John Ryder (8 August 1889 – 3 April 1977) was a

cricketer 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 ...

who played for

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Born in the inner-city

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 ...

suburb of Collingwood, Ryder was known as the "King of Collingwood" for his long association with the local cricket team. An

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

, he claimed 612 wickets and scored 12,677 runs in 338 district matches.

Career

He played in four series against

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 ...

and one against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. In 1921–22, he averaged more than 100 in a series against South Africa. Ryder was an aggressive batsman and strong on the drive. He was also a useful medium-pace bowler. His best performance was an innings of 201 not out against England, made in six and half hours 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 ...

in 1924–25. This included century partnerships of 134 (with Tommy Andrews) and 108 (with

Bert Oldfield William Albert Stanley Oldfield (9 September 1894 – 10 August 1976) was an Australian cricketer and businessman. He played for New South Wales and Australia as a wicket-keeper. Oldfield's 52 stumpings during his Test career remains a record ...

). He made 88 in the second innings. In 1926–27, he made his highest first-class score of 295 (in four hours) for Victoria against

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 ...

, in a world record team total of 1,107. Ryder smashed six sixes, including two in three balls, and was out attempting to hit another six to bring up his triple century. For over 50 years after his retirement, he held the record for games played and runs scored in Melbourne District Cricket, before being passed by district stalwart John Scholes. Ryder's bowling brought him 150 wickets for Victoria and 805 in all grades and he was an outstanding fieldsman, who once caught five English batsman in a Test innings.

Selector

Ryder's career as an Australia team selector was unusual. As

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

captain, he was on the selection panel for the 1930 Ashes tour of England, but was out-voted for a place on the team, and the captaincy passed to

Bill Woodfull William Maldon Woodfull (22 August 1897 – 11 August 1965) was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline s ...

. In 1946, he was made a selector again and held the post for 23 years, forming a long association with Sir

Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

and

Chappie Dwyer Edmund Alfred Dwyer (19 October 1894 – 10 September 1975), known as Chappie 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 cric ...

Statistics and legacy

He remains the only Test cricketer to be

run out Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket. A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket befo ...

in both innings of his debut Test match. Ryder was also the first Australian to complete a Test Career of more than 20 innings with a batting average over 50.00. He was the oldest former player present at the

Centenary Test Centenary Test refers to two matches of Test cricket played between the English cricket team and the Australian cricket team, the first in 1977 and the second in 1980. These matches were played to mark the 100th anniversaries of the first Test cr ...

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 ...

in 1977. He died just weeks after the match. Ryder's long district cricket career for which he is best known spanned 37 years, from 1906–07 until 1942–43. His career of 338 games was played almost entirely for Collingwood, except for six games for Northcote in 1933–34 and 12 games for the VCA Colts in 1939–40. He scored 12,677 runs at 41.83 with 37 centuries, and took 612 wickets at 16.83 with 46 five-wicket hauls. The medal for the outstanding player of the season in Melbourne Premier Cricket is named in his honour, and was first presented in 1973–74. He holds the record for facing the most number of balls in a single test innings when batting at number seven position(461) He was also inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame by the CA in 2015.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryder, Jack 1889 births 1977 deaths Australia national cricket team selectors Australia Test cricket captains Australia Test cricketers Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Australian cricketers Cricketers from Melbourne Victoria cricketers