Who was Australia's first cricketer of significance and who The Call is based on?
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The Call (Martin Flanagan novel) The Call is a historical novel by Australian writer Martin Flanagan. It was first published by Allen & Unwin in 1998. It is a semi-fictional account of the life of cricketer and Australian rules football founder Tom Wills.
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Tom Wills Thomas Wentworth Wills (19 August 1835 – 2 May 1880) was a sportsman who is credited with being Australia's first cricketer of significance and a founder of Australian rules football. Born in the British colony of New South Wales to a wealthy family descended from convicts, Wills grew up in the bush on properties owned by his father, the pastoralist and politician Horatio Wills, in what is now the Australian state of Victoria. He befriended local Aborigines, learning their language and customs. At the age of 14, Wills was sent to England to attend Rugby School, where he became captain of its cricket team, and played an early version of rugby football. After Rugby, Wills represented the Cambridge University Cricket Club in the annual match against Oxford, and played at first-class level for Kent and the Marylebone Cricket Club. An athletic all-rounder with exceptional bowling skills, he was regarded as one of the finest young cricketers in England.
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Gary Cosier Gary John Cosier (born 25 April 1953) is a former Australian test cricketer who played in 18 Tests and 9 ODIs from 1975 to 1979. Cosier's star shone very briefly following a sensational test debut, when he became only the ninth Australian to post a century in his first Test.
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James Mackay (cricketer) James Rainey Munro Mackay (9 September 1880 – 13 June 1953), better known as "Sunny Jim" Mackay, was an Australian cricketer. He was a right-handed opening batsman who was likened in his youth to Victor Trumper, and was considered unlucky to miss the 1905 Australian tour to England.
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Henry Holden (cricketer) Henry Holden DL, JP (26 August 1823 – 1 February 1900) was an English cricketer and controversial cricket administrator who played a part in one of the first strikes by professional cricketers in 1881. As a player, Holden's batting style is unknown.
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Mark Taylor (cricketer) Mark Anthony Taylor, AO (born 27 October 1964 in Leeton, New South Wales; nicknamed "Tubby" or "Tubs" is a former Australian cricket player and Test opening batsman from 1988 to 1999, as well as captain from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Allan Border. His predominant fielding position was first slip. He was widely regarded as an instrumental component in Australia's rise to Test cricket dominance, and his captaincy was regarded as adventurous and highly effective. However, he was considered less than ideal for One-Day International cricket and was eventually dropped as one-day captain after a 0–3 drubbing at the hands of England in 1997.
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Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (born 13 September 1969) is a former Australian international cricketer, and a former ODI captain. Widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game, Warne was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in the 1994 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. He was the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 1997 (Notional Winner). He was named Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for the year 2004 in the 2005 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five "Wisden Cricketers of the Century", the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet and the only one still playing at the time. He is also a cricket commentator and a professional poker player. He officially retired from all formats of cricket in July 2013.
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Hunter Hendry Hunter Scott Thomas Laurie Hendry (24 May 1895 — 16 December 1988) was a cricketer who played for New South Wales, Victoria and Australia.
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Michael Hussey Michael Edward Killeen Hussey (born 27 May 1975) also known as Mike Hussey is a former Australian Test cricketer. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname Mr Cricket. Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the one-day international and Test Australian teams, debuting at 28 and 30 years of age in the respective formats, with 15,313 first-class runs before making his Test debut. However, he had a highly successful international career, being the top-ranked ODI batsman in the world in 2006. He players first-class cricket as vice-captain of the Western Warriors in Australia and played for three counties in England, as well as the Indian Premier League for the Chennai Super Kings. Michael Hussey announced his retirement from international cricket on 29 December 2012. He continued to play for Big Bash side Sydney Thunder after this date before announcing his retirement from all forms of cricket after the completion of BBL|05.
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Eddie Illingworth Edward "Eddie" Philip Illingworth (born 27 November 1938) is a former Australian cricketer who played five first-class matches for Victoria between 1962 and 1964. A right-arm medium pace bowler, Illingworth was best remembered for being no-balled for throwing in a Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in November 1964 by umpires Col Egar and Jack Ryan. His selection for Victoria was made more controversial by the fact that he had been called at district level for throwing prior to his first-class debut. Away from first-class cricket, Illingworth had a successful career for Fitzroy in Victorian Premier Cricket, where he remains the eighth highest wicket-taker of all time, with 599. He was named the club champion three times, and later served for seven years as a board member of the Victorian Cricket Association.
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Chuck Fleetwood-Smith Leslie O'Brien "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith (30 March 1908 – 16 March 1971) was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. Known universally as "Chuck", he was the "wayward genius" of Australian cricket during the 1930s. A slow bowler who could spin the ball harder and further than his contemporaries, Fleetwood-Smith was regarded as a rare talent, but his cricket suffered from a lack of self-discipline that also characterised his personal life. In addition, his career coincided with those of Bill O'Reilly and Clarrie Grimmett, two spinners named in the ten inaugural members of the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame; as a result he played only ten Test matches but left a lasting impression with one delivery in particular. His dismissal of Wally Hammond in the fourth Test of the 1936–37 Ashes series has been compared to Shane Warne's ball of the century. He has the unwanted record of conceding the most runs by a bowler in a Test match innings.
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Twopenny (cricketer) Twopenny (also Jarrawuk or Murrumgunarrimin) (c. 1845 – 12 March 1883) is generally acknowledged as the first Aboriginal Australian to play first-class cricket.
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Australian cricket team in England in 1905 The Australian cricket team in England in 1905 played 35 first-class matches including 5 Tests. Australia was captained by Joe Darling. The England captain in all five Tests was Stanley Jackson.
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Wisden Australia's Cricketer of the Year Each year from 1998 to 2005 "Wisden Australia" selected one Australian cricketer as "Wisden Australia"' s Cricketers of the Year. The award recognised that player's contribution to cricket in Australia in the previous season, in a similar manner to the Wisden Cricketers of the Year, selected by "Wisden Cricketers' Almanack" based on their influence on the game in England.
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Sydney Callaway Sydney Thomas Callaway (6 February 1868 in Redfern, Sydney – 25 November 1923 in Christchurch) was an Australian cricketer who played in three Tests.
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World Series Cricket Australia XI The World Series Cricket Australia XI was a cricket team representing Australia in World Series Cricket (WSC). Their first game was against the WSC West Indies in 1977. World Series Cricket ended in 1979 after the Australian XI tour to the West Indies. The side was made up of current Australian international cricketers and some recently retired former Test players. The side was captained by Ian Chappell who had recently retired from first-class and international cricket, but returned to captain the side.
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Mark Waugh Mark Edward Waugh AM (born 2 June 1965) is a former Australian cricketer, who represented Australia in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One Day International debut in 1988.
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E. B. Dwyer John Elicius Benedict Bernard Placid Quirk Carrington Dwyer (3 May 1876 – 19 October 1912), better known as E. B. Dwyer, was an Australian cricketer who played first-class cricket in England for Sussex County Cricket Club.
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Ray Lindwall Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE (3 October 1921 – 23 June 1996) was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St. George, appearing in two grand finals for the club before retiring to fully concentrate on Test cricket.
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Syd Gregory Sydney Edward Gregory (14 April 1870 — 1 August 1929), sometimes known as Edward Sydney Gregory, was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. At the time of his retirement, he had played a world-record 58 Test matches during a career spanning 1890 to 1912. A right-handed batsman, he was also a renowned fielder, particularly at cover point.
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Shawn Gillies Winston Shawn Gillies (born 15 April 1981 in Mandeville, Jamaica) is a Jamaican born, Australian cricketer who has played first class matches for Western Warriors. His first match was a warm-up match against South Africa during their 2005–06 tour of Australia, where Gillies had two wickets in his very first over, and a report from Cricket Australia later described his bowling as "continually troubling the batsmen". Gillies ended with three wickets for 58, and 20 runs, as the Warriors beat the South African national team by an innings and 48 runs.
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Lily Poulett-Harris Lily Poulett-Harris (2 September 1873 – 15 August 1897) was an Australian sportswoman and educationalist, notable for being the founder and captain of the first women's cricket team in Australia. Poulett-Harris continued to play until forced to retire due to ill health from the tuberculosis that was eventually to claim her life.