Wally Grout
Encyclopedia
Arthur Theodore Wallace ("Wally") Grout (20 March 1927, Mackay
, Queensland
–9 November 1968, Brisbane, Queensland) was a Test cricket
er who kept wicket
for Australia
and Queensland
.
Grout played in 51 Test matches between 1957 and 1966. He made his Test debut against South Africa at Wanderers Stadium
, during which he caught a record six wickets behind the stumps in the second innings. Australia never lost a series in which Grout played.
For many years, Grout played second fiddle to Don Tallon
in the Queensland state team, and was unable to cement a regular spot as wicket keeper. In a Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia
at Brisbane
in 1960, he took 8 catches in an innings, setting a world record.
He died suddenly from a heart attack
at the age of 41, only 3 years after ending his playing career.
Don Tallon
play at Perry Park
in Brisbane. He took to the game well and was later picked for Brisbane schoolboys as an opening batsman
. However, future fellow Queensland Sheffield Shield player Leyland Sanders
was preferred as wicket keeper. While at school, Grout played C Grade cricket for Valley
and from age 14, for Souths, where he was selected as wicket keeper. He also played Australian Rules
and Rugby union
.
. Grout described what he felt was his biggest setback in the 1947–48 season as Tallon was playing for Australia in the Test series against India; initially hopeful for the Queensland keeper spot, he was overlooked in favour of future Australian hockey captain Doug Siggs.
Queensland state selector Vic Honour had reminded Grout that Siggs was a better batsman, but Grout disagreed, noting that the keeper is responsible for the runs of every wicket missed.
He stated,
Grout finally played as keeper for Queensland in 1949 as Tallon decided to switch to spin bowling. This lasted only one match, however; the selectors were unhappy and Tallon resumed keeping.
's English touring side in 1954, but Victorian Len Maddocks
was selected, and played all five Tests despite having an injured finger. He was again overlooked as Gil Langley
and Maddocks were the two keepers selected for the 1956 tour of England. His friend and fellow Queensland player Ken "Slasher" Mackay
advised him that he lacked fitness, and that his form badly tailed off in the last session.
He improved his fitness and was one of two wicket keepers selected for the 1957-58 tour of South Africa. Grout's competitor for the Test spot was Barry Jarman
, and to make matters worse, he had sustained a hairline thumb fracture. Downplayed the injury, he picked up 95 in an innings at Benoni
and was given the nod. He made his Test debut against in the first test against South Africa at Wanderers Stadium
on 23–28 December 1957. Grout got off to a bad start, and allowed eight byes in the first innings in what he called "a severe attack of the fumbles". During the second innings, he was helped by some inspired bowling from Alan Davidson
and took what was then a record six catches behind the stumps. Grout was impressed at the grounds and the hospitality on the South African tour, yet it was not without its risks; early on, some of the Australians (not Grout) were quoted in the local press as being unimpressed with the South African opening bowlers Adcock
and Heine
, this fired them up and Grout and teammate Les Favell
copped a barrage of fearsome bowling in a match against Transvaal. The two fired down numerous bouncers against the Australians in the last innings of the fifth test. Grout and Neil Harvey faced danger of a different kind as the two were chased by elephants and lions in Wanke Games Reserve after Harvey left the vehicle attempting to get a better shot.
Australia never lost a series in which Grout played.
It was in South Africa that Neil Harvey
gave Grout the nickname "Griz", referring to the keeper's habit of complaining ("grizzling") about poor returns from fieldsmen. This replaced the hated "Grouty"; once, when addressed this way by the then Prime Minister Robert Menzies
, Grout had replied that the PM had just lost his and his wife's votes.
Grout played his first Test on home soil on 5 December 1958, in front of a home-town crowd at Brisbane; he was very nervous. Early in the match, he caught Tom Graveney
off the bowling of Davidson, which was to be the first of twenty wickets he picked up for the series, equalling Don Tallon's record in Ashes series. Australia went on to win the series 4-0.
Grout then toured India and Pakistan over the 1959-60 summer, and captain Richie Benaud insisted Jarman play two tests as almost all games on the tour were Test matches. Upon return, much of the team were struck down with hepatitis, and the exhausted Grout and Ray Lindwall were the only two test players able to play for Queensland in a match against Western Australia, however during the match Grout picked up eight wickets in a single innings.
Grout had his jaw broken while keeping to Queensland's
West Indian fast-bowler Wes Hall
in their match against the MCC a week before the First Test of the 1962-63 Ashes series. He was replaced in the first three Tests by South Australia's
Barry Jarman
, who played only seven Tests until Grout retired in 1966. In 1964 he famously refused to run out Fred Titmus
when he was knocked over by an Australian fielder in the 1964 Ashes series
, but sportingly let him return to the crease.
Grout's last Test was played in the 1965-66 Ashes series. In the first innings of the Second Test he took 3 catches in a innings and although Australia lost the Third Test at Sydney by an innings Colin Cowdrey
, M.J.K. Smith, Dave Brown and Jim Parks were caught by Grout off Neil Hawke
in succession. Grout then snapped up Fred Titmus
off Doug Walters
to give him five catches in an innings. In the Fourth Test Cowdrey thought a shout was Grout was Ken Barrington
calling him for a run and he was run out as England collapsed to 241 all out on the first day and lost by an innings, Grout taking 3 catches in the second innings. In the first innings of the Fifth Test he took 4 catches in his last Test to bring his total to 15 catches and 1 stumping in the series as Australia retained the Ashes
with a 1-1 draw.
Grout described Australian teammate Alan Davidson as his "bread and butter", and snared 48 of his first 100 victims from his bowling. He took plenty of outside edges from late-swinging balls. He hated keeping to off-spinners as the ball is often obscured by the batsman until it is too late; this is in contrast to leg spinners where the ball is visible from the time it is bowled.
"Asked by an Englishman if he'd attended a public school, he replied: "Eton. And drinkin'.""
Grout loved billiards, and met champion Indian billiards player Wilson Jones
in Kolkata in 1960; the test team cheered Wilson in the World Amateur Billiards Championship
, which was being held at the same time as the test.
In sports, prominent athletes often receive nicknames that then become widely used once they meet with popular approval. Grout's personality added his last name as a rhyming slang for a "Shout" (round). This poetic colloquialism arises in the context of drinking in a drinking establishment
such as a pub, as in "And be sure to get your Wally Grout (shout) in." Here, a statement such as "It's your Wally" is a notification that it is the listener's turn to buy a round of drinks (a shout).
less than three years later." His obituary in Wisden commented:
Mackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
–9 November 1968, Brisbane, Queensland) was a Test cricket
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...
er who kept wicket
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...
for Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
and 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...
.
Grout played in 51 Test matches between 1957 and 1966. He made his Test debut against South Africa at Wanderers Stadium
Wanderers Stadium
BIDVest Wanderers Stadium is a stadium situated just south of Sandton in Illovo, Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Test, One Day and First class cricket matches are played here. It is also the home ground for the Highveld Lions, formerly known as Gauteng .The stadium has a seating...
, during which he caught a record six wickets behind the stumps in the second innings. Australia never lost a series in which Grout played.
For many years, Grout played second fiddle to Don Tallon
Don Tallon
Donald "Don" Tallon was an Australian cricketer who played 21 Test matches as a wicket-keeper between 1946 and 1953...
in the Queensland state team, and was unable to cement a regular spot as wicket keeper. In a Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
at Brisbane
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
in 1960, he took 8 catches in an innings, setting a world record.
He died suddenly from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at the age of 41, only 3 years after ending his playing career.
Early years
Grout reported first becoming engrossed in cricket at age seven, seeing Australia international wicket-keeperWicket-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...
Don Tallon
Don Tallon
Donald "Don" Tallon was an Australian cricketer who played 21 Test matches as a wicket-keeper between 1946 and 1953...
play at Perry Park
Perry Park, Brisbane
Perry Park Stadium is a sporting ground located at Enoggera Park in the Brisbane suburb of Bowen Hills.It is known widely as the "spiritual home of association Football" in Queensland....
in Brisbane. He took to the game well and was later picked for Brisbane schoolboys as an opening batsman
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
. However, future fellow Queensland Sheffield Shield player Leyland Sanders
Leyland Sanders
Leyland Arthur "Ley" Sanders was an Australian sportsman who represented Queensland in both Australian rules football and Sheffield Shield cricket....
was preferred as wicket keeper. While at school, Grout played C Grade cricket for Valley
Valley District Cricket Club
Valley District Cricket Club is a cricket club playing in the XXXX Gold premiership, the leading club cricket competition in Queensland, Australia. The club was established on 16 August 1897 and is one of only four remaining foundation clubs...
and from age 14, for Souths, where he was selected as wicket keeper. He also played Australian Rules
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
.
First class cricket
Grout's early nickname in Shield cricket was "The Voice", from his habit of joking and talking behind the stumps. He was unable to play in his favoured role as keeper due to the presence of Australian keeper Don TallonDon Tallon
Donald "Don" Tallon was an Australian cricketer who played 21 Test matches as a wicket-keeper between 1946 and 1953...
. Grout described what he felt was his biggest setback in the 1947–48 season as Tallon was playing for Australia in the Test series against India; initially hopeful for the Queensland keeper spot, he was overlooked in favour of future Australian hockey captain Doug Siggs.
Queensland state selector Vic Honour had reminded Grout that Siggs was a better batsman, but Grout disagreed, noting that the keeper is responsible for the runs of every wicket missed.
He stated,
-
- "I dropped HassettLindsay HassettArthur 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...
in a Shield match at home in 1947 off spinner Mick Raymer before the perky little Victorian had scored. Lindsay said 'Ta' and threashed 200. Where was I going to get a double century to compensate? My two innings in that match totalled seven runs."
- "I dropped Hassett
Grout finally played as keeper for Queensland in 1949 as Tallon decided to switch to spin bowling. This lasted only one match, however; the selectors were unhappy and Tallon resumed keeping.
Test cricket
Grout entertained hopes of playing for Australia against Len HuttonLen 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...
's English touring side in 1954, but Victorian Len Maddocks
Len Maddocks
Leonard Victor Maddocks is a former Australian cricketer and cricket administrator who played in 7 Tests from 1954 to 1956...
was selected, and played all five Tests despite having an injured finger. He was again overlooked as 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....
and Maddocks were the two keepers selected for the 1956 tour of England. His friend and fellow Queensland player Ken "Slasher" Mackay
Ken Mackay
Kenneth Donald Mackay was an Australian cricketer who played in 37 Tests from 1956 to 1963....
advised him that he lacked fitness, and that his form badly tailed off in the last session.
He improved his fitness and was one of two wicket keepers selected for the 1957-58 tour of South Africa. Grout's competitor for the Test spot was Barry Jarman
Barry Jarman
Barrington Noel Jarman OAM is a former Australian Test cricketer and International Cricket Council Match Referee....
, and to make matters worse, he had sustained a hairline thumb fracture. Downplayed the injury, he picked up 95 in an innings at Benoni
Benoni, Gauteng
Benoni is a city with 654,509 inhabitants on the East Rand in the South African province of Gauteng. Since 2000, it has been part of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.- History :...
and was given the nod. He made his Test debut against in the first test against South Africa at Wanderers Stadium
Wanderers Stadium
BIDVest Wanderers Stadium is a stadium situated just south of Sandton in Illovo, Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Test, One Day and First class cricket matches are played here. It is also the home ground for the Highveld Lions, formerly known as Gauteng .The stadium has a seating...
on 23–28 December 1957. Grout got off to a bad start, and allowed eight byes in the first innings in what he called "a severe attack of the fumbles". During the second innings, he was helped by some inspired bowling from 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...
and took what was then a record six catches behind the stumps. Grout was impressed at the grounds and the hospitality on the South African tour, yet it was not without its risks; early on, some of the Australians (not Grout) were quoted in the local press as being unimpressed with the South African opening bowlers Adcock
Neil Adcock
Neil Amwin Treharne Adcock is a former South African cricketer who played 26 Tests. A tall aggressive fast bowler, he could lift the ball sharply off a length. He was the first South African player to take 100 Test wickets.Making his Test debut in 1953 at home against New Zealand, he had only 9...
and Heine
Peter Heine
Peter Samuel Heine was a South African cricketer who played in fourteen Tests from 1955 to 1962...
, this fired them up and Grout and teammate Les Favell
Les Favell
Leslie Ernest Favell was an Australian cricketer who played in 19 Tests from 1954 to 1961. He was a strong batsman who liked to hit the ball around the ground and was a much loved character...
copped a barrage of fearsome bowling in a match against Transvaal. The two fired down numerous bouncers against the Australians in the last innings of the fifth test. Grout and Neil Harvey faced danger of a different kind as the two were chased by elephants and lions in Wanke Games Reserve after Harvey left the vehicle attempting to get a better shot.
Australia never lost a series in which Grout played.
It was in South Africa that Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
gave Grout the nickname "Griz", referring to the keeper's habit of complaining ("grizzling") about poor returns from fieldsmen. This replaced the hated "Grouty"; once, when addressed this way by the then Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, Grout had replied that the PM had just lost his and his wife's votes.
Grout played his first Test on home soil on 5 December 1958, in front of a home-town crowd at Brisbane; he was very nervous. Early in the match, he caught Tom Graveney
Tom Graveney
Thomas William Graveney in Riding Mill, Northumberland, is a former English cricketer and was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club for 2004/5. He went to Bristol Grammar School...
off the bowling of Davidson, which was to be the first of twenty wickets he picked up for the series, equalling Don Tallon's record in Ashes series. Australia went on to win the series 4-0.
Grout then toured India and Pakistan over the 1959-60 summer, and captain Richie Benaud insisted Jarman play two tests as almost all games on the tour were Test matches. Upon return, much of the team were struck down with hepatitis, and the exhausted Grout and Ray Lindwall were the only two test players able to play for Queensland in a match against Western Australia, however during the match Grout picked up eight wickets in a single innings.
Grout had his jaw broken while keeping to Queensland's
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...
West Indian fast-bowler Wes Hall
Wes Hall
Wesley Winfield Hall is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells. Hall played 48 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1969...
in their match against the MCC a week before the First Test of the 1962-63 Ashes series. He was replaced in the first three Tests by South Australia's
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...
Barry Jarman
Barry Jarman
Barrington Noel Jarman OAM is a former Australian Test cricketer and International Cricket Council Match Referee....
, who played only seven Tests until Grout retired in 1966. In 1964 he famously refused to run out Fred Titmus
Fred Titmus
Frederick John Titmus MBE was an English cricketer, whose first-class career spanned five decades. Although he was best known for his off spin , he was an accomplished lower-order batsman who deserved to be called an all-rounder, even opening the batting for England on six occasions...
when he was knocked over by an Australian fielder in the 1964 Ashes series
Australian cricket team in England in 1964
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1964 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.Australia won the series 1-0 with 4 matches drawn and therefore retained The Ashes.-Test series summary:...
, but sportingly let him return to the crease.
Grout's last Test was played in the 1965-66 Ashes series. In the first innings of the Second Test he took 3 catches in a innings and although Australia lost the Third Test at Sydney by an innings Colin Cowdrey
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE , better known as Colin Cowdrey, was the Captain of Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1976...
, M.J.K. Smith, Dave Brown and Jim Parks were caught by Grout off Neil Hawke
Neil Hawke
Neil James Napier Hawke was an Australian Test cricketer and leading Australian rules footballer.Born in Cheltenham, South Australia, Hawke quickly developed as a natural all-round sportsman who excelled in cricket, football and golf and made his senior Australian rules football debut for South...
in succession. Grout then snapped up Fred Titmus
Fred Titmus
Frederick John Titmus MBE was an English cricketer, whose first-class career spanned five decades. Although he was best known for his off spin , he was an accomplished lower-order batsman who deserved to be called an all-rounder, even opening the batting for England on six occasions...
off Doug Walters
Doug Walters
Kevin Douglas Walters MBE in Dungog New South Wales, known as Doug Walters, is a former Australian cricketer. He was known as an attacking batsman, and also as a typical ocker.-First-class career:...
to give him five catches in an innings. In the Fourth Test Cowdrey thought a shout was Grout was Ken Barrington
Ken Barrington
Kenneth Frank Barrington , better known as Ken Barrington, played for the English cricket team and Surrey County Cricket Club in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional leg-spin bowler, well known for his jovial good humour and long, defensive innings "batting with bulldog...
calling him for a run and he was run out as England collapsed to 241 all out on the first day and lost by an innings, Grout taking 3 catches in the second innings. In the first innings of the Fifth Test he took 4 catches in his last Test to bring his total to 15 catches and 1 stumping in the series as Australia retained the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
with a 1-1 draw.
Style and personality
Don Bradman noted the similarity in footwork, "swoop" and aggression between Grout and Don Tallon.Grout described Australian teammate Alan Davidson as his "bread and butter", and snared 48 of his first 100 victims from his bowling. He took plenty of outside edges from late-swinging balls. He hated keeping to off-spinners as the ball is often obscured by the batsman until it is too late; this is in contrast to leg spinners where the ball is visible from the time it is bowled.
"Asked by an Englishman if he'd attended a public school, he replied: "Eton. And drinkin'.""
Grout loved billiards, and met champion Indian billiards player Wilson Jones
Wilson Jones (billiards)
Wilson Lionel Garton-Jones was a professional player of English billiards from India. Jones, a dominant national amateur champion for more than a decade, won the amateur world championship twice, in 1958 and 1964...
in Kolkata in 1960; the test team cheered Wilson in the World Amateur Billiards Championship
IBSF World Billiards Championship
The IBSF World Billiards Championship is the premier non-professional tournament for the game of English billiards in the world...
, which was being held at the same time as the test.
In sports, prominent athletes often receive nicknames that then become widely used once they meet with popular approval. Grout's personality added his last name as a rhyming slang for a "Shout" (round). This poetic colloquialism arises in the context of drinking in a drinking establishment
Drinking establishment
A drinking establishment is a business whose primary function is the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. Some establishments may also serve food, or have entertainment, but their main purpose is to serve alcoholic beverages...
such as a pub, as in "And be sure to get your Wally Grout (shout) in." Here, a statement such as "It's your Wally" is a notification that it is the listener's turn to buy a round of drinks (a shout).
Death
"Grout ignored doctor's warnings about his weak heart and kept on playing until he was 39 - and died from a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
less than three years later." His obituary in Wisden commented:
"Grout entered hospital only two days before his death. A Brisbane doctor was afterwards reported as saying that Grout knew that he might collapse at any time during the last four years of his Test career and that he took part in the Australian tour of the West Indies only a few months after a heart attack in 1964. Yet Wally's unfailingly cheerful demeanour gave no inkling that there might be anything amiss with him."