Ernie Toshack
Ernest Raymond Herbert Toshack was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1946 to 1948. Born in 1914, Toshack overcame many obstacles to reach international level cricket. He was orphaned as an infant, and his early cricket career was hindered because of financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression. The Second World War prevented Toshack from competing at first-class level until his thirties.
About Ernie Toshack in brief
Ernest Raymond Herbert Toshack was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1946 to 1948. Born in 1914, Toshack overcame many obstacles to reach international level cricket. He was orphaned as an infant, and his early cricket career was hindered because of financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression. The Second World War prevented Toshack from competing at first-class level until he was into his thirties. He became a regular member of the Australian team, playing in all of its Tests until the 1947–48 series against India. He took his career-best match bowling figures of 11 wickets for 31 runs in the First Test but began to suffer recurring knee injuries, and a medical board had to approve his selection for the 1948 England tour. After a long convalescence, he attempted a comeback during Australia’s 1949–50 season, but further injury forced him to retire. In his youth he was also a boxer, and earned the nickname “Johnson” for his resemblance to American black heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. In the mid-1930s, he made brief appearances for the State Colts and Second XI, and played cricket against the likes of the Test criceter Stan McCabe. In December 1933, he played in a colts match for New South Wales against Queensland, but was unable to prevent a five-wicket defeat. He then took a total of 388 in a match against their city counterparts, and was promoted into the state’s Second XI.
He did not play for his state again until 1945. His cricket aspirations were further interrupted when he was wheelchair-bound for months after a ruptured appendix in 1938. His first wicket was that of Geoff Cook, who was most successful of the most successful cricketers of that era. He later played rugby league for Australia and was a member of Marrickville in Sydney Grade Cricket, starting in the third grade team in 1944–45. At the time, he was a medium-fast left-arm bowler and approached the Petersham cricket club — as Toshack lived in the locality, it had the right to register him ahead of other clubs. By the time of its decision to spurn Toshack and claim to represent Petersham, the cricket authorities obliged that he was obliged to play for Petersham. Upon the resumption of first class cricket in 1945–46, he took four wickets against Queensland as opening bowler aged almost 31, and quickly among the wickets of the team’s most successful bowler. His team took a 128-run first innings lead, but he managed only 087 from 20 overs in the second innings as South Wales fell to a four-wickets loss, failing to defend a target of 270. He also played in the Second XI against the Victorian Second XI in 1946–47, and took 469 wickets in his team’s first innings as his team took 128-runs in his first innings. He retired from cricket at the age of 30.
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