Australian Services Cricket Team - Personnel

Personnel

The following cricketers played in at least one match.

• Warrant Officer Lindsay Hassett (captain) (VIC)
• Squadron Leader Stan Sismey (NSW)
• Flying Officer Keith Miller (VIC)
• Captain Richard Whitington (SA)
• Flying Officer Jack Pettiford (NSW)
• Flight Sergeant Jim Workman (SA)
• Sergeant Cec Pepper (NSW)
• Flight Lieutenant Keith Carmody (NSW)
• Flight Lieutenant Ross Stanford (SA)
• Flying Officer Bob Cristofani (NSW)
• Flying Officer Eddie Williams (SA)
• Sergeant Charles Price (NSW)
• Warrant Officer Graham Williams (SA)
• Flight Lieutenant Mick Roper (NSW)
• Captain Albert Cheetham (NSW)
• Flying Officer Reginald Ellis (SA)
• Flying Officer Colin Bremner
• Sergeant L.W. Maddison

The manager was Flight Lieutenant Keith Johnson from New South Wales.

Only one player in the side, future Test captain Lindsay Hassett had Test match experience. Keith Miller, Bob Cristofani, Cec Pepper, Keith Carmody, Ross Stanford, Albert Cheetham, Stan Sismey, Dick Whitington, and Graham Williams were the players who had previous first-class experience. The spinner Reg Ellis and opening batsman Jack Pettiford had not prior experience at first-class level, but played for their states in Australia after making their debut for the Services. Charles Price and Jim Workman made their debut during the Australian Services campaign and never played first-class cricket afterwards.

Keith Miller, one of the ten inaugural inductees of the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame at the time only a batsman with Victoria, played what many consider to be his breakout series in the Victory Tests, ensuring that when he returned to Australia he would have a place in the Australian national team now referred to as The Invincibles.

In the batting department, Miller was the top-scorer; he scored 1,447 runs in 20 matches at an average of 49.89. Hassett scored 1,434 runs at 49.44 in 18 matches and top-scored for the whole campaign with 187. Opening batsman Whitington was the only other member of the team to score more than 1,000 runs. He totalled 1,054 runs at 35.13.

On the bowling front, Australia was heavily dependent on its spin attack. The left arm orthodox spinner Ellis took 72 wickets at 25.02, while the leg spinner Pepper took 71 wickets at 32.47. The third highest wicket-taker was Cristofani, also a leg spinner; he took 34 wickets at 30.73. Miller was the leading paceman, taking 29 wickets at 28.96.

For all rounders, Pepper also scored 987 runs at 36.55, while Cristofani added 558 runs at 27.90. Pettiford scored 768 runs at 38.40 and took 22 wickets at 41.86 with his leg spin.

Graham Williams, the team's main strike bowler, had only been released from a German prisoner of war camp weeks before the series started, and played at 31 kg (68 lb) below his pre-war playing weight. In between overs he drank glasses of glucose and water to keep his energy up, but when he was unable to bowl Miller took his place and demonstrated what a valuable pace bowler he would become in the future himself.