Don Tallon
Encyclopedia
Donald "Don" Tallon was an Australian cricket
er 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 dismissal
s comprising 50 catches and 8 stumpings.
His early cricket was played in Bundaberg
where he was selected to represent Queensland Country against the England cricket team during the infamous Bodyline
tour. Aged 17, he made his first-class cricket
debut for Queensland
against Victoria
in December 1933. By the 1935–36 season, Tallon was an established player and he topped the Queensland batting average
s for the season, however he was a surprise non-inclusion for the 1938 Australian team
to tour England. Following the Second World War
and the retirement or unavailability of other candidates, he was finally given an opportunity to play Test cricket, making his debut against New Zealand
in 1946 aged 30.
Following the Invincibles tour, poor health dogged Tallon, causing him to miss the 1949–50 tour of South Africa. He recovered his spot for the Ashes series in 1950–51, catching well but failing with the bat
. Tallon missed selection for the 1951–52 Test season but recovered his spot for the 1953 Australian team
to tour England. He played in the first Test before being replaced by Gil Langley
, this time permanently. He retired from first-class cricket in 1953 and returned to Bundaberg, assisting his brother in running a corner store
. He died in Bundaberg aged 68.
. He learned to play cricket on a backyard wicket
with his three brothers and father Les, an iron moulder at the Bundaberg foundry
, who played as a slow bowler
in the local cricket competition. Often the matches would stretch past the daylight hours, and the brothers would play inside the house after moving the furniture to create some open space. Tallon was formally trained as a wicket-keeper at North Bundaberg State School where he and his brothers were coached by Tom O'Shea, a teacher and former Sheffield Shield wicket-keeper. He became the primary school's wicket-keeper at the age of seven, playing with and against boys aged 11 and 12. He learned to keep to the leg spin
of his brother Bill, who also went on to represent Queensland. Tallon later said of his decision to become a wicket-keeper, "You are never out of the game, and that suits me fine". He was captain of his school team at the age of 11 and rose to become captain of Queensland Schoolboys aged 13. He played in Bundaberg's A grade
adult team at 14, and came to the attention of state selectors when Bundaberg played a team captained by Test player Alan Kippax
in 1931.
The following season, he played in the Country trials in Brisbane
. He was selected for the Queensland Colts
in 1932–33 and represented Queensland Country against Douglas Jardine
's England cricket team during the Bodyline
tour. In England's innings of 376, Tallon conceded only five byes
and stumped Herbert Sutcliffe
, regarded as one of the finest batsmen in Test history. He did not get a chance to display his batting prowess as the Bodyline spearhead Harold Larwood
rattled him with a series of deliveries aimed at the throat, before bowling
him for two. Tallon's fast and efficient skills behind the stumps further caught the eye of cricket officials in early 1933 at the Country Week Carnivals. Tallon distinguished himself with his tidy keeping to the express pace bowling
of Eddie Gilbert
, whose suspect action
and indigenous
heritage were later the subject of controversy.
He made his first-class
debut for Queensland at 17 against Victoria
in December 1933, having never previously attended a first-class match as a spectator. He conceded only six byes and took a catch in an innings of 542 in a tidy performance, and made 17 and three in an innings defeat, but was dropped after the match. Queensland officials had ruled that it was not advisable to take such a young player on away trips to Victoria
, South Australia
and New South Wales
. Tallon reclaimed his position when Queensland returned for their home games and from then on was the first-choice wicket-keeper for the state. He played in only one other first-class match for the 1933–34 season, scoring 13 and taking a catch and a stumping in an eight-wicket win over South Australia
.
In his second first-class match in the 1934–35 season, and his fourth overall, he confirmed his batting ability with 58 and 86 against the South Australian
bowling attack led by Clarrie Grimmett
, the world's leading leg spin
ner at the time, but was unable to prevent an eight-wicket defeat. Tallon played in five matches for the season, and Queensland lost four and won none. He took four catches, made two stumpings and scored 216 runs at 24.00 in innings, although he did score four ducks.
Towards the end of 1934, Tallon moved to Brisbane, where he worked as a storeman for a car company. In 1935–36, Tallon was Queensland's top batsman in terms of both runs and batting average
, scoring 569 runs at an average of 51.72. He started well with 58 in a drawn match against New South Wales
, and then scored 45 and made six dismissals in an innings as Queensland fell to an innings defeat against the Marylebone Cricket Club
(MCC), including five stumpings. He then made four dismissals in an innings in the next match against Victoria
.
Tallon was prominent in the next match against South Australia in Adelaide
. The hosts included Australia captain Don Bradman in their ranks, making a comeback from illness. The match was mainly noted for Bradman's 233 but Tallon impressed him by taking two particularly difficult catches, one of which dismissed the Australian captain himself. Bradman also praised Tallon for conceding only seven byes in a total of 642, particularly his ability to take
balls passing down the leg side
. Tallon then scored 88 in Queensland's reply. Bradman opined that he had a "clean-hitting crisp style ... attacking, positive, and with a technique to rival most first-class batsmen". Despite this, Queensland fell to defeat by an innings and 226 runs. He followed this with 51 in a defeat to New South Wales. The highlight of Tallon's season was his highest first-class score of 193, against Victoria in Brisbane, in the last fixture of the season, a match in which he also took five catches in an innings
. Tallon's innings played a large part in the hosts' saving of the match after conceding a lead of 252 on the first innings. As he continued his consistent form with both bat and gloves, he came into strong consideration for Test selection. While Tallon was performing strongly in Australia, the national team were in South Africa and defeated their hosts 4–0. Nevertheless, it was another unsuccessful season for Queensland; Tallon did not experience a win and suffered losses in three of his six matches.
was the incumbent wicket-keeper and had no plans to retire, while Victoria's Ben Barnett
had been the reserve keeper on the 1934 tour of England. South Australia's Charlie Walker
was also talked of as a possible Test player.
Tallon was scrutinised as a Test candidate when England toured for the 1936–37 Ashes series. He was selected in Bradman's XI for a one-off match against Victor Richardson's XI at the start of the season. It was a testimonial for Richardson and such matches were used as Test trials for the top players in Australia. Tallon took three catches but was unable to capitalise with the bat. He made three and was unbeaten without scoring in the second innings as Bradman's men reached their target. In the next match against New South Wales, Tallon took four catches and scored 100 to bring his team back into contention after conceding a 190-run lead. However, New South Wales scraped home to win by one wicket. It continued a winless streak for Tallon in Queensland colours that had lasted for over two and a half years. Tallon had a final chance to push for selection in two matches for an Australian XI and Queensland respectively, against Gubby Allen
's Englishmen before the Tests. He made a total of seven dismissals but scored only 49 runs in three innings.
When the Test team was announced, Tallon was overlooked as the selectors persisted with Oldfield. Tallon remained consistent for Queensland, making 22 dismissals in total for the season. With the bat, he once again topped his state's averages, scoring 434 runs at 36.16. He scored 101 against South Australia and 96 against Victoria, but both matches were lost. Queensland defeat New South Wales to record their first win in three years, but the remaining five Sheffield Shield matches were all lost.
The 1937–38 season was purely domestic, with no international matches, but it was an opportunity for all players to push for selection in the squad for the 1938 Ashes tour
. It was another disappointing season for Queensland, who were again winless; they lost three matches, hung on a for a draw, eight wickets down in another, and the other two fixtures were washed out before the second innings. Tallon scored 204 runs at 22.66 without managing a half-century and made 17 dismissals.
Tallon's non-selection for the 1938 Ashes touring party surprised commentators. In selection deliberations, Bradman had lobbied for Tallon and Walker, asserting that Oldfield was past his best. The other two selectors, Chappie Dwyer
from New South Wales and Bill Johnson
from Victoria, outvoted Bradman. They selected Barnett, because of his previous tour to England, and Walker. Tallon's omission was overshadowed by that of Grimmett, regarded alongside Bill O'Reilly
as the world's leading legspinner. No official reason was given for Tallon's non-selection. A leak revealed that the reason for his omission was that he was not familiar with the bowling of Australia's three spinners
: O'Reilly, Chuck Fleetwood-Smith
and Frank Ward. Another was Tallon's preference in standing back to medium pacers
. In reality, Tallon stood back and stood up to the stumps depending on the situation. While the medium pacers were swinging
the ball, he would stand back to avoid the risk of missing an edge. When the ball was old, he would stand up to the stumps when a medium pacer was operating and effect many stumpings with his fast reflexes.
During the series, Barnett made two notable errors. With Australia leading the series 1–0 going into the Fifth Test at The Oval
, Barnett dropped Len Hutton
and Maurice Leyland
when both were on 40. Leyland went on to post 187 while Hutton set a Test world record of 364. In effect, England were gifted an extra 461 runs as they set a world record score of 7/903. Bradman injured himself during the marathon innings in a rare stint at the bowling crease after the specialist bowlers had failed to break the Englishmen. With opener Jack Fingleton
also injured, Australia were down to nine men and fell to the heaviest defeat in Test history (an innings and 579 runs) and the series was drawn.
Tallon responded during the 1938–39 season by equalling two world records. The season started poorly for Queensland, not winning any of their first three matches. Tallon made eight dismissals in the opening match of the Sheffield Shield campaign against New South Wales, but the visitors hung on for a draw with one wicket in hand. After two consecutive losses, Tallon set the first of his world records. Against New South Wales
in Sydney, he dismissed 12 batsmen, six in each innings, a feat performed only once before, in 1868 by Surrey
's Ted Pooley
. Tallon's dozen included three stumpings and he was at the crease when Queensland hit the winning runs to complete their first victory in two years. After nine innings during the season without passing 36, Tallon returned to form with the bat, scoring 115 against South Australia, but was unable to take the field in the second innings due to injury as the match ended in a ten-wicket defeat. In the final match of the season, Tallon became the fourth keeper to make seven dismissals in an innings, in a match against Victoria. He did not concede a bye in the innings of 348, and scored 44 as Queensland completed an innings win. Tallon finished the season with 34 dismissals in six matches, setting a new Australian season record. He took more than five dismissals in an innings in four of the ten innings in which he kept wicket. Observers noted Tallon to be more motivated than ever; his catching and stumping style became more animated, and his appeal
ing reached new levels of sound. He passed 100 first-class dismissals during the season, achieved in just 32 matches—the fastest Australian to reach the mark. Tallon ended the season with 305 runs at 30.50.
Following his form in 1938–39, Tallon eagerly awaited the arrival of England for the 1940–41 tour of Australia. He was only 23 and regarded as an almost certain selection following his record-breaking performance with both bat and gloves. However, the outbreak of the Second World War
called a halt to his rise and robbed him of the opportunity to represent his country while in his prime as a cricketer; official international cricket did not resume until he was 29. In the meantime, domestic cricket continued in 1939–40. It was another poor season for Queensland, who won only once and lost their remaining five matches. Tallon scored two fifties before scoring 154 in his last Sheffield Shield innings of the season. This set Victoria a target of 230, but they reached it for the loss of only one wicket. Tallon was selected for The Rest of Australia in a one-off match against New South Wales at the end of the season, but managed only a duck and eight. He ended the summer with 401 runs at 28.62 and 17 dismissals.
With the war intensifying, the 1940–41 season was truncated and the last before the hostilities ended. Tallon scored 55 and completed four dismissals as Queensland started with a 27-run loss to New South Wales. He then starred in a match for combined Queensland and Victoria team against New South Wales. Tallon scored 55 and 152 and completed four dismissals, but was unable to prevent a one-wicket loss. He ended with 379 runs at 42.11 and made 16 dismissals in five matches.
With first-class cricket cancelled, Tallon joined the Australian Army
in August 1940 at Bundaberg. Tallon was discharged in 1943 as a private
and was not decorated. His discharge was due to stomach ulcers and he later had a major operation to remove part of his stomach.
Upon the resumption of competitive cricket, Tallon's chances of selection had improved due to the fates of his pre-war wicket-keeping rivals. Oldfield had long retired. Barnett, a captain
in the army, had been a prisoner of the Japanese at Changi
in Singapore
for four years. Emaciated, he slowly recovered his fitness and forced his way back into the Victorian team, but was almost 40 and intended to retire in the near future. Walker had joined the Royal Australian Air Force
as a gunner and was killed in a duel with Nazi
fighter pilots over Soltau
in Germany. This left Tallon as the front-runner, but there was a possibility that the selectors would opt for generational change and install a more youthful keeper like Gil Langley
or Ron Saggers
with an eye to the future. With the pressure of selection on his head, Tallon made eight dismissals in the first match after the resumption of cricket, against New South Wales in Brisbane, including three stumpings and three catches from the leg spin
of Colin McCool
, a future Test team-mate. The performance was to herald the start of a prolific bowler-wicket-keeper partnership. Tallon then scored 74 to guide Queensland to the target of 270 with four wickets in hand. Queensland won two of their seven matches and Tallon scored 305 runs at 30.50 and completed 27 dismissals to finally gain national selection.
Tallon made his Test debut in a one-off Test against New Zealand at Wellington
in March 1946, although the match was only given Test accreditation two years later. On a wet wicket
, New Zealand were dismissed for 42 and 54 against the slow bowling
of Bill O'Reilly
and Ernie Toshack
. Tallon made a stumping, a run out
and took a catch. He scored only five runs as Australia won by an innings and 103 runs. Tallon had rarely kept to O'Reilly's leg spin and impressed the bowler, who compared him with Oldfield. During the tour of New Zealand, Australia won all of their five matches, four by an innings. Tallon scored 123 runs at 41.00 and made 12 dismissals.
The following season saw Australia's first Test series since the end of World War II
, with five matches scheduled against Wally Hammond
's touring Englishmen
in the 1946-47 Ashes series. Tallon staked his claim for the Test wicket-keeping position in Queensland's second match of the season, which was against MCC. Tallon combined with McCool in four stumpings and two catches, and in the process took his first-class tally to 170 dismissals his 50th first-class match. He also scored 26 and 35. Tallon's proficiency keeping wicket to McCool's bowling was now a major factor in his favour for national selection, because McCool had established himself as Australia's first-choice spinner since the retirement of O'Reilly. Tallon was duly selected for the First Test of the series in Brisbane.
In First Test at Brisbane Tallon took two catches but scored only 14 in a victory. Tallon was worried that his poor batting might lead to him being replaced, but he was retained as Australia secured an innings victory in Sydney. He put in a polished performance with the gloves, with four catches and two stumpings, in addition to 30 runs. The only negative aspect of the match for Tallon was that he dislocated his finger. Beyond the raw statistics, two of the catches that Tallon made in the first innings were regarded as among his finest ever and turned the tide of the match. Len Hutton
and Bill Edrich
—two of England's leading batsmen—had seen their team to lunch with only the loss of one wicket. Tallon declared to Bradman that he intended to dismiss Hutton down the leg side
, so Bradman brought off spin
ner Ian Johnson
into the attack immediately after lunch. Johnson was instructed to bowl at Hutton's legs to give him an opportunity to glance the ball. Hutton obliged and struck the ball from the middle of his bat, expecting a boundary. He turned around and was shocked to see that Tallon had intercepted the ball from a blind position at a range of just one metre. The score was 2/88 as Hutton, who held the Test world record score was dismissed and replaced at the batting crease by Denis Compton
. Bradman introduced McCool and Compton misjudged a cut shot which went wide of Tallon and struck Johnson, fielding at slip, in the chest. The ball rebounded past Tallon's shoulder and was heading for the ground when he spun and dived backwards to catch it just before it landed. According to Roland Perry
, it was "an acrobatic feat that would put any trapeze
artist in the shade, taking one of the most brilliant catches in Test history". Tallon took another difficult catch from McCool to dismiss Hammond as England fell to 4/99, with three specialist batsmen to improbable catches. This restricted England and allowed Australia to set up a match-winning lead.
Tallon now felt secure about his place in the team for the rest of the series. This led to increased confidence in his play in the Third Test at Melbourne (MCG). After keeping tidily and scoring 35 in the first innings, Tallon combined with Ray Lindwall
in the second innings for a 154-run partnership
in just 92 minutes. Described by Wisden
as a "hurricane", the partnership was marked by Tallon's powerful driving and cutting. Lindwall reached his century, but Tallon fell for 92 to Doug Wright
. Tallon's 92 remained the highest score by an Australian wicketkeeper until Rod Marsh
equalled it with 92 not out in the 1970-71 Ashes series and surpassed it with 132 against New Zealand in 1973–74.
In the Fourth Test at Adelaide Tallon stumped Denis Compton
, but the umpire gave him not out because "the glare of the sun suddenly became so intense that he was unable to see clearly the white line of the popping crease" and Compton made 147. The England openers Len Hutton
and Cyril Washbrook
had put on 100 in the second innings when Tallon caught Washbrook, scooping up a ball from Lindwall. Washbrook "stood there transfixed. Even some of the Australian leg-side fielders expressed amazement". Tallon was known for his impetuous appealing - "he was often roaring before he had studied facts and it was his over-eagerness that brought about the shocking decision" - and this caused an umpiring controversy. But Tallon maintained the appeal and Bradman backed him. Washbrook told Wally Hammond
that the ball had gone into the ground just before it went into Tallon's gloves and the England captain tried unsuccessfully to find a press photograph of the ball touching the ground. Later in the match Tallon missed a vital stumping off the England wicketkeeper Godfrey Evans
, who stayed put for 95 minutes without making a run. Tallon stumped Compton again, but he was given not out and went on to made an unbeaten 103 in a match-saving stand of 85 with Evans.
Tallon's keeping was further lauded in the second innings of the Fifth Test, when he stumped Edrich, Jack Ikin
and Alec Bedser
from McCool's bowling. By series end, Tallon had set an Australian Test record of 20 dismissals in a series and averaged 29 with the bat. He also scored 54 and claimed seven dismissals in a Queensland win over South Australia.
Tallon started the next season by taking five catches and scoring 41 in the second innings and Queensland scraped home to beat New South Wales by two wickets. He played in all five Tests against India in the Australian summer of 1947–48, and earned praise from Indian skipper Lala Amarnath
who described him as the "greatest keeper he had seen". Tallon made 13 dismissals but had an unproductive time with the bat, scoring only 49 runs at 12.25. Outside the Tests, Tallon scored 229 runs at 22.90 and made 15 dismissals in six matches for Queensland.
Tallon's form saw him selected for the 1948 Ashes tour as part of the side that would become known to cricket history as the Invincibles. Tallon was the first-choice wicket-keeper, with Saggers as his deputy. Having spent the majority of his life in sunny Queensland and growing up in tropical Bundaberg, the cold English climate initially caught Tallon off guard. He did not wet his inner gloves as was his custom due to the temperature. As England agreed to make a new ball available every 55 overs
, this meant that the ball would more frequently be in a favourable state for fast bowling, since it would swing
more. As a result, Australia adopted a pace-oriented strategy and Johnson was the only spinner regularly used in the Test matches. McCool was not to play a Test on the tour, depriving Tallon of an opportunity to show his stumping abilities standing up at the stump
s to his Queensland team-mate.
Early in the tour, Tallon struck an unbeaten 17 on a damp pitch
in a low-scoring match as Australia defeated Yorkshire
by four wickets. It was the closest that the tourists came to defeat for the tour.
Tallon had difficulty with the English conditions early in the season as he sustained a bruised right finger when he lost sight of a Ray Lindwall
bouncer
on a misty morning during a tour match against Surrey
at The Oval
and was hit as he put hand over his face for protection, with the ball running away for four byes. As a result of the injury, Tallon was rested for the following three matches.
Despite averaging more byes per innings than Saggers during the 12 warm-up matches, and sustaining an injury from a catching error, Tallon was selected for the First Test at Trent Bridge
. He took four catches, including two difficult ones to dismiss key batsmen at the start of the second innings. He thus helped Australia to seize the initiative by denying England a good start, which was converted into an eight-wicket victory. The teams moved on to Lord's
and Australia compiled 350 in its first innings. Tallon made 53 and helped the tail to "wag" and recover from a position of 7/258. Tallon did not concede a bye in England's first innings of 215 and his diving was estimated to have saved around 40 runs. One of the three catches he took stood out; it came when Washbrook inside edged a Toshack full toss
directly downwards at Tallon's ankle. Bradman described the catch as "miraculous" because Tallon had to reach so low, so quickly, in order to take the catch. Another dive to stop a leg glance resulted in a severely bruised left little finger. However, Tallon also conceded 16 byes in England's total of 186. Australia won the Test, and Tallon was rested ahead of the next Test to allow his finger to recover.
The teams played out a draw in the third match at Manchester, where Tallon dismissed George Emmett from the bowling of Ray Lindwall
with a diving one-handed catch. He also dropped Compton three times, allowing the English batsman to go from 50 to 145 not out as he held the hosts' first innings together.
Tallon's little left finger swelled up after the Third Test and he exacerbated the injury during a tour match against Middlesex
, ruling him out of the Fourth Test at Headingley
, which Australia won to secure the series. Saggers stood in and conceded the lowest percentage of byes conceded in a match total by an Australian wicket-keeper for the tour (0.697%).
Tallon returned for the Fifth Test at The Oval
, taking three catches, including an acrobatic catch of Len Hutton
down the leg side
that was considered the catch of the season. He scored 31 as Australia sealed the series 4–0 with an innings win. When the last match of the tour against Scotland in Aberdeen
became safe, with Australia in an unassailable position, Bradman allowed Tallon to dispense with his wicket-keeping pads and try his luck at bowling leg spin
. Tallon never bowled in his Test career and only rarely in first-class cricket, where he delivered 301 balls, the approximate workload of a specialist bowler in one match.
Tallon had had moderate success with his batting during the Test series, aggregating 114 runs at 28.50. In 14 first-class matches, he scored 283 runs at 25.72. The Australian team strategy of primarily depending on pace bowling saw Tallon make 12 catches and no stumpings during the Tests; however, Bradman rested his lead pace bowlers Miller and Lindwall during the tour games to save energy for the Tests and allowed the spinners do more work, so that overall Tallon took 29 catches and 14 stumpings for the tour. Tallon was preferred over Saggers despite conceding byes at a higher rate; Bradman deemed Tallon to be more agile and better at taking acrobatic catches. Tallon's performances during the English summer saw him named by Wisden as one of its five Cricketers of the Year
.
Upon Tallon's return to Australia, he made an unbeaten 146 in Bradman's Testimonial match at the MCG in December 1948. He featured in a tenth-wicket partnership of 100 with Geff Noblet
, who scored only nine as Tallon farmed the strike effectively. This saw the match scores tied on the last ball of the match. Tallon also made seven dismissals for the match. Queensland lost more than they won during the season, but Tallon continued to be productive, scoring 453 runs at 34.85 and making 26 dismissals in seven matches.
Tallon was selected for but withdrew from the 1949–50 tour to South Africa due to illness caused by stomach ulcers, and employment reasons. His place was taken by Saggers, who made 21 dismissals in the five Tests. In the meantime, Tallon recovered and played in the Australian domestic season. After scoring 52 in the opening match for the season, he scored 98 and two scores of 58 not out to help Queensland end the season with consecutive wins. He ended with 349 runs at 43.63 and 11 dismissals in six matches. Tallon was selected for a brief tour of New Zealand at the end of the season with an Australian Second XI led by Bill Brown
, and scored 116 in an unofficial Test in Dunedin
. It was the top-score in Australia's 299 and the hosts led by only eight runs with one wicket in hand in their second innings when the match ended in a draw. Many of the matches during the tour were not first-class but in one such game, Tallon scored 70 not out as Australia defeated Otago by an innings.
In the 1950-51 Ashes series Tallon was fit once more and available for national selection. Despite making only 37 runs in four innings in the lead-up matches, Tallon was chosen for all five Tests. He had a poor time with the bat, making only 39 runs at an average of just 6.50. He took only eight catches, but kept tidily to retain his place in the team. His performances for Queensland were hardly more productive; he scored 161 runs at 16.10 and aside from a rain-affected draw, his state lost their remaining six matches.
By this time, Tallon was losing his hearing, and gained the derisive nickname Deafy. In one Test, he had been told by captain Lindsay Hassett
before going out to bat that there was to be an appeal for bad light. Hassett said "go for the light" but Tallon misheard it as "go for a lash". Tallon walked out and was dismissed for a low score after attempting to attack the English bowlers, leaving his skipper displeased.
Tallon missed selection during the 1951–52 season due his increasingly error-prone glovework and a combination of health reasons including stomach ulcers and deafness. He did not play a first-class match because of lack of his fitness. In any case, Tallon had secretly been barred from selection by the Australian Board of Control for making unauthorised comments in the media; this fact was not revealed for half a century.
He was unable to reclaim his Test place in 1952–53 despite making 133 against the touring South Africans
and 84 against New South Wales for Queensland before the Tests. Tallon totalled 508 runs at 33.87 for the season and made 33 dismissals in eight matches, including seven in one fixture against Western Australia, but failed to taste victory in a single Queensland match. His omission angered Queensland fans, who relentlessly heckled the Australians during the First Test against the tourists in Brisbane, making fun of the mistakes made by Tallon's replacement Gil Langley
in particular.
He was selected for the 1953 tour of England, and scored 76 against Tasmania before the tourists departed. Despite making only 35 runs at 7.00 in the lead-up matches, Tallon was selected for the First Test at Trent Bridge, his first match at the top level in more than two years. He took two catches and scored a duck
and 15. Hassett and his deputy Arthur Morris
then made the decision to replace Tallon with Langley. Still troubled by stomach ulcers, Tallon played in another eight first-class matches for the tour, scoring 119 runs at 19.83. His most notable effort was an unbeaten 83 in an innings win over Kent
. He was unable to regain his Test position.
Tallon retired in dramatic circumstances after the first match of the 1953–54 Sheffield Shield season. During the match, he suddenly took off his gloves and handed the keeping duties to Peter Burge. He scored 21 and 54 not out in a drawn match against New South Wales. Two months later, he played for Arthur Morris
's XI against Hassett's XI, a testimonial match for the latter. Tallon made 17 not out and nine in a 121-run win. Tallon continued to play local cricket in Bundaberg for another decade.
Regarded as one of Australia's finest ever wicket-keepers, Tallon was lean and relatively tall for a wicket-keeper, standing 180 cm. Tallon's high acclaim among cricket pundits derived from his style, rather than raw statistics. In 21 Tests, Tallon kept wicket in 41 innings, making 58 dismissals at an average of 1.41 per innings. Modern Australian glovemen such as Rod Marsh
and Ian Healy
, both of whom held the Test world record for dismissals, averaged closer to two. Tallon's Test batting average of 17.13 pales in comparison to that of contemporary wicket-keepers such as Australia's Adam Gilchrist
and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara
, both of whom have made a double century and more than ten centuries. English wicket-keepers from two decades after World War II such as Godfrey Evans
and Jim Parks
scored two Test centuries apiece and averaged substantially more than Tallon.
Tallon had an understated style, which was without flourish or flamboyancy. He was known for his anticipation of the flight
, length
and spin
of the ball. He was particularly regarded for his stumping efficiency and his ability to catch balls down the leg side. Tallon often stood up to the stumps for medium pace bowlers and his stumping was highlighted by his textbook technique of lifting the bails
without disturbing the stumps
(pictured). Tallon's crouch was more pronounced than most other keepers and he rebounded upwards further and faster than others. He had a particularly smooth and graceful catching technique that left his hands undamaged from the ball's impact, the injury in England in 1948 being a notable exception that proved the rule. In recognising him as one of their five Cricketers of the Year in the 1949 Wisden, the Almanack noted that his hands resembled those of a violin
ist, while Bradman noted that all his "fine, longer fingers were intact" as though he had not played much cricket. According to his English counterpart Godfrey Evans
, Tallon was the "best and most nimble keeper ever" while Australian team-mate Alan Davidson
called him the "Bradman of keepers". Due to financial reasons, Tallon could not afford new equipment and he used an outdated pair of iron-coated gloves for most of his career.
Strong driving and quick scoring were hallmarks of his batting, made possible by his swift footwork. According to Bradman, Tallon's batting was "attacking, positive and with a technique to rival most first-class batsmen". This led Bradman to select Tallon in his all-time best XI. Tallon was a vociferous and frequent appealer
behind the stumps, something that led to complaints from opposition batsmen who felt that the pressure he exerted was unfair.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played 21 Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
as a wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
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
Flight (cricket)
Flight, also known as Loop, is a description of a kind of delivery in cricket, when a bowler makes the ball rise above eyeline, before it descends once again on its trajectory towards the batsman.Flight is a key weapon of spin bowlers...
, length
Line and length
Line and length in cricket refers to the direction and point of bouncing on the pitch of a delivery. The two concepts are frequently discussed together.-Line:...
and spin
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
of the ball and an efficient stumping technique. Tallon toured England as part of Don Bradman's Invincibles
The Invincibles (cricket)
The Australian cricket team in England in 1948 was captained by Don Bradman, who was making his fourth and final tour of England. The team is famous for being the first Test match side to play an entire tour of England without losing a match. This feat earned them the nickname of The Invincibles,...
of 1948 and was recognised as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
in 1949 for his performances during that season. During his Test career, Tallon made 58 dismissal
Dismissal (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out . Colloquially, the fielding team is also said to have snared, bagged or captured a wicket. At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings...
s comprising 50 catches and 8 stumpings.
His early cricket was played in Bundaberg
Bundaberg, Queensland
Bundaberg is a city in Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Local Government Area of the Bundaberg Region and is a major centre within Queensland's broader Wide Bay-Burnett geographical region...
where he was selected to represent Queensland Country against the England cricket team during the infamous Bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman...
tour. Aged 17, he made his first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut for Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
against Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
in December 1933. By the 1935–36 season, Tallon was an established player and he topped the Queensland batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
s for the season, however he was a surprise non-inclusion for the 1938 Australian team
Australian cricket team in England in 1938
The 1938 Ashes series between Australia and England was drawn. England and Australia won a Test each, with two of the other Tests drawn and the third game of the series, scheduled for Manchester, abandoned without a ball being bowled, only the second instance of this in more than 60 years of Test...
to tour England. Following the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the retirement or unavailability of other candidates, he was finally given an opportunity to play Test cricket, making his debut against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
in 1946 aged 30.
Following the Invincibles tour, poor health dogged Tallon, causing him to miss the 1949–50 tour of South Africa. He recovered his spot for the Ashes series in 1950–51, catching well but failing with the bat
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
. Tallon missed selection for the 1951–52 Test season but recovered his spot for the 1953 Australian team
Australian cricket team in England in 1953
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1953 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.England won the final Test to take the series 1-0 after the first four Tests were all drawn. England therefore recovered the Ashes for the first time since losing them in...
to tour England. He played in the first Test before being replaced by Gil Langley
Gil Langley
Gilbert Roche Andrews "Gil" Langley was an Australian Test cricketer, champion Australian rules footballer and member of parliament, serving as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly....
, this time permanently. He retired from first-class cricket in 1953 and returned to Bundaberg, assisting his brother in running a corner store
Milk bar
Milk bar is a term in some parts of Australia for suburban local shops or general stores. They are known as tuck shops, delicatessens or delis in South Australia and Western Australia, and as corner stores in Queensland and New South Wales...
. He died in Bundaberg aged 68.
Early years
Tallon was born and raised in the Queensland coastal sugar and rum town of Bundaberg, 400 kilometres (249 mi) north of BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. He learned to play cricket on a backyard wicket
Cricket pitch
In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
with his three brothers and father Les, an iron moulder at the Bundaberg foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
, who played as a slow bowler
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
in the local cricket competition. Often the matches would stretch past the daylight hours, and the brothers would play inside the house after moving the furniture to create some open space. Tallon was formally trained as a wicket-keeper at North Bundaberg State School where he and his brothers were coached by Tom O'Shea, a teacher and former Sheffield Shield wicket-keeper. He became the primary school's wicket-keeper at the age of seven, playing with and against boys aged 11 and 12. He learned to keep to the leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
of his brother Bill, who also went on to represent Queensland. Tallon later said of his decision to become a wicket-keeper, "You are never out of the game, and that suits me fine". He was captain of his school team at the age of 11 and rose to become captain of Queensland Schoolboys aged 13. He played in Bundaberg's A grade
Division (sport)
In sports, a division is a group of teams who compete against each other for a championship.-League system:In sports using a league system , a division consists a group of teams who play a sport at a similar competitive level...
adult team at 14, and came to the attention of state selectors when Bundaberg played a team captained by Test player Alan Kippax
Alan Kippax
Alan Falconer Kippax was a cricketer for New South Wales and Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the era between the two World Wars, Kippax overcame a late start to Test cricket to become a regular in the Australian team between the 1928–29 and...
in 1931.
The following season, he played in the Country trials in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. He was selected for the Queensland Colts
Youth system
Youth system is a sporting terminology used to refer to a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show enough promise, and to fill up squads numbers in some teams...
in 1932–33 and represented Queensland Country against Douglas Jardine
Douglas Jardine
Douglas Robert Jardine was an English cricketer and captain of the England cricket team from 1931 to 1933–34.When describing cricket seasons, the convention used is that a single year represents an English cricket season, while two years represent a southern hemisphere cricket season because it...
's England cricket team during the Bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman...
tour. In England's innings of 376, Tallon conceded only five byes
Bye (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bye is a run scored by the batting team when the ball has not been hit by the batsman and the ball has not hit the batsman's body.-Scoring byes:...
and stumped Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the two World Wars...
, regarded as one of the finest batsmen in Test history. He did not get a chance to display his batting prowess as the Bodyline spearhead Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood was an English cricket player, an extremely accurate fast bowler best known for his key role as the implementer of fast leg theory in the infamous "bodyline" Ashes Test series of 1932–33....
rattled him with a series of deliveries aimed at the throat, before bowling
Bowled
Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler...
him for two. Tallon's fast and efficient skills behind the stumps further caught the eye of cricket officials in early 1933 at the Country Week Carnivals. Tallon distinguished himself with his tidy keeping to the express pace bowling
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
of Eddie Gilbert
Eddie Gilbert (cricketer)
Eddie Gilbert was a Queensland Aboriginal cricketer. He was an exceptionally fast bowler.-Early years:...
, whose suspect action
Throwing (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, throwing, commonly referred to as chucking, is an illegal bowling action which occurs when a bowler straightens their arm when delivering the ball. The Laws of Cricket specify that a bowler's arm must be fully extended and rotated about the shoulder to impart velocity to...
and indigenous
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
heritage were later the subject of controversy.
First-class debut
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut for Queensland at 17 against Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
in December 1933, having never previously attended a first-class match as a spectator. He conceded only six byes and took a catch in an innings of 542 in a tidy performance, and made 17 and three in an innings defeat, but was dropped after the match. Queensland officials had ruled that it was not advisable to take such a young player on away trips to Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Tallon reclaimed his position when Queensland returned for their home games and from then on was the first-choice wicket-keeper for the state. He played in only one other first-class match for the 1933–34 season, scoring 13 and taking a catch and a stumping in an eight-wicket win over South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
.
In his second first-class match in the 1934–35 season, and his fourth overall, he confirmed his batting ability with 58 and 86 against the South Australian
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
bowling attack led by Clarrie Grimmett
Clarrie Grimmett
Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett was a cricketer; although born in New Zealand, he played most of his cricket in Australia. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper.Grimmett was born in Caversham a suburb of Dunedin,...
, the world's leading leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
ner at the time, but was unable to prevent an eight-wicket defeat. Tallon played in five matches for the season, and Queensland lost four and won none. He took four catches, made two stumpings and scored 216 runs at 24.00 in innings, although he did score four ducks.
Towards the end of 1934, Tallon moved to Brisbane, where he worked as a storeman for a car company. In 1935–36, Tallon was Queensland's top batsman in terms of both runs and batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, scoring 569 runs at an average of 51.72. He started well with 58 in a drawn match against New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
, and then scored 45 and made six dismissals in an innings as Queensland fell to an innings defeat against the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
(MCC), including five stumpings. He then made four dismissals in an innings in the next match against Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
.
Tallon was prominent in the next match against South Australia in Adelaide
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
. The hosts included Australia captain Don Bradman in their ranks, making a comeback from illness. The match was mainly noted for Bradman's 233 but Tallon impressed him by taking two particularly difficult catches, one of which dismissed the Australian captain himself. Bradman also praised Tallon for conceding only seven byes in a total of 642, particularly his ability to take
Caught
Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Being caught out is the most common method of dismissal at higher levels of competition...
balls passing down the leg side
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
. Tallon then scored 88 in Queensland's reply. Bradman opined that he had a "clean-hitting crisp style ... attacking, positive, and with a technique to rival most first-class batsmen". Despite this, Queensland fell to defeat by an innings and 226 runs. He followed this with 51 in a defeat to New South Wales. The highlight of Tallon's season was his highest first-class score of 193, against Victoria in Brisbane, in the last fixture of the season, a match in which he also took five catches in an innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
. Tallon's innings played a large part in the hosts' saving of the match after conceding a lead of 252 on the first innings. As he continued his consistent form with both bat and gloves, he came into strong consideration for Test selection. While Tallon was performing strongly in Australia, the national team were in South Africa and defeated their hosts 4–0. Nevertheless, it was another unsuccessful season for Queensland; Tallon did not experience a win and suffered losses in three of his six matches.
Pre-war non-selection
During the 1930s, Queensland was a weak cricketing state, having only been admitted to the Sheffield Shield in 1926–27, and the national selectors tended to choose Australia teams composed entirely of New South Welshmen, Victorians and South Australians. New South Wales' Bert OldfieldBert Oldfield
William Albert Stanley "Bert" Oldfield was an Australian cricket player. He played for New South Wales and the Australian cricket team as wicket-keeper....
was the incumbent wicket-keeper and had no plans to retire, while Victoria's Ben Barnett
Ben Barnett
Benjamin Arthur Barnett was an Australian cricketer who played in 4 Tests in 1938....
had been the reserve keeper on the 1934 tour of England. South Australia's Charlie Walker
Charlie Walker (cricketer)
Charles William "Charlie" Walker was a cricketer who played for South Australia. A specialist wicket-keeper and right-handed batsman, Walker was born in Brompton, an inner-suburb of Adelaide....
was also talked of as a possible Test player.
Tallon was scrutinised as a Test candidate when England toured for the 1936–37 Ashes series. He was selected in Bradman's XI for a one-off match against Victor Richardson's XI at the start of the season. It was a testimonial for Richardson and such matches were used as Test trials for the top players in Australia. Tallon took three catches but was unable to capitalise with the bat. He made three and was unbeaten without scoring in the second innings as Bradman's men reached their target. In the next match against New South Wales, Tallon took four catches and scored 100 to bring his team back into contention after conceding a 190-run lead. However, New South Wales scraped home to win by one wicket. It continued a winless streak for Tallon in Queensland colours that had lasted for over two and a half years. Tallon had a final chance to push for selection in two matches for an Australian XI and Queensland respectively, against Gubby Allen
Gubby Allen
Sir George Oswald Browning "Gubby" Allen, CBE was a cricketer who played for Middlesex, Cambridge University, MCC and England. Australian-born, Allen was a fast bowler and hard-hitting lower-order batsman, who captained England in eleven Test matches...
's Englishmen before the Tests. He made a total of seven dismissals but scored only 49 runs in three innings.
When the Test team was announced, Tallon was overlooked as the selectors persisted with Oldfield. Tallon remained consistent for Queensland, making 22 dismissals in total for the season. With the bat, he once again topped his state's averages, scoring 434 runs at 36.16. He scored 101 against South Australia and 96 against Victoria, but both matches were lost. Queensland defeat New South Wales to record their first win in three years, but the remaining five Sheffield Shield matches were all lost.
The 1937–38 season was purely domestic, with no international matches, but it was an opportunity for all players to push for selection in the squad for the 1938 Ashes tour
Australian cricket team in England in 1938
The 1938 Ashes series between Australia and England was drawn. England and Australia won a Test each, with two of the other Tests drawn and the third game of the series, scheduled for Manchester, abandoned without a ball being bowled, only the second instance of this in more than 60 years of Test...
. It was another disappointing season for Queensland, who were again winless; they lost three matches, hung on a for a draw, eight wickets down in another, and the other two fixtures were washed out before the second innings. Tallon scored 204 runs at 22.66 without managing a half-century and made 17 dismissals.
Tallon's non-selection for the 1938 Ashes touring party surprised commentators. In selection deliberations, Bradman had lobbied for Tallon and Walker, asserting that Oldfield was past his best. The other two selectors, Chappie Dwyer
Chappie Dwyer
Edmund Alfred Dwyer was an Australian cricketer and national selector. Dwyer was born in Mosman, Sydney and played for the New South Wales cricket team for three first-class cricket matches as a right-handed batsmen.-Career:Dwyer played his three matches for NSW sporadically between the end of the...
from New South Wales and Bill Johnson
William Johnson (cricketer)
William James Johnson was a wine and spirit grocer and keen cricketer who played one first-class match for Victoria in 1924–25. He was later a selector of the Australian Test team....
from Victoria, outvoted Bradman. They selected Barnett, because of his previous tour to England, and Walker. Tallon's omission was overshadowed by that of Grimmett, regarded alongside Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (cricketer)
William Joseph "Bill" O'Reilly , often known as Tiger O'Reilly, was an Australian cricketer, rated as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster.O'Reilly was one of the best spin bowlers to...
as the world's leading legspinner. No official reason was given for Tallon's non-selection. A leak revealed that the reason for his omission was that he was not familiar with the bowling of Australia's three spinners
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
: O'Reilly, Chuck Fleetwood-Smith
Chuck Fleetwood-Smith
Leslie O'Brien "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. Known universally as "Chuck", he was the "wayward genius" of Australian cricket during the 1930s...
and Frank Ward. Another was Tallon's preference in standing back to medium pacers
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
. In reality, Tallon stood back and stood up to the stumps depending on the situation. While the medium pacers were swinging
Swing bowling
Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.-Physics of swing bowling:...
the ball, he would stand back to avoid the risk of missing an edge. When the ball was old, he would stand up to the stumps when a medium pacer was operating and effect many stumpings with his fast reflexes.
During the series, Barnett made two notable errors. With Australia leading the series 1–0 going into the Fifth Test at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, Barnett dropped Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
and Maurice Leyland
Maurice Leyland
Maurice Leyland , christened 'Morris Leyland', was an English cricketer who played 41 Test matches between 1928 and 1938 and proved himself one of the best left-handers of his generation....
when both were on 40. Leyland went on to post 187 while Hutton set a Test world record of 364. In effect, England were gifted an extra 461 runs as they set a world record score of 7/903. Bradman injured himself during the marathon innings in a rare stint at the bowling crease after the specialist bowlers had failed to break the Englishmen. With opener Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
also injured, Australia were down to nine men and fell to the heaviest defeat in Test history (an innings and 579 runs) and the series was drawn.
Tallon responded during the 1938–39 season by equalling two world records. The season started poorly for Queensland, not winning any of their first three matches. Tallon made eight dismissals in the opening match of the Sheffield Shield campaign against New South Wales, but the visitors hung on for a draw with one wicket in hand. After two consecutive losses, Tallon set the first of his world records. Against New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
in Sydney, he dismissed 12 batsmen, six in each innings, a feat performed only once before, in 1868 by Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
's Ted Pooley
Ted Pooley
Edward William 'Ted' Pooley was an English cricketer. Ted Pooley's greatest claim to fame is that he should have been England's first Test match wicket keeper...
. Tallon's dozen included three stumpings and he was at the crease when Queensland hit the winning runs to complete their first victory in two years. After nine innings during the season without passing 36, Tallon returned to form with the bat, scoring 115 against South Australia, but was unable to take the field in the second innings due to injury as the match ended in a ten-wicket defeat. In the final match of the season, Tallon became the fourth keeper to make seven dismissals in an innings, in a match against Victoria. He did not concede a bye in the innings of 348, and scored 44 as Queensland completed an innings win. Tallon finished the season with 34 dismissals in six matches, setting a new Australian season record. He took more than five dismissals in an innings in four of the ten innings in which he kept wicket. Observers noted Tallon to be more motivated than ever; his catching and stumping style became more animated, and his appeal
Appeal (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an appeal is the act of a player on the fielding team asking an umpire for a decision regarding whether a batsman is out or not. According to the Laws of Cricket, an umpire may not rule a batsman out unless the fielding side appeals...
ing reached new levels of sound. He passed 100 first-class dismissals during the season, achieved in just 32 matches—the fastest Australian to reach the mark. Tallon ended the season with 305 runs at 30.50.
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
called a halt to his rise and robbed him of the opportunity to represent his country while in his prime as a cricketer; official international cricket did not resume until he was 29. In the meantime, domestic cricket continued in 1939–40. It was another poor season for Queensland, who won only once and lost their remaining five matches. Tallon scored two fifties before scoring 154 in his last Sheffield Shield innings of the season. This set Victoria a target of 230, but they reached it for the loss of only one wicket. Tallon was selected for The Rest of Australia in a one-off match against New South Wales at the end of the season, but managed only a duck and eight. He ended the summer with 401 runs at 28.62 and 17 dismissals.
With the war intensifying, the 1940–41 season was truncated and the last before the hostilities ended. Tallon scored 55 and completed four dismissals as Queensland started with a 27-run loss to New South Wales. He then starred in a match for combined Queensland and Victoria team against New South Wales. Tallon scored 55 and 152 and completed four dismissals, but was unable to prevent a one-wicket loss. He ended with 379 runs at 42.11 and made 16 dismissals in five matches.
With first-class cricket cancelled, Tallon joined the Australian Army
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
in August 1940 at Bundaberg. Tallon was discharged in 1943 as a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
and was not decorated. His discharge was due to stomach ulcers and he later had a major operation to remove part of his stomach.
Upon the resumption of competitive cricket, Tallon's chances of selection had improved due to the fates of his pre-war wicket-keeping rivals. Oldfield had long retired. Barnett, a captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
in the army, had been a prisoner of the Japanese at Changi
Changi Prison
Changi Prison is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.-First prison and POW camp:...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
for four years. Emaciated, he slowly recovered his fitness and forced his way back into the Victorian team, but was almost 40 and intended to retire in the near future. Walker had joined the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
as a gunner and was killed in a duel with Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
fighter pilots over Soltau
Soltau
- Middle Ages :The region of the Lüneburg Heath had already been settled by the start of the New Stone Age about 4,000 years ago. The Soltau area was initially occupied by a few individual farms. The parish of Soltau was probably founded around 830 and the first wooden church Sante Johannis...
in Germany. This left Tallon as the front-runner, but there was a possibility that the selectors would opt for generational change and install a more youthful keeper like Gil Langley
Gil Langley
Gilbert Roche Andrews "Gil" Langley was an Australian Test cricketer, champion Australian rules footballer and member of parliament, serving as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly....
or Ron Saggers
Ron Saggers
Ronald Arthur Saggers was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales. He played briefly for the Australian team, playing six Tests between 1948 and 1950...
with an eye to the future. With the pressure of selection on his head, Tallon made eight dismissals in the first match after the resumption of cricket, against New South Wales in Brisbane, including three stumpings and three catches from the leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
of Colin McCool
Colin McCool
Colin Leslie McCool was an Australian cricketer who played in 14 Tests from 1946 to 1950. McCool, born in Paddington, New South Wales, was an all-rounder who bowled leg spin and googlies with a round arm action and as a lower order batsman was regarded as effective square of the wicket and against...
, a future Test team-mate. The performance was to herald the start of a prolific bowler-wicket-keeper partnership. Tallon then scored 74 to guide Queensland to the target of 270 with four wickets in hand. Queensland won two of their seven matches and Tallon scored 305 runs at 30.50 and completed 27 dismissals to finally gain national selection.
Test debut
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in March 1946, although the match was only given Test accreditation two years later. On a wet wicket
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
, New Zealand were dismissed for 42 and 54 against the slow bowling
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
of Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (cricketer)
William Joseph "Bill" O'Reilly , often known as Tiger O'Reilly, was an Australian cricketer, rated as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster.O'Reilly was one of the best spin bowlers to...
and Ernie Toshack
Ernie Toshack
Ernest Raymond Herbert Toshack was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1946 to 1948. A left arm medium paced bowler who was known for his accuracy and stamina in his application of leg theory, Toshack was best known for being as member of Don Bradman's Invincibles that toured...
. Tallon made a stumping, a run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
and took a catch. He scored only five runs as Australia won by an innings and 103 runs. Tallon had rarely kept to O'Reilly's leg spin and impressed the bowler, who compared him with Oldfield. During the tour of New Zealand, Australia won all of their five matches, four by an innings. Tallon scored 123 runs at 41.00 and made 12 dismissals.
The following season saw Australia's first Test series since the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, with five matches scheduled against Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
's touring Englishmen
English cricket team in Australia in 1946-47
The English cricket team in Australia in 1946–47 was captained by Wally Hammond, with Norman Yardley as his vice-captain and Bill Edrich as the senior professional. It played as England in the 1946-47 Ashes series against the Australians and as the MCC in their other matches on the tour...
in the 1946-47 Ashes series. Tallon staked his claim for the Test wicket-keeping position in Queensland's second match of the season, which was against MCC. Tallon combined with McCool in four stumpings and two catches, and in the process took his first-class tally to 170 dismissals his 50th first-class match. He also scored 26 and 35. Tallon's proficiency keeping wicket to McCool's bowling was now a major factor in his favour for national selection, because McCool had established himself as Australia's first-choice spinner since the retirement of O'Reilly. Tallon was duly selected for the First Test of the series in Brisbane.
In First Test at Brisbane Tallon took two catches but scored only 14 in a victory. Tallon was worried that his poor batting might lead to him being replaced, but he was retained as Australia secured an innings victory in Sydney. He put in a polished performance with the gloves, with four catches and two stumpings, in addition to 30 runs. The only negative aspect of the match for Tallon was that he dislocated his finger. Beyond the raw statistics, two of the catches that Tallon made in the first innings were regarded as among his finest ever and turned the tide of the match. Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
and Bill Edrich
Bill Edrich
William John "Bill" Edrich DFC was a distinguished cricketer who played for Middlesex, MCC, Norfolk and England.Edrich's three brothers, Brian, Eric and Geoff, and also his cousin, John, all played first-class cricket...
—two of England's leading batsmen—had seen their team to lunch with only the loss of one wicket. Tallon declared to Bradman that he intended to dismiss Hutton down the leg side
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
, so Bradman brought off spin
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
ner Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (cricketer)
Ian William Geddes Johnson CBE was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of...
into the attack immediately after lunch. Johnson was instructed to bowl at Hutton's legs to give him an opportunity to glance the ball. Hutton obliged and struck the ball from the middle of his bat, expecting a boundary. He turned around and was shocked to see that Tallon had intercepted the ball from a blind position at a range of just one metre. The score was 2/88 as Hutton, who held the Test world record score was dismissed and replaced at the batting crease by Denis Compton
Denis Compton
Denis Charles Scott Compton CBE was an English cricketer who played in 78 Test matches, and a footballer...
. Bradman introduced McCool and Compton misjudged a cut shot which went wide of Tallon and struck Johnson, fielding at slip, in the chest. The ball rebounded past Tallon's shoulder and was heading for the ground when he spun and dived backwards to catch it just before it landed. According to Roland Perry
Roland Perry
Roland Perry is a Melbourne-based author best known for his books on history, especially Australia in the two world wars. His Monash: The Outsider Who Won The War, won the Fellowship of Australian Writers' 'Melbourne University Publishing Award' in 2004...
, it was "an acrobatic feat that would put any trapeze
Trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances...
artist in the shade, taking one of the most brilliant catches in Test history". Tallon took another difficult catch from McCool to dismiss Hammond as England fell to 4/99, with three specialist batsmen to improbable catches. This restricted England and allowed Australia to set up a match-winning lead.
Tallon now felt secure about his place in the team for the rest of the series. This led to increased confidence in his play in the Third Test at Melbourne (MCG). After keeping tidily and scoring 35 in the first innings, Tallon combined with Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
in the second innings for a 154-run partnership
Partnership (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in partnership, although only one is on strike at any time. The partnership between two batsmen will come to an end when one of them is dismissed or retires, or the innings comes to a close In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in...
in just 92 minutes. Described by Wisden
Wisden
The Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
as a "hurricane", the partnership was marked by Tallon's powerful driving and cutting. Lindwall reached his century, but Tallon fell for 92 to Doug Wright
Doug Wright (cricketer)
Douglas Vivian Parson Wright, better known as Doug Wright was an English cricketer. A leg-spinner for Kent and England from 1932 to 1957 he took a record seven hat-tricks in first class cricket. He played for Kent for 25 years and was their first professional captain from late 1953 to 1956...
. Tallon's 92 remained the highest score by an Australian wicketkeeper until Rod Marsh
Rod Marsh
Rodney William Marsh MBE is a former Australian wicketkeeper.A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same number his pace bowling Western...
equalled it with 92 not out in the 1970-71 Ashes series and surpassed it with 132 against New Zealand in 1973–74.
In the Fourth Test at Adelaide Tallon stumped Denis Compton
Denis Compton
Denis Charles Scott Compton CBE was an English cricketer who played in 78 Test matches, and a footballer...
, but the umpire gave him not out because "the glare of the sun suddenly became so intense that he was unable to see clearly the white line of the popping crease" and Compton made 147. The England openers Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
and Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. He had a long career, split by World War II, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for opening the batting for England with Len Hutton, which he did fifty one times, played a total of 592...
had put on 100 in the second innings when Tallon caught Washbrook, scooping up a ball from Lindwall. Washbrook "stood there transfixed. Even some of the Australian leg-side fielders expressed amazement". Tallon was known for his impetuous appealing - "he was often roaring before he had studied facts and it was his over-eagerness that brought about the shocking decision" - and this caused an umpiring controversy. But Tallon maintained the appeal and Bradman backed him. Washbrook told Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
that the ball had gone into the ground just before it went into Tallon's gloves and the England captain tried unsuccessfully to find a press photograph of the ball touching the ground. Later in the match Tallon missed a vital stumping off the England wicketkeeper Godfrey Evans
Godfrey Evans
Thomas Godfrey Evans CBE was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England.Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches...
, who stayed put for 95 minutes without making a run. Tallon stumped Compton again, but he was given not out and went on to made an unbeaten 103 in a match-saving stand of 85 with Evans.
Tallon's keeping was further lauded in the second innings of the Fifth Test, when he stumped Edrich, Jack Ikin
Jack Ikin
John Thomas Ikin, known as Jack Ikin was an English cricketer, who played in eighteen Tests from 1946 to 1955...
and Alec Bedser
Alec Bedser
Sir Alec Victor Bedser, CBE was a professional English cricketer. He was the chairman of selectors for the English national cricket team, and the president of Surrey County Cricket Club...
from McCool's bowling. By series end, Tallon had set an Australian Test record of 20 dismissals in a series and averaged 29 with the bat. He also scored 54 and claimed seven dismissals in a Queensland win over South Australia.
Tallon started the next season by taking five catches and scoring 41 in the second innings and Queensland scraped home to beat New South Wales by two wickets. He played in all five Tests against India in the Australian summer of 1947–48, and earned praise from Indian skipper Lala Amarnath
Lala Amarnath
Nanik Amarnath Bhardwaj was an Indian Test cricketer. He was the first cricketer to score a Test century for the Indian cricket team, which he achieved on debut...
who described him as the "greatest keeper he had seen". Tallon made 13 dismissals but had an unproductive time with the bat, scoring only 49 runs at 12.25. Outside the Tests, Tallon scored 229 runs at 22.90 and made 15 dismissals in six matches for Queensland.
Invincibles tour
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
, this meant that the ball would more frequently be in a favourable state for fast bowling, since it would swing
Swing bowling
Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.-Physics of swing bowling:...
more. As a result, Australia adopted a pace-oriented strategy and Johnson was the only spinner regularly used in the Test matches. McCool was not to play a Test on the tour, depriving Tallon of an opportunity to show his stumping abilities standing up at the stump
Stump (cricket)
Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:# part of the wicket# a manner of dismissing a batsman# the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...
s to his Queensland team-mate.
Early in the tour, Tallon struck an unbeaten 17 on a damp pitch
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
in a low-scoring match as Australia defeated Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
by four wickets. It was the closest that the tourists came to defeat for the tour.
Tallon had difficulty with the English conditions early in the season as he sustained a bruised right finger when he lost sight of a Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
bouncer
Bouncer (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bouncer is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. It is pitched short so that it bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rears up to chest or head height as it reaches the batsman.Bouncers are used tactically to drive the batsman back on to his...
on a misty morning during a tour match against Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
and was hit as he put hand over his face for protection, with the ball running away for four byes. As a result of the injury, Tallon was rested for the following three matches.
Despite averaging more byes per innings than Saggers during the 12 warm-up matches, and sustaining an injury from a catching error, Tallon was selected for the First Test at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
. He took four catches, including two difficult ones to dismiss key batsmen at the start of the second innings. He thus helped Australia to seize the initiative by denying England a good start, which was converted into an eight-wicket victory. The teams moved on to Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
and Australia compiled 350 in its first innings. Tallon made 53 and helped the tail to "wag" and recover from a position of 7/258. Tallon did not concede a bye in England's first innings of 215 and his diving was estimated to have saved around 40 runs. One of the three catches he took stood out; it came when Washbrook inside edged a Toshack full toss
Full toss
A full toss is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It describes any delivery that reaches the batsman without bouncing on the pitch first....
directly downwards at Tallon's ankle. Bradman described the catch as "miraculous" because Tallon had to reach so low, so quickly, in order to take the catch. Another dive to stop a leg glance resulted in a severely bruised left little finger. However, Tallon also conceded 16 byes in England's total of 186. Australia won the Test, and Tallon was rested ahead of the next Test to allow his finger to recover.
The teams played out a draw in the third match at Manchester, where Tallon dismissed George Emmett from the bowling of Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
with a diving one-handed catch. He also dropped Compton three times, allowing the English batsman to go from 50 to 145 not out as he held the hosts' first innings together.
Tallon's little left finger swelled up after the Third Test and he exacerbated the injury during a tour match against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
, ruling him out of the Fourth Test at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, which Australia won to secure the series. Saggers stood in and conceded the lowest percentage of byes conceded in a match total by an Australian wicket-keeper for the tour (0.697%).
Tallon returned for the Fifth Test at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, taking three catches, including an acrobatic catch of Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
down the leg side
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
that was considered the catch of the season. He scored 31 as Australia sealed the series 4–0 with an innings win. When the last match of the tour against Scotland in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
became safe, with Australia in an unassailable position, Bradman allowed Tallon to dispense with his wicket-keeping pads and try his luck at bowling leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
. Tallon never bowled in his Test career and only rarely in first-class cricket, where he delivered 301 balls, the approximate workload of a specialist bowler in one match.
Tallon had had moderate success with his batting during the Test series, aggregating 114 runs at 28.50. In 14 first-class matches, he scored 283 runs at 25.72. The Australian team strategy of primarily depending on pace bowling saw Tallon make 12 catches and no stumpings during the Tests; however, Bradman rested his lead pace bowlers Miller and Lindwall during the tour games to save energy for the Tests and allowed the spinners do more work, so that overall Tallon took 29 catches and 14 stumpings for the tour. Tallon was preferred over Saggers despite conceding byes at a higher rate; Bradman deemed Tallon to be more agile and better at taking acrobatic catches. Tallon's performances during the English summer saw him named by Wisden as one of its five Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
.
Later career
Geff Noblet
Geffery Noblet was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1950 to 1953....
, who scored only nine as Tallon farmed the strike effectively. This saw the match scores tied on the last ball of the match. Tallon also made seven dismissals for the match. Queensland lost more than they won during the season, but Tallon continued to be productive, scoring 453 runs at 34.85 and making 26 dismissals in seven matches.
Tallon was selected for but withdrew from the 1949–50 tour to South Africa due to illness caused by stomach ulcers, and employment reasons. His place was taken by Saggers, who made 21 dismissals in the five Tests. In the meantime, Tallon recovered and played in the Australian domestic season. After scoring 52 in the opening match for the season, he scored 98 and two scores of 58 not out to help Queensland end the season with consecutive wins. He ended with 349 runs at 43.63 and 11 dismissals in six matches. Tallon was selected for a brief tour of New Zealand at the end of the season with an Australian Second XI led by Bill Brown
Bill Brown (cricketer)
William Alfred "Bill" Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Tests between 1934 and 1948, captaining his country in one Test. A right-handed opening batsman, his partnership with Jack Fingleton in the 1930s is regarded as one of the finest in Australian Test history...
, and scored 116 in an unofficial Test in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. It was the top-score in Australia's 299 and the hosts led by only eight runs with one wicket in hand in their second innings when the match ended in a draw. Many of the matches during the tour were not first-class but in one such game, Tallon scored 70 not out as Australia defeated Otago by an innings.
In the 1950-51 Ashes series Tallon was fit once more and available for national selection. Despite making only 37 runs in four innings in the lead-up matches, Tallon was chosen for all five Tests. He had a poor time with the bat, making only 39 runs at an average of just 6.50. He took only eight catches, but kept tidily to retain his place in the team. His performances for Queensland were hardly more productive; he scored 161 runs at 16.10 and aside from a rain-affected draw, his state lost their remaining six matches.
By this time, Tallon was losing his hearing, and gained the derisive nickname Deafy. In one Test, he had been told by captain Lindsay Hassett
Lindsay Hassett
Arthur Lindsay Hassett MBE was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-order batsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a...
before going out to bat that there was to be an appeal for bad light. Hassett said "go for the light" but Tallon misheard it as "go for a lash". Tallon walked out and was dismissed for a low score after attempting to attack the English bowlers, leaving his skipper displeased.
Tallon missed selection during the 1951–52 season due his increasingly error-prone glovework and a combination of health reasons including stomach ulcers and deafness. He did not play a first-class match because of lack of his fitness. In any case, Tallon had secretly been barred from selection by the Australian Board of Control for making unauthorised comments in the media; this fact was not revealed for half a century.
He was unable to reclaim his Test place in 1952–53 despite making 133 against the touring South Africans
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
and 84 against New South Wales for Queensland before the Tests. Tallon totalled 508 runs at 33.87 for the season and made 33 dismissals in eight matches, including seven in one fixture against Western Australia, but failed to taste victory in a single Queensland match. His omission angered Queensland fans, who relentlessly heckled the Australians during the First Test against the tourists in Brisbane, making fun of the mistakes made by Tallon's replacement Gil Langley
Gil Langley
Gilbert Roche Andrews "Gil" Langley was an Australian Test cricketer, champion Australian rules footballer and member of parliament, serving as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly....
in particular.
He was selected for the 1953 tour of England, and scored 76 against Tasmania before the tourists departed. Despite making only 35 runs at 7.00 in the lead-up matches, Tallon was selected for the First Test at Trent Bridge, his first match at the top level in more than two years. He took two catches and scored a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
and 15. Hassett and his deputy Arthur Morris
Arthur Morris
Arthur Robert Morris MBE is a former Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for his key role in Don Bradman's Invincibles side, which made an undefeated tour of...
then made the decision to replace Tallon with Langley. Still troubled by stomach ulcers, Tallon played in another eight first-class matches for the tour, scoring 119 runs at 19.83. His most notable effort was an unbeaten 83 in an innings win over Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
. He was unable to regain his Test position.
Tallon retired in dramatic circumstances after the first match of the 1953–54 Sheffield Shield season. During the match, he suddenly took off his gloves and handed the keeping duties to Peter Burge. He scored 21 and 54 not out in a drawn match against New South Wales. Two months later, he played for Arthur Morris
Arthur Morris
Arthur Robert Morris MBE is a former Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for his key role in Don Bradman's Invincibles side, which made an undefeated tour of...
's XI against Hassett's XI, a testimonial match for the latter. Tallon made 17 not out and nine in a 121-run win. Tallon continued to play local cricket in Bundaberg for another decade.
Style
Rod Marsh
Rodney William Marsh MBE is a former Australian wicketkeeper.A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same number his pace bowling Western...
and Ian Healy
Ian Healy
Ian Andrew Healy is a former cricketer who played for Queensland and Australia. A specialist wicketkeeper and useful right-hand middle-order batsman, he made an unheralded entry to international cricket in 1988, after only six first-class games. His work ethic and combativeness was much needed...
, both of whom held the Test world record for dismissals, averaged closer to two. Tallon's Test batting average of 17.13 pales in comparison to that of contemporary wicket-keepers such as Australia's Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
, both of whom have made a double century and more than ten centuries. English wicket-keepers from two decades after World War II such as Godfrey Evans
Godfrey Evans
Thomas Godfrey Evans CBE was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England.Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches...
and Jim Parks
Jim Parks junior
Jim Parks is an English former cricketer. He played in forty six Tests for England, between 1954 and 1968...
scored two Test centuries apiece and averaged substantially more than Tallon.
Tallon had an understated style, which was without flourish or flamboyancy. He was known for his anticipation of the flight
Flight (cricket)
Flight, also known as Loop, is a description of a kind of delivery in cricket, when a bowler makes the ball rise above eyeline, before it descends once again on its trajectory towards the batsman.Flight is a key weapon of spin bowlers...
, length
Line and length
Line and length in cricket refers to the direction and point of bouncing on the pitch of a delivery. The two concepts are frequently discussed together.-Line:...
and spin
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
of the ball. He was particularly regarded for his stumping efficiency and his ability to catch balls down the leg side. Tallon often stood up to the stumps for medium pace bowlers and his stumping was highlighted by his textbook technique of lifting the bails
Bail (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bail is one of the two smaller sticks placed on top of the three stumps to form a wicket. The bails are used to determine when the wicket is broken, which in turn is one of the critical factors in determining whether a batsman is out bowled, stumped, run out or hit wicket...
without disturbing the stumps
Stump (cricket)
Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:# part of the wicket# a manner of dismissing a batsman# the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...
(pictured). Tallon's crouch was more pronounced than most other keepers and he rebounded upwards further and faster than others. He had a particularly smooth and graceful catching technique that left his hands undamaged from the ball's impact, the injury in England in 1948 being a notable exception that proved the rule. In recognising him as one of their five Cricketers of the Year in the 1949 Wisden, the Almanack noted that his hands resembled those of a violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist, while Bradman noted that all his "fine, longer fingers were intact" as though he had not played much cricket. According to his English counterpart Godfrey Evans
Godfrey Evans
Thomas Godfrey Evans CBE was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England.Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches...
, Tallon was the "best and most nimble keeper ever" while Australian team-mate Alan Davidson
Alan Davidson (cricketer)
Alan Keith Davidson, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer of the 1950s and 1960s. He was an all rounder: a hard-hitting lower-order left-handed batsman, and an outstanding left-arm fast-medium opening bowler...
called him the "Bradman of keepers". Due to financial reasons, Tallon could not afford new equipment and he used an outdated pair of iron-coated gloves for most of his career.
Strong driving and quick scoring were hallmarks of his batting, made possible by his swift footwork. According to Bradman, Tallon's batting was "attacking, positive and with a technique to rival most first-class batsmen". This led Bradman to select Tallon in his all-time best XI. Tallon was a vociferous and frequent appealer
Appeal (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an appeal is the act of a player on the fielding team asking an umpire for a decision regarding whether a batsman is out or not. According to the Laws of Cricket, an umpire may not rule a batsman out unless the fielding side appeals...
behind the stumps, something that led to complaints from opposition batsmen who felt that the pressure he exerted was unfair.
Outside cricket
Tallon married his first wife Marjorie Beattie in 1946. The constant travel, interstate and overseas, took a toll on his marriage and the pair divorced in 1950. In 1954, he married Lynda Kirchner from his native Bundaberg, with whom he had two daughters. In retirement, Tallon helped his younger brother Mat in running a corner store in Bundaberg. His nephew Ross played one match for Queensland Colts in 1967–68. The Tallon bridge, built in 1955 in Bundaberg was named after the famous Bundabergian which links west & north Bundaberg.Test match performance
| Batting | Wicket-keeping | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | Matches | Runs | Average | High Score | 100 / 50 | Catches | Stumpings | Dismissals per innings | Most dismissals (Inns) |
| England | 15 | 340 | 18.88 | 92 | 0/2 | 38 | 4 | 1.40 | 4 |
| India | 5 | 49 | 12.25 | 37 | 0/0 | 11 | 3 | 1.40 | 4 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 5 | 5.00 | 5 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 1 |
| Overall | 21 | 394 | 17.13 | 92 | 0/2 | 50 | 8 | 1.38 | 4 |