Max O'Connell

Last updated

Maxwell George O'Connell (born 4 April 1936 in Alberton, South Australia) was an Australian Test cricket match umpire.

Contents

He umpired 20 Test matches between 1971 and 1980. His first match, was the Fifth Test in the 1970–71 Ashes series at Melbourne on 21 January to 26 January 1971. In his first over as Test umpire he called "over" and turned to walk to square leg after John Snow bowled the last ball. As a result he missed the England wicket-keeper Alan Knott catching Keith Stackpole and had to give him not out. Snow wrote that he 'could quite understand his actions which illustrate the pressure umpires are also under in a Test', [1] and they were able to joke about it afterwards. Stackpole continued to 30, Ian Chappell scored a century and Australian captain Bill Lawry declared the second innings closed with Rod Marsh on 92, depriving him the chance of becoming the first Australian wicket-keeper to score a century. O'Connell's partner was Lou Rowan.

In 1971/72 season, a scheduled tour of Australia by South Africa was cancelled following political and moral protests against the apartheid policies of the South African government. In its place a 'World Team' visited Australia and played a series of Test standard, although never officially recognised. O'Connell stood in one of these matches, and witnessed Garfield Sobers score 254, an innings regarded by some witnesses as the greatest ever played.

O'Connell stood, with Tom Brooks in the Centenary Test Match between Australia and England, played at Melbourne on 12 March to 17 March 1977, won by Australia by 45 runs – identical to the result of the first Test 100 years before. Dennis Lillee took 11 wickets, Rod Marsh finally achieved a century against England, debutant David Hookes hit English captain Tony Greig for five consecutive fours, Rick McCosker batted with a broken jaw, and Derek Randall scored a gallant 174, in a memorable match, attended by many of the past great names of Australian and English cricket.

O'Connell's last Test match was between Australia and the West Indies at Adelaide on 26 January to 30 January 1980, won comfortably by the powerful visitors by 408 runs. His colleague was Mel Johnson, the eleventh other umpire to partner him at Test level.

O'Connell also umpired six One Day International matches between 1975 and 1981.

Although never a first-class cricketer, O'Connell represented South Australia as a batsman at interstate Second XI standard.

O'Connell was also a well-respected Australian Football player and umpire, having played for both Sturt and Port Adelaide in the SANFL, and then umpiring the 1967 Grand Final. [2] He was awarded Life Membership of the SANFL Umpires Association in 2004. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

John Augustine Snow is a retired English international cricketer who played for Sussex from 1961 to 1977 and represented England in 49 Test matches. He was born in Peopleton, Worcestershire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Bannerman</span> Australian cricketer

Charles Bannerman was an English-born Australian cricketer. A right-handed batsman, he represented Australia in three Test matches between 1877 and 1879. At the domestic level, he played for the New South Wales cricket team. Later, he became an umpire.

Rodney William Marsh was an Australian professional cricketer who played as a wicketkeeper for the Australian national team. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.

The history of Test cricket between 1884 and 1889 was one of English dominance over the Australians. England won every Test series that was played. The period also saw the first use of the word "Test" to describe a form of cricket when the Press used it in 1885. It has remained in common usage ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Jarman</span> Australian cricketer (1936–2020)

Barrington Noel Jarman was an Australian Test cricketer and International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee. Jarman played in 19 Test matches for the Australian cricket team between 1959 and 1969, including one match as captain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clem Hill</span> Australian cricketer

Clement "Clem" Hill was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five. A prolific run scorer, Hill scored 3,412 runs in Test cricket—a world record at the time of his retirement—at an average of 39.21 per innings, including seven centuries. In 1902, Hill was the first batsman to make 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year, a feat that would not be repeated for 45 years. His innings of 365*, scored against New South Wales for South Australia in 1900–01, was a Sheffield Shield record for 27 years. The South Australian Cricket Association named a grandstand at the Adelaide Oval in his honour in 2003 and he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2005. Hill is regarded as one of the best batsman of his era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Tallon</span> Australian cricketer (1916–1984)

Donald Tallon was an Australian cricketer who played 21 Test matches as a wicket-keeper between 1946 and 1953. He was widely regarded by his contemporaries as Australia's finest ever wicket-keeper and one of the best in Test history, with an understated style, an ability to anticipate the flight, length and spin of the ball and an efficient stumping technique. Tallon toured England as part of Don Bradman's Invincibles of 1948 and was recognised as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1949 for his performances during that season. During his Test career, Tallon made 58 dismissals comprising 50 catches and 8 stumpings.

Ian Ritchie Redpath is an Australian former international cricketer who played in 66 Test matches and five One Day Internationals between 1964 and 1976. Greg Chappell said he was one of only two players he knew who would kill to get into the Australian Test team, the other being Rod Marsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Cosstick</span>

Samuel Cosstick was an important figure in developing cricket in Victoria in its formative years. He is well known for umpiring in the second ever Test match, played between Australia and England in Melbourne, 1877.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Argall</span> Australian cricket umpire

Philip Argall was an Australian Test cricket umpire. His Wisden obituary described him as "one of the best of Australian umpires".

Louis Patrick "Lou" Rowan was an Australian Test cricket umpire who umpired the first One Day International at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 5 January 1971. He umpired 25 Test matches between 1963 and 1971 and became Australia's senior umpire after the retirement of Col Egar. A Detective Sergeant with the Queensland drug squad, Rowan took no nonsense on the field either and was inclined to stand on his authority. His first match was with Umpire Bill Smyth between Australia and England at Sydney on 11 January to 15 January 1963.

Thomas Francis Brooks was an Australian former first-class cricketer and later an umpire. Born in Paddington, New South Wales, Brooks played first-class cricket for New South Wales.

Alan Lloyd Thomson was an Australian cricketer, Australian rules football umpire and school teacher. Thomson, who "bowled off his front leg like a frog in a windmill" played in four Tests and one ODI in the 1970–71 season.

Norman Edward Townsend was an Australian cricket Test match umpire.

Ray Illingworth captained the English cricket team in Australia in 1970–71, playing as England in the 1970–71 Ashes series against the Australians and as the MCC in their other matches on the tour. They had a successful tour; however, it was an acrimonious one, as Illingworth's team often argued with their own management and the Australian umpires. When they arrived, the Australian selector Neil Harvey called them "rubbish", and others labelled them "Dad's Army" because of the seniority of the players, whose average age was over 30, but these experienced veterans beat the younger Australian team. They are the only touring team to play a full Test series in Australia without defeat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1970–71 Ashes series</span> International cricket tour

The 1970–71 Ashes series was the 45th edition of the long-standing cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 27 November 1970, the two sides ended up playing seven Tests; six were originally scheduled, but one extra Test was added to compensate for the abandoned Third Test.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Handscomb</span> Australian cricketer

Peter Stephen Patrick Handscomb is an Australian cricketer who is the current captain for the Victoria cricket team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Carey (cricketer)</span> Australian cricketer (born 1991)

Alex Tyson Carey is an Australian international cricketer. Formerly an Australian rules footballer, he is currently a wicket-keeper who plays for the Australian national team in test match and one day formats. In domestic cricket, he plays for South Australia and Adelaide Strikers. He was the captain of the Greater Western Sydney Giants in 2010, but when they joined the Australian Football League in 2012, he was left out of the squad and returned to his home state of South Australia, where he began to play domestic cricket.

References

  1. ↑ p101-102, John Snow, Cricket Rebel, Hamlyn, 1976
  2. ↑ Atkinson, Graeme (1989). 3AW Book of Footy Records. South Melbourne: Magistra Publishing Company Pty Ltd. p. 278. ISBN   1863210091..
  3. ↑ "Life Members". SANFL Umpires Association. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.