Australian cricket is mourning the loss of one its last old-school stonewall openers, with former Test batsman Ian Redpath dying at 83.
A member of Australian cricket’s hall of fame, Redpath was a fixture of Australia’s side in the 1960s and 1970s. The Victorian played 66 Tests and scored eight centuries between 1964 and 1976, compiling 4734 runs at an average of 43.45.
Hailing from Geelong, Redpath scored 97 on debut for Australia against South Africa at the MCG, but was forced to wait five years for his first Test century.
Earning the dubious distinction of being dismissed to a Mankad in a Test by West Indies quick Charlie Griffths in 1969, Redpath exploded with runs in the second half of his career.
His first Test century came in the second innings of the next match against West Indies in Sydney, and he averaged almost 50 from that point on. As the years went by Redpath became more prolific, with five centuries in his final 15 Tests and three in his last series.
Perhaps most impressive was the fact that came against a West Indies attack led by Michael Holding and Andy Roberts, as Redpath helped Australia to what would be their last series win over the men from the Caribbean for 20 years.
On his elevation to the hall of fame last year, the wiry right-hander was asked what had made him proud.
“The longevity,” said Redpath, who retired at 34 to devote himself to his Geelong antique business, before a comeback with World Series Cricket. “I was fortunate enough to play for quite a while. In an era where most chaps retired at 30, I had the good fortune of being able to extend it.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have done it. It takes your breath away a bit, when I look back on it, I can’t believe I was there.”
Redpath’s career is one of the most unique in Australian Test cricket. He remains the last man to play a Test for Australia as an amateur, when he knocked back payments for his debut series.
That initially allowed him to continue playing for Geelong in Aussie rules in the Victorian Amateur Football Association, before his status was revoked when he accepted tour payments for the 1964 Ashes.
As a batter, Redpath was renowned for an impregnable defence.
Greg Chappell labelled him one of the hardest men in Australia to get out, while English quick John Snow rued the fact that Redpath always “saintly refused” to be tempted into a loose shot.
Never was that clearer than when the Victorian carried his bat through an innings against New Zealand at Eden Park in 1974 to help set up a Test win.
He hit only two sixes in his Test career, with both coming in his second-last match, against West Indies in Adelaide. He also only hit one on his home ground of the MCG at any level, while playing for Victoria against Pakistan in 1972.
“I must have had a touch of the sun and I managed to lob one over wide mid-on,” Redpath recounted last year. “It was where the players sat. It lobbed about two rows from where my wife was sitting.
“I am out in the middle flexing my muscles, and there she is, looking the other way, talking about an upcoming shopping expedition, and she missed the whole lot.
“And I thought, ‘I won’t try to repeat that exercise because I will only hit it halfway to the fence’. I only hit one and she missed it. But oh well, that was her loss.”
Redpath coached Victoria following his retirement, and remained heavily involved in Geelong cricket well into his later years.
Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird said Redpath was “a much loved and revered figure” in Australian cricket.
“As a fine opening batter, Ian was a mainstay of the national team through one of the great eras of Australian cricket and beloved by many throughout the world for his courage, impeccable sportsmanship and wry humour,” Baird said in a statement.
“We were privileged to hear Ian speak of the wonderful experiences and relationships cricket had provided upon his induction into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2023 and this deep love of the game was manifest in his enormous contribution to cricket at first-class and community level.”