Lawrence Michael Sawle (19 August 1925 – 26 July 2022) was an Australian first-class

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 ...

and administrator for the

Australia national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...

. Sawle was born in

East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

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 ...

, in August 1925. He served in the 7th Australian Infantry Battalion during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He enlisted in January 1944 and served until July 1946. He saw action on Bougainville. He played for

from 1954–55 to 1960–61 as a patient opening batsman. His highest score was 109

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

, when he led the successful struggle to save 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 ...

match 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 1955–56. Sawle had a distinguished career as state selector from 1961–62 to 1979–80,''The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket'', Oxford, Melbourne, 1996, p. 462. then as a senior WACA administrator, director of the

Australian Cricket Board Cricket Australia (CA), formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Crick ...

and chairman of selectors for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

from 1994 to 1997. In his state selector role, Sawle partnered with Allan Edwards and Wally Langdon during the Western Australian team's most successful years. He managed the

Australian cricket team in England in 1989 The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1989 season to play a six-match Test series against England. The tour also included matches in Wales, Scotland, the Netherlands and Denmark. Australia won the series 4–0 with two matches drawn ...

, when Australia regained

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

. Sawle worked as a school teacher. He was awarded the AM in 1992 for service to cricket administration, and also received the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

, the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

and the ICC Volunteer Recognition Medal. He and his wife had three children. He died in Perth on 26 July 2022, at the age of 96.

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawle, Laurie 1925 births 2022 deaths Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian cricket administrators Australian cricketers Australian schoolteachers Cricketers from Fremantle Members of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Western Australia cricketers Australia national cricket team selectors Military personnel from Western Australia