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Graeme Beard

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Graeme Beard
Personal information
Full name
Graeme Robert Beard
Born (1950-08-19) 19 August 1950 (age 74)
Auburn, Sydney, Australia
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
Right-arm off-break
RoleAll-rounder
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 308)27 February 1980 v Pakistan
Last Test18 March 1980 v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 65)31 January 1981 v New Zealand
Last ODI1 February 1981 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1975/76–1981/82New South Wales
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 3 2 54 19
Runs scored 114 – 1,441 61
Batting average 22.80 – 23.62 10.16
100s/50s 0/0 – 0/11 0/0
Top score 49 – 75 23
Balls bowled 259 112 10,321 888
Wickets 1 4 125 25
Bowling average 109.00 17.50 28.19 25.96
5 wickets in innings 0 0 7 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 1 0
Best bowling 1/26 2/20 5/33 3/33
Catches/stumpings 0/– 0/– 22/– 7/–
Source: Cricinfo, 20 January 2015

Graeme Robert Beard (born 19 August 1950) is a former Australian cricketer who played in three Test matches and two One Day Internationals in 1980 and 1981.

Biography

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Beard was born in the Sydney suburb of Auburn. He made his debut for New South Wales in 1975 against the touring West Indies cricket team, playing as a batsman and scoring 0 and 0.[1][2] Later that summer he scored 75 against Victoria but he was dropped from the state side on the return of test players.

Beard played one first class game in 1977-78[3] but became a regular in the New South Wales side in the 1978–79 season as an all-rounder, bowling off- spin and medium pace. He even began to be discussed as a test player.[4] He took five wickets in a game against Western Australia, 5-47 against Queensland, then eight wickets against Tasmania. His end of season Shield figures were 26 wickets at 26.00.

Beard was overlooked for NSW side at the beginning of 1979-80 as WSC players returned.[5] However he soon became a state regular again. Against South Australia, he took six wickets and made 68; he also took 5-33 against Queensland. Beard took 20 Shield wickets at 20.25. He was chosen in the 1979-80 Australian tour of Pakistan, replacing Ashley Mallett who was injured.[6] (Jim Higgs was unavailable to tour.) "I'd never even thought about being selected in an Australian side", said Beard. "I only ever concentrated on keeping my place in the NSW side and I thought this season I'd possibly cemented a spot for a little while. I was happy with being able to do that, so this has been a real bonus as far as I'm concerned".[7]

International cricketer

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Beard scored 64 in the opening tour game.[8] He played in all three Test matches of that tour, playing a few dogged innings (39 and 49 in the 3rd Test at Lahore) and took one wicket (1 for 26 in the 3rd Test). (The only Australian bowler to do well on that tour was Ray Bright.)[9]

During the 1980-81 season, Beard scored a pair of fifties in a Shield game. Bill O'Reilly suggested that Beard be chosen to replace Shaun Graf as 12th man in the test team with a view to blooding him for the 1981 English tour. However Trevor Chappell was selected instead.[10]

In 1980-81 Beard took ten wickets for New South Wales in a game against New Zealand. This led to him being named in the Australian one day side during the finals of the World Series Cup competition , replacing Shaun Graf.[11] Beard was ommitted for the first game but played in the second versus New Zealand, taking two wickets.[12] In the third final (Beard's second match) he took two tickets but this was overshadowed by the infamous underarm bowling incident. [13]

Beard took 29 first class wickets at 25.24. Although he took less wickets than Bruce Yardley, Jim Higgs and Bob Holland, Beard was selected as a spinner on the Ashes tour 1981.[14] New Zealand captain Geoff Howard warned "He'll have to be extremely accurate or he'll get punished. Graeme is only a gentle medium pace and the slow wickets over there leave no margin for error".[15]

Ian Chappell had suggested that Beard be selected on the tour if Ashley Mallett was unavailable calling Beard "a seamer-cum-spinner and... a more than useful middle order batsman" (he preferred Beard over Jim Higgs who Chappell felt would not do well in England).[16] Brian Mossop of the Sydney Morning Herald wrote, "my tip is that while he may have been chosen to do much of the county hackwork, he will make the test team in England."[17]

Beard did not play in either the Tests or One Day Internationals on the tour. He did play a tour game against Sri Lanka taking 5-69, but Sri Lanka taking 5-69.[18] He took 4-92 against Essex. Injuries to various bowlers saw Beard's selection floated as a possibility arond the time of the fourth test[19] but he was never picked in an international game.

Beard put in some strong domestic performances in 1981-82 including a first class highest score of 75. However at the end of the season he retired from first-class cricket, and left his job as a teacher to work for the Australian Workers' Union.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Former Test bat out of State squad". The Canberra Times. Vol. 50, no. 14, 191. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 October 1975. p. 24. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "West Indians set stage for close finish". The Canberra Times. Vol. 50, no. 14, 225. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 November 1975. p. 12. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "CRICKET Beard out of NSW team". The Canberra Times. Vol. 53, no. 15, 743. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 29 October 1978. p. 24. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "SUE 'FLEW'". The Canberra Times. Vol. 53, no. 15, 790. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 December 1978. p. 24. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "CRICKET Seven WSC players in NSW Shield team". The Canberra Times. Vol. 54, no. 16, 098. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 22 October 1979. p. 20. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "MALLETT UNFIT TO TOUR". Papua New Guinea Post-courier. International, Australia. 12 February 1980. p. 22. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "CRICKET Beard to replace Mallett on tour". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 210. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 12 February 1980. p. 18. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "TOURISTS Australians in winning position". The Canberra Times. Vol. 54, no. 16, 223. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 25 February 1980. p. 18. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "CRICKET Border scores 153 and Test drawn". The Canberra Times. Vol. 54, no. 16, 251. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 24 March 1980. p. 16. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ O'Reilly, Bill (24 December 1980). "Surely the time to 'blood' Beard". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 24.
  11. ^ "Dyson, Graf dropped". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 559. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 27 January 1981. p. 14. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL NZ thrashed by 7 wickets". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 564. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 February 1981. p. 17. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "Underarm ball sours Aussie win". Papua New Guinea Post-courier. International, Australia. 2 February 1981. p. 23. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Chappell, Walters out of team". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 603. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 12 March 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Kiwi not impressed by Beard". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 560. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 28 January 1981. p. 38. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ Chappell, Ian (1 February 1981). "Big Carl Must Go!". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 66.
  17. ^ Mossop, Brian (12 March 1981). "Chappell pulls out in silence". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 32.
  18. ^ "CRICKET Spin could be decider". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 671. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 19 May 1981. p. 20. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "CRICKET: FOURTH TEST Allrounder Beard may get bowler's cap". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 743. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 30 July 1981. p. 24. Retrieved 13 November 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ "Workers Online – Graeme Beard's second dig". Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
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