Bert Tobin

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Bert Tobin
Personal information
Full name
Bertrandt Joseph Tobin
Born(1910-11-11)11 November 1910
North Adelaide, South Australia
Died19 October 1969(1969-10-19) (aged 58)
Adelaide, South Australia
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast-medium
RoleAll-rounder
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1930-31 to 1930-34South Australia
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 26
Runs scored 722
Batting average 16.04
100s/50s 0/4
Top score 61
Balls bowled 3667
Wickets 51
Bowling average 39.03
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 4/31
Catches/stumpings 17/0
Source: Cricinfo, 27 November 2019

Bertrandt Joseph Tobin (11 November 1910 – 19 October 1969) was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for South Australia from 1930 to 1935.

Life and career

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The son of a railway official, Bert Tobin lived in North Adelaide. He was educated at Rostrevor College in Adelaide from 1925 to 1928, boarding in his final two years. He was a prominent member of the school's cricket and football teams.[1] He won the South Australian Junior Golf Championship in 1928.[2]

A hard-hitting batsman in the middle or lower order and a fast-medium opening bowler, Tobin stood six feet two inches tall.[3] He made his first-class debut for South Australia in the 1930–31 season just before his 20th birthday. He took his best first-class figures of 4 for 31 against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield in November 1932, when he and Tim Wall dismissed Victoria for 92 and South Australia won by three wickets.[4] He made his highest first-class score of 61 in the next match, against New South Wales.[5]

Despite his good form it was a surprise when he was selected in the Australian team for the Fourth Test against England later that season, as his overall achievements had been moderate: "a useful rather than a match-winning figure in South Australian cricket".[6] He probably owed his selection to his ability to bowl bouncers.[2] In the event he was made twelfth man and was not selected for Australia again.[7][8]

During his South Australian career Tobin worked in the Adelaide sports store part-owned by the cricketer Philip Lee.[3] He left Australia in 1935 to play as a professional for Rishton in the Lancashire League.[1] He remained in the UK, marrying a rich woman and playing club cricket in Scotland.[7][9] After two decades abroad he returned to Australia, coaching cricket in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon and in Alice Springs.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Bert Tobin '28". Rostrevor College. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b c The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket, Oxford, Melbourne, 1996, p. 534.
  3. ^ a b "Bert Tobin: Australia's New Test Player". Sporting Globe. 8 February 1933. p. 10.
  4. ^ "South Australia v Victoria 1932-33". Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  5. ^ "South Australia v New South Wales 1932-33". Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Team for Fourth Test". Chronicle. 2 February 1933. p. 40.
  7. ^ a b David Frith, Bodyline Autopsy, ABC Books, Sydney, 2002, p. 274.
  8. ^ Williamson, Martin. "Bert Tobin". Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  9. ^ "Harry Hopman's Sports Talk". The Herald. 10 November 1949. p. 25.
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