Sam Loxton - Later Cricket

Later Cricket

Although his Test career had finished, Loxton continued to play for his state. He had another disappointing season with the bat in 1951–52, scoring only 322 runs at 24.76 in nine matches. After winning the opening match of the season against Western Australia, he did not taste victory again until the final fixture of the summer against South Australia, in which he scored 71—his only fifty of the season—and took a total of 4/37 in an innings victory. Victoria lost three times and would have suffered a fourth defeat but for Loxton’s unbeaten 41 against Queensland, which helped them to hold on for a draw with one wicket intact. He continued to take regular wickets, ending with 21 scalps at 31.00 for the season, including an innings best of 4/56, but he managed a total of only 4/249 against New South Wales, who went on to win the competition.

Loxton had a more productive campaign during the 1952–53 season, scoring 470 runs at 33.57 and taking 23 wickets at 26.26 in nine matches. He broke through for his first first-class century in three years when he made 169 against New South Wales, but it was not enough to prevent an innings defeat. He scored 60 and took a match total of 5/102 in a match for Victoria against the touring South Africans early in the season, but this was not enough for him to regain his Test position. He bowled with steady results throughout the season, never taking more than three wickets in an innings and five in a match.

In 1953–54, Loxton was part of a Commonwealth team that toured India during the Australian season, playing in 15 first-class matches. He played in all five of the matches that were termed as "unofficial Tests" on this tour. The Victorian's first month on tour was keynoted by his bowling. He took 12 wickets at 19.75 but scored only 115 runs at 23.00 without passing 25 in the first four matches.

Loxton had no success in the first representative match, scoring 2 and 6 and taking 0/72 in an innings defeat. However, his fortunes turned in the next match against Bombay, when he took 5/92, the first five-wicket innings haul in his first-class career. He also scored 123, but was unable to force a victory. He carried the form into the next representative match, scoring 55 and taking a total of 3/99 in a drawn encounter. The Victorian continued his all-round form against Bengal, scoring 100 and taking 5/87 in an innings victory. His form tapered away thereafter and he failed to pass 40 and took only a total of only four wickets in the three remaining representative matches. The Commonwealth outfit won the third match but lost the fourth, ceding the series 2–1. Loxton ended the tour with 647 runs at 35.94 and 33 wickets at 31.90, but struggled in the matches against India, scoring 148 runs at 21.14 and taking 7 wickets at 56.14.

After returning to Australia, Loxton had a torrid time with the bat in the 1954–55 season, scoring only 126 runs at 14.00 and failing to pass 30 in his six matches. He took 12 wickets at 32.41 for the season, the least number of wickets in any of his first-class seasons. The all-rounder’s best effort was a 4/31 against New South Wales in a match that Victoria lost by nine wickets. Loxton had a more productive summer in 1955–56. In seven matches, he scored 286 runs at 40.85 including an unbeaten century against South Australia, and took 14 wickets at 20.07; his best was a 4/35 in the return match against South Australia. The Sheffield Shield was won by Victoria’s bitter rivals New South Wales in both seasons.

In 1956–57, his penultimate season for Victoria, Loxton—aged nearly 36—scored 134 and took 2/30 to orchestrate an innings victory over South Australia in the second match of the summer. In the penultimate match of the season, which effectively determined the fate of the Sheffield Shield, the Victorian all-rounder took 4/44 to help dismiss New South Wales for 149 and take a 292-run first innings lead. However, the defending champions hung on for a draw to ensure the retention of their title. Loxton then surpassed his previous career best by taking 6/49 against Western Australia to set up a nine-wicket win in the last match of the season.

Loxton retired after playing in the 1957–58 season. With the Test players in South Africa, he made 331 runs at 41.37 including 2 centuries, and took 9 wickets at 26.33 in 8 matches. He made 107 in an innings triumph over Queensland and 106 in a drawn match against South Australia. It was not enough for him to win a third Sheffield Shield title; New South Wales won for the fifth successive time, defeating Victoria in both of their matches. Loxton made little impact in his final match; although the Victorians defeated Queensland, his only participation was to score five runs in the first innings. His highest score remained the 232 not out he had made on his first-class debut.

Loxton continued to play for Prahran until 1962–63, and he topped the batting and bowling averages for the club on five and six occasions respectively. He topped both the batting and bowling averages in the same season on four occasions. The all-rounder scored a total of 6,032 runs and took 351 wickets during his first grade career, and was named the captain of the club's honorary Team of the Century.