Alan Falconer Kippax (25 May 1897 – 5 September 1972) was a
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
er for
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
(NSW) and
Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
during the era between the two World Wars, Kippax overcame a late start to
Test cricket
Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...
to become a regular in the Australian team between the 1928–29 and 1932–33 seasons. A middle-order
batsman
In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...
, he toured England twice, and at domestic level was a prolific scorer and a highly considered leader of NSW for eight years. To an extent, his Test figures did not correspond with his great success for NSW and he is best remembered for a performance in domestic cricket—a world record last wicket
partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...
, set during a
Sheffield Shield
The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...
match in 1928–29. His career was curtailed by the controversial ''
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. It was designed to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's leading batsman ...
'' tactics employed by
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on their 1932–33 tour of Australia; Kippax wrote a book denouncing the tactics after the series concluded.
Kippax was an "impeccably correct and elegant batsman,
ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
an upright, easy stance at the wicket; like his schoolboy idol
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper (2 November 1877 – 28 June 1915) was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found ...
, he rolled his sleeves between wrist and elbow and excelled with the
late cut",
[Andrews (1983), pp 606–07.] who was probably at his peak during the 1920s. His omission from the 1926 team to tour England caused great controversy at the time—especially as he hit a brilliant 271 not out against
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
on the eve of selection. Kippax was well into his thirties by the time he became a consistent selection for the Test team. Highly regarded by both fellow players and spectators, Kippax's innings of 83 in the
Lord's Test of 1930 induced
Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Gua ...
to comment that, "he pleased the eye of the connoisseur all the time."
[Cashman et al. (1996), pp 290–91.]
Early years
The third son of Arthur Percival Howell Kippax and his wife Sophie Estelle (née Craigie), Alan Kippax was born in the inner-city
Sydney suburb of
Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...
.
[ He attended both Bondi and Cleveland Street Public schools. At 14, Kippax joined Waverley (now Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club) and was a regular in the first-grade team within three years. At this stage, ]first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...
was suspended because of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, but when competition resumed in the 1918–19 season he made his debut for New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
(NSW). However, the state possessed much batting Batting may refer to:
* Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs
* Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...
talent, which was supplemented by the return to Australia of the Australian Imperial Forces cricket team that played in England after the armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
.[ Therefore, Kippax's opportunities were restricted for a number of seasons. He also played a lot of ]baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
with the Waverley Baseball Club (usually at third base
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
) and represented Australia against touring teams from American universities.[
Kippax's cricketing potential did not go completely unnoticed. He was offered a tour of New Zealand in the autumn of 1921. Playing in an Australian second team captained by the Test batsman Vernon Ransford, he made only two half-centuries in nine innings. In the 1922–23 season, Kippax became a regular for NSW, scoring 631 runs at 90.14. and led the side's first-class averages. The next season, he hit 248 in only 316 minutes against South Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), then toured New Zealand with the NSW team skippered by ]Charlie Macartney
Charles George Macartney (27 June 1886 – 9 September 1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Test matches between 1907 and 1926. He was known as "The Governor-General" in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flamb ...
. Kippax made two centuries in his 461 runs (average 92.2) on the tour.
He quickly won the respect of his fellow players and the spectators for his approach to the game. Alan McGilvray describes Kippax's demeanour and presence on the field:
... meticulous in his dress and his life, a man with a squeaky-clean image who would never raise his voice or allow his emotions to run away with him ... His shirt would always be buttoned the same way, the crease would always be sharp in his trousers, no hair would ever be out of place. He was an admirable engaging man.[McGilvray (1985), p 43.]
Journalists employed many superlatives to describe the Kippax style. Ray Robinson thought that Kippax's batting "had a silky quality not seen in any other player of his time or since"; he captivated the crowds with his late cut when he, "made a lissom bow over the ball and stroked it away with the bat's face downward, as if to squeeze the ball into the ground". His favourite hook shot propelled the ball "with such unhurried ease that the punishing power of the stroke was revealed only in the way the ball smacked against the fence." Donald Bradman believed him to be the best exponent of the hook shot in the game.
International career
Kippax began the 1924–25 summer with 115 for NSW against an Australian XI at the SCG. In the Sheffield Shield
The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...
he had scores of 127, 122 and 31, 212 not out and 40, earning him a first Australian cap (at the age of 27) in the final Test of the Ashes series against England at Sydney. Sharing a 105 run partnership with Bill Ponsford
William Harold Ponsford MBE (19 October 1900 – 6 April 1991) was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill ...
in the first innings, Kippax impressed with a score of 42 from number seven. ''Wisden
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
'' commented that the partnership "turned the fortunes of the game", and Australia went on to victory.
Shock omission
Another 585 runs at 83.57 in the 1925–26 season looked likely to win Kippax a place in the team to tour England in 1926. He failed in the Test-trial match staged in early December, but made the highest score of the Sheffield Shield competition, 271 not out (in 423 minutes) against Victoria at the SCG, which effectively steered NSW to the title. The subsequent omission of Kippax from the touring team is a famous blunder in Australian cricket history.[ Although Kippax was nearly 29, former Australian captain ]Monty Noble
Montague Alfred Noble (28 January 1873 – 22 June 1940) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable field ...
called the non-selection a "crime against the cricketing youth of Australia". His omission is usually attributed to "interstate parochialism" and was a "triumph of dullness over batting artistry."[ Australia surrendered the Ashes on the tour, with much of the blame for the loss directed at the team's skipper, ]Herbie Collins
Herbert Leslie Collins (21 January 1888 – 28 May 1959) was an Australian cricketer who played 19 Test matches between 1921 and 1926. An all-rounder, he captained the Australian team in eleven Tests, winning five, losing two with another f ...
. After he returned to Australia, administrators relieved Collins of the captaincy of his grade team and NSW, thus creating an opportunity for Kippax.
Captain of NSW
Installed as leader of NSW, Kippax earned a reputation as one of Australia's leading batsmen over the next three years. His captaincy "welded with wit, kindness and some practical joking a raw team into a formidable unit, nurturing such youngsters as Archie Jackson, Stan McCabe and (Sir) Donald Bradman".[ He hit a century in each innings against ]Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
in their inaugural Sheffield Shield match in 1926–27. The following season he registered the highest score of his career, 315 not out in 388 minutes versus Queensland at the SCG.[ Bradman wrote of this performance, "... although they say ]Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper (2 November 1877 – 28 June 1915) was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found ...
was even more beautiful to watch, it is hard to conceive more graceful batting than our skipper produced on that occasion." Kippax ended the season with 926 runs at an average of 84.18.
The Test selectors still had Kippax under consideration and during March 1928, he again toured New Zealand with an Australian second team, but failed to pass 40 in the seven innings he played. Restored to the Test team for the beginning of the 1928–29 Ashes series, Kippax made just 50 runs in four innings. Australia slipped to two heavy defeats and Kippax's place was not in jeopardy.
During the second Test at Sydney, Kippax was the central figure in the most controversial incident of the summer. Early in Australia's first innings, Kippax had nine runs on the board, when:
At the conclusion of the Test, Kippax travelled to Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
where he led NSW in a Sheffield Shield match beginning on 22 December. At stumps on the second day, NSW was staring at defeat as they were seven for 58 in pursuit of Victoria's first innings of 376. When play resumed on Christmas Day, NSW slipped to nine for 113, with Kippax 20 not out. However, the number eleven batsman Hal Hooker stuck with his captain as the score gradually mounted and the opposition's frustrations grew.
By the end of play, Kippax was well beyond his double century. The following day, when the stand was finally broken after 307 runs had been added in 304 minutes, Kippax stood on 260 not out. This "most remarkable of all world batting records,"[Robinson (1985), p 55.] still stands today as the highest last-wicket partnership in first-class cricket.
Retaining his place for the third Test that started just days later on the same ground, Kippax maintained his superb form and hit his maiden Test century in Australia's first innings. With Australia struggling against the pace of England's Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood, MBE (14 November 1904 – 22 July 1995) was a professional cricketer for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team between 1924 and 1938. A right-arm fast bowler who combined unusual speed with grea ...
, Kippax steadied the innings and then launched an assault on Larwood, hooking
In computer programming, the term hooking covers a range of techniques used to alter or augment the behaviour of an operating system, of applications, or of other software components by intercepting function calls or messages or events passed ...
him for four boundaries. Journalist Ray Robinson pointed out that before Kippax's flurry of fours, Larwood had taken 14 wickets at 18.3 runs in the series. After, he managed only four wickets for 472 runs. Kippax followed up with 41 in the second innings, as Australia fell to their third consecutive defeat in the rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...
and lost the Ashes.
Kippax completed the series with scores of 3 and 51 at Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, and 38 and 28 in Australia's only winning effort, at the MCG. He received criticism in that, "his play was too delicately tuned for the hard business of winning matches." Nevertheless, Kippax had another outstanding domestic season in 1929–30, hitting four centuries in his 744 runs, at an average of 62. This time, he was one of the first picked to go to England.
Test regular
The 1930 tour of England was dominated by the emergence of Don Bradman. Kippax finished second to Bradman in the first-class averages and aggregates, scoring 1451 runs at 58.04. He hit a century in each innings of the match with Sussex. In the Tests, Kippax passed fifty four times in seven innings, without going on to a hundred. He shared two big partnerships with Bradman: 192 in the second Test at Lord's and 229 in the third Test at Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
. However, ''Wisden'' rated his 64 not out on a wet wicket in the first Test at Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
as his best effort and summarised his tour thus:
Essentially a stylist, Kippax was in every sense a great batsman, for he could suit his game to the needs of the occasion. A beautiful driver to the off, he cut
Cut may refer to:
Common uses
* The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force
** A type of wound
** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past
** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment
** Cut (ea ...
at times in delightful fashion, the slower wickets
In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out.
* ...
of England affecting his abilities in that direction in only the slightest degree.
In the 1930–31 home series against the West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
, Kippax began with what was to be his highest score in Test cricket (146 in under four hours) in the first Test at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby le ...
. This was the first Test century in matches between the two teams. He made 84 in the third Test at Brisbane, sharing a partnership of 193 with Bradman. However, ''Wisden'' called Kippax's knock "unsteady" and he failed in his remaining three Test innings. For NSW, he hit two centuries in the Sheffield Shield.
The next season began badly for Kippax. Playing in a minor match at Parkes Parkes may refer to:
* Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation
Named for Henry Parkes
* Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town
* Parkes Observatory, a radi ...
(in rural NSW) on a matting wicket, he had his nose broken by a delivery that bounced erratically – it hit a peg accidentally left under the mat when it was laid out.[Bradman (1950), p 46.] On 6 November 1931, during NSW's first match of the season at Brisbane, he was struck a severe blow to the temple by a rising ball from fast bowler
Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. ...
Pud Thurlow
Hugh Motley 'Pud' Thurlow (10 January 1903 – 3 December 1975) was an Australian cricketer who played in one Test in 1932. He was born in Townsville, Queensland
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. W ...
.[Frith (2002), p 119.] Taken to hospital, he retired from the match, but was selected for the first Test against South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, but scored only one run. He missed the second Test through injury, while his replacement Keith Rigg scored an impressive century on debut.
Kippax came back for the third Test at Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and rewarded the faith of the selectors by scoring 52 and 67, his two highest first-class innings of the season. However, his best knock of the summer came on another rain-affected pitch at Melbourne in the final Test. He batted "serenely" to top score with an elegant 42.[ The entire South Africa team only managed 36 and 45 in their two completed innings on a "treacherous" wicket. As compensation for his lack of runs, Kippax led NSW to victory over Victoria in late January, which clinched the Sheffield Shield title for the state. During the winter of 1932, Kippax joined a private team that toured Canada and the ]USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, a tour organised by ex-Test bowler Arthur Mailey
Alfred Arthur Mailey (3 January 188631 December 1967) was an Australian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches between 1920 and 1926.
Mailey used leg-breaks and googly bowling, taking 99 Test wickets, including 36 in the 1920–21 Ashes ser ...
. Teammates noticed that his confidence was shaken by the blows to the head, and he no longer employed his famous hook shot.
Bodyline series
England toured during the 1932–33 season, and played the infamous "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. It was designed to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's leading batsman ...
" series. While the tactic of using short-pitched bowling and close-in fielders on the 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. It is the side of the field that corresponds to the batsman's non-dominant hand, from their perspective.
From the point of view of a righ ...
was originally conceived to stop Don Bradman's phenomenal run-making, Bodyline was used against all the Australian batsmen. Kippax and the other Australian batsmen were adept at playing long innings and supporting Bradman in big partnerships—in Tests, Kippax had, in the past, featured in three stands of over 100 with Bradman—so the English were looking to undermine his confidence as well.[
Kippax secured his Test place with 179 against Queensland at ]the Gabba
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Ga ...
in mid-November 1932. A fortnight later, he led NSW against the tourists and failed in both innings as his side suffered a heavy defeat. Selected for the first Test at Sydney, Kippax looked very uncomfortable in losing his wicket twice to the spearhead of the Bodyline attack, Harold Larwood. After batting at number four in the first innings, Kippax was demoted to bat behind his NSW understudy Stan McCabe in the second innings; McCabe had scored a brilliant 187 not out in the first innings, defying Bodyline with aggressive hook shots. Irrespective of the change, Australia collapsed for 164, leaving England needing just one run for victory in their second innings. In the dressing room, Kippax commented of Larwood, "he's too bloody fast for me".
Omitted from the remainder of the series, Kippax became the first of several Australian batting "casualties" during the summer. While most sympathised with his misfortune, and attributed his lack of confidence to the blows he received the previous season, Larwood was more succinct: "Kippax was scared stiff and he let you see it". Employed as a radio commentator, Kippax spent the remainder of the series covering the Tests, and he also delivered a ten-minute round up of each day's play for the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
service.
Outspoken in his criticism of Bodyline, Kippax combined with the cricketer and physician
to write the book ''Anti Body-Line'', released just months after the tour ended. A short, polemical work aimed at an English readership, the book warned of the danger to the game if Bodyline was allowed as a legitimate tactic. Although the book kept the controversy raging, it was "calmly expressed' and "reasonable".
After several seasons of struggling for runs, Kippax returned to form in 1933–34. Against Queensland at New Year, he hit 125 and shared a stand of 363 in only 135 minutes with Bradman. Altogether, he made four centuries and averaged almost 72 to earn selection for the 1934 tour of England. Passed over for the vice-captaincy of the team in favour of Bradman, Kippax had the confidence of knowing that the
that the Australians would not have to face Bodyline during the tour.
that forced him to miss the next four matches.
On his return, he struggled for form, and was not chosen for the first Test. Kippax was the third selector on tour, and was out-voted by his fellow selectors, so the press speculated that the decision caused disharmony within the team. Australia won the game and Kippax failed in the next two tour matches, so he missed out on the next Test at Lord's, which was lost.
Struck down by serious illness again, Kippax was hospitalised with a (wrongly) suspected case of
and Leeds.