Early Career
As a child growing up in Paddington, McCool attended Crown Street State School—earlier students included Victor Trumper and Monty Noble. He played his childhood cricket on concrete wickets in Moore Park and learnt to bowl from reading Clarrie Grimmett's instructional book, Getting Wickets. McCool played his early grade cricket with Paddington Cricket Club before coming to the notice of the New South Wales selectors. He made his first-class début for New South Wales against "Rest of Australia" in March 1940, making 19 and 15 and taking one wicket. While the Australian Cricket Board suspended the Sheffield Shield competition at the end of the 1939–40 season, at the request of the Australian government, a series of matches were arranged to raise money for wartime charities in the following 1940–41 season. McCool played in six of these matches for New South Wales, scoring 416 runs at average of 52.00 and taking 24 wickets at an average of 23.50.
McCool enlisted on 12 September 1941 and served as a Pilot Officer with the No. 33 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Stationed in New Guinea, McCool had reached the rank of Flight Lieutenant when he was discharged from the RAAF on 18 September 1945.
After the war, he moved to Brisbane and was selected in the Queensland cricket team. Playing for Queensland, he formed a formidable partnership with wicket-keeper Don Tallon. He was selected in the Australian team to tour New Zealand in 1945–46, making his Test début at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. He made seven runs in Australia's only innings and took a wicket with his second ball in Test cricket; the last man dismissed in the Test, Don McRae.
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