Brian Booth
Brian Charles Booth was an Australian cricketer who played in 29 Test matches between 1961 and 1966, and 93 first-class matches for New South Wales. He captained Australia in two Tests during the 1965–66 Ashes series while regular captain Bob Simpson was absent due to illness and injury. Booth was a graceful right-handed middle order batsman at No. 4 or 5, and occasionally bowled right arm medium pace or off spin. He had an inclination to use his feet to charge spin bowlers. Booth was known for his sportsmanship on the field and often invoked Christianity while discussing ethics and sport.
Born near the New South Wales country town of Bathurst, Booth moved to Sydney in 1952 and played in the grade cricket competition while training to become a teacher. He made his first-class debut for the New South Wales cricket team and came to prominence in dramatic circumstances in his second match, against the touring Englishmen in 1954–55. Due to late withdrawals, Booth was selected at late notice and had to be called from work on the morning of the match. Arriving after the start of the match, he scored 74 following a batting collapse. Booth struggled to make an impression early in his career and missed a season to train with the Australian field hockey team for the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Upon returning to first-class cricket in 1957–58, he held down a regular position in the state team while the Test players were touring overseas. Booth gradually progressed and gained selection on the 1959–60 Australian Second XI tour to New Zealand.
Booth was selected for the Australian team that toured England in 1961 and played in the final two Tests. Upon his return to Australia, Booth made two centuries in the 1962–63 home Test series against England, establishing himself in the Test team. He made two further centuries the following summer against South Africa and was named the Australian player of the year. Following the retirement of Richie Benaud, Booth was appointed vice-captain under Simpson as Australia embarked on a successful 1964 tour of England, which saw the retention of the Ashes. Booth played his final Test series in 1965–66 against England, captaining Australia in the First and Third Tests because Simpson was sidelined with a broken wrist and chickenpox respectively. The First Test was drawn but Australia fell to its first innings defeat in almost ten years in the Third Test. As he was also in a form slump, Booth was dropped as the Australian selectors made mass changes, ending his career. In retirement, Booth returned to his teaching duties and served as a Baptist lay-preacher. He was inducted into the Cricket NSW Hall of Fame in 2014.
Early years
The son of "Snowy" Booth, a market gardener and talented country cricketer, Booth was born in Perthville, located outside the New South Wales regional town of Bathurst. His father hung pictures of Don Bradman and Stan McCabe on the wall and told him that "these are the two greatest living cricketers". Booth represented Bathurst High School at the age of 13 and played first grade cricket in Bathurst at 15. He was selected for a New South Wales youth countryside at the age of just 14. In 1950, Booth represented New South Wales Country against a combined Sydney team, and moved to St. George to play on a weekly basis two years later. He made the first grade team at the age of 19 and began a four-year course at Sydney Teachers College. Booth also played hockey in Perthville and began playing for St George upon his arrival in Sydney.Booth made his first-class debut for New South Wales against Queensland in the 1954–55 Sheffield Shield. He made a duck in the first innings before adding 19 in the second. New South Wales won, but Booth was dropped when the Test players returned from international duty. Booth was recalled a month later for a match against Len Hutton's English cricket team at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Arthur Morris and Bill Watson had to withdraw at late notice and Booth was asked to play, having already started his day's work as a teacher at Hurlstone Agricultural College. He caught a train and arrived at the ground more than half an hour after the start of play, by which time New South Wales had collapsed to 3/12. New South Wales fell further to 5/26 before Booth came in with a borrowed cap and bat to join Peter Philpott. They put on an 83-run partnership, and Booth eventually finished the innings unbeaten on 74 as the hosts folded for 172. Booth made a duck in the second innings and took his maiden first-class wicket as New South Wales defeated Hutton's men. It was only the tourists' second loss for the campaign, and the last match in Booth's debut season.
Booth had a low key season in 1955–56, struggling to find a regular position in the New South Wales team. As there were no international matches during the summer, the Test players were available for the whole campaign. He played in six matches and had few opportunities, managing only 157 runs at 31.40, passing fifty on only one occasion. New South Wales went on to claim a hat-trick of Sheffield Shield titles.
Booth was selected for the New South Wales hockey team in 1955 and toured New Zealand in 1956. Good performances on this tour led to his selection in the Australian Olympic squad for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, but he had an anxious wait following media claims that he had received out-of-pocket expenses for playing cricket, which would make him a professional and therefore ineligible to participate in the Olympics. Eventually, Booth and fellow first-class cricketers Ian Dick and Maurice Foley were cleared to play for Australia. Booth then missed the 1956–57 Sheffield Shield season because he was part of the Australian field hockey team that finished fifth at the Olympics. Booth was selected as an inside left but was not utilised in any of Australia's matches until the classification matches for 5th to 8th places
In 1957–58, the Australian Test team toured South Africa during the southern hemisphere summer, opening up opportunities in the Shield competition back in Australia. Booth established himself at first-class level with 503 runs at 50.30. After scoring two fifties, he broke through for his maiden first-class century against Victoria at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in his last match of the season. He put on a partnership of 325 with future Test teammate Norm O'Neill in fewer than four hours. It was his fifteenth first-class match, and helped his state secure a fifth successive title with a ten-wicket win over their arch-rivals. With the Test players returning to Australia in 1958–59, Booth again faced more competition for places. He struggled, playing six matches and aggregating only 190 runs at 31.66. He only had six innings for the entire season, and in his only opportunity against Peter May's touring Englishmen, he made a duck. Booth passed 50 on two occasions during the season, making 75 and 85. In one high-scoring match against South Australia, he took 0/97 with his part-time off spin.
First-class consolidation
The national team toured the Indian subcontinent during the 1959–60 Australian season, opening up more vacancies at a domestic level. Booth had a strong first-class season, scoring 718 runs at 65.27 with two centuries to place third on the run-scoring aggregates. He started the season with 168 as New South Wales defeated Queensland by an innings before scoring 177 two matches later in an innings win over South Australia. His state completed a seventh Sheffield Shield triumph in succession.Booth's performances saw him selected for a second choice Australian team that toured New Zealand under the captaincy of Ian Craig. He scored 105 in his first innings for his country, in a victory over Auckland. Booth scored 184 runs at 30.66 and took three wickets at 25.00 in the four international matches against New Zealand. Booth considered retiring after the season, feeling that the time needed for first-class cricket was impinging on his work as a lay preacher and a Christian youth worker.
Booth brought himself into contention for the Test selection with a series of strong displays in 1960–61. He aggregated 981 runs at an average of 65.40, with three centuries. Only five players scored more runs, all at lower averages. Two of the centuries were in combined Australian XI matches at the end of the season for expected Test squad members. In a match against Tasmania, Booth struck a breezy 100 from 104 balls in 90 minutes. Another highlight was an 87 against the touring West Indies, helping New South Wales to complete an innings win. Booth's productivity helped his state to another Sheffield Shield win.
Test career
Booth was then selected for the Ashes tour of England in 1961; he and Victorian opening batsman Bill Lawry, the two uncapped batsmen in the team, were regarded as the last two players chosen. Booth quickly gained a reputation for his attention to physical fitness. He led the Australians in their morning exercises during the sea voyage, which captain Richie Benaud made optional. After scoring 37 and seven against Worcestershire in his first match on English soil, Booth broke through for his first century for Australia, scoring 113 against Cambridge University in his fifth match. He made 59 against the Marylebone Cricket Club, but was overlooked for the first three Tests.Booth scored 127 not out against Somerset, and in the next match against Lancashire, he was caught behind for 99 from the bowling of another Brian Booth. He played consistently, with two more half-centuries to earn his debut in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford in place of Colin McDonald. The series was evenly poised at 1–1, and Australia batted first on a pitch that initially assisted fast bowling. The surface was tinged with green and England fielded a pace line-up that included Brian Statham and Fred Trueman. Booth was struck in the torso by his first ball, a bouncer that did not rise as high as he expected. He managed to repel a spearing yorker on the second ball and compiled a battling 46, the second highest score on the difficult pitch, featuring in a partnership of 46—the highest in Australia's innings—with Bill Lawry. Australia managed only 190 on the bowler-friendly pitch. Booth only managed nine in the second innings before Australia retained the Ashes after an English collapse on the final day resulted in a 54-run win. In the drawn Fifth and final Test at The Oval, Booth came in with the score at 4/211 after the dismissal of Norm O'Neill for 117. He featured in a 185-run partnership with Peter Burge. Booth was dismissed for 71 while attempting to loft the spin of Tony Lock over the infield, as captain Richie Benaud needed quick runs; observers felt the need to attack cost Booth his maiden Test century. Booth added three more 70s in the closing tour matches before the team returned to Australia.
The 1961–62 season was entirely a domestic season. Booth scored 507 runs at 42.25 with two centuries, against Queensland and South Australia. He placed 13th on the run-scoring aggregates, helping New South Wales to win its ninth consecutive Sheffield Shield.
After scoring 72 in the opening match of the season and adding 41 against the touring Englishmen for New South Wales, Booth retained his place in the Test team for the 1962–63 Ashes series. He scored his maiden Test century in the First Test at the Gabba, compiling 112 in the first innings of a high scoring draw. Thirteen players reached fifty, but Booth was the only player to reach three figures. English captain Ted Dexter attempted to shut down Booth's scoring by employing leg theory. In the Second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Fred Titmus bowled outside leg stump with five men on the one side, but Booth completed consecutive centuries with 103 in the second innings. As a result of Dexter's defensive field placings, Booth scored at only half the rate he managed in the First Test. Booth took six hours to reach triple figures and hit only four boundaries. His innings was not enough to prevent England from completing a seven-wicket victory. Booth was unable to maintain his form for the rest of the season, with 34 and 77 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide being the only other times that he passed 20. Australia won the Third Test, drawing the series, and Booth ended the series with 404 runs at 50.50. He added a further three fifties in the Sheffield Shield as Victoria ended New South Wales' nine-year winning streak.
Booth started the 1963–64 season strongly. He scored centuries in his first two innings, recording 121 and 169 not out against Queensland and Western Australia respectively. In his rapid innings against Western Australia at the SCG, which took only 165 minutes, Booth reached 100 in 94 minutes during the second session of the day. In the lead-up to the Tests, Booth scored 63 for his state against South Africa but was unable to prevent defeat. In the Tests, he began the way he did in the previous season, with a century. Coming to the crease with Australia at 3/88 in the first innings of the First Test in Brisbane, Booth withstood an opening burst of bouncers from South African spearhead Peter Pollock. He went on to accumulate his Test best of 169 from 81 overs of batting, in a display that gained wide praise because of his elegant stroke-making. One newspaper proclaimed that his innings had "more Grace than the Princess of Monaco." Ray Robinson said "it was a tailored innings, fit to be put on display in a showcase and unrumpled by a single chance". South African skipper Trevor Goddard later said, "We didn't mind the leather chasing, when he played so charmingly." Booth's innings was the highlight of a match that was uneventful in terms of cricket but notorious for the no-balling of Ian Meckiff. A broken finger sidelined Booth for a month and prevented him from playing in the Second Test, but he returned for the Third Test in Sydney, and began a sequence of 75, 16, 58 and 24. He finished the series in the Fifth Test in his hometown, top-scoring in both of Australia's innings, with 102 not out and 87 in a draw. It capped off a productive fortnight for Booth; he had scored 162 not out against South Australia before the final Test. In four Tests, he aggregated 531 runs at 88.50. For the entire first-class season, Booth had struck five centuries and totaled 1,180 runs. According to Gideon Haigh, he had "played exquisitely" throughout the season, which was his career peak and saw him named the Australian Cricketer of the Year for 1963–64.