Norman Callaway
Encyclopedia
Norman Frank Callaway was an Australia
n first class cricketer and Australian Imperial Force
(AIF) soldier.
Born in Hay, New South Wales
to Thomas and Emily, Callaway moved to Sydney
and played for Sydney grade cricket teams Paddington and Waverley.
On his first appearance at the age of 17 years and 175 days, he top scored with 41 against Balmain, followed by 16 and 26 (top score again) against University and 137 not out with 24 boundaries against Middle Harbor. Sydney Morning Herald went on a stream of praise for the hundred, calling it "a splendid innings, entirely free from blemish", and about the "crispness and strength of his driving", "straight bat" and "splendid judgment" He scored 578 runs in the season for Paddington at an average of 41.28 and took three wickets. In January 1914, Callaway scored an impressive 129, and a duck in the second innings, in a New South Wales Colts v Victorian Colts match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
.
At the beginning of the 1914-15 season, Callaway moved to Waverley where one of his team-mates was a young Alan Kippax
.
Callaway made his first class debut aged 18 for New South Wales
against Queensland
at the SCG
in February 1915.
began their innings on the first day after Queensland
was all out for 137. Callaway came in to bat at around 4 o' clock with the score at 17 for 3. Callaway and opener Frank Farrar added 41 runs. At the fall of Farrar, the NSW captain Charles Macartney
joined Callaway. Macartney was usually a very attacking batsman but on this day he was not well and let Callaway lead the scoring.
"From the first ball he swung the bat with great power and precision at anything within striking distance", tells a report of the day, "and the ball hummed to all parts of the field at an extraordinary pace". Callaway's fifty came up in 67 minutes. At 41, he was missed by McAndrews at point off a tough chance. His second fifty took 27 minutes and the hundred was reached with a "magnificent straight drive that landed on the pickets at the southern end". At the end of the first day he was 125 not out in 130 minutes with 16 fours. He outscored Macartney by 112 runs to 57 during the time they were together.
Callaway grew careless as he passed 150. He was dropped four more times, at 149, 163, 175 and 180. Macartney was caught at mid on for 103 after their stand reached 256 in 155 minutes. Callaway completed his double century, in 206 minutes, just before lunch on the second day as NSW added 146 runs in the first session. Soon after, he was caught at first slip, via the gloves of stand-in wicket-keeper
James Sheppard, off John McLaren for 207. He hit 26 fours in 214 minutes. Queensland were out for 100 in their second innings and lost by an innings and 231 runs.
The newspapers of the day raved about his batting. The Mercury
called it the best cricket seen on the ground for the season. The Sydney Morning Herald praised the power of his strokeplay, gritty temparament and the ability to play a long innings. It further analysed his batting : "Callaway is not yet a stylist. He holds the bat near the end of the handle and plays the ball at an unusual distance from his body. This method, of course, imparts power to his strokes, though from the defense point of view, it appears to leave considerable openings".
The Sydney Cricket Ground
had an outfield of thick grass which made it very difficult to score boundaries. The mighty Macartney had only five fours in his hundred (two of which were all run), yet Callaway hit 26 fours. Sydney Morning Herald conjectured that if the ground was in its normal condition, he would have made another 50. "He certainly should rise to great heights", the paper concluded, "all going well with him".
, France
.
Callaway holds the record for the highest first-class batting average.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n first class cricketer and Australian Imperial Force
Australian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
(AIF) soldier.
Born in Hay, New South Wales
Hay, New South Wales
Hay is a town in the western Riverina region of south western New South Wales , Australia. It is the administrative centre of Hay Shire Local Government Area and the centre of a prosperous and productive agricultural district on the wide Hay Plains....
to Thomas and Emily, Callaway moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and played for Sydney grade cricket teams Paddington and Waverley.
Club career
Callaway appeared for Paddington in Sydney Grade Cricket in 1913-14, playing alongside Monty NobleMonty Noble
Montague Alfred Noble was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable fieldsman and tactically sound captain, Noble is considered as one of the great Australian...
On his first appearance at the age of 17 years and 175 days, he top scored with 41 against Balmain, followed by 16 and 26 (top score again) against University and 137 not out with 24 boundaries against Middle Harbor. Sydney Morning Herald went on a stream of praise for the hundred, calling it "a splendid innings, entirely free from blemish", and about the "crispness and strength of his driving", "straight bat" and "splendid judgment" He scored 578 runs in the season for Paddington at an average of 41.28 and took three wickets. In January 1914, Callaway scored an impressive 129, and a duck in the second innings, in a New South Wales Colts v Victorian Colts match 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...
.
At the beginning of the 1914-15 season, Callaway moved to Waverley where one of his team-mates was a young Alan Kippax
Alan Kippax
Alan Falconer Kippax was a cricketer for New South Wales and Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the era between the two World Wars, Kippax overcame a late start to Test cricket to become a regular in the Australian team between the 1928–29 and...
.
Callaway made his first class debut aged 18 for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
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 SCG
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...
in February 1915.
Callaway's debut
New South WalesNew South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
began their innings on the first day after 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...
was all out for 137. Callaway came in to bat at around 4 o' clock with the score at 17 for 3. Callaway and opener Frank Farrar added 41 runs. At the fall of Farrar, the NSW captain Charles Macartney
Charles Macartney
Charles George "Charlie" Macartney was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Tests between 1907 and 1926...
joined Callaway. Macartney was usually a very attacking batsman but on this day he was not well and let Callaway lead the scoring.
"From the first ball he swung the bat with great power and precision at anything within striking distance", tells a report of the day, "and the ball hummed to all parts of the field at an extraordinary pace". Callaway's fifty came up in 67 minutes. At 41, he was missed by McAndrews at point off a tough chance. His second fifty took 27 minutes and the hundred was reached with a "magnificent straight drive that landed on the pickets at the southern end". At the end of the first day he was 125 not out in 130 minutes with 16 fours. He outscored Macartney by 112 runs to 57 during the time they were together.
Callaway grew careless as he passed 150. He was dropped four more times, at 149, 163, 175 and 180. Macartney was caught at mid on for 103 after their stand reached 256 in 155 minutes. Callaway completed his double century, in 206 minutes, just before lunch on the second day as NSW added 146 runs in the first session. Soon after, he was caught at first slip, via the gloves of stand-in wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
James Sheppard, off John McLaren for 207. He hit 26 fours in 214 minutes. Queensland were out for 100 in their second innings and lost by an innings and 231 runs.
The newspapers of the day raved about his batting. The Mercury
The Mercury (Hobart)
The Mercury is a daily newspaper, published in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, by Davies Brothers Pty Ltd, part of News Limited and News Corporation...
called it the best cricket seen on the ground for the season. The Sydney Morning Herald praised the power of his strokeplay, gritty temparament and the ability to play a long innings. It further analysed his batting : "Callaway is not yet a stylist. He holds the bat near the end of the handle and plays the ball at an unusual distance from his body. This method, of course, imparts power to his strokes, though from the defense point of view, it appears to leave considerable openings".
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...
had an outfield of thick grass which made it very difficult to score boundaries. The mighty Macartney had only five fours in his hundred (two of which were all run), yet Callaway hit 26 fours. Sydney Morning Herald conjectured that if the ground was in its normal condition, he would have made another 50. "He certainly should rise to great heights", the paper concluded, "all going well with him".
Remaining life
Before he played another first-class match, Callaway enlisted in the AIF and was posted to the 19th Battalion as a Private. He died in the Second Battle of Bullecourt on 3 May 1917, aged 21 years and 28 days. He was buried in Villers-BretonneuxVillers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway.-History - World War I:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Callaway holds the record for the highest first-class batting average.
External links
- Norman Callaway's army papers
- "His record stands, an innings not to be forgotten", Gideon HaighGideon HaighGideon Clifford Jeffrey Davidson Haigh is an English-born Australian journalist, who writes about sport and business. He was born in London of a Yorkshire father and an Australian mother, and was raised in Geelong, Victoria.- Career :Haigh has been writing about sport and business for over...
, The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, 13 November 1991