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Controversy is raging over dual nationals in the Australian Parliament. Fortunately such narrow-mindedness has not engulfed sports in Australia.
Four overseas-born cricketers played for Australia in the January 2017 Sydney Test against Pakistan. They are batsman Usman Khawaja (born in Pakistan), spinner Stephen O’Keefe (Malaysia), opening batsman Matt Renshaw (England) and debutant all-rounder Hilton Cartwright (Zimbabwe).
The latest in the group, Cartwright, became the 440th cricketer and the 25th overseas-born to play for Australia – though this research involves only male cricketers.
Australia’s first-ever Test XI, who played England at the MCG in 1877, featured six players who were born overseas. They were the English-born quartet of Charles Bannerman, John Hodges, Tom Kendall and William Midwinter, along with Tom Horan (Ireland) and Bransby Cooper (India).
Overall there have been eleven English-born cricketers to play Test cricket for Australia.
Below is a list of 25 Australian Test cricketers born overseas.
England (11): Charles Bannerman, John Hodges, Tom Kendall, William Midwinter, Percy McDonnell, William Cooper, Henry Musgrove, Hanson Sammy Carter, Tony Dell, Andrew Symonds and Matt Renshaw.
New Zealand (3): Tom Groube, Clarrie Grimmett and Brendon Julian.
India (2): Bransby Cooper and Rex Sellers.
Ireland (2): Tom Horan, Tom Kelly.
Malaysia (1): Stephen O’Keefe.
Scotland (1): Archie Jackson.
South Africa (1): Kepler Wessels.
Pakistan (1): Usman Khawaja.
Portugal (1): Moises Henriques.
Sri Lanka (1): Dav Whatmore.
Zimbabwe (1): Hilton Cartwright.
Charles Bannerman played the first ball in Test cricket on 15 March 1877, scored the first run (off the second ball) and went on to record the first Test century. His domination in that innings (165 retired hurt, out of Australia’s total of 245; 67.35 per cent) remains a Test record even after 140 years.
No-one else could make 20 in that innings.
Australia toured England for the first time in 1878. On that tour Bannerman scored 723 runs for an average of 24.10. He recorded the only century by an Australian that summer – 133 at Leicester against Leicestershire.
Towards the end of May he played in the historic match at Lord’s against the MCC, who were dismissed by Frederick Spofforth and Henry Boyle for a measly 19. The Australians triumphed by nine wickets.
Bannerman paid no other visit to England, with illness cutting short his career as a cricketer. At various times he undertook coaching duties in Melbourne and Sydney and at Christ’s College in Christchurch, New Zealand. He later became an efficient umpire. His younger brother, the stodgy Alec Bannerman, was born in Paddington, Sydney.
William Cooper was Paul Sheahan’s great-grandfather. Sheahan, noted for his brilliant fielding, played 31 Tests for Australia. They provide the only instances of a great-grandfather and a great-grandson playing Test cricket.
Scotland-born Archie Jackson, a contemporary of Don Bradman, was an elegant batsman but died aged 23. While lying in hospital on what was to be his death bed he got married. Knowledgeable critics opined that Jackson was as talented as Bradman and as elegant as Vic Trumper. What a tragedy that he died so young!
Billy Midwinter also played for England and Kepler Wessels for South Africa. Midwinter represented Australia in eight Tests from 1876-77 to 1886-87, scoring 174 runs at 13.38 and taking 14 wickets at 23.78. In between he played four Tests for England in 1881-82, scoring 95 runs at 13.57 and taking ten wickets at 27.20.
After scoring 1761 runs for Australia at an average of 42.95 in 24 Tests from 1982-83 to 1985-86 with four hundreds (and a highest score 179), South Africa-born Wessels played 16 Tests for his country of birth, making 1027 runs at 38.03 in 16 Tests from 1991-92 to 1994 hitting two centuries, his highest score being 118.
A left-hand bat, Wessels made 162 on debut for Australia against England in November 1982. He averaged 56.11 in the series against the mighty West Indians in 1984-85, with his highest score a 173 in the Sydney Test.
To quote noted writer Greg Baum from CricInfo, “A seemingly severe man, Wessels enjoyed only qualified popularity among Australians, who were unsurprised to see him return to South Africa, but with an average of 43 in 24 Tests, he did give Australia stout service at a difficult time.”
Unlike in politics, open-mindedness has long existed in Australian sports. May it continue.