Tom Brooks
Encyclopedia
Thomas Francis Brooks OAM
(born 28 March 1919 - 16 July 2007) was an Australian Test cricket match umpire who was born in Paddington, New South Wales
. Brooks had earlier played first class cricket for NSW and was the last Australian umpire to have both umpired in a Test match
and played first class cricket.
er Brooks was a right-arm fast bowler who played 16 matches for New South Wales
, between 1946/47 and 1952/53 seasons, taking 65 wickets at an average of 22.50, and scoring 192 runs at 16.00. Jack Pollard
described him as a “spirited” bowler “who moved the ball appreciably in the air. He played first with the Waverley
club but later with the Manly
club.
between 1970 and 1978. His first match was between Australia
and England
at Brisbane
on 27 November to 2 December 1970, a drawn match in which Keith Stackpole
scored 207 and Doug Walters
a century. Brooks’ partner was Lou Rowan
.
He was appointed to umpire what would have been the third of that series, with Rowan, which was scheduled for Melbourne
, but the test was abandoned without a ball bowled. Notwithstanding that Brooks and Rowan were required to make decisions on several occasions during the first three days scheduled for play, relating to the possibility of play following any number of inspections of pitch and surrounds, the International Cricket Council
(I.C.C.) decided that the test could not be recognised as such. A 40-over match was played in place of the test and was won by Australia by 5 wickets. Brooks (and Rowan) thus became the first umpires to stand in a One Day International match. Brooks stood in one other ODI, in 1975.
on 12 February to 17 February 1971, was a dramatic game won by England by 62 runs to regain the Ashes
. In this match captain Ray Illingworth
led the English players from the field following a crowd disturbance after fast bowler John Snow
had hit Australian lower-order batsman Terry Jenner
on the head with a bouncer
. Brooks’ colleague Lou Rowan had issued Snow with a warning for intimidatory bowling and Snow’s and Illingworth’s displeasure was clear to the crowd who booed passionately. When Snow finished his over and moved to his fielding position on the boundary, he was grabbed by a spectator, and had beer-cans thrown at him. Following the English walk-off, Illingworth was advised by the umpires either to resume or forfeit the match, and the players returned after the ground was cleared.
was cancelled following political and moral protests against the apartheid
policies of the South African government. In its place a ‘World Team’ visited Australia and played a series of matches against Australia, which although first class, were never officially recognised as Test matches. Brooks stood in three of those matches.
took 11 wickets, Rod Marsh
finally achieved a century against England, debutant David Hookes
hit English captain Tony Greig
for five consecutive fours, Rick McCosker
batted with a broken jaw, and Derek Randall
scored a gallant 174, in a memorable match, attended by many of the past great names of Australian and English cricket.
on 15 December to 20 December 1978, won by England by 166 runs, in spite of 10 wickets in the match to Rodney Hogg
. Brooks’ colleague was Robin Bailhache
. Afterwards it was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald (Mossop) and the Adelaide Advertiser (Coward), that he admitted that his nerve had cracked in the match. This was never said in any form and following legal representation a retraction was later printed by the Sydney Morning Herald, on the basis that its report had been obtained from a source found not to be as trustworthy as was originally thought. The Adelaide Advertiser provided both a published and private apology.
and on the basis of points allocated out of ten per match by the various county captains relating to performance, there were only 5 (out of 28) first class umpires who accumulated more.
Brooks received an Order of Australia
medal for his services to Cricket and Baseball in 1985.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 28 March 1919 - 16 July 2007) was an Australian Test cricket match umpire who was born in Paddington, New South Wales
Paddington, New South Wales
Paddington is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Paddington is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Sydney and the Municipality of Woollahra...
. Brooks had earlier played first class cricket for NSW and was the last Australian umpire to have both umpired 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...
and played first class cricket.
First Class Playing Career
As a first-class cricketFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
er Brooks was a right-arm fast bowler who played 16 matches for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
, between 1946/47 and 1952/53 seasons, taking 65 wickets at an average of 22.50, and scoring 192 runs at 16.00. Jack Pollard
Jack Pollard
Jack Ernest Pollard OAM was an Australian sports journalist, writer and cricket historian.-Early life:Born in Sydney, New South Wales on 31 July 1926, Pollard began his journalism career in 1943 as a copy boy at Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper...
described him as a “spirited” bowler “who moved the ball appreciably in the air. He played first with the Waverley
Waverley, New South Wales
Waverley is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waverley is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council....
club but later with the Manly
Manly, New South Wales
Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Manly is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:Manly was named...
club.
International Umpiring Career
He umpired 23 Test matchesTest 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...
between 1970 and 1978. His first match was between Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
and England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
at Brisbane
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
on 27 November to 2 December 1970, a drawn match in which Keith Stackpole
Keith Stackpole
Keith Raymond Stackpole Junior is a former Victorian and Australian cricketer who played in 43 Tests and 6 ODIs from 1966 to 1974, who is now a radio cricket commentator...
scored 207 and Doug Walters
Doug Walters
Kevin Douglas Walters MBE in Dungog New South Wales, known as Doug Walters, is a former Australian cricketer. He was known as an attacking batsman, and also as a typical ocker.-First-class career:...
a century. Brooks’ partner was Lou Rowan
Lou Rowan
Louis Patrick “Lou” Rowan , was an Australian Test cricket match umpire.He umpired 25 Test matches between 1963 and 1971. His first match was between Australian and England at Sydney on 11 January to 15 January 1963, when Alan Davidson took 9/79, and Bobby Simpson took 5/57 and made 91 and 36 not...
.
He was appointed to umpire what would have been the third of that series, with Rowan, which was scheduled for Melbourne
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...
, but the test was abandoned without a ball bowled. Notwithstanding that Brooks and Rowan were required to make decisions on several occasions during the first three days scheduled for play, relating to the possibility of play following any number of inspections of pitch and surrounds, the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
(I.C.C.) decided that the test could not be recognised as such. A 40-over match was played in place of the test and was won by Australia by 5 wickets. Brooks (and Rowan) thus became the first umpires to stand in a One Day International match. Brooks stood in one other ODI, in 1975.
Snow-Jenner Incident
The last Test match of the 1970/71 series, at SydneySydney 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...
on 12 February to 17 February 1971, was a dramatic game won by England by 62 runs to regain the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. In this match captain Ray Illingworth
Ray Illingworth
Raymond Illingworth, CBE is a former English cricketer, cricket commentator and cricket administrator. He was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in First class cricket, and the last one to do so...
led the English players from the field following a crowd disturbance after fast bowler John Snow
John Snow (cricketer)
John Augustine Snow played cricket for Sussex and England in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite being the son of a country vicar and publishing two volumes of poetry Snow was England's most formidable fast bowler between Fred Trueman and Bob Willis and played Test Matches with both of them at either end...
had hit Australian lower-order batsman Terry Jenner
Terry Jenner
Terrence James Jenner was an Australian cricketer who played nine Tests and one ODI from 1970 to 1975. He was primarily a leg-spin bowler and was known for his attacking, loopy style of bowling, but he was also a handy lower-order batsman...
on the head with a bouncer
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...
. Brooks’ colleague Lou Rowan had issued Snow with a warning for intimidatory bowling and Snow’s and Illingworth’s displeasure was clear to the crowd who booed passionately. When Snow finished his over and moved to his fielding position on the boundary, he was grabbed by a spectator, and had beer-cans thrown at him. Following the English walk-off, Illingworth was advised by the umpires either to resume or forfeit the match, and the players returned after the ground was cleared.
World XI
In 1971/72 season, a scheduled tour of Australia by South AfricaSouth African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
was cancelled following political and moral protests against the apartheid
History of South Africa in the apartheid era
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained...
policies of the South African government. In its place a ‘World Team’ visited Australia and played a series of matches against Australia, which although first class, were never officially recognised as Test matches. Brooks stood in three of those matches.
Centenary Test
Brooks stood, with Max O’Connell in the Centenary Test Match between Australia and England, played at Melbourne on 12 March to 17 March 1977, won by Australia by 45 runs – identical to the result of the first Test 100 years before. Dennis LilleeDennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
took 11 wickets, Rod Marsh
Rod Marsh
Rodney William Marsh MBE is a former Australian wicketkeeper.A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same number his pace bowling Western...
finally achieved a century against England, debutant 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...
hit English captain 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...
for five consecutive fours, Rick McCosker
Rick McCosker
Richard Bede McCosker is a former New South Wales and Australian cricketer.McCosker played in 25 Tests and 14 One Day Internationals in a career spanning 1975 to 1982 playing as a right hand batsman....
batted with a broken jaw, and Derek Randall
Derek Randall
Derek William Randall is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire, and Tests and ODIs for England in the late 1970s and early 1980s....
scored a gallant 174, in a memorable match, attended by many of the past great names of Australian and English cricket.
Last Test Match
Brooks’ last Test match was also between Australia and England at PerthWACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
on 15 December to 20 December 1978, won by England by 166 runs, in spite of 10 wickets in the match to Rodney Hogg
Rodney Hogg
Rodney Malcolm Hogg is a former Victorian, South Australian and Australian cricketer. He was a fast bowler. Hogg played in 38 Tests and 71 ODIs between 1978 and 1985. In Tests he took 123 wickets at an average of 28.47.-Career:...
. Brooks’ colleague was Robin Bailhache
Robin Bailhache
Robin Carl Bailhache, , is a former Australian Test cricket match umpire.He umpired 27 Test matches between 1974 and 1988. His first match was between Australia and England at Brisbane on 29 November to 4 December 1974, won by Australia by 166 runs with Jeff Thomson taking 9 wickets...
. Afterwards it was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald (Mossop) and the Adelaide Advertiser (Coward), that he admitted that his nerve had cracked in the match. This was never said in any form and following legal representation a retraction was later printed by the Sydney Morning Herald, on the basis that its report had been obtained from a source found not to be as trustworthy as was originally thought. The Adelaide Advertiser provided both a published and private apology.
Career Summary/Honours
He officiated 95 first-class matches in his career between 1967 and 1979. In 1977 he stood for a full season in the English County ChampionshipCounty Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
and on the basis of points allocated out of ten per match by the various county captains relating to performance, there were only 5 (out of 28) first class umpires who accumulated more.
Brooks received an Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
medal for his services to Cricket and Baseball in 1985.