Lives in Cricket No 28 - Keith Carmody

108 Achievement and Rejection in Western Australia the defeats in 1948/49 to beat Queensland and South Australia in 1949/50, while losing to the powerful New South Wales and Victoria. The newspaper’s response to its own question – ‘Is there need for a new State captain?’ – was to suggest ‘one of the tried and true veterans’, its own sometime commentator Alex Barras. Exactly three weeks later, on 4 January 1951, the sporting headline in the same newspaper was ‘CARMODY RESIGNS!’ Now its sympathies were entirely with a man who’d suddenly abandoned his job as state coach: No one interested in cricket in Western Australia expected that the outcome of criticism of the State’s showing in recent Sheffield Shield matches would be the resignation of the State coach. Nothing the critics, informed and otherwise, may have said in recent weeks could or did cast reflection on Keith Carmody’s ability in coaching or on his interest in the job. It had just one theory to explain the decision. ‘Although captain of the Shield team and official coach, it is really remarkable that Carmody was neither a selector nor adviser to the selectors of the material he was to employ.’ Ignoring its own recent questioning of Carmody’s playing performance and tenure as captain, The Western Mail concluded: ‘If criticism of the State team there had to be, then it should have been directed at the selectors who were alone responsible for its shortcomings.’ Although Keith never explained publicly the reasons for his resignation, they are so easy to guess that it’s baffling they eluded The Western Mail . When the newspaper questioned his place in the team on 14 December it acknowledged that ‘Carmody has a big task in running his coaching classes’. Applauding his commitment three weeks later, it accurately summed up his essential aims: Carmody, early in his appointment … expressed his intention of concentrating upon the young players, aged 16 and under. Given this malleable material he could proceed to inculcate basic principles and, in two or three years, raise the general standard and coach the more promising up to top grade. Carmody’s interest in this plan was beyond all doubt and the ambition beyond reproach. His junior classes in the metropolitan area and throughout the country were eagerly patronised. His methods and personality were immensely popular. Without doubt he was doing what he had set out to do.