Sam Loxton
Encyclopedia
Samuel John Everett "Sam" Loxton OBE (born 29 March 1921) is a former Australia
n cricket
er, footballer and politician. Among these three pursuits, his greatest achievements were attained on the cricket field; he played in 12 Tests
for Australia from 1948 to 1951. A right-handed all-rounder
, Loxton was part of Don Bradman's Invincibles, who went through the 1948 tour of England undefeated, an unprecedented achievement that has never been matched. As well as being a hard-hitting middle-order
batsman, Loxton was a right-arm fast-medium
swing bowler
who liked to aim at the upper bodies
of the opposition, and an outfielder
with an accurate and powerful throw. After being dropped from the national team, Loxton represented Victoria
for seven more seasons before retiring from first-class cricket
. He served as an administrator after his playing days were over and spent 24 years as a Liberal Party
member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
. Up until 1946, Loxton also played in the Victorian Football League
(VFL) for St Kilda as a forward. In all three arenas, he was known for his energetic approach.
Educated at Wesley College, Melbourne
, Loxton first gained prominence as an Australian rules football
player. After debuting in 1942, he played 41 games in the VFL for St Kilda as a forward, kicking a total of 114 goals before retiring at the end of the 1946 season to concentrate on his cricket career. In 1944, he headed St Kilda's goal-kicking aggregate with 52 goals and placed second in the club's Best and Fairest
. Loxton served in a tank division during World War II
and made his first-class cricket
debut in 1946–47. He scored 232 not out
, which remains a record for any Australian player on his first-class debut. After a strong first season, Loxton was selected to make his Test debut in the final match of the 1947–48 home series against India
. Australia had already won the series and used the last match to trial their young talent. Loxton seized his opportunity, scoring 80 and taking three wickets, securing himself a position on the 1948 England tour.
After a slow start to the historic campaign, Loxton struck form midway through the English summer and forced his way into the team for the last three Tests. He played a prominent role in the Fourth Test
, scoring an aggressive and counterattacking 93 that helped Australia pry the initiative from England; the tourists eventually won the match. In 1949–50, Loxton cemented his position in the national team, playing in all five Tests in South Africa and scoring his only century
at international level. He remained a regular member of the Test team until a form slump during the 1950–51 home season; he was dropped after three Tests against England and never played for Australia again. Loxton continued to play for Victoria
in domestic competition until retiring at the end of the 1957–58 season.
A member of the Liberal Party
, Loxton entered politics and was a member of Victorian Legislative Assembly
, representing the electoral district of Prahran
from 1955 to 1979. During this time, Loxton was also active in cricket administration at club, state and international level. He was a state selector
for over two decades, and served at national level for ten years, starting in 1970–71. He was also the team manager for Australia's tour of the subcontinent in 1959–60, overseeing a successful campaign despite a spate of serious illnesses to personnel. Loxton had to deal with a variety of tumultuous events on and off the field during his tenure, often relating to player misconduct, and retired from cricket administration in 1981 following the underarm incident.
, the son of Sam Sr. and Annie. The elder Sam Loxton was an electrician who played second grade cricket
for Collingwood. The younger Sam started his education at Yarra Park State School, where he learned to bat, using a pine tree in the schoolyard as the stumps
; the same tree was used for the same purpose years earlier by Test players Vernon Ransford
and Ernie McCormick
, and long-serving Victorian batsman Jack Ledward. The family moved to Armadale
, and young Loxton attended Armadale Public School
before completing his secondary education at Wesley College, Melbourne
, an elite private boys’ school. One of his colleagues at Wesley College was Ian Johnson
, a future teammate for Victoria
and Australia. The boys’ school coach was P. L. Williams, a renowned mentor of teenagers who had earlier coached Ross Gregory
and future Test captain Lindsay Hassett
. Away from his sporting commitments at school, Loxton played district cricket
for Prahran's
third grade team when he was just 12. The young cricketer's parents were stalwarts of the club; Sam Sr. was the scorer and served as a transport man, driving the matting and equipment to matches, while Annie made cucumber sandwiches for 25 years—due to the economic difficulties caused by the Great Depression
and World War II
, meat catering for players was a luxury even at first-class and international matches. The elder Sam was a member of the club committee from 1941 until his death in 1974, and was a vice-president for the last 17 years of his life. At the age of 16, the younger Loxton was selected in the Victorian Cricket Association Colts team that played in the first grade competition in 1937–38; he played three seasons with the outfit, which was effectively a state youth team. The squad was coached by Bert Cohen and former Test batsman and captain Jack Ryder, and Loxton credited the latter as the biggest influence on his career, saying
Loxton improved significantly in his third season with the Colts, scoring his first century and taking 21 wickets, having managed only seven scalps in the two previous summers. In 1940–41, aged 19, he moved back to Prahran to play in their first grade team after the Colts were disbanded, and he became more productive over the next few years, taking 46 wickets in one season.
Loxton also played Australian rules football
, and in 1942, he made his debut in the Victorian Football League
(VFL)—the highest tier of competition at the time—playing for St Kilda. One of his teammates was Keith Miller
, a future Invincibles colleague. Loxton played as both a forward and a defender, and the pair sometimes played together in attack. The recruit from Prahran played in only six matches in his first year, kicking 15 goals. Debuting in round six, he started his career brightly, kicking five and four goals in his first two matches against Melbourne and Collingwood respectively, helping his team to two victories. However, the goals and victories began to dry up and Loxton managed only six goals and one win in the remaining four matches. St Kilda came second to last and did not make the finals.
During World War II
, Loxton served with the 2nd Armoured Division. He enlisted on 31 July 1942 at Oakleigh, Victoria
and was discharged on 7 November 1945 with the rank of sergeant, having spent most of his time at the division headquarters. The war ended Loxton and Miller’s partnership at St Kilda. Miller was deployed to South Australia
for training before becoming a fighter pilot in England, while his St Kilda colleague served in a reserve unit in Melbourne, enabling him to continue his football career when granted leave. In 1943, Loxton played in only the last four matches of the season, all of which were lost, kicking seven goals, and St Kilda finished last with a solitary victory from ten games. He managed three goals each against Essendon and South Melbourne
but was held goal-less against Melbourne. The following year, Loxton played in all 18 matches and topped St Kilda’s goal-kicking aggregates with 52. After making a slow start to the season, aggregating only four goals in the first four matches, including two goal-less outings, he began to score more heavily. The St Kilda forward registered a six-goal haul against Geelong in round eight, helping to secure an away win, and scored 23 goals in the last six matches, including five in each of the last three matches. However, St Kilda won only one of these three matches. Loxton's efforts helped his club to finish ninth out of 12 teams, and he came second in the club Best and Fairest
. He played a solitary match in 1945, which St Kilda lost, and went goal-less.
batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler
, Loxton spent much of his cricket career in the shadow of Miller, who played the same type of role. Upon Miller's death in 2004, he said "I was in Keith's shadow all my career ... and it was a pretty big shadow." First-class cricket resumed in 1945–46 after the end of the war, but Loxton failed to gain state selection during the season. He played his final VFL season in 1946 and was chosen in 12 of St Kilda’s 19 games, kicking 40 goals. However, his team only won two of these 12 matches, and finished second last. Loxton had a strong start to his final season, kicking 34 goals in the first 8 rounds. This included a career best of eight goals in another away win over Geelong. He also added six goals apiece against Footscray
and Collingwood, but it was not enough to prevent defeats. However, Loxton missed three matches after the eighth round and upon his return, struggled and managed only six goals in his last four matches for St Kilda.
Having retired from top-tier football, Loxton soon broke into first-class cricket. He was selected for Victoria to make his debut in the match against Queensland in December 1946 because five players, including Miller, were playing in a Test match
for Australia against England during their Test tour
. The debutant scored 232 not out
, sharing a Victorian record sixth-wicket partnership
of 289 with Doug Ring
, who made 145. When he had scored 183, Loxton hit himself on the head with his bat in attempting a hook shot, but continued batting until the end of Victoria’s innings and then opened the bowling in Queensland’s innings. He took the first wicket before going off to hospital with concussion. Recovering in time to bowl in the second innings, he took 2 wickets for 40 runs (2/40) in an innings win. Loxton's 232 not out remains a record debut score in Australian first-class cricket. His debut performance was enough for him to keep his place when the Test players returned, and he scored 73 and took a total of 3/17 in the next match against arch-rivals New South Wales
, which Victoria won by an innings. He compiled 87 in the next match against Queensland, and Victoria won all but one of the five Sheffield Shield matches in which he played—the only draw was washed out—to claim the title. The all-rounder finished the season atop Victoria's batting average
s, with 429 runs at a batting average
of 143.00. He also headed the bowling average
s with 8 wickets at 14.00 runs apiece.
The following season, Loxton's record was less spectacular despite playing in all but one of Victoria’s matches. He hit 77 and 35 not out in the opening match of the summer against the Indian tourists
, and was rewarded with selection in an Australian XI to play the visitors ahead of the Tests. In what was effectively a Test trial, the uncapped all-rounder failed to impress with the bat, making a duck
and six. He bowled extensively, sending down 47 overs and taking a total of 4/113 as the Australians fell to a defeat. Loxton was passed over for Test selection and returned to domestic competition, scoring 53 and taking a total of 4/56 in the next match against New South Wales, which the Victorians won by nine wickets. He then went into an unproductive sequence, failing to pass 31 and taking only three wickets in his next four matches over a two-month period. His seven wickets in the Sheffield Shield games cost almost 49 runs each. Despite this, the Australian captain Don Bradman had been impressed by what he saw of Loxton at domestic level, and the Victorian all-rounder was chosen for the Fifth and final Test against India. With the series already convincingly won 3–0, Australia decided to rest several players in order to trial up and coming cricketers ahead of the 1948 tour of England. Len Johnson
, Loxton and fellow Victorian Ring were thus given their Test debuts.
Australia batted first and Loxton came in to bat in front of a supportive home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
. He made 80, putting on 159 with fellow Victorian Neil Harvey
, who made his first Test century in his second international match, as Australia amassed 8/575. The debutant all-rounder said that he was nervous but Harvey "was going along merrily and he soon settled me down". Bradman fell ill and Bill Brown
led the Australians in the field during the first innings. Understanding that one of the objectives was to give the new players an opportunity to show their talent, Brown threw the ball to his debutants. Johnson was given the ball first change, but failed to make an impact, so Loxton was handed his chance. He had a catch dropped early on but ended with 2/61 in the first innings, removing Hemu Adhikari
and then Vinoo Mankad. In the words of Brown, the Victorian all-rounder "looked twice the bowler Johnson did". The Victorian debutant took the wicket of Adhikari in the second innings as Australia enforced the follow on and skittled India by 67 to win by an innings. The Test debut performance won Loxton a place on the Invincibles tour to England in 1948. He reflected that "It's not the fellow who gets the opportunity it's the fellow who puts his hands around it and grabs it. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time." After his position in the touring party was confirmed, he continued his late-season resurgence, scoring two fifties for the Australians in two matches against Tasmania
before they departed for England.
, and the all-rounder was omitted as the visitors won by an innings. As the Australians often played six days a week, they employed a rotation policy in the county matches, and in the second game against Leicestershire
, Loxton made his debut on English soil. He made only four, before opening the bowling in both innings and taking a total of 1/23 in an innings victory. His attempts to break into the first-choice team were hampered by a groin
strain he suffered in the third match against Yorkshire when he was striving for extra pace in his only over in the first innings. As a result he played no further part in the match. One man down, Australia came closest to losing for the whole tour. They fell to 6/31 in pursuit of 60—effectively seven down with Loxton unable to bat—before scraping home without further loss after Yorkshire dropped both batsmen.
The injured all-rounder missed two matches to recuperate before reappearing in mid-May, hitting 120 as the Australians posted a total of 721 against Essex
in a single day at Southend, still the highest single day's total in first-class cricket. He put on 166 in 65 minutes with Ron Saggers
, who, with Bill Brown
and Donald Bradman
, also scored centuries. Loxton's rapid innings was noted for its hooking and driving and took around 80 minutes. He followed up with an unbeaten 79 and two wickets in the match against Oxford University
, but that failed to win him a place in the first set-piece battle of the summer, against the Marylebone Cricket Club
at Lord's. The MCC fielded seven players who would represent England in the Tests, and were basically a full-strength Test outfit, while Australia fielded their strongest XI, so the fixture was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests. Bradman opted to play Brown out of the position in the middle-order, and Loxton missed out; Australia went on to win by an innings.
Loxton then played in each of Australia’s four remaining tour games before the Tests, but was unable to do enough to force his way into the first-choice team. He made 39 and 52 against Lancashire
, and 16 against Nottinghamshire
, squandering his starts in the latter two innings to run out
s. In the match against Hampshire
, he made one in his only innings after Australia were caught on a damp pitch
and took a solitary wicket. The Australian team's batting depth did not help Loxton’s cause; in the final pre-Test match against Sussex
, a match won by an innings and 325 runs, he was slated to bat at No. 9, but Australia’s earlier batsmen were largely untroubled so Bradman declared
at 5/549. The all-rounder’s 3/13 in the first innings had the effect of removing him from the bowling line-up for the rest of the match, as Doug Ring
, Ernie Toshack
, Ron Hamence
and Ian Johnson
helped Ray Lindwall
to bowl the touring team to an easy victory. Loxton had limited opportunities as those ahead of him tended to finish off the opposition before his turn, and did not score heavily enough when he had a chance, so he was overlooked for the First Test at Trent Bridge
. Bradman again opted to use Brown out of position in the middle-order as Australia took an eight-wicket win.
There were only two matches between the First and Second Tests. Loxton took a total of 2/29 and scored only 17 against Northamptonshire
, and was rested against Yorkshire
. Brown made a century in the latter match, and Australia fielded an unchanged team for the Second Test at Lord's
and completed another victory. As the tour reached its halfway point, the Victorian began to make an impression. In the next county game, his opening partnership with Neil Harvey
scored the 122 runs needed to beat Surrey
in only 58 minutes, Loxton making 47. He also took a total 3/90 for the match, bowling 43 overs as Bradman allowed his main bowlers to recuperate after the previous Test. In the following match against Gloucestershire
he contributed an unbeaten 159 including four sixes, as Australia made their highest score for the summer, 7/774 declared. The all-rounder's innings involved a series of powerful strokes and he was particularly noted for using his feet to charge and attack the off spin
of Tom Goddard
. The Gloucestershire bowler had been touted as a possible Test selection, because the other England bowlers had failed to contain Australia’s batsman in the first two matches, but his chances of selection were ended by the tourists’ assault at Bristol
.
These performances won Loxton selection for the Third Test, played at Old Trafford
, where he replaced Brown, who had struggled in the middle-order, averaging less than 25 in the unfamiliar environment. The match was the most evenly contested Test of the series, with England in control before four sessions were lost to rain on the last two days, resulting in a draw. Loxton bowled 15 overs in all without success, and made 36 runs batting at No. 7 in the first innings, helping Australia to avoid the follow on. In the first innings, he ran out Alec Bedser
, ending a 121-run partnership between Bedser and Denis Compton
.
The Victorian all-rounder then top-scored with 123 and took a total of 4/48 in a nine-wicket win in the intervening county match against Middlesex
at Lord’s, and he retained his place in the side for the Fourth Test at Leeds
. Loxton was not involved in the second inning effort in which the Australians scored 3/404 on the final day, a world record for a successful Test run-chase, but he had taken three of the last four wickets in England’s first innings of 496 and scored a hard-hitting 93 in the first innings, putting on 105 in 95 minutes with Harvey. Their counterattacking partnership helped Australia to halt the English momentum after an early collapse; the score was still 4/189 when Loxton came in to bat. He was particularly severe on Jim Laker
, lifting his off break
s into the crowd for four of his five sixes, mostly from lofted drives. With a maiden Test century beckoning, the Victorian swung wildly at a Norman Yardley
ball and was bowled. In the dressing room, Sir Robert Menzies
, a Prime Minister of Australia well-known as a cricket-lover, upbraided him, saying "That was a pretty stupid thing to do. You could have made a century", to which the fallen batsman retorted, "Haven’t you made a few mistakes in your time, too?" Nevertheless, Australia eventually proceeded from 6/329 at the time of Loxton’s departure to end on 458, almost nullifying the effect of England’s strong first innings total.
Immediately after the Fourth Test, Loxton scored 51 and took a total of 4/43 in an innings victory over Derbyshire
, but was less productive in his remaining three matches before the Fifth Test, totaling only four wickets and 17 runs in three completed innings. He retained his position for the final Test of the series, but had little to do in an innings victory. He was only required to bowl two overs in the first innings as the frontline pacemen cut down the hosts for only 52, and then scored 15 in Australia's reply of 389. In the second innings he bowled ten overs without taking a wicket. The Victorian all-rounder was not prominent in his four matches after the Tests, totaling only 112 runs and five wickets. His most successful returns were four wickets for the match in an innings victory over Kent
, and a quickfire 67 not out in 75 minutes against the South of England
. In the final match of the England leg of the tour—there were two matches in Scotland
afterwards—he hit a ball from Freddie Brown into his face, breaking his nose, thus forcing him to miss the final two matches in Scotland.
On the tour as a whole, Loxton scored 973 runs at an average of 57.23 and took 32 wickets at 21.71. Such was the strength of the team he was only fifth in the batting averages and eighth among the bowlers. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
summed up his contribution thus:
Two big set-piece matches, a testimonial match
for Bradman and a joint benefit for Alan Kippax
and Bert Oldfield
, were used by the selectors as a trial for the 1949–50 South African tour. Loxton played in both testimonial matches; he failed to pass 21 in the first match but took a total of 4/100. In the latter match he scored 93. The Victorian all-rounder ended the season with 634 runs at 42.26 and 16 wickets at 24.31 and was selected for the South African tour under the leadership of the newly appointed captain Lindsay Hassett
.
Like the Invincibles tour, the 1949–50 Test series in South Africa
was another triumph for the Australians. They won four of the five Tests and were undefeated in 21 first-class matches. Loxton started the tour strongly, making 117 in the opening match against Zululand, which was not first-class. He continued his productivity in the succeeding games, never failing to pass 40 in any completed innings in the first five first-class matches of the tour. This included an all-round effort of 76 not out and a total of 4/10 in an innings victory over Orange Free State
. However, the Victorian's form slumped just before the Tests. He made single figure scores in his last three innings, including in the last match against a South African XI in what was effectively a dry run for the Tests. However, he did take 4/32 for the match.
Loxton played in all five Tests, and in the First Test at the Wanderers
in Johannesburg
, he scored his first Test century. He compiled 101 in 150 minutes, helping Australia to a total of 413 after both opening batsmen were out without scoring. Hassett’s men went on to win the match by an innings. The Second Test was an eight-wicket victory for the Australians, this time dominated by Harvey's 178, with whom Loxton shared a 140-run stand for the fifth wicket, contributing 35 himself. He also took a wicket. The Third Test at Kingsmead
in Durban
was dramatic; batting first, South Africa made 311 and Hugh Tayfield
then took 7/23 as Australia collapsed to 75 all out after the rain and sun had baked the playing surface into a sticky wicket
. During the first innings, Hassett changed his batting order so that his better batsmen were low down in the order so that they could bat in better conditions as the pitch stabilised. Loxton batted at No. 10 and Harvey at No. 9, but the Australians collapsed before the pitch had changed measurably. Not enforcing the follow-on
, the South Africans batted again and were themselves bowled out for 99, losing their last seven wickets for 14 runs. This left Australia to chase 336 runs for victory, highly unlikely as the last 28 wickets had fallen for only 245. The tourists were still more than 200 runs in arrears when Loxton came in to join Harvey. On Loxton’s first ball, a delivery from Tayfield narrowly missed his edge. He survived to lunch after being caught from a no ball
on the long on boundary from a lofted drive. With an unbeaten 151, Harvey took Australia to an improbable five-wicket victory, supported by his fellow Victorian, who scored 54 in a century partnership.
The Fourth Test of the series was a high-scoring draw, Loxton making six in his only innings. His 43 in the final Test of the series was overshadowed by centuries for three of his team-mates, in an innings win that sealed the series 4–0. In the Test series as a whole, the Victorian all-rounder made 255 runs at an average of 42.50, but bowled only 34 overs in taking two wickets. He made little impact on the tour matches after the start of the Tests, passing fifty twice and taking two wickets from 13 overs in five matches. For the entire tour, Loxton totaled 809 first-class runs at 40.45 and took 12 wickets.
, making 24 in Australia's 228. He picked up five catches—his first Test catches in his tenth match—as the Australians surrounded the English batsmen, who made 7/68 on the sticky wicket before Brown declared to force the Australian batsmen to suffer on the treacherous surface. Loxton was out for a duck
in the second innings, unable to cope with the conditions, as did most of his compatriots. Australia collapsed to 3/0 before reaching 7/32, at which point Hassett declared after 78 minutes of batting. England fell to 6/30 at stumps in pursuit of 193. Twenty wickets had fallen in four hours, while only 102 runs had been scored. Australia eventually won the match by 71 runs.
In the Second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
, his last at his home ground, Loxton's 32 formed part of a stand of 84 with Hassett, the highest partnership in a closely fought, low-scoring game in which no team passed 200. He again failed in the second innings, scoring two as Australia scraped home by 28 runs. After contributing 17 in a total of 426 in the Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground
, which Australia won by an innings to take an unassailable 3–0 series lead, he was dropped in favour of Jim Burke
, who scored a century on debut. The Victorian never played Test cricket again.
Loxton returned to play for Victoria, and although he struggled for runs, managing only three fifties for the season, wickets came regularly. He took match totals of 4/55 and 3/24 against Queensland, 4/55 against South Australia and 2/23 against Western Australia; Victoria won all four matches, and claimed the Sheffield Shield. Playing in seven of the eight matches, he scored 309 runs at 30.90 and taking 16 wickets at 12.56.
Loxton had a more productive campaign during the 1952–53 season, scoring 470 runs at 33.57 and taking 23 wickets at 26.26 in nine matches. He broke through for his first first-class century in three years when he made 169 against New South Wales, but it was not enough to prevent an innings defeat. He scored 60 and took a match total of 5/102 in a match for Victoria against the touring South Africans early in the season, but this was not enough for him to regain his Test position. He bowled with steady results throughout the season, never taking more than three wickets in an innings and five in a match.
In 1953–54, Loxton was part of a Commonwealth team that toured India
during the Australian season, playing in 15 first-class matches. He played in all five of the matches that were termed as "unofficial Tests" on this tour. The Victorian's first month on tour was keynoted by his bowling. He took 12 wickets at 19.75 but scored only 115 runs at 23.00 without passing 25 in the first four matches.
Loxton had no success in the first representative match, scoring 2 and 6 and taking 0/72 in an innings defeat. However, his fortunes turned in the next match against Bombay
, when he took 5/92, the first five-wicket innings haul in his first-class career. He also scored 123, but was unable to force a victory. He carried the form into the next representative match, scoring 55 and taking a total of 3/99 in a drawn encounter. The Victorian continued his all-round form against Bengal
, scoring 100 and taking 5/87 in an innings victory. His form tapered away thereafter and he failed to pass 40 and took only a total of only four wickets in the three remaining representative matches. The Commonwealth outfit won the third match but lost the fourth, ceding the series 2–1. Loxton ended the tour with 647 runs at 35.94 and 33 wickets at 31.90, but struggled in the matches against India, scoring 148 runs at 21.14 and taking 7 wickets at 56.14.
After returning to Australia, Loxton had a torrid time with the bat in the 1954–55 season, scoring only 126 runs at 14.00 and failing to pass 30 in his six matches. He took 12 wickets at 32.41 for the season, the least number of wickets in any of his first-class seasons. The all-rounder’s best effort was a 4/31 against New South Wales in a match that Victoria lost by nine wickets. Loxton had a more productive summer in 1955–56. In seven matches, he scored 286 runs at 40.85 including an unbeaten century against South Australia, and took 14 wickets at 20.07; his best was a 4/35 in the return match against South Australia. The Sheffield Shield was won by Victoria’s bitter rivals New South Wales in both seasons.
In 1956–57, his penultimate season for Victoria, Loxton—aged nearly 36—scored 134 and took 2/30 to orchestrate an innings victory over South Australia in the second match of the summer. In the penultimate match of the season, which effectively determined the fate of the Sheffield Shield, the Victorian all-rounder took 4/44 to help dismiss New South Wales for 149 and take a 292-run first innings lead. However, the defending champions hung on for a draw to ensure the retention of their title. Loxton then surpassed his previous career best by taking 6/49 against Western Australia
to set up a nine-wicket win in the last match of the season.
Loxton retired after playing in the 1957–58 season. With the Test players in South Africa, he made 331 runs at 41.37 including 2 centuries, and took 9 wickets at 26.33 in 8 matches. He made 107 in an innings triumph over Queensland and 106 in a drawn match against South Australia. It was not enough for him to win a third Sheffield Shield title; New South Wales won for the fifth successive time, defeating Victoria in both of their matches. Loxton made little impact in his final match; although the Victorians defeated Queensland, his only participation was to score five runs in the first innings. His highest score remained the 232 not out he had made on his first-class debut.
Loxton continued to play for Prahran until 1962–63, and he topped the batting and bowling averages for the club on five and six occasions respectively. He topped both the batting and bowling averages in the same season on four occasions. The all-rounder scored a total of 6,032 runs and took 351 wickets during his first grade career, and was named the captain of the club's honourary Team of the Century.
known for his ability to move the ball, and a powerful outfielder. He had a strong arm and exploited his power frequently, to the extent that the Australian wicket-keeper
Don Tallon
complained about the jarring impact of his unnecessarily strong throws when the batsmen were already home and no run out
was possible. Loxton was known for his energetic and aggressive approach to cricket, and liked to attack and intimidate opposition batsmen. In one match in the late-1950s, he bowled an eight-ball over at New South Welshman Norm O'Neill
consisting entirely of bouncers
aimed at the upper body. Loxton was not afraid of opposition bowlers doing the same to him; he had a penchant for trying to hook bouncers out of the ground. He was a predominantly back-foot player whose initial foot-movement tended to be back and towards and then across the stumps. When he committed to a back foot shot, Loxton often made such a decisive retreat that he almost stepped onto his stumps. One painter once captured the Victorian almost disturbing the woodwork with his right leg, leading Loxton to quip "That's what I call using the crease". Hassett said that his fellow Victorian "really used to give everything he had all the time… Put him on to bowl and he'd bowl his hardest, no matter how he felt." Bradman said that Loxton "never shirked the issue" and that "he’d throw himself into it with everything he had. This is one of the reasons he was a great team man. You could call on him at any stage and he’d give you his very best." Bradman said that the Victorian all-rounder "was never a great cricketer in the sense that some others were great, but he was a very good player and what he lacked in ability he made up for in effort". He further added that the Victorian was "the very essence of belligerence...His whole attitude suggests defiance and when he hits the ball it is the music of a sledgehammer." Former Test leg spinner Bill O'Reilly
, while agreeing that Loxton was always energetic, regarded his bowling as being too dull and predictable to have any major impact at the highest level, and thought that the Victorian all-rounder’s career would have been best served by saving his energy purely for batting.
As a footballer, Loxton usually played as a forward, but was also used as a full-back and alternated between the two positions. He was known for his physical strength; another VFL player who had a reputation as an "enforcer" tried to bump him and later said that the collision made him feel as though he had run into a goalpost. According to Robert Coleman, Loxton was "competitive, pugnacious and outspoken, with a doglike loyalty to everyone and everything he served, whether it was his captain, his team, his party, his premier or his constituents."
—remained. The Victorian was the first manager since World War II to not also be a member of the Australian Board of Control
. It was widely believed that the high-ranking administrators saw the Indian subcontinent
as an unenviable appointment; on past tours, many players had fallen seriously ill, suffered food poisoning, and found the oppressive heat and third world living conditions hard to bear. Some players were reluctant to tour and wanted to opt out. Loxton felt that his experience with the Commonwealth XI six years earlier was a factor in his selection and suspected that he was the only applicant, quipping "what board member would be silly enough to go there?"
Loxton was known for his blunt nature, and his appointment to a post that required him to liaise with cricket officials from opposing nations raised eyebrows. The cricket historian Gideon Haigh
wrote "Thoughts of such a gruff, soldierly man acting the diplomat had caused great ribaldry". In a speech at a cricket dinner, his former captain Hassett joked "I would advise Mr [Prime Minister] Menzies
to have army and navy standing by. A week after Sam gets to India, war is bound to break out."
On the field, the Australians—captained by Richie Benaud
—were successful. They defeated Pakistan 2–0 in three Tests, and India 2–1 over five matches. Australia’s only other Test win on Pakistani soil came in 1998 and they have only won two series in India since the Benaud-Loxton expedition. They also remained unbeaten outside the Test matches. Despite the success with bat and ball, the Australians were struck down by serious illness during the second part of their tour in India, despite taking Dr. Ian McDonald—a former Victorian first-class cricketer—with the travelling party. Gordon Rorke
, Lindsay Kline
and Gavin Stevens
all contracted hepatitis
; the former two were sent home, while the latter was too ill to fly back to Australia until the end of the tour. Harvey said that Stevens—who never played first-class cricket again after his illness—"could've been the first man to die on tour". Due to the bevy of unfit players, Loxton was forced to line up in one game, against Indian Universities in Bangalore
, two years after playing his last first-class match. He scored 33 and bowled six overs without taking a wicket in a high-scoring draw.
There were several administrative difficulties during the tour. Bill Dowling—the chairman of the Australian Board of Control—had informed Loxton that no Test match was to begin until a receipt for 6,500 pounds had been handed over to Australian authorities. The Australian manager had also been told to rebuff any Pakistani overtures for a reciprocal tour, as it was feared that they lacked public appeal and would have caused financial losses due to a fall in ticket sales. Despite previous assurances to prepare turf pitches
, the locals made a matting surface for the First Test. During the Second Test, when asked by General Ayub Khan—head of the ruling military junta—why Pakistan had not been invited to Australia, Loxton exploited the opportunity to complain about the wickets. When the tourists were greeted by another matting track in the Third Test, Ayub threatened to shoot the groundsmen if they prepared any more non-turf surfaces. The financial issue reared its head before the Second Test against India in Kanpur, when Loxton belligerently refused to start the match after the payment had failed to arrive on time. An Indian official asked the Australian manager to not "spoil a beautiful friendship over money", to which the Australian manager replied "Try me. I want it please…You know the rules." The match proceeded after the cheque was delivered, and India inflicted Australia's only defeat for the tour and their first Test win over the visitors. Another mishap occurred during the Fifth Test at Eden Gardens
in Calcutta; the Australians left their hotel and took to the field with ten men, having failed to notice that Ian Meckiff
had overslept and been left behind by the team bus. During the First Test against Pakistan in Dacca
, one of the umpires took off his shoes and put them on the ground while play was in progress. Loxton took a photo of the scene and lodged it to cricket authorities, asking them to make a ruling on whether a batsman would be out if the ball struck the umpire’s loose shoes and bounced up into a fielder’s hands. However, he never received a reply.
branch of the Liberal Party
in 1950. Henry Bolte
, the Liberal leader in Victoria, was the state opposition leader at the time, and encouraged him to enter politics. The cricketer’s entry into electoral politics came after he was involved in a debate at a cricket club meeting. A person at the gathering reported his argumentative performance to senior Liberal Party figures, and soon after, Bolte began actively courting the cricketer. On 28 September 1954, Loxton won pre-selection and was endorsed as the Liberal candidate for the electorate of Prahran
. At the time, the seat was comfortably held by the ruling Australian Labor Party
(ALP), who had captured 61.59% of the vote at the previous election. The Liberals were not optimistic about their chances, and Bolte told his candidate "You won't win [the seat], but we'd like you to fly the flag".
The cricketer refused to think that his candidacy was simply there to make up the numbers, and he told Bolte as much. The start of the election campaign coincided with the 1954–55 grade cricket finals. Loxton took 7 wickets and scored 129 runs to help Prahran claim the title for the first time in 32 years, and was hailed as a local hero. It capped off a season in which he topped the competition batting averages and took the most wickets. In a close-run contest, the cricketer defeated the sitting ALP member Bob Pettiona by only 14 votes on the two party preferred count. He was aided by preferences from the Democratic Labor Party
(DLP), which had broken away from the ALP during the 1950s, claiming that the root organisation was too soft towards communism; fears of left-wing influence was causing great concern in Australian society at the time. Loxton polled 35.70% of the first preferences, well behind Pettiona's 47.25%, but received almost all of the DLP's 13.66% of the vote as preferences to end with 50.04%. The result helped bring Bolte's Liberals to power, and they stayed in office until 1982, by which time Loxton had retired.
Loxton entered the Victorian parliament
in 1955, and served as government whip
from 1961 until his retirement in 1979. At the time of his election, he was the youngest member of parliament, and was given the honour of making the Address-in-Reply, the first speech after opening of the new sitting by the governor, using it to advocate increased lending from the government-owned banks to promote higher levels of home ownership. At the 1958 election, Loxton consolidated his hold on the seat, leading on first preferences (43.67%), and ending with 54.85% of the two party preferred vote to halt Pettiona's attempted comeback. During the election campaign in 1961, a campaign meeting in Prahran that was attended by Premier Bolte and Loxton drew several hundred people and descended into chaos; heckling and some scuffles broke out. At this election, the Liberals' primary vote fell to 41.69% behind the ALP's 45.29%, and he had to rely on DLP preferences to retain the seat with a reduced two party preferred vote of 52.71%. The Liberals may have been hindered by a how-to-vote card circulated on election day by a third party that had a pro-Liberal headline, but instructed the reader to mark the ALP candidate as their first preference. Loxton managed to secure a court injunction—believed to be the first of its kind in Victoria—prohibiting further distribution of the material, but not before hundreds of misleading instructions had been disseminated.
In 1964, Loxton increased his primary vote to 45.77% and defeated Pettiona for the third time, ending with a fairly safe 57.72% after the distribution of preferences. In 1967, the retired cricketer repelled a political challenge by Jack Dyer
, an iconic former footballer of the Richmond Tigers famed as one of the toughest players in history, and retained his seat at further elections in 1970, 1973 and 1976 before opting to retire at the 1979 poll. Without Loxton's personal appeal, the Liberals lost the seat to the ALP upon his departure. As he continued to play first-class cricket for three years after his election to parliament, he was a busy man, and team-mates described him as a hard-working representative, recalling that he often brought his political paperwork to the ground with him, going through the material while waiting in the dressing room for his turn to bat. Although he was a low-key presence in the parliamentary chambers, Loxton served on the library committee from 1958 to 1961, and he was known for his work ethic and thorough approach, as well as his "sporting charisma".
(VCA) from 1955–56 to 1979–80. Loxton was Prahran's vice president and was involved in coaching and selecting teams, and his service to the club was honoured with life membership. He served as a MCG trustee from 1962 to 1982. The Victorian was appointed as the manager for Australia's tour of India in 1969–70 but had to withdraw due to a clash of commitments. In his absence, the campaign hit rocky waters. Although Australia won 3–1, the players became disgruntled with the arrangements made by the administrators, while rancorous incidents leading to crowd riots were frequent.
He was a Test selector for the Australian team from 1970 to 1981, filling the vacancy left by the retirement of former Test captain Ryder. Loxton's tenure on the selection panel coincided with a period of great upheaval in Australian cricket, on and off the field. Up until 1965, Australia had never lost a Test series to any country other than England, and their bilateral contests were regarded as the de facto world championship. However, in the next five years, Australia lost away to the West Indies 2–1, and to South Africa twice, 3–1 and 4–0 respectively. The former all-rounder became a selector after the whitewash in South Africa, joining Bradman and Harvey on the panel. During the 1970–71 home series against England, which Australia lost 2–1, the trio made a raft of changes, handing debuts to nine players, the largest number in a season since 1945–46 when competition resumed after World War II. One of the new players that Harvey and Loxton recommended to Bradman was Dennis Lillee
, who went on to become one of Australia's greatest fast bowlers and the world’s leading wicket-taker. However, the season ended acrimoniously when captain Bill Lawry
was sacked before the final Test without being informed of his fate; he only learned of his omission second hand.
In 1977, Loxton helped to select David Hookes
to make his debut in the Centenary Test
, after receiving a recommendation from Bradman, who had retired from the panel. Hookes famously struck five consecutive fours in one Tony Greig
over in an Australian win. The later period of Loxton's tenure was thrown into chaos when most of the leading players abandoned the existing establishment to sign contracts with the breakaway World Series Cricket
—which offered substantially more remuneration—meaning that an almost-entirely new team had to be cobbled together; the 42-year-old Bob Simpson
was brought out of a decade of retirement to lead the outfit. During this time, Australia's depleted team suffered many heavy defeats.
During the 1970s, Loxton also became more disillusioned with cricket, as player behaviour deteriorated and incidences of verbal hostility and altercations increased. The former all-rounder was known for his vigorous advocacy of the more sedate and gentlemanly conduct that existed during his playing days and felt that he and his fellow administrators were losing control of the sport.
In February 1981, matters came to a head. Loxton, who was watching a one-day international
between Australia and New Zealand at the MCG in his role as a selector, broke down and wept after Australian captain Greg Chappell
infamously ordered his younger brother Trevor
to exploit a loophole and bowl underarm to eliminate the chance of a defeat. Loxton saw the Australian skipper's action as a "betrayal" of cricket. He turned to a fellow official and remarked "The game's gone! Money has become the god and winning is everything."
At a VCA meeting in April 1981, Loxton announced that he was severing all connections with organised cricket. He initially said that he was resigning for family reasons, as he would be moving to the Gold Coast
in Queensland
with his wife. However, he proceeded to give a blunt 15-minute speech, claiming that he had lost the art of communicating with the players and expressing his disenchantment with some aspects of the game, a reference to the declining player conduct. After relocating to the Gold Coast, he was unable to turn his back on cricket, and umpired matches at local level into his 70s. Although he is now severely visually impaired, Loxton still attends matches and asks his companions to describe the proceedings for him; ever opinionated and blunt, he still offers advice to local cricketers.
for the Melbourne Summer Olympics
held in late 1956, and his co-commentators included American track and field
icon Jesse Owens
. After leaving parliament, the former politician joined the property developers Ellis, Sallmann and Seward.
Loxton served as an administrator with various local groups. He was vice-president of the Victorian School for Deaf Children, president of the Prahran Technical School Council and a member of the Prahran College of Advanced Education Council. With regards to housing and social inclusion issues, he served as a committee member of the Glen Loch Home for the Aged and chairman of the Deakin Co-operative Housing Society.
His opinions on contemporary cricket are still frequently sought. "People get a bit worried about me," he told Cricinfo
in 2008, "Shane Warne
's been a fine bowler—no doubt about it, he's done some wonderful things—but Bill O'Reilly
and Clarrie Grimmett
, who have better strike-rates per match than Warne and never played against a 2nd XI [a reference to the likes of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe]—they only played against the best—had no rough to bowl at. I never had to bat to a leg-spinner who bowled into the rough outside my leg stump, and I played for a long time."
Loxton married three times. He divorced his first wife Hilda in February 1952 after a nine-year union that had produced no children so that he could remarry. The cricketer then wed Caryl Bond, whom he had met during the 1949–50 tour of South Africa, and the pair had two sons. Loxton later divorced Bond and wed his third wife Joan Shiels. In 2000, one of his sons and his third wife died on the same day, due to a shark attack in Fiji and drowning in the family swimming pool, respectively. He now lives alone and is still mobile despite being in his late-80s and being almost blind.
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 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...
er, footballer and politician. Among these three pursuits, his greatest achievements were attained on the cricket field; he played in 12 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...
for Australia from 1948 to 1951. A right-handed all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
, Loxton was part of Don Bradman's Invincibles, who went through the 1948 tour of England undefeated, an unprecedented achievement that has never been matched. As well as being a hard-hitting middle-order
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
batsman, Loxton was a right-arm fast-medium
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
swing bowler
Swing bowling
Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.-Physics of swing bowling:...
who liked to aim at the upper bodies
Bouncer (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bouncer is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. It is pitched short so that it bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rears up to chest or head height as it reaches the batsman.Bouncers are used tactically to drive the batsman back on to his...
of the opposition, and an outfielder
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
with an accurate and powerful throw. After being dropped from the national team, Loxton represented 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...
for seven more seasons before retiring from first-class cricket
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...
. He served as an administrator after his playing days were over and spent 24 years as a Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
. Up until 1946, Loxton also played in the Victorian Football League
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
(VFL) for St Kilda as a forward. In all three arenas, he was known for his energetic approach.
Educated at Wesley College, Melbourne
Wesley College, Melbourne
Wesley College, Melbourne is an independent, co-educational, Christian day school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is a school of the Uniting Church in Australia. Wesley is the largest school in Australia by enrolment, with 3,511 students and 564 full-time staff...
, Loxton first gained prominence as an 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...
player. After debuting in 1942, he played 41 games in the VFL for St Kilda as a forward, kicking a total of 114 goals before retiring at the end of the 1946 season to concentrate on his cricket career. In 1944, he headed St Kilda's goal-kicking aggregate with 52 goals and placed second in the club's Best and Fairest
Trevor Barker Award
The Trevor Barker Award is an Australian rules football award for the player voted the St Kilda Football Club Club Champion during the home and away season in the Australian Football League by a voting panel....
. Loxton served in a tank division during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and made his first-class cricket
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 in 1946–47. He scored 232 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
, which remains a record for any Australian player on his first-class debut. After a strong first season, Loxton was selected to make his Test debut in the final match of the 1947–48 home series against India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
. Australia had already won the series and used the last match to trial their young talent. Loxton seized his opportunity, scoring 80 and taking three wickets, securing himself a position on the 1948 England tour.
After a slow start to the historic campaign, Loxton struck form midway through the English summer and forced his way into the team for the last three Tests. He played a prominent role in the Fourth Test
Fourth Test, 1948 Ashes series
The Fourth Test of the 1948 Ashes series was one of five Tests in a cricket series between Australia and England. The match was played at Headingley Stadium at Leeds from 22 to 27 July with a rest day on 25 July. Australia won the match by seven wickets to take an unassailable 3–0 series lead...
, scoring an aggressive and counterattacking 93 that helped Australia pry the initiative from England; the tourists eventually won the match. In 1949–50, Loxton cemented his position in the national team, playing in all five Tests in South Africa and scoring his only 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...
at international level. He remained a regular member of the Test team until a form slump during the 1950–51 home season; he was dropped after three Tests against England and never played for Australia again. Loxton continued to play 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...
in domestic competition until retiring at the end of the 1957–58 season.
A member of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
, Loxton entered politics and was a member of Victorian Legislative Assembly
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
, representing the electoral district of Prahran
Electoral district of Prahran
Prahran is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. It is a 12km² electorate in the inner south-east of Melbourne, taking in the suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor, as well as parts of Balaclava, St Kilda, St Kilda East and Toorak...
from 1955 to 1979. During this time, Loxton was also active in cricket administration at club, state and international level. He was a state selector
Selector (sport)
In many team sports, a selection panel consist of selectors who choose teams or individuals to represent a country or club in sporting competitions.Selectors tend to be past players....
for over two decades, and served at national level for ten years, starting in 1970–71. He was also the team manager for Australia's tour of the subcontinent in 1959–60, overseeing a successful campaign despite a spate of serious illnesses to personnel. Loxton had to deal with a variety of tumultuous events on and off the field during his tenure, often relating to player misconduct, and retired from cricket administration in 1981 following the underarm incident.
Early and war years
Loxton was born in March 1921 at Albert Park, VictoriaAlbert Park, Victoria
Albert Park is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip. At the 2006 Census, Albert Park had a population of 5827....
, the son of Sam Sr. and Annie. The elder Sam Loxton was an electrician who played second grade cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket is the elite club cricket competition in the state of Victoria, administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matches are played on turf wickets under limited-time rules, with most results...
for Collingwood. The younger Sam started his education at Yarra Park State School, where he learned to bat, using a pine tree in the schoolyard as the stumps
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
; the same tree was used for the same purpose years earlier by Test players Vernon Ransford
Vernon Ransford
Vernon Seymour Ransford was an Australian cricketer who played in 20 Tests between 1907 and 1912. His best series was the 1909 tour of England when he topped the Australian batting averages, helped by a career best score of 143 not out. The following year he was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year...
and Ernie McCormick
Ernie McCormick
Ernest Leslie McCormick was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1935 to 1938....
, and long-serving Victorian batsman Jack Ledward. The family moved to Armadale
Armadale, Victoria
Armadale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Armadale had a population of 8,467....
, and young Loxton attended Armadale Public School
Armadale Public School
Armadale Public School is a public elementary school located in Markham, Ontario, Canada. It is located north-east of the major intersections of McCowan Road and Steeles Avenue, near the Toronto district of Scarborough. The school is part of the York Region District School Board...
before completing his secondary education at Wesley College, Melbourne
Wesley College, Melbourne
Wesley College, Melbourne is an independent, co-educational, Christian day school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is a school of the Uniting Church in Australia. Wesley is the largest school in Australia by enrolment, with 3,511 students and 564 full-time staff...
, an elite private boys’ school. One of his colleagues at Wesley College was Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (cricketer)
Ian William Geddes Johnson CBE was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of...
, a future teammate 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...
and Australia. The boys’ school coach was P. L. Williams, a renowned mentor of teenagers who had earlier coached Ross Gregory
Ross Gregory
Ross Gerald Gregory was an Australian Test cricketer.Gregory, a diminutive gifted right-hand batsman, was a precocious batting talent, making his debut for Victoria while still at school and his Test cricket debut before the age of 21 in the 1936-37 season, after scoring 128 for his state against...
and future Test captain Lindsay Hassett
Lindsay Hassett
Arthur Lindsay Hassett MBE was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-order batsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a...
. Away from his sporting commitments at school, Loxton played district cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket is the elite club cricket competition in the state of Victoria, administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matches are played on turf wickets under limited-time rules, with most results...
for Prahran's
Prahran Cricket Club
The Prahran Cricket Club is an Australian cricket club based in Prahran, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. They play in Victorian Premier Cricket, the highest competition in the state.-External links:*...
third grade team when he was just 12. The young cricketer's parents were stalwarts of the club; Sam Sr. was the scorer and served as a transport man, driving the matting and equipment to matches, while Annie made cucumber sandwiches for 25 years—due to the economic difficulties caused by the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, meat catering for players was a luxury even at first-class and international matches. The elder Sam was a member of the club committee from 1941 until his death in 1974, and was a vice-president for the last 17 years of his life. At the age of 16, the younger Loxton was selected in the Victorian Cricket Association Colts team that played in the first grade competition in 1937–38; he played three seasons with the outfit, which was effectively a state youth team. The squad was coached by Bert Cohen and former Test batsman and captain Jack Ryder, and Loxton credited the latter as the biggest influence on his career, saying
Loxton improved significantly in his third season with the Colts, scoring his first century and taking 21 wickets, having managed only seven scalps in the two previous summers. In 1940–41, aged 19, he moved back to Prahran to play in their first grade team after the Colts were disbanded, and he became more productive over the next few years, taking 46 wickets in one season.
Loxton also played 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 in 1942, he made his debut in the Victorian Football League
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
(VFL)—the highest tier of competition at the time—playing for St Kilda. One of his teammates was Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
, a future Invincibles colleague. Loxton played as both a forward and a defender, and the pair sometimes played together in attack. The recruit from Prahran played in only six matches in his first year, kicking 15 goals. Debuting in round six, he started his career brightly, kicking five and four goals in his first two matches against Melbourne and Collingwood respectively, helping his team to two victories. However, the goals and victories began to dry up and Loxton managed only six goals and one win in the remaining four matches. St Kilda came second to last and did not make the finals.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Loxton served with the 2nd Armoured Division. He enlisted on 31 July 1942 at Oakleigh, Victoria
Oakleigh, Victoria
Oakleigh is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and is located 14 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash. At the 2006 Census, Oakleigh had a population of 6,876....
and was discharged on 7 November 1945 with the rank of sergeant, having spent most of his time at the division headquarters. The war ended Loxton and Miller’s partnership at St Kilda. Miller was deployed to South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
for training before becoming a fighter pilot in England, while his St Kilda colleague served in a reserve unit in Melbourne, enabling him to continue his football career when granted leave. In 1943, Loxton played in only the last four matches of the season, all of which were lost, kicking seven goals, and St Kilda finished last with a solitary victory from ten games. He managed three goals each against Essendon and South Melbourne
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
but was held goal-less against Melbourne. The following year, Loxton played in all 18 matches and topped St Kilda’s goal-kicking aggregates with 52. After making a slow start to the season, aggregating only four goals in the first four matches, including two goal-less outings, he began to score more heavily. The St Kilda forward registered a six-goal haul against Geelong in round eight, helping to secure an away win, and scored 23 goals in the last six matches, including five in each of the last three matches. However, St Kilda won only one of these three matches. Loxton's efforts helped his club to finish ninth out of 12 teams, and he came second in the club Best and Fairest
Trevor Barker Award
The Trevor Barker Award is an Australian rules football award for the player voted the St Kilda Football Club Club Champion during the home and away season in the Australian Football League by a voting panel....
. He played a solitary match in 1945, which St Kilda lost, and went goal-less.
First-class and Test debut
An attacking right-handed middle-orderBatting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
, Loxton spent much of his cricket career in the shadow of Miller, who played the same type of role. Upon Miller's death in 2004, he said "I was in Keith's shadow all my career ... and it was a pretty big shadow." First-class cricket resumed in 1945–46 after the end of the war, but Loxton failed to gain state selection during the season. He played his final VFL season in 1946 and was chosen in 12 of St Kilda’s 19 games, kicking 40 goals. However, his team only won two of these 12 matches, and finished second last. Loxton had a strong start to his final season, kicking 34 goals in the first 8 rounds. This included a career best of eight goals in another away win over Geelong. He also added six goals apiece against Footscray
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
and Collingwood, but it was not enough to prevent defeats. However, Loxton missed three matches after the eighth round and upon his return, struggled and managed only six goals in his last four matches for St Kilda.
Having retired from top-tier football, Loxton soon broke into first-class cricket. He was selected for Victoria to make his debut in the match against Queensland in December 1946 because five players, including Miller, were playing in a Test match
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...
for Australia against England during their Test tour
English cricket team in Australia in 1946-47
The English cricket team in Australia in 1946–47 was captained by Wally Hammond, with Norman Yardley as his vice-captain and Bill Edrich as the senior professional. It played as England in the 1946-47 Ashes series against the Australians and as the MCC in their other matches on the tour...
. The debutant scored 232 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
, sharing a Victorian record sixth-wicket partnership
Partnership (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in partnership, although only one is on strike at any time. The partnership between two batsmen will come to an end when one of them is dismissed or retires, or the innings comes to a close In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in...
of 289 with Doug Ring
Doug Ring
Douglas Thomas Ring was an Australian cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia in 13 Tests from 1948 to 1953...
, who made 145. When he had scored 183, Loxton hit himself on the head with his bat in attempting a hook shot, but continued batting until the end of Victoria’s innings and then opened the bowling in Queensland’s innings. He took the first wicket before going off to hospital with concussion. Recovering in time to bowl in the second innings, he took 2 wickets for 40 runs (2/40) in an innings win. Loxton's 232 not out remains a record debut score in Australian first-class cricket. His debut performance was enough for him to keep his place when the Test players returned, and he scored 73 and took a total of 3/17 in the next match against arch-rivals 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...
, which Victoria won by an innings. He compiled 87 in the next match against Queensland, and Victoria won all but one of the five Sheffield Shield matches in which he played—the only draw was washed out—to claim the title. The all-rounder finished the season atop Victoria's batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
s, with 429 runs at a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 143.00. He also headed the bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
s with 8 wickets at 14.00 runs apiece.
The following season, Loxton's record was less spectacular despite playing in all but one of Victoria’s matches. He hit 77 and 35 not out in the opening match of the summer against the Indian tourists
Indian cricket team in Australia in 1947-48
The India national cricket team toured Australia in the 1947–48 season to play a five-match Test series against Australia. Australia won the series 4-0, with one match drawn....
, and was rewarded with selection in an Australian XI to play the visitors ahead of the Tests. In what was effectively a Test trial, the uncapped all-rounder failed to impress with the bat, making a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
and six. He bowled extensively, sending down 47 overs and taking a total of 4/113 as the Australians fell to a defeat. Loxton was passed over for Test selection and returned to domestic competition, scoring 53 and taking a total of 4/56 in the next match against New South Wales, which the Victorians won by nine wickets. He then went into an unproductive sequence, failing to pass 31 and taking only three wickets in his next four matches over a two-month period. His seven wickets in the Sheffield Shield games cost almost 49 runs each. Despite this, the Australian captain Don Bradman had been impressed by what he saw of Loxton at domestic level, and the Victorian all-rounder was chosen for the Fifth and final Test against India. With the series already convincingly won 3–0, Australia decided to rest several players in order to trial up and coming cricketers ahead of the 1948 tour of England. Len Johnson
Len Johnson
Leonard Joseph Johnson was an Australian cricketer who played in one Test in 1948.-Cricket career:...
, Loxton and fellow Victorian Ring were thus given their Test debuts.
Australia batted first and Loxton came in to bat in front of a supportive home crowd 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...
. He made 80, putting on 159 with fellow Victorian Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented 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...
, who made his first Test century in his second international match, as Australia amassed 8/575. The debutant all-rounder said that he was nervous but Harvey "was going along merrily and he soon settled me down". Bradman fell ill and Bill Brown
Bill Brown (cricketer)
William Alfred "Bill" Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Tests between 1934 and 1948, captaining his country in one Test. A right-handed opening batsman, his partnership with Jack Fingleton in the 1930s is regarded as one of the finest in Australian Test history...
led the Australians in the field during the first innings. Understanding that one of the objectives was to give the new players an opportunity to show their talent, Brown threw the ball to his debutants. Johnson was given the ball first change, but failed to make an impact, so Loxton was handed his chance. He had a catch dropped early on but ended with 2/61 in the first innings, removing Hemu Adhikari
Hemu Adhikari
Colonel Hemchandra Ramachandra Adhikari was an Indian cricketer, representing his country as both a player and coach in a career that spanned three decades....
and then Vinoo Mankad. In the words of Brown, the Victorian all-rounder "looked twice the bowler Johnson did". The Victorian debutant took the wicket of Adhikari in the second innings as Australia enforced the follow on and skittled India by 67 to win by an innings. The Test debut performance won Loxton a place on the Invincibles tour to England in 1948. He reflected that "It's not the fellow who gets the opportunity it's the fellow who puts his hands around it and grabs it. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time." After his position in the touring party was confirmed, he continued his late-season resurgence, scoring two fifties for the Australians in two matches against Tasmania
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
before they departed for England.
Invincibles tour
Loxton started his English campaign slowly. Australia typically selected their strongest team for the tour opener against WorcestershireWorcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
, and the all-rounder was omitted as the visitors won by an innings. As the Australians often played six days a week, they employed a rotation policy in the county matches, and in the second game against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
, Loxton made his debut on English soil. He made only four, before opening the bowling in both innings and taking a total of 1/23 in an innings victory. His attempts to break into the first-choice team were hampered by a groin
Groin
In human anatomy, the groin areas are the two creases at the junction of the torso with the legs, on either side of the pubic area. This is also known as the medial compartment of the thigh. A pulled groin muscle usually refers to a painful injury sustained by straining the hip adductor muscles...
strain he suffered in the third match against Yorkshire when he was striving for extra pace in his only over in the first innings. As a result he played no further part in the match. One man down, Australia came closest to losing for the whole tour. They fell to 6/31 in pursuit of 60—effectively seven down with Loxton unable to bat—before scraping home without further loss after Yorkshire dropped both batsmen.
The injured all-rounder missed two matches to recuperate before reappearing in mid-May, hitting 120 as the Australians posted a total of 721 against Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
in a single day at Southend, still the highest single day's total in first-class cricket. He put on 166 in 65 minutes with Ron Saggers
Ron Saggers
Ronald Arthur Saggers was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales. He played briefly for the Australian team, playing six Tests between 1948 and 1950...
, who, with Bill Brown
Bill Brown (cricketer)
William Alfred "Bill" Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Tests between 1934 and 1948, captaining his country in one Test. A right-handed opening batsman, his partnership with Jack Fingleton in the 1930s is regarded as one of the finest in Australian Test history...
and Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
, also scored centuries. Loxton's rapid innings was noted for its hooking and driving and took around 80 minutes. He followed up with an unbeaten 79 and two wickets in the match against Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
, but that failed to win him a place in the first set-piece battle of the summer, against the 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...
at Lord's. The MCC fielded seven players who would represent England in the Tests, and were basically a full-strength Test outfit, while Australia fielded their strongest XI, so the fixture was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests. Bradman opted to play Brown out of the position in the middle-order, and Loxton missed out; Australia went on to win by an innings.
Loxton then played in each of Australia’s four remaining tour games before the Tests, but was unable to do enough to force his way into the first-choice team. He made 39 and 52 against Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
, and 16 against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
, squandering his starts in the latter two innings to run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
s. In the match against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
, he made one in his only innings after Australia were caught on a damp pitch
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
and took a solitary wicket. The Australian team's batting depth did not help Loxton’s cause; in the final pre-Test match against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
, a match won by an innings and 325 runs, he was slated to bat at No. 9, but Australia’s earlier batsmen were largely untroubled so Bradman declared
Declaration and forfeiture
In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
at 5/549. The all-rounder’s 3/13 in the first innings had the effect of removing him from the bowling line-up for the rest of the match, as Doug Ring
Doug Ring
Douglas Thomas Ring was an Australian cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia in 13 Tests from 1948 to 1953...
, Ernie Toshack
Ernie Toshack
Ernest Raymond Herbert Toshack was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1946 to 1948. A left arm medium paced bowler who was known for his accuracy and stamina in his application of leg theory, Toshack was best known for being as member of Don Bradman's Invincibles that toured...
, Ron Hamence
Ron Hamence
Ronald Arthur Hamence was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. A short and compact right-handed batsman, Hamence excelled in getting forward to drive and had an array of attractive back foot strokes...
and Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (cricketer)
Ian William Geddes Johnson CBE was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of...
helped Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
to bowl the touring team to an easy victory. Loxton had limited opportunities as those ahead of him tended to finish off the opposition before his turn, and did not score heavily enough when he had a chance, so he was overlooked for the First Test at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
. Bradman again opted to use Brown out of position in the middle-order as Australia took an eight-wicket win.
There were only two matches between the First and Second Tests. Loxton took a total of 2/29 and scored only 17 against Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
, and was rested against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
. Brown made a century in the latter match, and Australia fielded an unchanged team for the Second Test at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
and completed another victory. As the tour reached its halfway point, the Victorian began to make an impression. In the next county game, his opening partnership with Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented 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...
scored the 122 runs needed to beat Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in only 58 minutes, Loxton making 47. He also took a total 3/90 for the match, bowling 43 overs as Bradman allowed his main bowlers to recuperate after the previous Test. In the following match against Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
he contributed an unbeaten 159 including four sixes, as Australia made their highest score for the summer, 7/774 declared. The all-rounder's innings involved a series of powerful strokes and he was particularly noted for using his feet to charge and attack the 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...
of Tom Goddard
Tom Goddard
Tom Goddard was the fifth highest wicket taker in first-class cricket....
. The Gloucestershire bowler had been touted as a possible Test selection, because the other England bowlers had failed to contain Australia’s batsman in the first two matches, but his chances of selection were ended by the tourists’ assault at Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
.
These performances won Loxton selection for the Third Test, played at Old Trafford
Old Trafford (cricket)
Old Trafford is a cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. It has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since its foundation in 1864, having been the ground of Manchester Cricket Club from 1857...
, where he replaced Brown, who had struggled in the middle-order, averaging less than 25 in the unfamiliar environment. The match was the most evenly contested Test of the series, with England in control before four sessions were lost to rain on the last two days, resulting in a draw. Loxton bowled 15 overs in all without success, and made 36 runs batting at No. 7 in the first innings, helping Australia to avoid the follow on. In the first innings, he ran out Alec Bedser
Alec Bedser
Sir Alec Victor Bedser, CBE was a professional English cricketer. He was the chairman of selectors for the English national cricket team, and the president of Surrey County Cricket Club...
, ending a 121-run partnership between Bedser and Denis Compton
Denis Compton
Denis Charles Scott Compton CBE was an English cricketer who played in 78 Test matches, and a footballer...
.
The Victorian all-rounder then top-scored with 123 and took a total of 4/48 in a nine-wicket win in the intervening county match against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
at Lord’s, and he retained his place in the side for the Fourth Test at Leeds
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
. Loxton was not involved in the second inning effort in which the Australians scored 3/404 on the final day, a world record for a successful Test run-chase, but he had taken three of the last four wickets in England’s first innings of 496 and scored a hard-hitting 93 in the first innings, putting on 105 in 95 minutes with Harvey. Their counterattacking partnership helped Australia to halt the English momentum after an early collapse; the score was still 4/189 when Loxton came in to bat. He was particularly severe on Jim Laker
Jim Laker
James "Jim" Charles Laker was a cricketer who played for England in the 1950s, known for "Laker's match" in 1956 at Old Trafford, when he took nineteen wickets in England's victory against Australia...
, lifting his off break
Off break
Off break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is the attacking delivery of an off spin bowler. Off breaks are known as off spinners....
s into the crowd for four of his five sixes, mostly from lofted drives. With a maiden Test century beckoning, the Victorian swung wildly at a Norman Yardley
Norman Yardley
Norman Walter Dransfield Yardley was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England, as a right-handed batsman and occasional bowler. An amateur, he captained Yorkshire from 1948 to 1955 and England on fourteen occasions between 1947 and 1950,...
ball and was bowled. In the dressing room, Sir Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, a Prime Minister of Australia well-known as a cricket-lover, upbraided him, saying "That was a pretty stupid thing to do. You could have made a century", to which the fallen batsman retorted, "Haven’t you made a few mistakes in your time, too?" Nevertheless, Australia eventually proceeded from 6/329 at the time of Loxton’s departure to end on 458, almost nullifying the effect of England’s strong first innings total.
Immediately after the Fourth Test, Loxton scored 51 and took a total of 4/43 in an innings victory over Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
, but was less productive in his remaining three matches before the Fifth Test, totaling only four wickets and 17 runs in three completed innings. He retained his position for the final Test of the series, but had little to do in an innings victory. He was only required to bowl two overs in the first innings as the frontline pacemen cut down the hosts for only 52, and then scored 15 in Australia's reply of 389. In the second innings he bowled ten overs without taking a wicket. The Victorian all-rounder was not prominent in his four matches after the Tests, totaling only 112 runs and five wickets. His most successful returns were four wickets for the match in an innings victory over Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
, and a quickfire 67 not out in 75 minutes against the South of England
South of England cricket team
The South of England appeared in first-class cricket between 1836 and 1961, most often in the showcase North v. South matches against the North of England although there were also games against touring teams, MCC and others....
. In the final match of the England leg of the tour—there were two matches in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
afterwards—he hit a ball from Freddie Brown into his face, breaking his nose, thus forcing him to miss the final two matches in Scotland.
On the tour as a whole, Loxton scored 973 runs at an average of 57.23 and took 32 wickets at 21.71. Such was the strength of the team he was only fifth in the batting averages and eighth among the bowlers. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
summed up his contribution thus:
Heading for South Africa
There were no Tests during the 1948–49 season in Australia, with only domestic matches scheduled. Loxton played regularly for Victoria, scoring 500 runs in the Sheffield Shield, compiling 135 against South Australia and 84 against Queensland. He scored 60 and took a total of 5/77 in one match against New South Wales, but Victoria was unable to win either match against their arch-rivals, who took the title.Two big set-piece matches, a testimonial match
Testimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, notably football and especially in the United Kingdom, where a club puts on a match in honour of a player for service to the club....
for Bradman and a joint benefit for 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...
and Bert Oldfield
Bert Oldfield
William Albert Stanley "Bert" Oldfield was an Australian cricket player. He played for New South Wales and the Australian cricket team as wicket-keeper....
, were used by the selectors as a trial for the 1949–50 South African tour. Loxton played in both testimonial matches; he failed to pass 21 in the first match but took a total of 4/100. In the latter match he scored 93. The Victorian all-rounder ended the season with 634 runs at 42.26 and 16 wickets at 24.31 and was selected for the South African tour under the leadership of the newly appointed captain Lindsay Hassett
Lindsay Hassett
Arthur Lindsay Hassett MBE was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-order batsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a...
.
Like the Invincibles tour, the 1949–50 Test series in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
was another triumph for the Australians. They won four of the five Tests and were undefeated in 21 first-class matches. Loxton started the tour strongly, making 117 in the opening match against Zululand, which was not first-class. He continued his productivity in the succeeding games, never failing to pass 40 in any completed innings in the first five first-class matches of the tour. This included an all-round effort of 76 not out and a total of 4/10 in an innings victory over Orange Free State
Orange Free State cricket team
The Free State cricket team is the first-class cricket team representing the province of Free State in South Africa....
. However, the Victorian's form slumped just before the Tests. He made single figure scores in his last three innings, including in the last match against a South African XI in what was effectively a dry run for the Tests. However, he did take 4/32 for the match.
Loxton played in all five Tests, and in the First Test at the Wanderers
Old Wanderers
Old Wanderers was a cricket ground in Johannesburg, South Africa. The ground hosted 22 Test matches from 1895 to 1939, before being rebuilt as Johannesburg's Park Station in 1946...
in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, he scored his first Test century. He compiled 101 in 150 minutes, helping Australia to a total of 413 after both opening batsmen were out without scoring. Hassett’s men went on to win the match by an innings. The Second Test was an eight-wicket victory for the Australians, this time dominated by Harvey's 178, with whom Loxton shared a 140-run stand for the fifth wicket, contributing 35 himself. He also took a wicket. The Third Test at Kingsmead
Sahara Stadium Kingsmead
Kingsmead is a cricket ground in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It operates under the sponsorship-based name of Sahara Stadium Kingsmead where Sahara is the trademark of a sponsor from the IT industry. Its stated capacity is 25,000, although grass terracing makes up part of the viewing area....
in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
was dramatic; batting first, South Africa made 311 and Hugh Tayfield
Hugh Tayfield
Hugh Joseph Tayfield was a cricketer. He played 37 Test matches for South Africa from 1949 to 1960 and was one of the best off spinners the game has seen. He was the fastest South African to take 100 wickets in Tests until Dale Steyn claimed the record in March 2008...
then took 7/23 as Australia collapsed to 75 all out after the rain and sun had baked the playing surface into a sticky wicket
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
. During the first innings, Hassett changed his batting order so that his better batsmen were low down in the order so that they could bat in better conditions as the pitch stabilised. Loxton batted at No. 10 and Harvey at No. 9, but the Australians collapsed before the pitch had changed measurably. Not enforcing the follow-on
Follow-on
Follow-on is a term used in the sport of cricket to describe a situation where the team that bats second is forced to take its second batting innings immediately after its first, because the team was not able to get close enough to the score achieved by the first team batting in the first innings...
, the South Africans batted again and were themselves bowled out for 99, losing their last seven wickets for 14 runs. This left Australia to chase 336 runs for victory, highly unlikely as the last 28 wickets had fallen for only 245. The tourists were still more than 200 runs in arrears when Loxton came in to join Harvey. On Loxton’s first ball, a delivery from Tayfield narrowly missed his edge. He survived to lunch after being caught from a no ball
No ball
In the sport of cricket a no ball is a penalty against the fielding team, usually as a result of an illegal delivery by the bowler. The delivery of a no ball results in one run to be added to the batting team's score, and an additional ball must be bowled...
on the long on boundary from a lofted drive. With an unbeaten 151, Harvey took Australia to an improbable five-wicket victory, supported by his fellow Victorian, who scored 54 in a century partnership.
The Fourth Test of the series was a high-scoring draw, Loxton making six in his only innings. His 43 in the final Test of the series was overshadowed by centuries for three of his team-mates, in an innings win that sealed the series 4–0. In the Test series as a whole, the Victorian all-rounder made 255 runs at an average of 42.50, but bowled only 34 overs in taking two wickets. He made little impact on the tour matches after the start of the Tests, passing fifty twice and taking two wickets from 13 overs in five matches. For the entire tour, Loxton totaled 809 first-class runs at 40.45 and took 12 wickets.
Final Tests
Loxton had an unproductive time during the 1950–51 Australian season. He lost his Test place after three matches, and in Sheffield Shield games his highest score for the season was just 62. In the first match of the season, he made four for Victoria against Freddie Brown's touring team, a portent of the coming season. However, he did bounce back in the final match before the Tests, scoring 62 and 37 and taking 3/24 against New South Wales. The First Test of the Ashes series at Brisbane was decided largely by a tropical storm that completely changed the nature of the pitch after the first day. The Australian all-rounder had by then been the victim of a spectacular catch by England wicket-keeper Godfrey EvansGodfrey Evans
Thomas Godfrey Evans CBE was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England.Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches...
, making 24 in Australia's 228. He picked up five catches—his first Test catches in his tenth match—as the Australians surrounded the English batsmen, who made 7/68 on the sticky wicket before Brown declared to force the Australian batsmen to suffer on the treacherous surface. Loxton was out for a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
in the second innings, unable to cope with the conditions, as did most of his compatriots. Australia collapsed to 3/0 before reaching 7/32, at which point Hassett declared after 78 minutes of batting. England fell to 6/30 at stumps in pursuit of 193. Twenty wickets had fallen in four hours, while only 102 runs had been scored. Australia eventually won the match by 71 runs.
In the Second Test 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...
, his last at his home ground, Loxton's 32 formed part of a stand of 84 with Hassett, the highest partnership in a closely fought, low-scoring game in which no team passed 200. He again failed in the second innings, scoring two as Australia scraped home by 28 runs. After contributing 17 in a total of 426 in the Third Test 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...
, which Australia won by an innings to take an unassailable 3–0 series lead, he was dropped in favour of Jim Burke
Jim Burke (cricketer)
James Wallace Burke was an Australian cricketer who played in 24 Tests from 1951 to 1959.- Early years :...
, who scored a century on debut. The Victorian never played Test cricket again.
Loxton returned to play for Victoria, and although he struggled for runs, managing only three fifties for the season, wickets came regularly. He took match totals of 4/55 and 3/24 against Queensland, 4/55 against South Australia and 2/23 against Western Australia; Victoria won all four matches, and claimed the Sheffield Shield. Playing in seven of the eight matches, he scored 309 runs at 30.90 and taking 16 wickets at 12.56.
Later cricket
Although his Test career had finished, Loxton continued to play for his state. He had another disappointing season with the bat in 1951–52, scoring only 322 runs at 24.76 in nine matches. After winning the opening match of the season against Western Australia, he did not taste victory again until the final fixture of the summer against South Australia, in which he scored 71—his only fifty of the season—and took a total of 4/37 in an innings victory. Victoria lost three times and would have suffered a fourth defeat but for Loxton’s unbeaten 41 against Queensland, which helped them to hold on for a draw with one wicket intact. He continued to take regular wickets, ending with 21 scalps at 31.00 for the season, including an innings best of 4/56, but he managed a total of only 4/249 against New South Wales, who went on to win the competition.Loxton had a more productive campaign during the 1952–53 season, scoring 470 runs at 33.57 and taking 23 wickets at 26.26 in nine matches. He broke through for his first first-class century in three years when he made 169 against New South Wales, but it was not enough to prevent an innings defeat. He scored 60 and took a match total of 5/102 in a match for Victoria against the touring South Africans early in the season, but this was not enough for him to regain his Test position. He bowled with steady results throughout the season, never taking more than three wickets in an innings and five in a match.
In 1953–54, Loxton was part of a Commonwealth team that toured India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
during the Australian season, playing in 15 first-class matches. He played in all five of the matches that were termed as "unofficial Tests" on this tour. The Victorian's first month on tour was keynoted by his bowling. He took 12 wickets at 19.75 but scored only 115 runs at 23.00 without passing 25 in the first four matches.
Loxton had no success in the first representative match, scoring 2 and 6 and taking 0/72 in an innings defeat. However, his fortunes turned in the next match against Bombay
Mumbai cricket team
The Mumbai cricket team is a cricket team representing the city of Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket. It is the most successful team in the Ranji Trophy, India's top domestic cricket competition, with 39 titles, the most recent being in 2009–10. The team's home ground is the Wankhede Stadium in...
, when he took 5/92, the first five-wicket innings haul in his first-class career. He also scored 123, but was unable to force a victory. He carried the form into the next representative match, scoring 55 and taking a total of 3/99 in a drawn encounter. The Victorian continued his all-round form against Bengal
Bengal cricket team
Bengal cricket team is considered Eastern India's strongest cricket team, it is the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy and were runners-up twice consecutively in the 2005-06 and the 2006-07 season. Their ranks are occasionally bolstered by the return of Sourav Ganguly to the domestic competition...
, scoring 100 and taking 5/87 in an innings victory. His form tapered away thereafter and he failed to pass 40 and took only a total of only four wickets in the three remaining representative matches. The Commonwealth outfit won the third match but lost the fourth, ceding the series 2–1. Loxton ended the tour with 647 runs at 35.94 and 33 wickets at 31.90, but struggled in the matches against India, scoring 148 runs at 21.14 and taking 7 wickets at 56.14.
After returning to Australia, Loxton had a torrid time with the bat in the 1954–55 season, scoring only 126 runs at 14.00 and failing to pass 30 in his six matches. He took 12 wickets at 32.41 for the season, the least number of wickets in any of his first-class seasons. The all-rounder’s best effort was a 4/31 against New South Wales in a match that Victoria lost by nine wickets. Loxton had a more productive summer in 1955–56. In seven matches, he scored 286 runs at 40.85 including an unbeaten century against South Australia, and took 14 wickets at 20.07; his best was a 4/35 in the return match against South Australia. The Sheffield Shield was won by Victoria’s bitter rivals New South Wales in both seasons.
In 1956–57, his penultimate season for Victoria, Loxton—aged nearly 36—scored 134 and took 2/30 to orchestrate an innings victory over South Australia in the second match of the summer. In the penultimate match of the season, which effectively determined the fate of the Sheffield Shield, the Victorian all-rounder took 4/44 to help dismiss New South Wales for 149 and take a 292-run first innings lead. However, the defending champions hung on for a draw to ensure the retention of their title. Loxton then surpassed his previous career best by taking 6/49 against Western Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
to set up a nine-wicket win in the last match of the season.
Loxton retired after playing in the 1957–58 season. With the Test players in South Africa, he made 331 runs at 41.37 including 2 centuries, and took 9 wickets at 26.33 in 8 matches. He made 107 in an innings triumph over Queensland and 106 in a drawn match against South Australia. It was not enough for him to win a third Sheffield Shield title; New South Wales won for the fifth successive time, defeating Victoria in both of their matches. Loxton made little impact in his final match; although the Victorians defeated Queensland, his only participation was to score five runs in the first innings. His highest score remained the 232 not out he had made on his first-class debut.
Loxton continued to play for Prahran until 1962–63, and he topped the batting and bowling averages for the club on five and six occasions respectively. He topped both the batting and bowling averages in the same season on four occasions. The all-rounder scored a total of 6,032 runs and took 351 wickets during his first grade career, and was named the captain of the club's honourary Team of the Century.
Style
An aggressive right-handed all-rounder, Loxton tended to bat in the middle-order, and bowled after the new ball pacemen. As well as being a belligerent batsman, he was a right-arm fast-medium swing bowlerSwing bowling
Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.-Physics of swing bowling:...
known for his ability to move the ball, and a powerful outfielder. He had a strong arm and exploited his power frequently, to the extent that the Australian 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...
Don Tallon
Don Tallon
Donald "Don" Tallon was an Australian cricketer who played 21 Test matches as a wicket-keeper between 1946 and 1953...
complained about the jarring impact of his unnecessarily strong throws when the batsmen were already home and no run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
was possible. Loxton was known for his energetic and aggressive approach to cricket, and liked to attack and intimidate opposition batsmen. In one match in the late-1950s, he bowled an eight-ball over at New South Welshman Norm O'Neill
Norm O'Neill
Norman Clifford O'Neill OAM was an cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-handed batsman known for his back foot strokeplay, O'Neill made his state debut aged 18, before progressing to Test selection aged 21 in late 1958...
consisting entirely of bouncers
Bouncer (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bouncer is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. It is pitched short so that it bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rears up to chest or head height as it reaches the batsman.Bouncers are used tactically to drive the batsman back on to his...
aimed at the upper body. Loxton was not afraid of opposition bowlers doing the same to him; he had a penchant for trying to hook bouncers out of the ground. He was a predominantly back-foot player whose initial foot-movement tended to be back and towards and then across the stumps. When he committed to a back foot shot, Loxton often made such a decisive retreat that he almost stepped onto his stumps. One painter once captured the Victorian almost disturbing the woodwork with his right leg, leading Loxton to quip "That's what I call using the crease". Hassett said that his fellow Victorian "really used to give everything he had all the time… Put him on to bowl and he'd bowl his hardest, no matter how he felt." Bradman said that Loxton "never shirked the issue" and that "he’d throw himself into it with everything he had. This is one of the reasons he was a great team man. You could call on him at any stage and he’d give you his very best." Bradman said that the Victorian all-rounder "was never a great cricketer in the sense that some others were great, but he was a very good player and what he lacked in ability he made up for in effort". He further added that the Victorian was "the very essence of belligerence...His whole attitude suggests defiance and when he hits the ball it is the music of a sledgehammer." Former Test leg spinner Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (cricketer)
William Joseph "Bill" O'Reilly , often known as Tiger O'Reilly, was an Australian cricketer, rated as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster.O'Reilly was one of the best spin bowlers to...
, while agreeing that Loxton was always energetic, regarded his bowling as being too dull and predictable to have any major impact at the highest level, and thought that the Victorian all-rounder’s career would have been best served by saving his energy purely for batting.
As a footballer, Loxton usually played as a forward, but was also used as a full-back and alternated between the two positions. He was known for his physical strength; another VFL player who had a reputation as an "enforcer" tried to bump him and later said that the collision made him feel as though he had run into a goalpost. According to Robert Coleman, Loxton was "competitive, pugnacious and outspoken, with a doglike loyalty to everyone and everything he served, whether it was his captain, his team, his party, his premier or his constituents."
Manager in 1959–60
Loxton was the manager of the 1959–60 Australian team that toured Pakistan and India. By this time, only two colleagues from the 1948 Invincibles tour—Harvey and Ray LindwallRay Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
—remained. The Victorian was the first manager since World War II to not also be a member of the Australian Board of Control
Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
. It was widely believed that the high-ranking administrators saw the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
as an unenviable appointment; on past tours, many players had fallen seriously ill, suffered food poisoning, and found the oppressive heat and third world living conditions hard to bear. Some players were reluctant to tour and wanted to opt out. Loxton felt that his experience with the Commonwealth XI six years earlier was a factor in his selection and suspected that he was the only applicant, quipping "what board member would be silly enough to go there?"
Loxton was known for his blunt nature, and his appointment to a post that required him to liaise with cricket officials from opposing nations raised eyebrows. The cricket historian Gideon Haigh
Gideon Haigh
Gideon 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...
wrote "Thoughts of such a gruff, soldierly man acting the diplomat had caused great ribaldry". In a speech at a cricket dinner, his former captain Hassett joked "I would advise Mr [Prime Minister] Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
to have army and navy standing by. A week after Sam gets to India, war is bound to break out."
On the field, the Australians—captained by Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
—were successful. They defeated Pakistan 2–0 in three Tests, and India 2–1 over five matches. Australia’s only other Test win on Pakistani soil came in 1998 and they have only won two series in India since the Benaud-Loxton expedition. They also remained unbeaten outside the Test matches. Despite the success with bat and ball, the Australians were struck down by serious illness during the second part of their tour in India, despite taking Dr. Ian McDonald—a former Victorian first-class cricketer—with the travelling party. Gordon Rorke
Gordon Rorke
Gordon Frederick Rorke is a former Australian cricketer who played in 4 Tests in 1959.Rorke made his Test debut in January 1959 in the Fourth Test of The Ashes series against England in Adelaide...
, Lindsay Kline
Lindsay Kline
Lindsay Francis Kline is former Australian and Victorian cricketer. He played in 13 Tests for Australia and 88 first-class matches between 1955/56 and 1961/1962...
and Gavin Stevens
Gavin Stevens
Gavin Byron Stevens is a former Australian cricketer who played in 4 Tests from 1959 to 1960....
all contracted hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
; the former two were sent home, while the latter was too ill to fly back to Australia until the end of the tour. Harvey said that Stevens—who never played first-class cricket again after his illness—"could've been the first man to die on tour". Due to the bevy of unfit players, Loxton was forced to line up in one game, against Indian Universities in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, two years after playing his last first-class match. He scored 33 and bowled six overs without taking a wicket in a high-scoring draw.
There were several administrative difficulties during the tour. Bill Dowling—the chairman of the Australian Board of Control—had informed Loxton that no Test match was to begin until a receipt for 6,500 pounds had been handed over to Australian authorities. The Australian manager had also been told to rebuff any Pakistani overtures for a reciprocal tour, as it was feared that they lacked public appeal and would have caused financial losses due to a fall in ticket sales. Despite previous assurances to prepare turf pitches
Cricket pitch
In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
, the locals made a matting surface for the First Test. During the Second Test, when asked by General Ayub Khan—head of the ruling military junta—why Pakistan had not been invited to Australia, Loxton exploited the opportunity to complain about the wickets. When the tourists were greeted by another matting track in the Third Test, Ayub threatened to shoot the groundsmen if they prepared any more non-turf surfaces. The financial issue reared its head before the Second Test against India in Kanpur, when Loxton belligerently refused to start the match after the payment had failed to arrive on time. An Indian official asked the Australian manager to not "spoil a beautiful friendship over money", to which the Australian manager replied "Try me. I want it please…You know the rules." The match proceeded after the cheque was delivered, and India inflicted Australia's only defeat for the tour and their first Test win over the visitors. Another mishap occurred during the Fifth Test at Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata , India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground. It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity...
in Calcutta; the Australians left their hotel and took to the field with ten men, having failed to notice that Ian Meckiff
Ian Meckiff
Ian Meckiff is a former cricketer who represented Australia in 18 Tests between 1957 and 1963...
had overslept and been left behind by the team bus. During the First Test against Pakistan in Dacca
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, one of the umpires took off his shoes and put them on the ground while play was in progress. Loxton took a photo of the scene and lodged it to cricket authorities, asking them to make a ruling on whether a batsman would be out if the ball struck the umpire’s loose shoes and bounced up into a fielder’s hands. However, he never received a reply.
Political career
Loxton joined the ArmadaleArmadale, Victoria
Armadale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Armadale had a population of 8,467....
branch of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
in 1950. Henry Bolte
Henry Bolte
Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG was an Australian politician. He was the 38th and longest serving Premier of Victoria.- Early years :...
, the Liberal leader in Victoria, was the state opposition leader at the time, and encouraged him to enter politics. The cricketer’s entry into electoral politics came after he was involved in a debate at a cricket club meeting. A person at the gathering reported his argumentative performance to senior Liberal Party figures, and soon after, Bolte began actively courting the cricketer. On 28 September 1954, Loxton won pre-selection and was endorsed as the Liberal candidate for the electorate of Prahran
Electoral district of Prahran
Prahran is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. It is a 12km² electorate in the inner south-east of Melbourne, taking in the suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor, as well as parts of Balaclava, St Kilda, St Kilda East and Toorak...
. At the time, the seat was comfortably held by the ruling Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
(ALP), who had captured 61.59% of the vote at the previous election. The Liberals were not optimistic about their chances, and Bolte told his candidate "You won't win [the seat], but we'd like you to fly the flag".
The cricketer refused to think that his candidacy was simply there to make up the numbers, and he told Bolte as much. The start of the election campaign coincided with the 1954–55 grade cricket finals. Loxton took 7 wickets and scored 129 runs to help Prahran claim the title for the first time in 32 years, and was hailed as a local hero. It capped off a season in which he topped the competition batting averages and took the most wickets. In a close-run contest, the cricketer defeated the sitting ALP member Bob Pettiona by only 14 votes on the two party preferred count. He was aided by preferences from the Democratic Labor Party
Democratic Labor Party (historical)
The Democratic Labor Party was an Australian political party that existed from 1955 until 1978.-History:The DLP was formed as a result of a split in the Australian Labor Party that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V...
(DLP), which had broken away from the ALP during the 1950s, claiming that the root organisation was too soft towards communism; fears of left-wing influence was causing great concern in Australian society at the time. Loxton polled 35.70% of the first preferences, well behind Pettiona's 47.25%, but received almost all of the DLP's 13.66% of the vote as preferences to end with 50.04%. The result helped bring Bolte's Liberals to power, and they stayed in office until 1982, by which time Loxton had retired.
Loxton entered the Victorian parliament
Parliament of Victoria
The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of The Queen, represented by the Governor of Victoria; the Legislative Council ; and the Legislative Assembly...
in 1955, and served as government whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
from 1961 until his retirement in 1979. At the time of his election, he was the youngest member of parliament, and was given the honour of making the Address-in-Reply, the first speech after opening of the new sitting by the governor, using it to advocate increased lending from the government-owned banks to promote higher levels of home ownership. At the 1958 election, Loxton consolidated his hold on the seat, leading on first preferences (43.67%), and ending with 54.85% of the two party preferred vote to halt Pettiona's attempted comeback. During the election campaign in 1961, a campaign meeting in Prahran that was attended by Premier Bolte and Loxton drew several hundred people and descended into chaos; heckling and some scuffles broke out. At this election, the Liberals' primary vote fell to 41.69% behind the ALP's 45.29%, and he had to rely on DLP preferences to retain the seat with a reduced two party preferred vote of 52.71%. The Liberals may have been hindered by a how-to-vote card circulated on election day by a third party that had a pro-Liberal headline, but instructed the reader to mark the ALP candidate as their first preference. Loxton managed to secure a court injunction—believed to be the first of its kind in Victoria—prohibiting further distribution of the material, but not before hundreds of misleading instructions had been disseminated.
In 1964, Loxton increased his primary vote to 45.77% and defeated Pettiona for the third time, ending with a fairly safe 57.72% after the distribution of preferences. In 1967, the retired cricketer repelled a political challenge by Jack Dyer
Jack Dyer
John Raymond Dyer Sr. OAM , always known as Jack Dyer, was one of the colossal figures of Australian rules football during two distinct careers, firstly as a player and coach of the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1931 and 1952, and later in the broadcast media for...
, an iconic former footballer of the Richmond Tigers famed as one of the toughest players in history, and retained his seat at further elections in 1970, 1973 and 1976 before opting to retire at the 1979 poll. Without Loxton's personal appeal, the Liberals lost the seat to the ALP upon his departure. As he continued to play first-class cricket for three years after his election to parliament, he was a busy man, and team-mates described him as a hard-working representative, recalling that he often brought his political paperwork to the ground with him, going through the material while waiting in the dressing room for his turn to bat. Although he was a low-key presence in the parliamentary chambers, Loxton served on the library committee from 1958 to 1961, and he was known for his work ethic and thorough approach, as well as his "sporting charisma".
Cricket administration
Loxton continued to involve himself in cricket administration after his retirement as a player. He was a Victorian selector from 1957 to 1980–81 and the Prahran delegate to the Victorian Cricket AssociationCricket Victoria
Cricket Victoria is the governing body for the sport of cricket in Victoria. It was formed on 29 September 1875 as the Victorian Cricket Association...
(VCA) from 1955–56 to 1979–80. Loxton was Prahran's vice president and was involved in coaching and selecting teams, and his service to the club was honoured with life membership. He served as a MCG trustee from 1962 to 1982. The Victorian was appointed as the manager for Australia's tour of India in 1969–70 but had to withdraw due to a clash of commitments. In his absence, the campaign hit rocky waters. Although Australia won 3–1, the players became disgruntled with the arrangements made by the administrators, while rancorous incidents leading to crowd riots were frequent.
He was a Test selector for the Australian team from 1970 to 1981, filling the vacancy left by the retirement of former Test captain Ryder. Loxton's tenure on the selection panel coincided with a period of great upheaval in Australian cricket, on and off the field. Up until 1965, Australia had never lost a Test series to any country other than England, and their bilateral contests were regarded as the de facto world championship. However, in the next five years, Australia lost away to the West Indies 2–1, and to South Africa twice, 3–1 and 4–0 respectively. The former all-rounder became a selector after the whitewash in South Africa, joining Bradman and Harvey on the panel. During the 1970–71 home series against England, which Australia lost 2–1, the trio made a raft of changes, handing debuts to nine players, the largest number in a season since 1945–46 when competition resumed after World War II. One of the new players that Harvey and Loxton recommended to Bradman was Dennis Lillee
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
, who went on to become one of Australia's greatest fast bowlers and the world’s leading wicket-taker. However, the season ended acrimoniously when captain Bill Lawry
Bill Lawry
William Morris "Bill" Lawry, AM is a former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Tests, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia in the inaugural One Day International match, played in 1971...
was sacked before the final Test without being informed of his fate; he only learned of his omission second hand.
In 1977, Loxton helped to select David Hookes
David Hookes
David William Hookes was an Australian cricketer, broadcaster and coach of the Victorian cricket team. An aggressive left-handed batsman, Hookes usually batted in the middle order...
to make his debut in the Centenary Test
Centenary Test
Centenary Test refers to two matches of Test cricket played between the English cricket team and the Australian cricket team, the first in 1977 and the second in 1980. These matches were played to mark the 100th anniversaries of the first Test cricket matches played in Australia and in England ...
, after receiving a recommendation from Bradman, who had retired from the panel. Hookes famously struck five consecutive fours in one Tony Greig
Tony Greig
Anthony "Tony" William Greig is a former English Test cricketer and currently a commentator.Born in Queenstown, South Africa, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish father. He was a tall batting all-rounder who bowled both medium pace and off spin. He became captain of the...
over in an Australian win. The later period of Loxton's tenure was thrown into chaos when most of the leading players abandoned the existing establishment to sign contracts with the breakaway 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...
—which offered substantially more remuneration—meaning that an almost-entirely new team had to be cobbled together; the 42-year-old Bob Simpson
Bob Simpson (cricketer)
Robert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
was brought out of a decade of retirement to lead the outfit. During this time, Australia's depleted team suffered many heavy defeats.
During the 1970s, Loxton also became more disillusioned with cricket, as player behaviour deteriorated and incidences of verbal hostility and altercations increased. The former all-rounder was known for his vigorous advocacy of the more sedate and gentlemanly conduct that existed during his playing days and felt that he and his fellow administrators were losing control of the sport.
In February 1981, matters came to a head. Loxton, who was watching a 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...
between Australia and New Zealand at the MCG in his role as a selector, broke down and wept after Australian 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...
infamously ordered his younger brother Trevor
Trevor Chappell
Trevor Martin Chappell is a former Australian cricketer, a member of the South Australian Chappell family which excelled at cricket...
to exploit a loophole and bowl underarm to eliminate the chance of a defeat. Loxton saw the Australian skipper's action as a "betrayal" of cricket. He turned to a fellow official and remarked "The game's gone! Money has become the god and winning is everything."
At a VCA meeting in April 1981, Loxton announced that he was severing all connections with organised cricket. He initially said that he was resigning for family reasons, as he would be moving to the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
with his wife. However, he proceeded to give a blunt 15-minute speech, claiming that he had lost the art of communicating with the players and expressing his disenchantment with some aspects of the game, a reference to the declining player conduct. After relocating to the Gold Coast, he was unable to turn his back on cricket, and umpired matches at local level into his 70s. Although he is now severely visually impaired, Loxton still attends matches and asks his companions to describe the proceedings for him; ever opinionated and blunt, he still offers advice to local cricketers.
Other work and personal life
Prior to entering politics, Loxton worked as a bank teller. In 1956, television began in Australia, and he participated in the nation's first generation of sports telecasting. Loxton was a commentator on GTV-9Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
for the Melbourne Summer Olympics
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
held in late 1956, and his co-commentators included American track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
icon Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
. After leaving parliament, the former politician joined the property developers Ellis, Sallmann and Seward.
Loxton served as an administrator with various local groups. He was vice-president of the Victorian School for Deaf Children, president of the Prahran Technical School Council and a member of the Prahran College of Advanced Education Council. With regards to housing and social inclusion issues, he served as a committee member of the Glen Loch Home for the Aged and chairman of the Deakin Co-operative Housing Society.
His opinions on contemporary cricket are still frequently sought. "People get a bit worried about me," he told Cricinfo
Cricinfo
ESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
in 2008, "Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
's been a fine bowler—no doubt about it, he's done some wonderful things—but Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (cricketer)
William Joseph "Bill" O'Reilly , often known as Tiger O'Reilly, was an Australian cricketer, rated as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster.O'Reilly was one of the best spin bowlers to...
and Clarrie Grimmett
Clarrie Grimmett
Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett was a cricketer; although born in New Zealand, he played most of his cricket in Australia. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper.Grimmett was born in Caversham a suburb of Dunedin,...
, who have better strike-rates per match than Warne and never played against a 2nd XI [a reference to the likes of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe]—they only played against the best—had no rough to bowl at. I never had to bat to a leg-spinner who bowled into the rough outside my leg stump, and I played for a long time."
Loxton married three times. He divorced his first wife Hilda in February 1952 after a nine-year union that had produced no children so that he could remarry. The cricketer then wed Caryl Bond, whom he had met during the 1949–50 tour of South Africa, and the pair had two sons. Loxton later divorced Bond and wed his third wife Joan Shiels. In 2000, one of his sons and his third wife died on the same day, due to a shark attack in Fiji and drowning in the family swimming pool, respectively. He now lives alone and is still mobile despite being in his late-80s and being almost blind.
Test match performance
| Batting | Bowling | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | Matches | Runs | Average | High Score | 100 / 50 | Runs | Wickets | Average | Best (Inns) |
| England | 6 | 219 | 27.37 | 93 | 0/1 | 174 | 3 | 58.00 | 3/55 |
| India | 1 | 80 | 80.00 | 80 | 0/1 | 71 | 3 | 23.66 | 2/61 |
| South Africa | 5 | 255 | 42.50 | 101 | 1/1 | 104 | 2 | 51.00 | 1/7 |
| Overall | 12 | 554 | 36.93 | 101 | 1/3 | 349 | 8 | 43.62 | 3/5 |