Deprived of the bull's-eye
But for a knee injury that ended
his career at 23, allrounder Ron
Archer would almost certainly
have captained Australia. He had
been recommended to succeed Ian
Johnson for the 1957-58 South African
tour, only to wrench his knee after
catching a spike in some matting in
a Karachi Test on the way home from
the 1956 Ashes tour.
He went on to play a season
purely as a batsman with Queensland,
including a game against Peter May's
touring Englishmen in 1958-59, before
standing aside to allow younger
players an opportunity. "I'd done a
cruciate ligament," he revealed years
later, "and unfortunately for me they
didn't know about them in those
days. I was put in plaster from my
ankle up four months later but it was
never any good and I was never able
to play [Tests] again."
A genuine allrounder with
flair and occasional flamboyance,
he swung the ball both ways and
enjoyed a purple patch or two. His
signature morning of Test cricket
came at Headingley on his second
Ashes tour, in 1956, when he sent
back the first three, Colin Cowdrey,
Alan Oakman and Peter Richardson,
for three runs on his way to 3 for 68
from 50 overs.
"It was one of those days," Archer
said. "Rarely did I get the new ball
when Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller
were in the team. Keith played in
that game but he had a minor injury
and the skipper [Ian Johnson] was
still trying to get him to bowl. Finally
Miller refused and I was given the
ball. I had 3 for 3 from my first nine
overs but I didn't get any more. There
was one lbw shout against Cyril
Washbrook which was pretty close
but it was given not out."
A man of fibre and great energy,
Archer's career was restricted to 19
Tests, five at home and 14 abroad.
He rated the three best players of his
time as Neil Harvey, May and Everton
Weekes. He also opposed Len Hutton
but says he and other of the leading
Englishmen tended to play cautiously
and "you could dominate them".
Johnson was so impressed by
Archer's maturity and blossoming
skills that he recommended he
captain Australia to South Africa,
a job which eventually fell to the
22-year-old Ian Craig, Australia's
youngest-ever captain. Archer did
captain Queensland but was unable
to bowl and soon stopped altogether,
a promising career nipped in the bud.
He remains one of Queensland
cricket's favourite sons - a member of
the state's Team of the Century - and
was a long-serving and visionary
administrator whose passion for the
game never wavered.
His brother Ken, also a Test player,
said Ron gave much on and off the
field but never sought accolades. "I
was privileged and very proud to be
his brother," Ken says. "His life was
one of many significant achievements
but his greatest was to be an
outstanding human being."
Archer was a Cricket Australia
code of behaviour commissioner and
an ICC match referee but was also
prominent outside the game, chiefly
as a television executive and charity
coordinator. In 1995 he was honoured
with the Order of Australia for his
service to cricket, business and the
community. He is survived by his wife
of more than 50 years Margaret, two
daughters, Jo-Ellen and Jacky, and
two grandchildren.
The Wisden Cricketer August 2007
