Donald Harry Seccombe (born 3 April 1942) is a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 striki ...

er who played several first-class matches for

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 , established_ ...

during the early 1960s, and later served in

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

as the mayor of

Redland Shire Redland City, better known as the Redlands and formerly known as Redland Shire, is a local government area and a part of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland. With a population of 156,863 in June 2018, the city is spread alo ...

. Born in

Goomeri Goomeri ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Goomeri had a population of 664 people. Geography The town is located on the intersection of the Burnett, Bunya and Wide Bay Hi ...

, Seccombe was one of three cricketing brothers who played matches for Queensland Country representative sides during the 1960s (the others being Roger and Colin), though he was the only one to progress to the state team. A right-handed middle-order

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

, he made his first-class debut in the 1962–63 season of 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 ...

, playing two matches (home and away) 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 debut at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

, Seccombe scored 58 runs coming in sixth in Queensland's first innings, partnering with Des Bull (152) for a 118-run

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 o ...

for the fifth wicket. In the second match, 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 Gab ...

, he scored 48 and 41, putting on 104 for the fourth wicket with Graham Bizzell in Queensland's second innings. Seccombe's third and fourth matches for Queensland came two seasons later, home games against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and Victoria in January and February 1965, respectively. In what were his last matches for the team, he scored only 57 runs over four innings. He was promoted to first drop behind Bull and Sam Trimble in the match against Victoria, and was caught by

Bob Cowper Robert Maskew Cowper (born 5 October 1940) is a former cricketer who played Test cricket for Australia from 1964 to 1968, and Sheffield Shield cricket for Victoria and Western Australia from 1960 to 1970. Cricket career Bob Cowper was the so ...

for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

off of Alan Connolly's bowling, who finished with figures of 9/67 in Queensland's first innings. He continued playing for country-based representative sides until the late 1970s, playing several times against touring international sides. Outside of sports, Seccombe was at one stage national sales manager for Incitec Ltd., a fertiliser manufacturer. A founder (and past president) of both the Redlands Sporting Club and the Redland Foundation, and later president of Clubs Queensland, he served as mayor of

from 2001 to 2008. He was named a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in the

2014 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

, for "significant service to the community, particularly through cricket administration and the clubs industry". Seccombe's nephew,

Wade Seccombe Wade Anthony Seccombe (born 30 October 1971 in Murgon, Queensland) is a retired Australian first-class cricketer representing the state of Queensland. A wicket-keeper, Seccombe spent much of his career as second choice behind incumbent Ian Heal ...

, was also a notable cricketer, playing over 100 Shield matches as Queensland's

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 watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

from the early 1990s to the early 2000s.Wade Seccombe player profile
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 March 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seccombe, Don 1942 births Australian cricketers Australian sports executives and administrators Cricketers from Queensland Living people Mayors of places in Queensland Queensland cricketers Members of the Order of Australia People from Wide Bay–Burnett