Australian cricket's Unlucky XI: Part one

When you think nostalgia, names like Lillee, Marsh, Border, Ponting, McGrath and Warne get tossed around. But what If I was to say Cox, Siddons or Di Venuto? Why these players you ask?

Well, from an international perspective they have one thing in common: Zero Test appearances.

That’s right, nought, nix, nada, niente, a goose-egg, a bagel. There are bugger-all test caps for these three.

While their Test careers can be summed up in a second, the same can’t be said for their Sheffield Shield contribution.

31,438 runs, 164 half centuries, 79 centuries, 243 50+ scores and all three listed in the top 10 leading run scorers in the history of the Sheffield Shield (Cox second, Siddons third and Di Venuto eighth).

How can three prospering state cricketers be continuously overlooked?

Well, for the better part of the late 80s and 90s, Australia enjoyed a wealth of batting talent. For batsmen looking to make headway in the 90s, breaking into Fort Knox appeared simpler.

Martyn, Langer, Mark Waugh, Slater, Hayden and Ponting all broke onto the scene between 91 and 95. Do those names sound familiar?

A pecking order barely existed within the batting ranks, how could it? These guys were making teams like England and the West Indies look amateur.

In hindsight, the unlucky three should have focused more on rolling the arm over in the nets. The pace bowling contingent was comprised more or less of McGrath and McGrath alone (support from Gillespie and Fleming). When the big names from the 80’s started pulling the plug, there was a continuous turnover of par-standard quicks.

Angel, Julian, Cook, Wilson and Nicholson all donned the whites but failed to make a lasting impression. Scott Muller couldn’t even bat or bowl but even managed to pull a gig with the national side.

However these three luckless men wouldn’t walk alone, many others like them have been left to ponder what if.

So here’s to the forgotten men of Australian cricket, judiciously dubbed “The Unlucky XI”.

Jamie Cox (C):
Captaining this underrated side is Tasmanian opening batsmen Jamie Cox with one impressive resume. He scored 18,614 first-class runs (10821 scored in Sheffield Shield) at an average of 42.69 (38.92 in SS), 81 (47 SS) half-centuries, 51 (30 SS) centuries and a high score of 245.

Cox has been immortalised within the Tasmanian community but never got the opportunity to prove his worth on a national level. The closest he came to the Test side was in the lead up to the 1997 and 2001 Ashes series. Consideration went part and parcel with the career of Cox who fought a losing battle against Taylor, Slater, Elliott, Hayden and Langer at the top of the order.

Today, he remains second on the overall run scoring list in the Sheffield Shield, surpassed only by Darren Lehmann.

Martin Love:
Opening the batting with Cox is the intelligent cricketer Martin Love, who had a knack for producing a timely innings. He scored 16,952 first-class runs (10,132 scored in SS) at an average of 49.85 (45.23 in SS), 78 (43 SS) half-centuries, 45 (27 SS) centuries and a remarkable high score of 300 n.o.

Love got his chance to play for Australia in 2002 against England, scoring an unbeaten 62 in the first innings followed up with 6 not out. The following year, Love scored his maiden test century, 100 not out against Bangladesh. Damien Martyn returned from injury following that Test and Love never regained his spot in the side.

Love rarely threw away his wicket and as a result enjoyed a number of “not out” innings.

Michael Di Venuto:

The hard hitting, left-handed Michael Di Venuto comes in at first drop. Renowned for his punishing front and back foot cover-drive, Di Venuto represented Australia nine times in the one day format, but never in the longer game. Di Venuto was a record breaking batsman for Tasmania in his career spanning from 1991 to 2011.

He scored 24,909 First-class runs (9,974 scored in SS) at an average of 46.21 (41.73 in SS), 145 half-centuries (67 SS), 60 (19 SS) centuries and a high score of 254 n.o.

Di Venuto proved time and time again he had the temperament to match his ability, however like Cox, he wrestled with big-name, top-order players for the majority of his career.

Brad Hodge:

At number four is the man many regarded the “unluckiest of them all”, Victorian Brad Hodge. Hodge played just six tests for Australia, averaging 55.88 and scoring a test double century. Many have criticised Hodge on the grounds that excluding his innings of 203 N.O, his average would have been 33.3. However, you can always rejig stats to favour your argument and overall his impressive average of 55.88 stands and we are still left bewildered by his absence.

Before Hodge landed an opportunity to represent Australia, he was consistently performing at a state level with 17,084 First-class runs (10,474 scored in SS) at an average of 48.81 (45.34 in SS), 64 (49 SS) half centuries, 51 (29 SS) centuries and a high score of 302 N.O.

Debate continues still today about whether his dismissal from the side was justified, but all I know Is Brad Hodge will forever be remembered as the one that got away (or was pushed away).

Jamie Siddons:

Coming in at five is one of the greatest domestic players to again never represent his country, Jamie Siddons. Debuting in 1984, Siddons was touted by many as a future Australian batsman. By the time he retired in 2000 he had amassed 10,643 runs in the Sheffield Shield competition which at the time was a record. He came close to playing for Australia in 1988 against Pakistan only to be struck down by a stomach bug. It was more than a year before he returned to fitness.

Siddons regained some form before again being forced out of the game, this time copping a Merv Hughes bouncer square on the cheek during the 1991/92 season.

Siddons stats at a domestic level were impressive; he scored 11,587 First-class runs (10,634 in SS) at an average of 44.91 (44.71 in SS), 53 (50 SS) half-centuries, 35 (30 SS) centuries with a highest score of 245.

Unlike perhaps some of the others, circumstances such as injury and illness were major players in Siddon’s absence from the Test side.

See The Unlucky XI: Part two, as I continue to work through Australia’s unluckiest side.