Almanac Teams (and Music): Let There Be Rock!
And it came to pass, that rock’n’roll was born,
Oh, let there be rock!
Bon Scott thundered these words out on the title track of AC/DC’s fourth album way back in 1977. I loved it. Bon is gone; AC/DC? But what remains is the music influenced by Afro-American musicians, music bestowed back in the 1950’s as rock’n’roll. It’s diversified, influencing modern music. Contemporary pop, opera’s, heavy metal, very much the overwhelming majority of music we’ve heard since the mid 1950’s has been influenced by rock’n’roll. So I thought a team of players who share surnames with leading musicians of the last 60 years would be a goer.
Who would coach/manage, as I can’t think of any Colonel Parkers, or Epstein’s. The theme song? Up for grabs, but just think of the sounds this team could produce.
B: R Palmer, (Robert; Freo/GWS). B Lake, (Greg; WB/Haw). D Morris, (Russell;WB).
HB: J Berry, (Chuck; Rich/Foot). J McCartney, (Paul; Coll/Ade/Nm). K O’Keefe, (Johnny;Fitz).
C: P Kelly , (Paul; Syd). D Thorpe, (Billy; Foot/Rich). B Wood, (Ron; Rich/Ess).
HF: C Lewis, (Jerry Lee;WC). B Lennon, (John; Rich). C Judd, (Phil; WC/Carl).
F: P Jones, (Brian; Carl). George Young, (George; St K.). B Walsh, (Joe; Carl/Ess).
FOLL: D Scott, (Bon; Haw). Brian Wilson, (Brian; Foot/NM/Melb/St K.). A Gallagher, (Liam/Noel; Carl/Foot/NM).
Inter from, B Parfitt, (Rick; Geel). R Page, (Jimmy; SM). I Morrison, (Jimmy; Foot/Ess). M Plant, (Robert; SM). P Harrison, (Paul; Geelong). G ‘Angry’ Anderson, (Graeme; Collingwood). M Hunter, (Marc: Foot).
Many more could have been chosen but I thought this could get the feet tapping.
Over to you Almanackers,
Glen!
About Glen d
Mark Mercury
Jagger O’Meara
Neil (Matthew) Young
Lou (Ben) Reed
Ozzy (Richard) Osbourne
Jimmy Page must start on the ground.
Ripper concept Glen ! Great way to start the week.
Ian (Graham) Moss – Cold Chisel/Essendon
Roger (Terry) Waters – Pink Floyd/Collingwood
Mark (Mark) Williams – Show No Mercy (Song)
Leo S. (Chad) Morgan- Collingwood, 1901. Nicknamed “The Sheik.”
Agree with old mate Dips.
Jimmy Page must be in the first XVIII
I’d like Jimmy Page on the bench at the start of the game. Then, after a few minutes of the team getting warmed up, everyone in the stadium hears guitar riffs coming from the boundary as Jimmy enters the field to replace George Young (Angus was injured?); the fans go nuts and the opposition are blown away.
Muddy Waterhouse
Brad Shepherd
Archie Disco Roach
Jim Little
Maurie Gibb
Great suggestion Mickey and may I add Slim Dusty Martin.
Joni/ Sammy/Tom Mitchell
Emmylou/Tayla/Leon/Bernie Harris
Barry Hall & Oates
Charlie/Daniel Rich
Don/James Taylor/Walker
Tex/Sarah Perkins
Jack/Darryl White
Hothouse/Robbie Flower/s
Jon/Jake Spencer Blues Explosion
I’m putting a band together……
Freddie/Mark Mercuri
Roger/Brian Taylor
Brian/Tony May
John/Simon Deacon
Mark/Michael/Mark Jackson
Jimmy/John Barnes
John/Dean Farnham
Nice team Glen!
Very happy to see Phil Judd get a mention, magnificent performer on the first two, very underrated Split Enz albums.
Sadly the only Finn’s I could find were Frank Finn (Carlton & Footscray, 7 games), Joe Finn (Geelong, 8 games) and Ray Finn (Essendon, 10 games). Far less prolific than their musical namesakes.
Ross Wilson unlucky to be behind Brian Wilson for mine!
Why Dale Morris when you can have the real thing, Russell Morris (Hawthorn/St Kilda)?
Maureen McGovern (“The Morning After” from the Poseidon Adventure movie)
Dead Kennedy’s
Brad “Geronimo” Sheppard
Jack “Otis” Redd’n (Sitting on the Dock of the Bay)
“Reece” (beautiful nightmare) Mastin
The Beatles were Eagles fans: “Oh Darling”
Not enough drummers:
Charlie (Jack) Watts
Ginger (Steven) Baker
Dennis (Mark) Thompson
Paul (Troy) Cook
Jerry (Mick) Nolan
Earl (Ambrose ) Palmer
Al (Mark) Jackson
Thanks for the feedback.
Mickey i saw Chad Morgan perform live upstairs @ the Railway Hotel in N Fitzroy back in the late 90’s: different.
True Dave , how did i forget the ‘Real Thing’, played for the Hawks, then the Saints !?
Luke i chose Brian Wilson, because, he, like the Beach Boys front man was; Brain Wilson !
Glen!
Graham Cox(on): https://australianfootball.com/players/player/graham%2Bcox/8211
Stephen (Alex) James: https://australianfootball.com/players/player/stephen%2Bjames/12077
There’s half a band, although you’d be careful playing them against L. Gallagher (https://australianfootball.com/players/player/les%2Bgallagher/4226).
As it gets closer to the pop singer Taylor Swift’s concerts at the MCG, it got me thinking about an AFL team where a song was either made about a specific player, or that player was also known for singing songs in public.
Many players were played out of position because there were either too many ruckmen, full forwards or rovers.
This is the AFL team of Player’s Songs or Singers:
B: Jack Dyer (Rich), Richard Champion (BB/BL), Graham Farmer (Geel)
HB: Kevin Murray (Fitzroy), Ted Whitten (Foots), Mark Jackson (Melb/St K/Geel)
C: Keith Greig (North M), Lou Richards (Coll), Roy Cazaly (St K/South Melb)
HF: Peter Moore (Coll/Melb), Darrel Baldock (St K), Peter McKenna (Coll/Carl)
F: John Coleman (Essen), Tony Lockett (St K/SM), Peter Hudson (Hawthorn)
R: John Nicholls (Carlton), Ron Barassi (Melb/Carl), Bob Skilton (South Melb)
Captain Coach: Ron Barassi (Carl/NM/Melb/Syd)
Richard Champion sang on the Footy Show and fronted the rock super group Filthy Animals.
Mark Jackson sang “I’m an Individual”.
Peter McKenna sang “Smile All The While”.
Tony Lockett had a song “There’s Only One Tony Lockett” about him.
Roy Cazaly had the famous song “Up There Cazaly”, by Mike Brady, about Cazaly.
Mike Brady also sang songs about:
Graham Farmer – “Big Gun From the West”
Jack Dyer – “The Infamous Captain Blood”
Kevin Murray – “Heart of a Lion”
Ted Whitten – “It All Sounds Like Football”
Keith Greig – “The Ballard of the Paleface Kid”
Lou Richards – “The Kiss of Death”
Peter Moore – “The All Bionic Footballer”
Darrel Baldock – “Goodbye Doc”
John Coleman – “Flying High to Glory”
Peter Hudson – “One Goal to Beat ‘Em All”
John Nicholls – “Those Cold Blue Eyes”
Ron Barassi- “Man of Iron”
Bob Skilton – “Bobby Dazzler”
This team will play a match against Glen’s Let There Be Rock team, from this article. Anthony Rock (NM/Haw) will be the runner for that team.
Entertainment will be provided by Mike Brady, The Rolling Stones – “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (but I like it), as well as all the AFL club songs.
The match will be played at the MCG, as a curtain raiser to the Taylor Swift concert.
The daughter of the late Jill Singer will report, write and be the television presenter for this match.
Harbajhan Singh will make a special guest appearance.
Let’s hope for a good match and that all the players will be on song!
Further to my previous comment on February 14, 2024, where an AFL team of Player’s songs or Singers was named, I was reminded of this team again following yesterday’s Melbourne Cup. The performance of the winning horse, Knight’s Choice, was on song.
Of course, the winning Melbourne Cup jockey, Robbie Dolan, who rode Knight’s Choice, did well as a contestant on the the television singing show, “The Voice”, 2 years ago. Well done, Robbie!
The extreme popularity of the Almanac Music Themes, which also had a Let There Be Rock – Songs That Reference Rock and Roll theme of song titles, together with the title of this article, got me thinking about doing a football team where each players’ surnames are included in a song title.
The criteria is that the surname can only be used once. It doesn’t matter if the spelling is incorrect, as long as it sounds the same. No plural of names are allowed in the song title.
The song title selected for each player can only be the word for that player’s surname. For example, for Bryan Wood, the song title is “Knock On Wood” and Wood is a word, not a person’s name in the song title.
The team was selected for team balance, so that the majority of the players were selected in their normal playing position on the field.
Here is the VFL/AFL Team of Players Surnames That Are In a Song Title:
B: Rodger Head (St K/Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head), Darren Glass (WC/Heart of Glass), Peter Rhode (Carl/Melb/On the Road Again/Willie Nelson)
HB: Trent Rivers (Melbourne/Rivers of Babylon/Boney M), Peter Knights (Nights in White Satin), John Law (NM/I Fought the Law/The Clash)
C: Bryan Wood (Rich/Ess/Knock on Wood/Amii Stewart), Bob Rose (Coll/Kiss From a Rose), Farren Ray(WB/St K/NM/A Little Ray of Sunshine/Axiom)
HF: Hassa Mann (Melb/Son of a Preacher Man/Dusty S), Jonathan Brown (Brown Eyed Girl), Terry Bright (Geel/Bright Eyes/Art Garfunkel)
F: David Young (SM/Coll/Young Hearts Run Free), Gary Lyon (Melb/The Lion Sleeps Tonight), Jason Love (NM/Syd/Love Shack/B-52’s)
R: Mike Green (Rich/Green Green Grass of Home), Simon Black (BL/Black Superman ‘M Ali’), Anthony Rock (NM/Haw/Jailhouse Rock/Elvis Presley)
Interchange: Darry White (Bris Bears/Bris Lions/A White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation), Max King (St K/King Of The Road), Michael Byrne (Melb/Haw/Syd/Burn for You), Peter Street (Gee/WB/Dancing in the Street)
This team will play an exhibition match against the Let There Be Rock team, named at the beginning of this article.
The venue will be the MCG, where many rock concerts have been held.
Entertainment will be provided by a selection of the song titles named for the players’ surnames for the above team.
Let’s hope for a good game of football where the winner will “Rock the night”.
The coach of the VFL/AFL Team of Players’ Surnames That Are In a Song Title is Allan Jeans (St K/Haw/Blue Jeans/Skyhooks) and the captain is Gary Lyon. The team doctor for this team is Bruce Reid (3 games Haw1966-1967/Ess club doctor/If You Could Read My Mind/Gordon Lightfoot)
The commentators for the match between the VFL/AFL Team of Players’ Surnames That Are In A Song Title and the Let There Be Rock Team are Tim Lane (Life in the Fast Line/Eagles) and Russell Blew (Ess/Blue Bayou/Linda Ronstadt).
The umpires for this match will be Dennis Rich (umpired 251 VFL/AFL games 1982-1997/Rich Girl/Daryl Hall & John Oates) and Gavin Dore (umpired 302 VFL/AFL games 1986-2004/Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door/Bob Dylan & Eric Clapton).
Peter Light (2 games Essendon 1980/Leave a Light On/Belinda Carlisle) has been named as an emergency for the VFL/AFL Team of Players’ Surnames That Are in a Song Title for their match against the Let There Be Rock Team, in case the lights go out during the match. Who better than Light for this type of emergency!
Robbie Fox (Syd/Fox on the Run/Sweet) will be the Sub for this team.
In late changes, the selectors have now included Michael Long (Ess/It’s a Long Way to the Top If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll/ACDC) on the wing for the VFL/AFL of Players’ Surnames That Are in a Song Title.
Farren Ray has been demoted to the interchange bench. Peter Street has been omitted and will be an emergency.
Denis Banks (Coll/Banks of the Ohio/Olivia Newton-John) has now been included on the interchange bench for this team. Jason Love has been omitted and will be an emergency.
Ben King (GC/King of the Road) has replaced his twin brother, Max King. Max King will therefore have no part to play, as only one King surname is allowed in the team. Ben King will replace Love in the forward pocket.
The final emergency for this team will be Peter Wright (Gold Coast/Essendon/You May Be Right/Billy Joel).
As today is Good Friday and football has now been played on Good Friday for a number of years, Good Friday also reminded me of Good Films that one used to watch on Good Friday, during the days when not much else could be done on that day.
Therefore, Good Films required Good Actors/Actresses, so this article got me thinking of doing a football team to play against the team named by Glen, at the beginning of this article. Who better than a team where the players’ surnames are that of a famous film actor/actress. They can be known as role players.
The criteria is that the surname can only be used once and the spelling doesn’t matter, as long as it’s spelt similarly and sounds the same.
Some players were named out of position, so they could still be included in the team.
Preference was given to the players of better ability or who did well in finals, including Grand Finals.
This is the VFL/AFL Team of Film Actors/Actresses:
B: Barry LAWRENCE (St K/JENNIFER), Darcy MOORE (Coll/JULIEANNE), Peter DEAN (Carl/JAMES)
HB: Bailey SMITH (WB/Geelong/WILL), Sam TAYLOR (GWS/ELIZABETH), Josh GIBSON (NM/Haw/MEL)
C: Paul KELLY (c) (Sydney S/GRACE), Ian STEWART (St Kilda/Rich/JAMES), Shane CRAWFORD (Haw/JOAN)
HF: Ian COOPER (St Kilda/GARRY), Wayne CAREY (NM/Ad/JIM CARREY), Richard DOUGLAS (Adel/MICHAEL)
F: Steve HOFFMAN (SM/Fo/DUSTIN), Peter HUDSON (Hawthorn/ROCK), Nick DAVIS (Coll/Syd/BETTE)
R: John NEWMAN (Geelong/PAUL), Scott WEST (Western Bulldogs/MAE), Greg WILLIAMS (Geel/Syd/Carl/ROBIN)
Interchange: Luke JACKSON (Melb/Frem/SAMUEL L), Will DAY (Haw/DORIS), John PECK (Haw/GREGORY), David GRANT (St K/Melb/CAREY)
Sub: Ted HOPKINS (Carl/ANTHONY)
Emergencies: MARK ROBERTS (Syd/Bris/NM/JULIA), Peter FOSTER (Fitz/Foots/JODIE), Scott CROW (Haw/Coll/RUSSELL CROWE), Nathan FREEMAN (Coll/St K/MORGAN)
Coach: John KENNEDY (Haw/NM/GEORGE)
This team will play an exhibition match against the Let There Be Rock Team, named by Glen, at the start of this article.
The match will be played at the MCG, which has also hosted rock concerts.
The match will also be streamed live in major cinemas.
Let’s hope for a good game of football where everyone the VFL/AFL team of Actors/Actresses PLAYS THEIR ROLE and where every player in the Let There Be Rock Team is ON SONG!
Frohe Ostern Anon, that’s a decent team.
I reckon I’ve seen Sid James in a few movies on Good Friday over time. Would there be a spot for Sid James, (Sydney/Max James)?
Glen!
Firstly, the entertainment for the match between the Let There Be Rock Team and the VFL/AFL Team of Film Actors/Actresses will be “We Will Rock You”, by Queen and highlights of the best film from any actor/actress named in the latter team.
Thanks for your suggestion Glen. However, the selectors have decided that as far as the surname James is concerned, as only one James is allowed to play in the team, they have gone with John JAMES (Carl/SID) over Max JAMES (Sth Melb/Sydney/SID). It was due to the fact that John James won a Brownlow Medal in 1961 during his 195 games for Carlton, as a half back flanker.
Also, for team balance, there wasn’t any place for Max James at his usual position of centre half forward, or anywhere else in the forward line. (AuBerdem gab es aus Grunden der Mannschaftsbalance keinen Platz fur Max James auf senior ublichen Position als Mittelsturmer oder irgendwo anders im Team).
Therefore, John James (Carl/SID) has now replaced Bailey Smith (WB/Geel/WILL) as one of the half back flankers. Bailey Smith has now been demoted to the interchange bench and David Grant (St K/Melb/CARY) has been omitted. Grant can now be one of the emergencies, ahead of Nathan Freeman (Coll/St K/MORGAN).
The umpires for the match will be Leigh FISHER (St K/AFL Umpire/CARRIE), Ray CHAMBERLAIN (RICHARD) and Brett ALLEN (WOODY).
These umpires will be looking out for any players, particularly on the VFL/AFL Team of Film Actors/Actresses, who STAGE for free kicks!
The title of this article got me thinking about doing a football team where each player’s surname is related to rock, as in rocks and stones. The surname can even be related to places that have rocks.
The surname can be used more than once and the spelling doesn’t matter. Rock and stone can also be part of the surname.
Some players were named out of position, so that they could be included in the team.
This is the VFL/AFL Team of Rocks:
B: Gary AYRES Haw/AYERS ROCK), Stephen MOUNT (Rich/MOUNT Augustus), Nick STONE (Haw/St K 2002-05)
HB: Nicholas STONE (WC 1997-2000), Barry STONEham (c) (Geel1986-2000), Ken STONEhouse (Rich 1976, 1978)
C: George FeatherSTONE (Fitz 1910), Tom ROCKliff (Brisbane Lions/Port Ad), Terry MOUNTAIN (Melb/Geel 1957-58/ROCKY MOUNTAINS)
HF: Neville STONE (Melb 1966-1969), Anthony ROCCa (Syd/Coll/Rocc/Rock), Conor STONE (GWS 2021-present)
F: Chris STONE (St Kilda 1978-81), Sav ROCCa (Coll/North M/Rocc/Rock), John MOSSop (Geelong/MOSS grows on Rocks)
R: Graham MOSS (Ess/MOSS on Rocks), Alan STONEham (Footscray/Ess), Anthony ROCK (North M/Hawthorn)
Playing Coach: Gary AYRES (played Haw/coached Geel/Adel/AYERS ROCK)
This team will play a pretend exhibition match against the Let There Be Rock team, named at the start of this article.
Venue: BlundSTONE Arena
Entertainment: The Rolling STONES, Neil DIAMOND
Let’s hope for a good game of football, where the players make good decisions, instead of having ROCKS in their head!
Some stelae names and the odd jet here and there.
The selectors have decided to included Peter GErMan (North M 1984-94) and Leon GEMmell (Fitz 1942-43, 1945-46) on the interchange bench for the VFL/AFL Team of Rocks, in the hope that they will be the hidden GEMS for this team.
As far as other jets are concerned, ROCK Air Charters will help with the transport.
ROCK Hudson’s descendants will make a guest appearance at the match.
Let’s also hope that the players will be as solid as a rock, as well as coming out to play with “fire and brimSTONE!”
The entertainment from Neil Diamond for the pretend exhibition match between the VFL/AFL Team of Rocks and the Let There Be Rock Team, will include his song “Love on the ROCKS”.
For any young children at the game, their entertainment at the venue will be highlights of The FlinSTONES.
If the match is a draw, another game will be played at the ROCKdale llinden Sports Centre in NSW. The players will then end up going to an after match meal at The ROCKS.
Prior to that, all the players will then go to the city of Sydney and take a ferry ride. They will be required to be on their best behaviour, so they don’t ROCK the boat!
The title of this article, together with the current FA article regarding Dave Warner, a very undervalued Australian rock artist, got me thinking about doing an equivalent Australian Test Cricket team, where each player shares a surname of a leading musician.
The criteria was that the surname could only be used once and the spelling of the surname doesn’t matter, as long as it sounds the same.
This is the Australian Test Cricket Team of Musician’s Surnames:
David Warner (Dave)
Chris Rogers (Kenny)
Archie Jackson (8 Tests Australia 1929-31, avg 47.40/Michael)
Dean Jones (c) (Tom)
Greg Ritchie (Lionel)
Greg Matthews (Wendy)
Wayne Phillips (wk) (Michelle)
Shaun Young (John Paul)
Kerry O’Keeffe (Johnny)
Ryan Harris (Emmylou)
Paul Wilson (Brian)
12th man: Jeff Moss (Ian)
Concussion sub: Kevin Wright (Stevie)
This team will play a pretend exhibition match against the World Test Cricket Team of Musician’s Surnames:
Alastair Cook (c) (Sam)
Nic Knight (Gladys)
Glenn Turner (Tina)
Martin Crowe (Sheryl)
Viv Richards (Keith)
Alex Stewart (wk)
Carlos Brathwaite (Daryl)
Collis King (Carole)
Sydney Barnes (27 Tests England 1901-14/Jimmy)
Courtney Walsh (Joe – guitarist Eagles)
Shannon Gabriel (Peter)
Venue: MCG (where many concerts have been held)
Entertainment: “C’Mon Aussie C’Mon”, by Mojo Singers, as well as a selection of songs from the players’ surnames who are leading musicians.
Let’s hope for a good game of cricket that will be music to one’s ears!
Firstly, I meant to type Rod in brackets next to Alex Stewart’s name for the wicketkeeper of the World’s Test Cricket Team of Musician’s Surnames.
The selectors have decided to include Deryck Murray (62 Tests West Indies 1963-80/Anne) as the wicketkeeper, instead of Alex Stewart/Rod.
Stewart will remain in the team as a specialist batsman only at number 6.
Carlos Brathwaite/Daryl has been omitted and will now be the Concussion sub.
Craig White (30 Tests England 1994/2002/Barry) will be the 12th man.
Following my comment on April 18, 2025, now that we’re approaching the 2nd Test of the current Ashes series, it got me thinking of doing an equivalent cricket team of surnames of famous film actors/actresses.
The spelling of the surname doesn’t matter, as long as it sounds the same.
This is the Australian Test Cricket Team who share surnames with Famous Film Actors/Actresses:
Graeme Wood (Natalie Wood)
Alan Turner (Lana Turner)
Shane Watson (Emily Watson)
Steve Smith (c) (Will Smith)
Cameron Green (Brian Austin Green)
Doug Walters (Julie Walters)
Alex Carey (wk) (Jim Carey)
Peter Taylor (Elizabeth Taylor)
Tom Hogan (Paul Hogan)
Max Walker (Nicola Walker)
Jeff Thomson (Jack Thompson)
12th man: Ian Davis (Bette Davis)
Concussion Sub: Stuart Law (Jude Law)
Emergencies: Brad Williams (Robin Williams), Matthew Nicholson (Jack Nicholson)
This team will play a pretend exhibition match against the Australian Test Cricket Team of Musician’s Surnames, named in these comments on August 5, 2025.
Umpire: Paul Wilson (Rebel Wilson)
Venue: MCG
Entertainment: The song “C’Mon Aussie C’Mon”, by Mojo Singers
Let’s hope for a good game of cricket that’s both on song and made for the big stage!
The title of this article and the current Ashes Test series also got me thinking of doing cricket teams where every player’s surname is included in a song title.
The player’s surname can only be used once for one team, and not be included at all in the other team. The spelling doesn’t matter, as long as it sounds the same.
The song title has to have nothing to do with the cricketer in question, so therefore the songs are “Our Don Bradman” and “C’Mon Aussie C’Mon” aren’t eligible.
This is the Australian Test Cricket Team of Surnames that are in Song Titles:
Ian Davis (“Bette Davis Eyes”, by Kim Carnes)
Graeme Wood (“Knock on Wood”, by Amii Stewart)
Ian Chappell (c) (“Chapel Song” by Augustines)
Travis Head (“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head”, by BJ Thomas)
Dean Jones (“Me and Mrs Jones”, by Billy Paul)
Cameron Green (“Green Green Grass of Home”, by Tom Jones)
Richie Robinson (wk) (2 Tests Australia 1977/“Mrs Robinson”, by Simon & Garfunkel)
Ray Bright (“Bright Eyes”, by Art Garfunkel)
Dennis Lillee (“Lily of Leguna”, by GH Elliot)
Nathan Lyon (“The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, by The Tokens)
Jo Angel (“My Little Angel”, by William Shakespeare)
12th man: Martin Love (“Love Will Keep Us Together”, by Captain & Tennille)
This team will play a pretend exhibition match against the England Test Cricket Team of Surnames that are in Song Titles:
Brian Rose (9 Tests England 1977-81/“The Rose”, by Bette Midler)
Nick Knight (17 Tests England 1995-2001/“Night Moves”, by Bob Seger)
Ian Bell (“Ring My Bell”, by Anita Ward)
David Steele (8 Tests England 1975-76/“Steal Away”, by Robbie Dupree)
Paul Collingwood (“Collingwood Football Club Song”, by Fable Singers)
W. G. Grace (22 Tests England 1880-1899/“Amazing Grace”, by Judy Collins)
Steven Rhodes (wk) (11 Tests England 1994-95/“Country Roads, Take Me Home”, by John Denver)
Gladstone Small (17 Tests England 1986-91/“Small Town”, by John Mellencamp)
Chris Old (46 Tests England 1973-81/“Old Time Rock and Roll”, by Bob Seger)
Jake Ball (4 Tests England 2016-17/“Great Balls of Fire”, by Jerry Lee Lewis)
James Anderson (“Hans Christian Anderson”, by Danny Kaye)
12th man: Craig White (30 Tests England 1994-2002/“A White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation)”, by Marty Robbins
Venue: Song Stadium, Malaysia (Stadium in Song, Malaysia)
Entertainment: A selection of the songs already mentioned in this comment
Let’s hope for a good game of cricket, where the players will be on song!
As today is the 1st day of the 2nd Ashes Test and together with the title of this article, as well as my comment on July 11, 2025, it got me thinking of doing an equivalent cricket team where every player’s (or part of) first name, surname or nickname is related to rocks, as in stone. The name can also be part of a place that is known for having rocks.
This is the World 11 Cricket Team of Rocks:
Michael Slater (Slate)
Mark Stoneman (11 Tests England 2017-18/Stone in surname)
Nick Jewell (62 FC Vic 2002-10/Jewel)
Chris Balderstone (2 Tests England 1976/Stone in surname)
Warren Ayers (46 FC Vic 1988-97/Ayers Rock)
Liam Livingstone (1 Test England 2022/Stone in surname)
Andrew Flintoff (c) (Freddie as in Fred Flintstone as his nickname)
Neil Rock (wk) (3 ODIs/25 T20s Ireland 2021-present/Rock)
Gladstone Small (17 Tests England 1986-91/Stone in first name)
Bill Johnston (40 Tests Australia 1947-55/Ston as part of surname)
Olly Stone (5 Tests England 2019-24/Stone)
12th man: Austin Diamond (35FC NSW 1899-1918/Diamond)
This team will play a pretend exhibition match against the Australian Test Cricket Team who share surnames or first names with Famous Film Actors/Actresses, because of the Rock Hudson connection.
Venue: Rockhampton Cricket Ground, Queensland
Entertainment: Neil Diamond, Rolling Stones, highlights of “Picnic at Hanging Rock”.
The match will be televised live on 9 GEM.
Let’s hope for a good game of cricket. If you miss it, you will have rocks in your head!
The current musical topic of Songs Referencing Musical Instruments, got me thinking of doing a cricket team where every player has a first name or surname or part of a first name or part of a surname that is the same or similar in spelling to a type of musical instrument.
The surname can be used more than once in order to strengthen the team, and for team balance. Some players were named out of their preferred batting order, so they could fit in the team.
This is the World Test Cricket Team of Musical Instruments:
Chris BROAD (25 Tests England 1984-89/KEYBOARD)
Graeme WOOD (WOODWIND)
Ollie POPE (wk) (PIPE)
Rob KEY (15 Tests England 2002-05/KEYBOARD)
Eoin MORGAN (c) (16 Tests England 2010-12/ORGAN)
Victor TRUMPER (TRUMPET)
Paul STRANG (24 Tests Zimbabwe 1994-2001/STRING)
Stuart BROAD (KEYBOARD)
Mark WOOD (38 Tests England (2015-2025/WOODWIND)
CLARRIE Grimmett (37 Tests Australia 1925-36/CLARINET)
Bryan STRANG (26 Tests Zimbabwe 1995-2001/STRING)
12th man: Alex TUDOR (10 Tests England 1998-2002/TUDOR Instruments c.1485-1603)
Concussion Sub: Chris DRUM (5 Tests New Zealand 2001-02/DRUMS)
Others who didn’t play Test cricket:
Keith PIPER (Warwickshire 1990s-early 2000s/PIPE)
Felix ORGAN (56 FC Hampshire 2017-pres/ORGAN)
Ken SAXON (1 game Canterbury 1924/SAXOPHONE)
This team will play an exhibition match against the World 11 Cricket Team of Rocks, named in the above comment.
Venue: Any West Cricket Ground that plays Calypso music
Entertainment: All the musical instruments that have been already mentioned
Let’s hope for a good game of cricket that will be music to one’s ears!
Hallo Stephen.
There’s a few cricketers with musical related surnames.
Shaun Marsh (SOS);like the Abba song.
Richie Benaud, (Diamonds);numerous songs with Diamonds in the title.
Rahul Dravid, (The Wall);same as the Pink Floyd classic.
Ian Davis (Wizard);as per Andrew Farrell, the Australian pianist. Also, Pinball Wizard, the Who classic.
Glen!
Good pick ups Glen, as you’re referring to the comment on November 28, 2025, regarding where every player’s surname is included in a song title, but not about the player himself. In your case, you have used the player’s nicknames.
Continuing the ABBA song theme, Doug Ring (13 Tests Australia 1948-53) can have his surname used for “Ring Ring”.
Dilhara Fernando (40 Tests Sri Lanka 2000-12) can have his surname used for the ABBA song “Fernando”.
It’s been brought to my attention that Dilhara Fernando wasn’t eligible for that Abba song “Fernando”, as the comment on November 28, 2025 actually related to England and Australian Test players only.
However, it’s since been decided to accept include that nomination, as the nickname nominations were also included in the last comment, when the previous criteria was for the specific surnames only.
Therefore another unusual nomination has been accepted for the purpose of this exercise, in that cricketer Neil Rock, who hasn’t played Test cricket, but has played 3 ODIs and 25 T20s for Ireland (as Australia is playing against Ireland tonight in the T20 Cup) from 2021 to 2025, will have his surname of Rock used for the ABBA song “Rock Me”.
The winner of tonight’s T20 World Cup match between Australia and Ireland will therefore have bragging rights for “The Winner Takes It All.”
Of course, Glen, although you barrack for Australia in the cricket, you have a soft spot for Ireland for one SIDE of your family, like you have a soft spot for Germany for another SIDE of your family.