Famous Cricketers No 40 - Neil Harvey

on matting wickets, took 13-114 and destroyed Australia. R.R.Lindwall took his 200th Test wicket when dismissing Zulfiqar Ahmed, the third bowler after C.V.Grimmett and A.V.Bedser to achieve this feat. This was the first official visit of an Australian team to the sub-continent to include first-class matches, the previous tours being the private tour in 1935/36 and the Australian Services side in 1945 on their way home. Moving on to India the Australians had much the better of the three match series, winning two and drawing one. At Bombay in the second match Harvey’s batting dominated the third day’s play, scoring 140 out of a stand of 204 in 247 minutes with J.W.Burke (161). His innings contained eighteen fours and when he reached his hundred youths scaled the fences around the playing area and draped him with garlands of flowers. In the final game, at Calcutta, he batted for three hours for his 69 to rescue Australia from what could have been an embarrassing situation. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 195. AUSTRALIA v PAKISTAN, National Stadium, Karachi, October 11, 12, 13, 15, 17 (Pakistan won by nine wickets) lbw b Fazal Mahmood 2 80 199 b Fazal Mahmood 4 187 69-1 1 196. AUSTRALIA v INDIA, Madras, October 19, 20, 22, 23 (Australia won by an innings and five runs) b M.H.Mankad 37 319 161 3 153 1 197. AUSTRALIA v INDIA, Bombay, October 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 (Match drawn) c sub (R.G.Nadkarni) b J.M.Patel 140 523-7d 251 2 250-5 198. AUSTRALIA v INDIA, Calcutta, November 2, 3, 5, 6 (Australia won by 94 runs) c N.S.Tamhane b Ghulam Ahmed 7 177 1 1 0 0 136 1 c P.R.Umrigar b M.H.Mankad 69 189-9d - - - - 136 3 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Test - Pakistan 1 2 0 6 4 3.00 - - 1 Tests - India 3 4 0 253 140 63.25 1 1 10 1956/57 4 6 0 259 140 43.16 1 1 11 Career 198 297 24 14024 225 51.36 43 63 112 Bowling O M R W BB Ave Tests (6-ball) 1 1 0 0 - - Career (8-ball) 96.7 8 } 561 14 3/9 14.07 (6-ball) 51 13 1956/57 In what proved to be his last season for Victoria Harvey had his best ever season in the Shield - 744 runs at 106.28. Arriving home from India he missed the first two Shield games when the side was captained by S.J.E.Loxton. Loxton then asked the Victorian selectors not to consider him as captain and Harvey was appointed. Victoria’s games were again played at the Junction Oval as the MCG was being renovated after the Olympic Games. In his first game as captain of the state Harvey made a valiant effort to prevent Queensland from winning their first game in Melbourne since 1931/32. In the first innings he scored 108 in 213 minutes with 10 fours out of 207 (52.17%), adding 111 for the seventh wicket with W.A.Dick (45), and 53 in the second. Victoria’s next game in the Shield, against New South Wales, produced the first tie in 100 years of inter-state cricket. New South Wales, needing 161 to win, collapsed to 70-6 before I.D.Craig, suffering from tonsilitis, and R.Benaud added 75 for the eighth wicket. L.F.Kline (6-57) then tempted Benaud into a big hit and he snicked a catch to first slip; J.W.Burke, who had batted throughout the first innings for 132* and then had his finger broken 27