Famous Cricketers No 54 - Stan McCabe

1938/39 Gastric influenza meant that McCabe missed most of the season; he contracted it during the match at Melbourne, which celebrated the centenary of Melbourne Cricket Club, but not until after he had scored 105 in 140 minutes with 11 fours, sharing in a third wicket partnership of 163 with Bradman in just over two hours. New South Wales missed him in the Sheffield Shield after being champions the previous season; they finished bottom with only two points (from two draws), their worst performance since the Shield was inaugurated. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 167. New South Wales v Queensland, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, November 25, 26, 28, 29 (Match drawn) c C.P.Christ b P.L.Dixon 35 171 12 1 26 1 T.Allen c S.G.Barnes 501 1 c R.E.Rogers b P.L.Dixon 1 303-9 168. D.G.Bradman’s XI v K.E.Rigg’s XI, Melbourne, December 9, 10, 12, 13 (Match drawn) c I.S.Lee b L.E.Nagel 105 426 215 1 324-8 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Shield matches 1 2 0 36 35 18.00 - - 1 Other matches 1 1 0 105 105 105.00 1 - 1 Season 2 3 0 141 105 47.00 1 - 2 Career 168 238 20 10771 240 49.40 28 57 128 Bowling O M R W BB Ave 5wi 10wm Shield matches (8-ball) 12 1 26 1 1-26 26.00 - - Career (6-ball) 1191.5 279 } 5345 159 5-36 33.61 - - (8-ball) 780.1 126 1939/40 With McCabe back at the helm New South Wales won the Sheffield Shield again. He put in good performances in virtually every match, even though he obtained a fourth-ball duck in his first outing, but helped his side to reach the 267 runs needed for victory. He scored 98 in 127 minutes with 13 fours in the second innings, and shared in a quick 77-minute partnership for the third wicket with Solomon. His only century of the season came against Victoria when he scored 114 in 139 minutes and included 11 fours; this victory helped New South Wales to take the Sheffield Shield for the 22nd time, and the innings was described by the Sydney Morning Herald as “controlled but full of scintillating strokeplay, superb placements and timing with all his strokes on view”. This was to be the last Sheffield Shield match until the 1946/47 season. One of the other highlights was New South Wales getting 323 to beat The Rest in the last match of the season, McCabe scoring 96 in only 78 minutes with 12 fours, this followed 72 in the first innings, both being the best scores for his side. McCabe had not bowled during the season, due to a foot complaint; this was to affect him for the rest of his life. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 169. New South Wales v Queensland, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, November 17, 18, 20, 21 (New South Wales won by three wickets) c D.Tallon b J.A.Ellis 0 287 290 c C.P.Christ b P.L.Dixon 98 268-7 263 1 170. New South Wales v South Australia, Adelaide, December 15, 16, 18 (South Australia won by seven wickets) lbw b C.V.Grimmett 40 336 430 lbw b C.V.Grimmett 47 248 156-3 171. New South Wales v Victoria, Melbourne, December 22, 23, 26 (Victoria won by 72 runs) c R.B.Scott b L.O’B.Fleetwood-Smith 52 321 280 1 27