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Born May 24, 1926, Beaconsfield, Melbourne, Victoria
Died August 27, 2016, Melbourne (aged 90 years 95 days)
Major teams Australia, Tasmania, Victoria
Batting style Right-hand bat
Fielding position Wicketkeeper
Relation Brother - RI Maddocks, Son - IL Maddocks
Profile
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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.Maddocks was a wicket-keeper. He vied with Gil Langley for the position of Australian gloveman, replacing him when Langley was injured, although pressure from Langley, Don Tallon and Wally Grout, some of Australia's finest glovemen, meant he only played 7 tests. His career as a cricket administrator was marred by the 3-0 loss in the 1977 Ashes tour, and the World Series Cricket split during his managerial reign of the Australian cricket team.
A brother, Richard and son, Ian, both played first-class cricket for Victoria. On the death of Arthur Morris on 22 August 2015 he became the oldest surviving Australian Test cricketer.Following Harold Stapleton's death the following month, he also became the oldest living Australian first-class cricketer.
Test debut Australia v England at Melbourne, Dec 31, 1954 - Jan 5, 1955
Last Test India v Australia at Mumbai (BS), Oct 26-31, 1956
First-class span 1946/47 - 1967/68
