Tour of New Zealand 1945-46                      Captain: Bill Brown

Twentieth Australian Test tour

First Test-playing tour of New Zealand by Australia

(February -

         April 1946)

International cricket was resumed after the Second World War. The tenth tour of New Zealand by an Australian national side was the first to include an official Test match, although the match at Wellington was not so designated until 1948.  

Previous Australian visits to New Zealand had taken place incidentally in 1878, 1880, 1886, 1896 and 1905 en route to or returning from England. The four latest tours were made specifically to New Zealand: 1909-10, 1913-14, 1920-21 and 1927-28. 

Bill Brown led the team. Lindsay Hassett, who was the popular captain of the Australian Forces team in 1945, was discarded by the Australian Board, gaining only one of 13 votes for the captaincy. 

Only Brown, Hassett, Bill O'Reilly and Sid Barnes had represented Australia before the War, while Hamence, McCool, Miller, Johnson and Tallon had appeared in pre-War first-class matches.

When the Test match ended early in an easy Australian victory, the tourists gave a two-hour batting exhibition.

All Australian tours

Previous tour

England 1938

Next tour

England 1948

Next tour to New Zealand

1973-74

Members of the Test tour party (13)

Openers:  Bill Brown, Ken Meuleman

Batsmen: Lindsay Hassett, Ron Hamence, Sidney Barnes, Keith Miller

Wicket-keeper: Don Tallon

Slow bowlers: Bruce Dooland, Ian Johnson, Bill O’Reilly, Colin McCool

Medium-paced: Ernie Toshack

Fast bowler: Ray Lindwall

State representation

  Sheffield Shield teams

N   New South Wales (3)

Q   Queensland (4)

S   South Australia (2)

V   Victoria (4)

W   Western Australia (0)

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

   (29 March 1946) :

       29 yrs  5 months.

Key to type:

RHB Right-handed bat

RM  Right arm medium-paced bowler

RFM  Right-arm fast medium

OB   Off break

WK  Wicket-keeper

Test Appearances made before the tour

O'Reilly 26,  Brown 16,  Hassett 4,  Barnes 1,  Dooland 0,  Hamence 0,  Johnson 0,  Lindwall 0,  McCool 0,  Meuleman 0,  Miller 0,  Tallon 0,  Toshack 0.

Tour Officials

Mr Yeomans was Chairman of the Victorian cricket association and a delegate to the Board of Control.

Selectors

Don Bradman (South Australia),  Chappie Dwyer (New South Wales),  Jack Ryder (Victoria).

Selection

The Board confirmed Bill Brown's appointment to the captaincy on 12 February.

Unavailable  :  Don Bradman was unfit.  He had been invalided out of the Army but denied reports that he had been confined to bed. 

Arthur Morris was not demobilised from the Pacific in time for the tour.

Tour Party Announced  :  11 February 1946.

"Players were selected mostly on reputation and the form of 1945-46, although that season naturally had been one of carefree irresponsibility after the intensity of five years of war." (Ian Johnson, 'Cricket at the Crossroads'.)

Meuleman could be regarded as the first Western Australian representative to make a Test tour, since he later transferred to that state.

Not selected :  Bill Alley (after scoring 3 centuries in the season, but Hamence got his place).  It was expected that Ben Barnett would be player-manager.  Cec Pepper made an apology to the Australian Board for his outspokeness to the umpire when appealing against Don Bradman at Adelaide in 1945-46 but he was never chosen for Australia.

Time between selection and departure from Australia    

  15 days

(11 February - 26 February)

Travel

Wellington  Q  Southampton

At dawn on 26 February 1946 the team flew from Sydney.  "The New Zealand Air Force provided a Catalina for the long flight across the Tasman Sea" (Ian Johnson).  It landed at Auckland Airport that morning. They were the first team to travel to New Zealand by air:

Time spent in New Zealand

     41 days  

(26 February to 8 April)

On-tour selection

Brown (captain),  Bill O'Reilly (vice-captain),  Lindsay Hassett (3rd selector).

Reinforcements

None

Fixtures/Results

† not first-class

Time spent in New Zealand before First Test: 

  31 days

(26 February - 29 March)

Test appearances on tour

1  -   Barnes,  Brown,  Hassett,  Johnson,  Lindwall,  McCool,  Meuleman,  Miller,  O'Reilly,  Tallon,  Toshack

0  -   Dooland,  Hamence

Highlights

•   The Test match was scheduled for four days but the Australians wrapped up their victory in just two days.

•   Bill O'Reilly completed his Test career with bowling figures of 5-14 and 3-19.

Tour Summary

Return to Australia

Wellington  Q  Southampton

On 8 April 1946 the team flew back to Sydney and dispersed.

Time away from Australia

  41 days  

(26 February to 8 April)

Finances

Including £3,200 from the Test match, the gross receipts of the tour amounted to £12,500.

Written accounts of the tour

chapter in 'Cricket at the Crossroads' by Ian Johnson  [Cassell, 1957]

chapter in “The Innings of a Lifetime”  by Walter Hadlee [David Bateman, 1993]

Postscript

The Australian Cricket Board did not regard New Zealand as good enough to merit playing them in Test matches  (perhaps this was justified by being dismissed at Wellington for only 42 and 54 in 1945-46), and did not meet them in a Test match on New Zealand soil again until 1973-74. Their next five Australian tours to NZ were:

1949-50  (captain Bill Brown, one representative match)

1956-57  (captain Ian Craig, three representative matches)

1959-60  (captain Ian Craig, four representative matches)

1966-67  (captain Les Favell, four representative matches)

1969-70  (captain Sam Trimble, three representative matches).