Australia’s thrashing the Poms in Ashes cricket at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, near where my family live. My brother Paul took me to the Gabba in late 1989 to watch a match. Come on Aussie come on!
It’s the hot wet season in Queensland right now. There are storms and lots of nitrogen in the air. The farmers love it.
Watching the cricket makes me feel homesick. Australia’s teams and fans are all white. There’s something about their Anglo-Saxon names and solid WASPy looks and mannerisms that reminds me of my youth.
I’ve never seen a black guy play test cricket for Australia (a lot of blacks play rugby for Australia. “Sam Morris was the first black Test cricketer and the only one to play for Australia. He was born in Tasmania, according to some reports the son of West Indian parents attracted by the gold-rush, became recognised as a wicket-keeper there and moved into first-class cricket as a batsman and medium-paced bowler after becoming appointed curator at the St Kilda ground in Melbourne. He played his only Test, at Melbourne in 1884-85, after the entire team from the previous Test had pulled out after a row about their share of the gate money. The team was predictably beaten buf Morris dismissed two of England’s top three and opened the batting in the first innings, when he was out for four. He remained a regular player for Victoria for the next eight years. He was curator at South Melbourne for 30 years from 1887, giving up only when he lost his sight.”
A lot of Jews have played test cricket for Australia. Here’s a list of Jewish first-class cricketers, including several for Australia’s test teams:
Ali Bacher, South Africa, batsman and administrator (relative of Adam Bacher)[68]
Mike Barnard, England, cricketer[68]
Mark Bott, England, cricketer[69]
Dennis Gamsy, South Africa, Test wicket-keeper[70]
Darren Gerard, England, cricketer[71]
Norman Gordon, South Africa, fast bowler[68]
Steven Herzberg, English-born Australian, cricketer[72]
Michael Klinger, Australia, batsman (Southern Redbacks)[68]
Leonard “Jock” Livingston, Australia, cricketer[68]
Bev Lyon, England, cricketer[68]
Dar Lyon, England, cricketer (brother of Bev)[68]
Jason Molins, Ireland, cricketer[72]
Jon Moss, Australia, allrounder (Victorian Bushrangers)[68]
John Raphael, England, batsman[68]
Marshall Rosen, NSW Australia, cricketer and selector[73]
Lawrence Seeff, South Africa, batsmen[74]
Maurice Sievers, Australia, lower order batsman and fast-medium bowler[68]
Bensiyon Songavkar, India, cricketer, MVP of 2009 Maccabiah Games cricket tournament[75]
Fred Susskind, South Africa, Test batsman[68]
Fred Trueman, England, fast bowler[68]
Julien Wiener, Australia, Test cricketer[68]
Mandy Yachad, South Africa, Test cricketer[68]
