Neil Dansie
Encyclopedia
Hampton Neil Dansie OAM (b. 2 July 1928) is a former first-class cricket
er and long term administrator for South Australia
.
Nicknamed "Nodder" due to his habit of nodding in agreement when in conversation, Dansie was born in Nuriootpa, South Australia
, the grandson of Sam Dansie, a leading country cricketer who represented a Broken Hill team against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club
side.
Dansie moved to Adelaide
with his family as a child and excelled in a wide range of sports, including cricket
, Australian rules football
and baseball
. Dansie made his first grade cricket debut for Kensington Cricket Club
aged 15, one of the youngest ever debutants in the South Australian Grade Cricket League
. His football career also developed, making his senior debut for Norwood Football Club
in the South Australian National Football League
(SANFL) in 1946. Dansie played 39 games for Norwood before retiring in 1949, aged just 21, in order to concentrate on his cricket.
In January 1949 Dansie was the last player to bat with Don Bradman in an official match, who played his final innings for Kensington against Port Adelaide Cricket Club at Alberton Oval
. When Bradman was given out caught behind on 38, the large crowd booed the umpire and promptly adjourned to the neighbouring Alberton Hotel.
against Western Australia
, making 36 and 13. Dansie quickly gained a reputation as a hard-hitting batsman with a liking for the pull, sweep and cut shots and a steady off-spin and leg-spin bowler, as well as being known as one of the great characters of South Australian cricket, including gaining the title of being the world's fastest eater.
Dansie's best batting performance was 185 against Queensland
at The Gabba in January 1951 and took five wickets for 61 against Queensland in December 1960.
(for ₤550) on the advice of former Australian Test cricketer and Bacup Cricket Club
professional Arthur Richardson. In his first season Dansie made 800 runs and took 44 wickets. Re-signed by Todmorden for the 1956 season, Dansie remained in England
in 1955/56 and worked at Alf Gover
's indoor cricket centre, coaching children who hadn't played cricket before, experience which Dansie later used as a coach in South Australia.
In the 1956 Lancashire League season Dansie made 713 runs and scored 67 wickets. A popular figure in Todmorden, Dansie was offered another contract but, having gotten married to Gwenda, Dansie returned to South Australia.
. Following his retirement, Dansie turned to coaching and administration, coaching the Norwood reserves, South Australian Amateur Football League
(SAAFL) team Payneham, the SAAFL state team and the All-Australian amateur team. Additionally, Dansie and his wife founded the Newton Jaguars Netball
Club.
In 1976 Dansie was made a selector for the South Australian senior cricket side and all its under-age and women's teams, serving for 30 years. Dansie also served on the SACA board for 25 years, on the City of Campbelltown council and as president of the Australian Sportsmen's Association. Dansie also found time to work for the South Australian Education Department, including many years as the bursar
at Norwood Morialta High School
.
Dansie had four children; two boys (Tim and Paul) and two girls (Belinda and Kate).
, are honoured in the Favell-Dansie Indoor Centre at the southern end of Adelaide Oval, behind the Sir Donald Bradman Stand.
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...
er and long term administrator for South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
.
Nicknamed "Nodder" due to his habit of nodding in agreement when in conversation, Dansie was born in Nuriootpa, South Australia
Nuriootpa, South Australia
Nuriootpa is the major commercial centre in the Barossa Valley in South Australia, about an hour's drive north of the capital, Adelaide, and 77 kilometres by rail...
, the grandson of Sam Dansie, a leading country cricketer who represented a Broken Hill team against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
side.
Dansie moved to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
with his family as a child and excelled in a wide range of sports, including cricket
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...
, Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. Dansie made his first grade cricket debut for Kensington Cricket Club
Kensington Cricket Club
The Kensington District Cricket Club is a semi-professional cricket club in Adelaide, South Australia. It competes in the South Australian Grade Cricket League, which is administered by the South Australian Cricket Association .-Location:...
aged 15, one of the youngest ever debutants in the South Australian Grade Cricket League
South Australian Grade Cricket League
South Australian Grade Cricket is the semi-professional State league based in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. It is currently the highest level of cricket played in South Australia outside first class cricket...
. His football career also developed, making his senior debut for Norwood Football Club
Norwood Football Club
Norwood Football Club, nicknamed, Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club belonging to the South Australian National Football League in the state of South Australia...
in the South Australian National Football League
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
(SANFL) in 1946. Dansie played 39 games for Norwood before retiring in 1949, aged just 21, in order to concentrate on his cricket.
In January 1949 Dansie was the last player to bat with Don Bradman in an official match, who played his final innings for Kensington against Port Adelaide Cricket Club at Alberton Oval
Alberton Oval
Alberton Oval is located in Alberton, a north-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. The ground is primarily used for Australian rules football and has a capacity of 17,000 people with seated grandstands holding 2,000,...
. When Bradman was given out caught behind on 38, the large crowd booed the umpire and promptly adjourned to the neighbouring Alberton Hotel.
First-class cricket
Dansie made his first-class cricket debut on 27 January 1950 on the WACA GroundWACA 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....
against Western Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
, making 36 and 13. Dansie quickly gained a reputation as a hard-hitting batsman with a liking for the pull, sweep and cut shots and a steady off-spin and leg-spin bowler, as well as being known as one of the great characters of South Australian cricket, including gaining the title of being the world's fastest eater.
Dansie's best batting performance was 185 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...
at The Gabba in January 1951 and took five wickets for 61 against Queensland in December 1960.
Lancashire League
In 1955, Dansie signed with Todmorden Cricket ClubTodmorden Cricket Club
Todmorden Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Centre Vale in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. For the 2011 season its captain is Simon Newbitt, and its professional is Qaiser Abbas. The club has won the league on five occasions and won the cup eight times...
(for ₤550) on the advice of former Australian Test cricketer and Bacup Cricket Club
Bacup Cricket Club
Bacup Cricket Club, based at Lanehead in Bacup, Lancashire, are a cricket club in the Lancashire League.The club started in 1892 when the Lancashire League was formed. Their professional for the 2008 season was Chris Harris. Their captain for the 2011 season is David Warren and their professional...
professional Arthur Richardson. In his first season Dansie made 800 runs and took 44 wickets. Re-signed by Todmorden for the 1956 season, Dansie remained in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1955/56 and worked at Alf Gover
Alf Gover
Alfred Richard Gover MBE was an English Test cricketer. He was the mainstay of the Surrey bowling attack during the 1930s and played four Tests before and after the Second World War...
's indoor cricket centre, coaching children who hadn't played cricket before, experience which Dansie later used as a coach in South Australia.
In the 1956 Lancashire League season Dansie made 713 runs and scored 67 wickets. A popular figure in Todmorden, Dansie was offered another contract but, having gotten married to Gwenda, Dansie returned to South Australia.
Cricket administration
Dansie retired from first-class cricket in 1967, after 124 matches and was awarded honorary membership of the South Australian Cricket AssociationSouth Australian Cricket Association
The South Australian Cricket Association is the peak body for the sport of cricket in South Australia. The association runs Adelaide Oval and the Southern Redbacks based in Adelaide, South Australia. SACA is the controlling body for the South Australian Grade Cricket League...
. Following his retirement, Dansie turned to coaching and administration, coaching the Norwood reserves, South Australian Amateur Football League
South Australian Amateur Football League
The South Australian Amateur Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in Adelaide, South Australia. Comprising sixty-seven member clubs playing over one hundred and ten matches per week, the SAAFL is one of Australia's largest and strongest Australian rules football...
(SAAFL) team Payneham, the SAAFL state team and the All-Australian amateur team. Additionally, Dansie and his wife founded the Newton Jaguars Netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
Club.
In 1976 Dansie was made a selector for the South Australian senior cricket side and all its under-age and women's teams, serving for 30 years. Dansie also served on the SACA board for 25 years, on the City of Campbelltown council and as president of the Australian Sportsmen's Association. Dansie also found time to work for the South Australian Education Department, including many years as the bursar
Bursar
A bursar is a senior professional financial administrator in a school or university.Billing of student tuition accounts are the responsibility of the Office of the Bursar. This involves sending bills and making payment plans with the ultimate goal of getting the student accounts paid off...
at Norwood Morialta High School
Norwood Morialta High School
The Norwood Morialta High School is a dual-campus, co-educational, public High School. The school’s two campuses are both located in the Eastern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia...
.
Dansie had four children; two boys (Tim and Paul) and two girls (Belinda and Kate).
Honours
Known as "The Patriarch of South Australian cricket", the Neil Dansie Trophy for South Australia's most valuable player each season is named in his honour and, along with his former team mate Les FavellLes Favell
Leslie Ernest Favell was an Australian cricketer who played in 19 Tests from 1954 to 1961. He was a strong batsman who liked to hit the ball around the ground and was a much loved character...
, are honoured in the Favell-Dansie Indoor Centre at the southern end of Adelaide Oval, behind the Sir Donald Bradman Stand.