Peter Muir McFarline (died April 2002) was an Australian journalist best known for his work as a cricket writer. He has been called one of Australia's greatest cricket writers. He began his career working for ''The Courier Mail'' and later became a writer for ''The Age''. His achievements included breaking the story of

World Series Cricket World Series Cricket (WSC) was a commercial professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 which was organised by Kerry Packer and his Australian television network, Nine Network. WSC ran in commercial competition to establish ...

in 1977. During his final years he was afflicted by the debilitating spinal illness,

syringomyelia Syringomyelia is a generic term referring to a disorder in which a cyst or cavity forms within the spinal cord. Often, syringomyelia is used as a generic term before an etiology is determined. This cyst, called a syrinx, can expand and elongate o ...

. This first affected him in 1982 and eventually rendered him a quadriplegic. During his last few years he dictated his copy to his wife, Dell. He was played by actor

Adam Zwar Adam Zwar (born 13 January 1972) is an Australian actor, voice artist, and writer. He is best known for co-creating the Australian comedy series '' Squinters'', '' Lowdown'', '' Wilfred'' and creating the critically acclaimed Channel 10 comedy ...

in the 2012 TV mini-series ''

Howzat! Kerry Packer's War ''Howzat! Kerry Packer's War'' is an Australian drama-miniseries set in the 1970s that premiered on the Nine Network on Sunday 19 August 2012. Plot The Ashes is the pinnacle of world cricket with two old enemies, Australia and England, going ...

''. In 2000, McFarline was presented with 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 ...

in recognition of his media coverage, 1968 to the date of award. Posthumously, in the

2002 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in su ...

, he was awarded the

Medal 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 ...

for "service to journalism, particularly sports journalism".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarline, Peter 2002 deaths Year of birth missing Australian sports journalists Australian cricket writers Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal