Jack Potter (born 13 April 1938 in

Coburg, Victoria Coburg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Darebin and Merri-bek local government areas. Coburg recorded a population of 26,574 at the 2021 census. Alt ...

) 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 81 matches 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 ...

. He also represented Australia although never in a

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), ...

Biography

Potter made his first-class debut in January 1957 against

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

making only 6, he made his

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 ...

debut in the final game of the season against

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

scoring 21. The following season he scored two centuries, 115 and 110, both coming 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 ...

as he cemented his place in the state side. Potter scored two more centuries during 1959 and toured New Zealand with Australia B in February 1960. In 1960–61 he scored two centuries and shared in 252 and 237 run partnerships with

Bill Lawry William Morris Lawry (born 11 February 1937) is an Australian former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Test matches, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia in the inaugural ...

. After a patchy 1961–62 season, he was the third highest runscorer in the Sheffield Shield 1962/63 season, he also scored a century against the touring MCC. In December 1963 he scored 123* for a Combined XI against the touring South Africans, it earned him a place in the 12 man squad for the second Test however

Tom Veivers Thomas Robert Veivers (born 6 April 1937) is an Australian former cricketer, teacher, politician and public administrator who played in 21 cricket Test matches between 1963 and 1967. He is the great-uncle of Jack Wildermuth. Cricket career ...

was selected ahead of him. Potter once again finished the season with two centuries and an average of 55.50 and earned a place on the tour of England in 1964. In the first Test of the 1964 Ashes Potter was once again twelfth man, towards the end of the tour Potter fractured his skull during a one-day match in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He was therefore unable to tour

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

along with the rest of the team where he was likely to make his Test debut. Potter was dropped halfway through the 1964–65 season after poor form but the following season he scored his best first-class score of 221 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 ...

, however he passed 50 only once more during the season. In 1966–67 Potter was made captain of Victoria and led them to the

title, averaging 53.50 during the season. Halfway through the 1967–68 season he retired from cricket at the age of 29. He scored 82 and 105* in his final match, passing 5,000 runs for Victoria during his final innings. Throughout his first-class career he also played, and captained, Fitzroy Cricket Club. Between 1987 and 1989 he was the inaugural head coach of the Australian Cricket Academy helping in the development of

Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...

. Potter's notable achievements include holding the record for being 12th man for Australia the most times without winning a cap (thrice) and being the first prominent spinner to bowl a 'doosra' (a leg-break bowled with an off-break action).Amol Rajan, ''Twirlymen'', 2011, p.85.

References

External links

CricketArchive Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Jack 1938 births Living people Australian cricketers Victoria cricketers Cricketers from Melbourne Australian Institute of Sport coaches

Biography

See also

References

External links