dismissals whilst scoring 374 runs at 14.96. For his home state he played 122 matches, with 366 dismissals.

Langley represented the ALP in the South Australian parliament from 1962 until 1982 holding the seat of Unley. He also served a term as the Speaker in the House of Assembly from 1977.

Tom Veivers: Tom Veivers was a Queensland off spinner who played 21 Tests in the 1960s. He holds the record for one of the longest bowling spells in Test history wheeling through 55 consecutive overs as England scored 611 at Old Trafford in 1964. These 55 overs were in an overall innings bowling figures  of 95.1-36-3-155. This is the highest number of balls bowled by an Australian in a Test innings.

Veivers was also a big-hitting lower-order batsmen with 7 half-centuries for Australia, including a top score of 88 against Pakistan at the MCG. His best bowling figures were 4-68 against India in Bombay. Veivers claimed 33 wickets in his 21 Tests at an average of 41.66.

Veivers had a brief political career. He served one term ,1983-86, as the ALP member of the Legislative Assembly seat of Ashgrove. This being the time of Joh Bjelke-Petersen regime, not a great period in Queensland history.

Charles Eady: Charles Eady was a Tasmanian all-rounder known for his hard hitting and medium pace bowling. His two Tests for Australia were interesting in that he played one Test in each of two different centuries. With the bat he managed a Test career tally of 20 runs, doing slightly better with the ball picking up 7 wickets with the best figures of 3-30. He holds the record for the third highest batting score ever, that of 566 in a total of 908, this being in a match between two Tasmanian domestic sides.

After initially running unsuccessfully for Parliament on behalf of the Liberal League he was selected as an Independent for the State seat of Hobart, which he won on his second attempt in a 1925 byelection. Eady remained in parliament for nigh on 20 years. He was the President of the Tasmanian Legislative Council in 1944-45.

Nathan Bracken: Nathan Bracken is a new edition to this team. The left-arm fast-medium bowler represented Australia in the three forms of the modern game, Tests, One Day, T20, as well as turning out for New South Wales and Leicestershire. He was a member of the winning World Cup squad in both 2003 and 2007. In 2007 he played in the final.

His five Tests saw him take 12 wickets at 42.08, and 70 runs with a top score of 37. He performed well in the ODIs his 116 matches saw him collect 174 wickets at 24.36, with him twice taking bags of 5. Such was his ODI form that in 2008 he was ranked the number one ODI bowler in the world, being picked in the International Cricket Council’s ODI team of the year. In the then emerging T20 arena his 19 games saw him take 19 wickets.

Though being a candidate, he’s not actually managed to get elected. His parliamentary career remains on hold. In 2013, then in 2017, he ran as an independent preferencing the Liberal Party. He ran for a seat again early this year, now as a Liberal Party member for the NSW State seat of Entrance but was still not able to secure a win. Oh well, always next election.

Rex Townley: Rex Townley did not get a match for Australia, the Tasmanian team at that time played very little first-class cricket. In a career lasting 9 seasons the leg-break bowler only played 16 first class games.  Many of their matches were against touring teams. In his career the undoubted highlight would be the wicket of Sir Donald Bradman, caught and bowled for 369.

Rex Townley was Initially elected as an independent in November 1946. He found himself leading the Liberal Party in 1950. Despite being the Opposition Leader he, and his party, were not able to win an election. Townley left this leadership role in June 1956, though he remained in Parliament until 1965.  It may be of some interest that for a time during the 1930’ Rex Townley was an ALP member.

William Moule: Wiliam Moule played a Test for Australia, this being at the Oval in the 1880 tour of England. This was in England’s victory at the Oval; however he wasn’t disgraced. He was Australia’s best bowler picking up 3-23 in England’s first innings, then when batting at number 11 he scored 34 helping in a last wicket stand of 88.

His parliamentary career saw him stand as a free trader in the Victorian 1894 election when he beat the then Premier Thomas Bent. Moule remained in the Victorian parliament until 1900.

 

If they played a world side there’d be a few good competitors there.  Baron Learie Constantine, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lady Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, Gary Troup are but some who have played for their nation, then been elected to serve their constituents. Across the cricketing world a good number of ex-players have become politicians, but I’ll briefly head to the sub-continent prior to finishing.

India has produced quite a few. Mohammad Azharuddin, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Vinod Kambli, are just some of those from the sub-continent who have become parliamentarians.  There are almost enough Indian cricketers who ended up as MP’ they can almost comprise a team of their own.

Of course, there’s the Pakistan cricketing legend, the International Cricket Council Hall of Famer Imran Khan, the man who was probably their greatest cricketer, captaining them to a World Cup victory in 1992. Imran Khan was elected as Pakistan’s 22nd Prime Minister. During his time in office, he led Pakistan in being one of the world’s best nations in dealing with the Covid Pandemic, he also oversaw the Pakistan economy experience a growth in GDP of 6.5% in 2021. However recently he’s found himself facing a serious predicament.  During a constitutional crisis he was removed from office on a no confidence motion in April 2022, followed up with being disqualified from office, surviving an assassination attempt, then being arrested in May this year on corruption charges. He’s currently under arrest serving a 3-year term.  Say no more, so I won’t.

Glen!

 

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