Julien Wiener
Encyclopedia
Julien Mark Wiener is a former Australian cricket
er who played in six Tests
and seven one-day international
s from 1979 to 1980. A right-handed opening batsman and a very occasional off spin
bowler, he is the only known Jewish Australian to represent his country at cricket. A tall man, he was known for batting bare-headed showing his blonde hair.
Wiener's mother and father, Bella and Sasha, were Polish and Austrian Jews respectively, and both escaped the concentration camps of Nazi Germany
during the Holocaust. The surname Wiener came from Vienna
, the home of Sasha. His parents married in 1947 in Paris, before coming to Australia as refugees on the famous Dunera ship in 1947. Wiener's father ran a successful textile business, which allowed him to send Wiener to the private Brighton Grammar School
. Wiener's father had early sporting success in table tennis
, which Wiener applied to his cricket, playing for Prahran
in Melbourne grade cricket. He subsequently completed his university education at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
in business management, before moving to England to pursue his cricket career.
He made a century
on his first class
debut for Victoria
against Queensland
in 1977–78, scoring 106. Two strong seasons, including three further centuries, combined with the exodus of players to World Series Cricket
, saw Wiener selected to make is ODI debut as an opening batsman in December 1979 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
against England and the West Indies. He struggled, scoring 7 and 27 respectively. Despite this he was selected to make his Test cricket
debut against England at the WACA
a few days later. He made 11 in the first innings before being run-out while batting with captain Greg Chappell
, before scoring 58 in the second innings as Australia won the match. Despite scoring 40 and 24 in the Second Test at the MCG, he was omitted for the final Test, and was not recalled until the second Test of the series against England, at the Sydney Cricket Ground
before being omitted for the rest of the series. Wiener played in five further ODIs in the Australian season, with his best performances being a 33 and 50 against the West Indies in Sydney in the final two group matches. Averaging only twenty, he was dropped from the ODI team for the finals and ended his ODI career with a slow strike rate of only 42.
He was named to tour Pakistan in early 1980, and was recalled to the Test XI for the second Test in Faisalabad
. He made his highest score of 93 in the Third Test in Lahore
, and was not selected again in the national team following his return to Australia, with the World Series Cricket
players returning to selection. He had scored 281 runs at an average of 25.5 in his career
He, along with Jeff Moss
had a partnership of 390 at the Junction Oval
against Western Australia
in 1981–82. This still stands as a record for the third wicket for Australians in first-class cricket. Wiener scored an unbeaten 221 in that innings, one of three centuries he produced in the season. Wiener played at the first-class level until retiring at the 1984/85 season, having scored seven centuries in 66 matches. He had also claimed 17 wickets with his off spin, although none of these came at national level.
Wiener is currently the National Sales Manager of Meyer Corporation
.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played in six Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and seven one-day international
One-day International
A One Day International is a form of limited overs cricket, in which a fixed number of overs, usually 50, but in the past 40, 45 or 60 overs, are played between two teams with international status. The Cricket World Cup is played in this format...
s from 1979 to 1980. A right-handed opening batsman and a very occasional off spin
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
bowler, he is the only known Jewish Australian to represent his country at cricket. A tall man, he was known for batting bare-headed showing his blonde hair.
Wiener's mother and father, Bella and Sasha, were Polish and Austrian Jews respectively, and both escaped the concentration camps of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during the Holocaust. The surname Wiener came from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, the home of Sasha. His parents married in 1947 in Paris, before coming to Australia as refugees on the famous Dunera ship in 1947. Wiener's father ran a successful textile business, which allowed him to send Wiener to the private Brighton Grammar School
Brighton Grammar School
Brighton Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day school for boys, located in Brighton, a south-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. Wiener's father had early sporting success in table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
, which Wiener applied to his cricket, playing for Prahran
Prahran, Victoria
Prahran , also known colloquially as "Pran", is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Prahran had a population of 10,651. It is a part of Melbourne with...
in Melbourne grade cricket. He subsequently completed his university education at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
in business management, before moving to England to pursue his cricket career.
He made a century
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
on his first class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut for Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
against Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
in 1977–78, scoring 106. Two strong seasons, including three further centuries, combined with the exodus of players to World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
, saw Wiener selected to make is ODI debut as an opening batsman in December 1979 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
against England and the West Indies. He struggled, scoring 7 and 27 respectively. Despite this he was selected to make his Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut against England at the WACA
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
a few days later. He made 11 in the first innings before being run-out while batting with captain Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
, before scoring 58 in the second innings as Australia won the match. Despite scoring 40 and 24 in the Second Test at the MCG, he was omitted for the final Test, and was not recalled until the second Test of the series against England, at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
before being omitted for the rest of the series. Wiener played in five further ODIs in the Australian season, with his best performances being a 33 and 50 against the West Indies in Sydney in the final two group matches. Averaging only twenty, he was dropped from the ODI team for the finals and ended his ODI career with a slow strike rate of only 42.
He was named to tour Pakistan in early 1980, and was recalled to the Test XI for the second Test in Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
. He made his highest score of 93 in the Third Test in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, and was not selected again in the national team following his return to Australia, with the World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
players returning to selection. He had scored 281 runs at an average of 25.5 in his career
He, along with Jeff Moss
Jeff Moss (cricketer)
Jeffrey Kenneth Moss is a former Australian cricketer who played in one Test and one ODI in 1979.-External links:*...
had a partnership of 390 at the Junction Oval
Junction Oval
The Junction Oval is an historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its location near the St Kilda Junction gave rise to its nickname...
against Western Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
in 1981–82. This still stands as a record for the third wicket for Australians in first-class cricket. Wiener scored an unbeaten 221 in that innings, one of three centuries he produced in the season. Wiener played at the first-class level until retiring at the 1984/85 season, having scored seven centuries in 66 matches. He had also claimed 17 wickets with his off spin, although none of these came at national level.
Wiener is currently the National Sales Manager of Meyer Corporation
Meyer Corporation
Meyer Corporation is a cookware distributor based in Vallejo, California, USA, whose parent company is Meyer Manufacturing Co. Ltd. It is the largest cookware distributor in the United States and second largest in the world. Cookware labels or lines for which Meyer is the parent firm include...
.