John Rutherford, the first player from Western Australia to be picked for Test cricket, died at the age of 92.
Rutherford is a member of Australia’s one-Test club, having played his single Test match during the 1956 India tour, which took place on the way back from the Ashes series.
In the drew encounter at the Brabourne Stadium, the right-handed opener hit 30 and grabbed a wicket in the second innings, removing Vijay Manjrekar.
Between 1952-53 and 1960-61, Rutherford, who was born in Bruce Rock, a small country hamlet 243 kilometres east of Perth, played 67 first-class matches, scoring 3367 runs at 31.76 with six centuries and 15 half-centuries.
Prior to Rutherford’s debut, WA had no official Test representatives, however, WA-born Ernie Bromley played two Tests for Australia in 1933-34 after migrating from WA to Victoria. WA began playing first-class cricket in 1892-93, but were not officially allowed to compete in the Sheffield Shield until 1947-48.
Rutherford detailed the challenges he encountered as a WA-based player aiming to break into Australia’s Test team ahead of the 1956 tour of England, Pakistan, and India in an interview with ESPNcricinfo in 2015.
Rutherford’s career came to an abrupt end at the age of 31 when he had a stroke while captaining Western Australia in a tour match against the West Indies in 1960.
While Rutherford battled for Test appearances, he laid the way for a succession of Western Australian Test greats to come, with Graham McKenzie, Dennis Lillee, and Rod Marsh becoming household names over the next two decades.
After Rutherford’s death, WA Cricket CEO Christina Matthews paid tribute to him.
“John Rutherford played an enormous role in placing WA Cricket on the map, at a time when the national side was dominated by players from the eastern states,” Matthews said.
“He was a talkative and charismatic personality, and his passion for cricket was infectious.
“On behalf of everyone at WA Cricket and the State’s cricketing community, we send our deepest condolences to the Rutherford family.”
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