Len Maddocks will be remembered forever as the man Jim Laker trapped leg-before to complete his famous ten-for at Old Trafford in 1956, yet apart from this inauspicious place in cricket history, Maddocks was a wicketkeeper of distinction in his own right, and after retirement became a prominent figure in the administration of Australian cricket. He was small and slight, and played his cricket with a smile on his face.

Maddocks first played for Victoria in 1946, and made his Test debut against England in the third Test of the 1954-55 series after the first-choice keeper Gil Langley was injured during a Sheffield Shield match. He did well, top-scoring in the first-innings with 47 against Brian Statham and Frank Tyson, and retained his place for the remainder of that series as well as the first Test of the next rubber against the West Indies in the Caribbean. However Langley's superior glovework soon won him back his position, and Maddocks played only four more Tests. He was unlucky to be around in an era when Australia were blessed with so many fine technicians between the stumps, with Langley, Don Tallon and Wally Grout all around, but was probably a little out of his depth in such company.

After his retirement Maddocks once again found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons when he was appointed manager of the Australian side for their inauspicious tour of England in 1977, and struggled to control a squad split down the middle by Kerry Packer's World Series. However, he had previously enjoyed success in getting the Australian Board to establish a proper player's benefit fund in 1973. Both his brother and son also represented Victoria.
Sam Collins

Tasmania First-Class Career Span: 1962-68

Jul 31, 1956 Jim Laker completes his ten-for as Len Maddocks is trapped lbw © The Cricketer International

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