Sydney University Cricket Club Hall of Fame Article - Thomas William Garrett 1858-1943
Sydney University Cricket Club | November 29, 2023
Since 1999, the Sydney University Cricket Club’s Best and Fairest Trophy has been named for Tom Garrett who was one of the early ‘fathers’ of the Club. No cricketer has ever made a greater impact on the Club than Tom Garrett.
When he first played for the University at the age of 15, there was no formal cricket competition and eligibility rules were fluid at best. Matches were arranged between clubs on an ad hoc basis.
It seems that Garrett studied at the University but for only a few terms having been educated at Newington College from the age of nine. Because of his having once been a student at the University he kept his eligibility for 25 years.
In the 1870s, Garrett was one of the youngest representative players who have ever played for University. In the 1880s, Garrett was a key member of the dominant 1st Grade side that on some days fielded eight 1st class players. In 1893-94, the Sydney Electoral competition commenced and Garrett was the 1st Grade captain as well as captain of NSW, until the Club withdrew from the competition for one season. Then Garrett played 1st Grade for Burwood until he was aged 42.
He made his debut for NSW in 1876-77, the first of his 160 games in 1st class cricket, as a thoughtful medium pacer, a lithe fieldsman and a hard-hitting batsman. During that season, on 27 January 1877, for University against Singleton on the University Oval, he took what are still the Club’s best figures throughout its long history.
His 10 wickets for 11 runs included six batsmen out bowled and reduced Singleton to 28 all out. A few weeks later, he received an invitation to play against Lillywhite’s English side in what came to be known as the First Test Match of all. At 18 years, 232 days on the first day of this historic match, he remains the youngest to appear in a Test between England and Australia. His 18 not out and 2 for 22 seem to be minor contributions until we realise that Garrett’s 18 was second highest score to Charles Bannerman’s monumental 165 and that his vital wickets were useful in Australia’s victory by only 45 runs. He was to play 19 Tests, for 339 runs and 36 wickets.
In 1st class cricket, he scored 3673 runs and took 446 wickets.
For University, he scored 5017 runs and took 622 wickets. His extraordinary 274 against the Albert Club in 1888-89 was part of a Club record opening stand of 348 with Herbert Lee.
He cannot, however, be reduced to a series of statistics. His influence on the Club was abiding and continually generous. He presided over some of the Club’s greatest triumphs.
He worked as a Clerk in the Department of Lands and later the Supreme Court and qualified as a solicitor. He was the Registrar in Probate in the Supreme Court and then public Trustee before he retired after 50 years in the public service.
He was never idle and as the years went by, he rejoiced in the knowledge that he became the last survivor of that first Test Match in Melbourne. He was “the last keeper of a great tradition” of Test cricket when he died in Sydney’s northern suburbs, aged 85.
By any measure, Tom Garrett sits easily among those few distinguished members of the Club’s Hall of Fame
