1. Ernest Raymond Herbert Toshack was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1946 to 1948.
39 Facts About Ernie Toshack
1. 2.
Ernie Toshack reinforced the Australian new ball attack of Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller.
3.
Ernie Toshack was orphaned as an infant, and his early cricket career was hindered because of financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression.
4.
The Second World War prevented Ernie Toshack from competing at first-class level until he was into his thirties.
5.
Ernie Toshack took his career-best match bowling figures of 11 wickets for 31 runs in the First Test but began to suffer recurring knee injuries, and a medical board had to approve his selection for the 1948 England tour.
6.
Ernie Toshack played in the first four Tests before being injured.
7.
Ernie Toshack was a parsimonious bowler, who was popular with crowds for his sense of humour.
8.
In December 1933, Ernie Toshack played in a colts match for New South Wales against Queensland.
9.
Ernie Toshack was not allowed to enlist in the Australian Defence Force during World War II and worked at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory, in the town of Lithgow on the edge of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
10.
Ernie Toshack later recalled that Petersham were "told where to go".
11.
Ernie Toshack was selected for a non-Test tour of New Zealand.
12.
Ernie Toshack played in three provincial tour matches against Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington, all of which were won by an innings.
13.
Ernie Toshack was one of seven Australians playing their first Test.
14.
Ernie Toshack dismissed Eric Tindill and Ces Burke in both innings.
15.
The performance ensured that Ernie Toshack would become an integral part of Australia's attack for the next three years.
16.
Ernie Toshack ended the tour with 23 wickets at 10.34 in four matches.
17.
Ernie Toshack was unbeaten on one in his first innings with the bat when Australia were bowled out for 645 on the third day.
18.
Bradman enforced the follow-on, and with Lindwall indisposed, Ernie Toshack took the new ball with Miller.
19.
Ernie Toshack defended stubbornly and ended unbeaten on two as his partner Lindwall went from 81 to 100 to score the fastest Test century by an Australian, in 88 balls.
20.
Ahead of the final Test, Ernie Toshack removed Compton, Edrich and Godfrey Evans in a drawn match for Victoria against the tourists.
21.
Ernie Toshack finished the series with 17 wickets at a bowling average of 25.71.
22.
Ernie Toshack had a particularly unsuccessful time in the two Sheffield Shield matches against arch-rivals Victoria, which were lost by heavy margins of an innings and 114 runs, and 288 runs respectively.
23.
Ernie Toshack retained his position in the national team, and in the First Test at Brisbane on a wet pitch, Toshack took ten wickets for the only time in his Test career.
24.
Ernie Toshack dismissed Hassett and Ken Meuleman in the second innings to help set up victory.
25.
When fit, Ernie Toshack was a heavy wicket-taker; his 41 wickets at 20.26 placed him second only to Bill Johnston's 42 among Australian bowlers for the season.
26.
Ernie Toshack grew tired of signing autographs during the voyage, and entrusted a friend with the task.
27.
Between the new-ball attacks of Lindwall, Keith Miller and Johnston every 55 overs, Ernie Toshack played the role of stifling England's scoring.
28.
Ernie Toshack removed the leading English batsmen Len Hutton and Denis Compton, as well as Martin Donnelly and Ken Cranston.
29.
In particular, Ernie Toshack was involved in an extended battle with Compton before dismissing him; Bradman said that their duel was "worth going a long way to see".
30.
Ernie Toshack's performance in the First Test at Trent Bridge was a quiet one, taking a wicket in each innings.
31.
Ernie Toshack made a recovery and it was hoped that he would be able to play in the Fifth Test, but he injured again himself in the lead-up match against Lancashire.
32.
Ernie Toshack was taken to London for cartilage surgery, ending his tour and his Test career.
33.
An inept batsman with an average of 5.78 in first-class fixtures, Ernie Toshack managed a Test average of 51 on the 1948 tour after being out only once, behind only Arthur Morris, Sid Barnes, Bradman and Neil Harvey.
34.
Ernie Toshack totalled 50 wickets at the average of 21.12 for the tour.
35.
Ernie Toshack had been offered a position on the South African tour as a reinforcement for Johnston, who had been involved in a car crash.
36.
Ernie Toshack achieved his success in a manner not dissimilar to Derek Underwood a generation later.
37.
Ernie Toshack's vocal appealing prompted the journalist and former Australian Test batsman Jack Fingleton to dub him "The Voice", while teammate Sid Barnes called him "The film star" because of his looks.
38.
Ernie Toshack wrote about cricket and enjoyed cultivating his vegetable garden in the northern Sydney suburb of Hornsby Heights.
39.
Ernie Toshack was survived by his wife Cathleen Hogan, whom he married in 1939, their only daughter, three granddaughters and two great-granddaughters.