Vale Ian Craig, Australia's youngest Test cricket captain

Thanks Lordy , for the memories of a great man in Ian Craig.I somehow missed playing against him all those year ago , to my regret.The young players of today miss a lot by seldom, if ever, playing against the Test men of the time. I think I noted on Cricket Archive ( what a great site)that Ian played in Dad's (Jack Moroney ) last game for NSW, which I had not realised. Keep up the good work , David, the younger guys can do with a bit of 'live' history from time to time. Am enjoying seeing Terry Smith's name in the Sunday Tele.

Probably The Art of Cricket, by Don Bradman, first published in 1958. It's still in print, as far as I know, if you want a new copy. Try Dymocks. It should also be possible to track down a secondhand copy through Abebooks.

By the way, since there are many experts contained within this article, I have a question- In 1970, I was 7yo and was about to venture into my first team. My dad bought me a book on cricket how-to and the like. It featured mainly Don Bradman. I can vividly remember some of the pictures but I cannot remember the title. I had lost it not long after I received it. (maybe loaned it) can anyone jog my memory of its title? I want to see if I can track a copy though possibly unlikely.

That's a great story- A ******beauty mate, if aussie slang phrasing could be openly used. Mr Lord your stories are gettin' better 'n better. This is why I keep all my old cricket books. Stories like these are captivating although I like especially Max Walkers stuff. They were cheeky buggers back then. (and not paid princely either) Speaking of Captains, gawd, there's a few putting there hands up a present- just read Watto's chiming in now. I reckon the best captain would be the one who doesn't seek it. My Dad always said a cricket captain should also be a thoroughly decent man. And so we had one in Mr Craig.

I did not have the pleasure of seeing him bat, but there would be occasional stories of the "promise unfulfilled" type. It's probably just my ignorance that I didn't know that hepatitis was the cause of his cricketing demise, so thank you for that, David. My overall impression is that he was a true gentleman, in a time when cricket was largely an amateur pursuit. However, when you look through the team that he captained, he must have been more than a gentleman. People nowadays may not remember how important cricket was at that time, in the Australian psyche. Test were relatively rare, and success was absolutely expected. When I look through that list -- and I have seen most of them play -- the outstanding characteristic of all of them was absolute mental toughness. Every single one of them had come through a tough grade system, to a tough Shield system, into a tough test arena, representing a tough, no-frills country, where they were not only better than their contemporaries, but tougher as well. No quarter was asked or given, and the competition was fierce. Poor shot selection or poor bowling was ruthlessly discussed and dissected at a sophisticated level by fans and reporters. To be selected to lead them, at such a young age, Ian Craig must have had some of that quality, or was perceived to have it. Can you comment on that aspect of his personality/leadership, David?

Thanks boys.

David/AD, It's fascinating how fate deals out cards differently, favouring one moment, or exorcising in the next. When you look at how Paddy Moran was selected to captain the first Wallabies to Great Britain in 1908/09, it's fascinating to read the many twists & turns that eventually led to Moran being named. In the course of Moran attracting the plum job, Harry Judd, Wally Matthews, Cecil Murnin & Peter Burge (the rugby player), among others, all fell by the wayside for one reason or another. When selected as test captain in 1957/78, Ian Craig could have expected to be in the job for a decade, barring illness or injury, or an unaccountable loss of form. Someone like Richie Benaud, had he given it any thought, would have resigned himself to be a foot soldier for the remainder of his career. At the time, I think Benaud was merely relieved to have finally secured a permanent position in the top XI. Then Craig develops hepatitis. Meanwhile, vice-captain Neil Harvey relocates from Melbourne to Sydney for work reasons. Harvey announces he is happy to play under whoever is chosen as Craig's NSW successor in 1958/59. While also declaring his availability as a candidate for the test captaincy. Benaud is named NSW captain with Harvey as his vice-captain. The test selectors see how well the two are meshing together at state level & see no reason to change things for the test team. Craig got sick; Harvey never progressed past vice-captain (but for one test), while Benaud progressed from foot soldier to one of Australia's most revered test captains. Weird, huh? Vale, Ian Craig.

There is a story about the 1957-58 tour of South Africa. The selectors (from memory, Don Bradman, Dudley Seddon and Jack Ryder) named the tour squad, but once in South Africa selection was a matter for the captain (Craig), vice-captain (Harvey) and a senior player (Queensland's Peter Burge). When they met to pick the 12 for the fourth Test, an out-of-form Craig suggested that he should be dropped. Burge would have gone along with his skipper but Harvey wasn't having it _ his view was that an Australian captain on tour had never been dropped and it wasn't going to happen now. Burge then sided with Harvey and the two of them outvoted Craig, who played in the Test. It was a successful tour and by all accounts a happy one, with no factions.

Excellent tribute Lordy. These are your best articles. You have a unique and invaluable insight into the personalities that make up our great game.

Very nice Lordy. Was there any controversy about his appointment? Neil Harvey was the star at that time. Was he not the captaining type?

Nice tribute, David. Well done.