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Modest
Arthur's
famous Dad |
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07-Apr-15 |
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Not many
CGC members will be aware that our Friday Crew regular
Arthur Mailey's father (Arthur Senior) was a champion
cricketer who set longstanding records as a spin
bowler and as a batsman playing for New South Wales and
Australia between the 1912/13 and 1929/30 seasons.
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Arthur has just
returned from being flown down to Sydney as the NSW
Cricket Association's special guest ... to be present
with his 97 year-old sister Beryl at the Steve Waugh Medal Dinner on 02-Apr-15
... where his late father was posthumously inducted into the
NSW Cricket
Association's Hall of Fame ...
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The
glowing praise of the cricketing talent of Arthur's
father contained in the official program (above) is
copied below from the NSWCA web site ...
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Arthur
Mailey
Born: 3 January 1886, Zetland NSW | Died: 31 December
1967, Kirrawee NSW
NSW 1912/13 – 1929/30
Australia 1920/21 – 1926
Arthur
Mailey played 21 Tests for Australia and took 99
wickets with his leg spin, including five wickets in
an innings on six occasions.
Known
as a big spinner of the ball, his 9-121 in the fourth
Test against England during the 1920/21 series remains
the most wickets taken by an Australian in a single
Test innings.
During
the 1924/25 series against England, Arthur shared in a
127 run 10th wicket
partnership with Johnny Taylor.
This
was an Australian record until Phillip Hughes and
Ashton Agar put on 163 against England back in 2013.
Arthur
played 67 matches for NSW for a phenomenal return of
334 wickets.
This
stood as a record for the most wickets taken by a New
South Welshman for 60 years until it was finally
broken in 1989/90 by Geoff Lawson.
Arthur
took five or more wickets in an innings 28 times while
representing his State, and 10 wickets in a match on
six occasions.
He
took seven wickets in an innings seven times, which is
second only to Charles Turner who achieved that feat
on nine occasions.
He
is one of only four bowlers to dismiss both Victor
Trumper and Don Bradman, and the only bowler to
dismiss both twice.
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In
an article in The Australian in 2011, Gregory
Pemberton commented ...
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"Who
says Australia lack's sophistication? Europe may have had The Three Tenors, but Australia has
The Six Spinners ... Mailey, Grimmett,
(Bill) O'Reilly, (Richie) Benaud,
(Stuart) MacGill and, of course, Warne :
brilliant leg-spinners who brought joy and success to
Australian sport."
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Slum
kid who bowled like a millionaire
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Pemberton's
reference to Mailey bowling like a millionaire is
based on the fact that spin bowlers are usually very
miserly in conceding runs ... however Arthur Snr was
quite prepared to be hit to the boundary for a couple
of deliveries content in the knowledge that he would
then put the ball past the bat and take another
wicket.
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Arthur
Snr's talent was not restricted to cricket, he was
also an excellent cartoonist, artist and writer. In
2011, Arunabhan Singupta
quoted Neville Cardis as referring to him as ... "the
most fascinating cricketer I have known".
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Australia's
first celebrated leg spinner: was also a cartoonist,
painter and writer
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While
playing cricket in England in 1926, he held an
exhibition of his paintings. When Queen Mary
commented that his work ...
"was excellent, however the sun
was not convincing", Mailey quipped ...
"but
your Majesty, in this country I have to paint the sun
from memory."
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Our Arthur,
as is his usual manner, has been very modest about all of
this!
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On
behalf of his fellow Caboolture Gliding Club
members, I congratulate Arthur and his family on the
special occasion of his Dad being inducted into the NSW
Cricket Hall of Fame ... and thereby having his memory
perpetuated in such
auspicious company as legendary NSW cricketers such as
Richie Benaud, Sir Donald Bradman, Bob Simpson,
Ian Davidson, Victor Trumper, Ray Lindwall,
Bill O'Rielly, Steve Waugh, Norm O'Neil,
Brian Booth, Doug Walters, Mark Taylor,
Michael Slater, Geoff Lawson, Stuart MacGill,
Stan McCabe, Greg Matthews and Glenn McGrath.
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NSW
Cricket Hall of Fame
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Kevin
Rodda
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