Jock Livingston - Randwick Petersham Cricket Club - Heroes of the Ages
Randwick Petersham Cricket Club | June 26, 2023
An aggressive left-handed batsman and occasional wicket keeper, Len Livingston joined Randwick in 1945-46. It was not as successful as expected although he won the batting average and aggregate with 464 runs at 30.93. The following summer he showed his attacking flair scoring centuries v Gordon (109) and Balmain (120) to post a season total of 552 runs at an average of 61.3. His batting was described as “most entertaining to spectators and to team mates”. He and his skipper Jack Chegwyn were regarded as the most formidable duo in the Sydney Grade competition.
That season Livingston opened the batting with Keith Carmody for NSW in the Sheffield Shield scoring 100* at the SCG in the match v Qld. In all, he played five matches scoring 256 runs at 32.
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At the end of 1948-49 he moved to the UK to play Lancashire League cricket. Leaving Australia to become a professional cricketer in England was regarded as a virtual death-knell to a possible Test career. And so it proved to be with Jock always regretful that he never played Test cricket for his country. Many judges at that time considered he would certainly have done so had he remained in Australia.
After a couple of seasons in league cricket, Jock joined Northamptonshire and commenced an outstanding county cricket career which yielded 15,004 runs from 231 matches with 29 centuries and 79 fifties. Three of his centuries were double hundreds.
Jock was not lost to Randwick however, returning to the club in 1952-53 during the English off–season, going on to win both the 1st Grade batting average and aggregate. His 123 against Sydney University that summer was classed as “simply brilliant”.
Livingston was a great friend of Sir Donald Bradman who had coached him as a youngster and the pair corresponded regularly. Jock was also a fine judge of cricket talent and it was he who arranged for Noel “Pommie” Hughes from Petersham-Marrickville DCC to play with Worcester for a couple of seasons in the mid-fifties.
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