Bob Lowing – Gordons highest runs scorer with 12,681 runs in 38 seasons

Gordon District Cricket Club | March 03, 2025

As Japanese forces advanced through the Pacific in early 1942, taking Rabaul and Singapore before launching their largest attack on Australian soil at Darwin, eighteen-year-old Bob Lowing made a decision that would shape his life. Already showing promise as a cricketer at the Gordon District Cricket Club, with 598 runs at an average of 30 in Second Grade, the young bank officer from 99 Fullers Road, Chatswood, enlisted on March 3rd, 1942.

From the training grounds of Rutherford to the dense jungles of New Guinea, Bob's war years were marked by both combat and illness. After initial training near Maitland, he joined the 2/33rd battalion in the Ramu Valley. Despite being hospitalized with a severe rash and later bronchitis, he fought in the crucial battle of Shaggy Ridge, where Australian forces pursued retreating Japanese troops through the Finisterre Mountains.

By mid-1945, Bob was stationed in Morotai, where Allied forces had established major airfields to support the liberation of the Philippines. Soon after, he joined the Battle of Balikpapan in Borneo, where the 2/33rd faced stiff Japanese resistance. As an infantry foot soldier, Bob fought on the front lines until Japan's surrender following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. During this campaign alone, his battalion lost twenty-five men with fifty-seven wounded.

During a rare respite in 1943/44, the club's Annual Report noted:

"R. Lowing, who was home on leave from New Guinea, scored 185 runs at an average of 26.83 in 7 games."

"During the season, it was a pleasure to welcome back on leave such players as J.G. Lush, S. Carroll, R. Lowing, J Shea, F Leonard and L.C Hynes who all performed well in your First XI and thoroughly enjoyed their games."

After 1,584 days of service, including occupation duty in Rabaul guarding Japanese prisoners, Bob returned home in 1946. At twenty-two, he did what came naturally – he picked up his bat.

What followed was an extraordinary cricket career spanning 38 seasons. His first post-war season showed immense promise, with the 1946-47 Annual Report recording his achievement of 565 total runs. Though he never maintained a consistent position in First Grade, moving between grades throughout his career, Bob's dedication never wavered. His statistics tell a remarkable story:

·       12,681 runs at 31.16 (highest number of runs in all grades)

·       38 seasons with 490 innings

·       15 centuries and 70 fifties with a high score of 145

·       2,386 runs in first grade, 4,167 runs in second grade, 5,620 runs in third grade

·       8 seasons of over 500 runs

·       Highest runs in a season: 694 in 1966-67

For nineteen seasons between 1946 and 1962, Bob alternated between First and Second Grade, followed by ten years in Third Grade, and then seasons spread across Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade until 1981. Though he may not have reached the "great heights in the cricket world" predicted in the 1948-49 Annual Report, Bob's dedication to cricket after four years of war spoke volumes about his character.

He continued playing until age 58, completing his final season in 1982-83 in Fourth and Fifth grades. Later becoming a respected coach, he shared his expertise with many Gordon batsmen, shaping the next generation of players. Bob Lowing passed away on March 3rd, 1988, just six years after his final match, leaving behind a legacy of resilience and unwavering love for the game that had helped define his life before and after the war.