Published: Jul 29, 2019, 02:18 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 29, 2019, 02:19 PM (IST)
A doyen of Queensland cricket, viewed in his native Australia as extremely unlucky to not have played Test cricket, has passed away in Brisbane. Sam Trimble, who played for Queensland from 1959 to 1976, was 84.
A former opener whose 8,647 runs in Sheffield Shield cricket – Australia’s first-class competition – are the fifth best returns for domestic batsman who never played a Test match.
The nearest that Trimble came to playing for Australia was in 1964-65 when he was 12th man in a Test against West Indies in Jamaica.
From 144 first-class games overall, Trimble scored 10,282 runs at an average of 41. For Queensland, he averaged 39.85 with 22 centuries and his 8,647 runs stood as a state record until Stuart Law and then Martin Love surpassed that mark.
Sam Trimble really was one of the best Sheffield Shield players never to play a Test. The top five Shield run scorers among zero-Test players:
10,821 – Jamie Cox
10,643 – Jamie Siddons
9974 – Michael di Venuto
9086 – Jimmy Maher
8647 – Sam Trimble https://t.co/j7oJwY3x9r— Brydon Coverdale (@brydoncoverdale) July 29, 2019
Trimble was once chosen in Queensland Cricket’s ‘Team of the 20th Century’ who never played Test cricket.
“Sam’s batting efforts were inevitably a highlight for Queensland fans during those many summers when a Sheffield Shield title eluded the efforts of the state despite the presence of so many talented players,” said Queensland Cricket chairman Chris Simpson in a statement Monday.
“He remained a steadfast supporter of cricket in this state in his post-playing days in so many areas; in coaching, as a state selector, a hard-working curator at Souths and as a delegate and life member who retained a keen interest through his involvement in Queensland Cricket.”
Trimble also led a Australia Second XI to New Zealand in 1969, a tour in which he scored a double-hundred.
