Norm O'Neill

Norman Clifford Louis O'Neill (19 February 1937 – 3 March 2008) was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia.

O'Neill made his debut for New South Wales at the age of 18 against South Australia during the 1955–56 season.

His lack of contribution was highlighted against the backdrop of his team's crushing innings victory: O'Neill failed to score a run or take a wicket.

New South Wales bowled first and had South Australia at 6/49 when Miller introduced O'Neill's occasional leg spin, presumably to ease the debutant's nerves by bringing him into the game.

The home team struck 18 from three overs.

O'Neill was listed to bat in the lower middle order but after the top order had made a big start, Miller brought O'Neill up.

He came in against the second new ball and was clean bowled.

O'Neill was dropped and did not play another match for the season, but had gained invaluable experience.

O'Neill steadily rose in the 1956–57 season.

At the start of the season, with many players still on international duty during the closing stages of the tour to England and the subsequent stopover in the Indian subcontinent, O'Neill was recalled and made 60 and 63 not out against Queensland at the start of the season.

This saw him retain his place when the Test players returned.

After making a pair of single-figures scored, he made a sequence of three 60s against South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, He was rewarded with selection in the one-off match between Ray Lindwall's XI and Neil Harvey's XI, which doubled as a national selection trial, before making his first ton (127) against South Australia.

He ended the season with 567 runs at 43.61, and earned selection for a non-Test tour of New Zealand under Ian Craig, in a team composed mainly of young players.

He made 102 not out in the only "Test" match that he played, helping to set up a ten-wicket win.

heading the tour averages with 218 runs at 72.66.

Despite this, he was overlooked for the 1957–58 Test tour of South Africa.

A right-handed batsman known for his back foot strokeplay, O'Neill made his state debut aged 18, before progressing to Test selection aged 21 in late 1958.

Early in his career, O'Neill was one of the foremost batsmen in the Australian team, scoring three Test centuries and topping the run-scoring aggregates on a 1959–60 tour of the Indian subcontinent which helped Australia win its last Test and series on Pakistani soil for 39 years, as well as another series in India.

His career peaked in 1960–61 when he scored 181 in the Tied Test against the West Indies, and at the end of the series, had a career average of 58.25.

O'Neill's performances on the 1961 tour of England saw him named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.

Thereafter his form was less formidable, characterised by nervousness and fidgeting at the start of his innings.

Persistent knee problems, as well as a controversial media attack on the legality of West Indian bowler Charlie Griffith, saw him dropped from the Australian team after 1965.

O'Neill also bowled occasional leg spin and was regarded as one of the finest fielders of his era.

He later became a cricket commentator and his son Mark O'Neill also played cricket at state level.

He was inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame by the CA in 2018.

The son of a builder, O'Neill was born in Carlton, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales.

He had no cricketing associations on his father's side of the family, but his maternal uncle, Ron Campion, played for the Glebe club in Sydney Grade Cricket.

Campion trained for cricket near the O'Neill family home, at Bexley Oval.

O'Neill accompanied his uncle to cricket from the age of seven and was given batting practice at the end of each session.

At Bexley Primary school, O'Neill was denied a chance to play cricket as the school did not field a team.

Moving on to Kogarah Intermediate High School, O'Neill played cricket in defiance of a teacher who recommended that he take up athletics.

As a teenager, O'Neill idolised Keith Miller after his uncle took him to the Sydney Cricket Ground: O'Neill saw Miller play that day and was impressed with the way he hit the ball off the back foot.

Under his uncle's guidance, O'Neill joined the St George Cricket Club, in the Sydney Grade competition.

He steadily moved up through the grades and broke into the first grade side at the age of 16.

Sensing his potential, the club's selectors informed him that regardless of form, he would play the full season, which allowed him to be uninhibited in his batting.

He made 108 in seven innings.

The next season, he was out 12 times leg before wicket in 15 innings, and run out in the other three.

O'Neill attributed his failures to over-aggressiveness and resolved to improve his patience.

In the second match of the new season, the 17-year-old O'Neill made his first century.

With all five state selectors onlooking, he made 28 in the next match and was called into the state squad.