Lindsay Hassett - Early Years

Early Years

The youngest of nine children (six boys and three girls), Hassett was born in Newtown, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria's second-largest city. His father Edward was a real estate agent who served as the secretary of the Geelong Permanent Building Society and was a keen club cricketer. The Hassett boys played three-a-side cricket matches in the backyard where Lindsay imitated his idol, the Test batsman Bill Ponsford. Along with two of his brothers, Hassett attended the Geelong College and made the First XI at the age of 14. During his five years in the team, he amassed 2,335 runs and was captain for three years. This total included an innings of 245 against Scotch College. In addition, he led the school's football team for three seasons and won the Victorian Public Schools singles championship at tennis. One of his older brothers, Richard played for Victoria in the early 1930s as a leg spinner.

While still at school, Hassett played for the South Melbourne First XI in Melbourne's district cricket competition during the 1930–31 season. A month after his debut for South, he was selected for his first representative match; batting for the Victorian Country XI against the touring West Indies team, Hassett scored 147 not out. After being overlooked for further state honours for a season, he made his first-class debut against South Australia in February 1933, but his highest score in four innings for the season was 12 and he aggregated only 25 runs. He was overlooked for the entirety of the next two seasons. Recalled in 1935–36, Hassett consolidated his place in the team through consistency rather than tall scores, scoring 212 runs at 30.28, including two fifties, 73 and 51. The following season, he led Victoria's batting averages, scoring 503 runs at 71.85. Despite his success, Hassett was unable to register his maiden first-class century, although he did manage seven consecutive fifties in nine innings for the season, including a 93 against Queensland and 83 against arch-rivals New South Wales in a consistent run that helped Victoria to the Sheffield Shield title.

In 1937–38, Hassett made 693 first-class runs including a century and five fifties at an average of 53.30, including another 90 against Queensland. Despite having only one first-class century to his name, 127 not out against the touring New Zealanders at the MCG in the first match of the season, he "scraped" into Australia's team for the 1938 tour of England.