John Bryant "Sam" Gannon (8 February 1947 – 5 February 2021) was an Australian

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 str ...

er who played in three Test matches during the 1977/78 season.

Career

Gannon made his first-class debut for

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 1966–67, taking three wickets 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 ...

and 6/107 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 ...

. He played in the Shield-winning WA sides of 1967–68 and took seven wickets against the touring Indian side. In 1970–71 he took 4/41 against the touring English side. In 1971–72 he took 5/97 against Victoria. WA won the Shield that year. From November 1972 he did not play for WA for five years.

World Series Cricket and Test Selection

When

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 ...

happened he was recalled to the West Australian side. and had a strong season. He took four wickets against NSW and 4/70 against India. He was called into the Australian side for the second Test against India replacing an injured Alan Hurst. He took 3/84 and 4/77 (including a spell of 4/13), helping Australia win by two wickets. This effort meant Gannon kept his place for the next two Tests. He took only four wickets over the next two Tests, both of which Australia dropped. Gannon was dropped for the 5th Test against India and subsequent tour of West Indies in favour of

Ian Callen Ian Wayne Callen (born 2 May 1955) is a former Australian cricketer who played in one Test match and five One Day Internationals between 1978 and 1982. He later ran a business making cricket bats from English willow he grew in Victoria and was ...

. According to one report, "Gannon captured 11 wickets at 32.82 in his three Tests, but most of his victims were tailenders, and the top order Indian batsmen seldom experienced difficulty against him.." At the beginning of the 1978–79 season, selector

Neil Harvey Robert Neil Harvey (born 8 October 1928) is an Australian former cricketer who was a member of the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement. ...

said Gannon was a prospect for Test selection. However he was not picked and the season turned out to be his last.

Post playing career

Following his retirement from cricket, Gannon became a highly successful businessman. Gannon was elected chairman of the

Western Australian Cricket Association The Western Australian Cricket Association (known as the WACA) is the governing body for cricket in Western Australia. The WACA was formed on 5 November 1885. In 1893 the association opened the WACA Ground. Elite cricket The WACA is responsible ...

in August 2013. Gannon 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 ...

(OAM) in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours for service to cricket. He died three days before his 74th birthday.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gannon, Sam 1947 births Australia Test cricketers Western Australia cricketers Australian cricketers Cricketers from Perth, Western Australia Sportsmen from Western Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 2021 deaths