Former Australia opener McDonald dies, aged 92

Former Australia and Victoria batsman Colin McDonald has passed away, aged 92.

The 191st man to play Test cricket for Australia, McDonald scored more than 3000 runs in his 47 Tests at an average of just under 40, including five centuries.

In a decorated first-class career for state and country, he amassed more than 11,000 runs from 192 games, with 24 hundreds and a highest score of 229.

A tough opening batsman, McDonald refused to shake against the mightiest and fastest bowlers the game could offer in the 1950s and early 1960s. Using a predominantly back-foot method earned him a fraction more time to see the ball – and he needed it.

A right-hander, McDonald battled in the pre-helmet days against Wes Hall, Fred Trueman, Brian Statham and Frank Tyson.

Admired for his toughness, he would sometimes let the ball hit his body rather than risk getting out, but his reputation for simply being tough didn't sit well with him.

"I got sick of being called courageous," he said in 2010. "I wish someone had said I had a certain amount of ability."

By the end of his 47-Test career, McDonald's all-round batting skills had earned 3107 runs at 39.32.

He peaked against England in 1958-59, scoring 519 runs in the series, including back-to-back hundreds. His 170 in Adelaide was his personal best, while he followed it up with 133 in the next game in Melbourne, performances that were vital in Australia's 4-0 series win.

Under the ICC's retrospective Test batting rankings, McDonald was the No.1 batsman in the world in late 1959, leading a top five that included Gary Sobers, Peter May, Neil Harvey and Clyde Walcott. 

When a then-world record crowd of 90,800 went to the MCG to see Australia and West Indies in 1960-61, McDonald delivered the entertainment with 91 against the menacing pace of Hall.

"I would rather have got a hundred, but I can still dine out on the fact that I got one run for every thousand people there," he said.

Not all his best work was done against pace and in England in 1956, one of three tours there, he showed how well he could negotiate spin.

During his second-innings 89 at Old Trafford in 1956, he held off the rampant Jim Laker – who took a record 19 wickets for the Test – for almost six hours to delay the defeat.

Born in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris in 1928, McDonald first won recognition for Victoria in 1947-48, but took a few years to get settled in their senior side.

He made the mistake of dropping Don Bradman during the batting legend's final first-class game, but McDonald soon developed into a batsman worthy of national recognition.

His first Test came against the West Indies in 1951-52, when he stepped in for Arthur Morris, and posted 32 and 62 in Sydney.

The first of his five Test hundreds came with 154 against South Africa in Adelaide in 1952-53, and he was a fixture in the side for almost the next decade.

In England in 1961, he picked up a wrist injury while driving and required surgery. He didn't play Tests again and managed only a handful of state appearances before finishing his first-class career in 1963 after 192 matches.

During a high-achieving post-playing life, McDonald worked in insurance and was an ABC commentator before becoming the executive director of the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia.

One of his major achievements was developing Flinders Park so it could host the Australian Open.

His brother Ian was a Victorian wicketkeeper, and also Australia's highly regarded team doctor.

Colin McDonald (1928 – 2021)

Tests

M: 47 | Runs: 3107 | Ave: 39.32 | 100s: 5 | 50s: 17 | HS: 170

First-class

M: 4192| Runs: 11,375 | Ave: 40.48 | 100s: 24 | 50s: 57 | HS: 229