Norm O'Neill - Wisden Cricketer of The Year

Wisden Cricketer of The Year

O'Neill was selected for the tour of England in 1961, and he warmed up by scoring centuries in consecutive matches against Tasmania for the Australian squad. During the English summer, O'Neill scored 1981 runs at 60.03, narrowly missing becoming only the fourth post-war player after Don Bradman, Neil Harvey and Bill Lawry to make 2,000 runs in an Ashes tour.

In the third match against Yorkshire, which was O'Neill's second for the tour, he scored an unbeaten 100 marked by his cover driving. He followed this with a 74 against Lancashire before a 124 two matches later against Glamorgan, which was described by Wisden as the best of the season. He scored 73 against Gloucestershire and made 122 on his first appearance at Lord's, against the Marylebone Cricket Club, in what was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests. Australia went on to win by 63 runs. In the next match against Sussex, O'Neill was carried from the ground after suffering a knee injury, and after failing to bat in either innings, it appeared he would be sidelined for a substantial period.

However he recovered to be selected for the First Test at Edgbaston, just five days later. He made 82 as Australia scored 9/516 declared and took a 321-run first innings lead, but England could not be dismissed in the second innings and salvaged a draw. He continued his form with an unbeaten 104 against Kent between the Tests.

The "Battle of the Ridge" in the Second Test at Lord's—the home of cricket—was an unhappy one for O'Neill. On an erratic pitch with a visible ridge that caused uneven bounce, O'Neill made one and a duck as an Australia scraped home by five wickets in a low-scoring match.

He returned to the county matches and scored 162 against Lancashire, before scoring 27 and 19 as England squared the series in the Third Test at Headingley. O'Neill then scored 142 against Northamptonshire, but the hosts were able to tie the scores when stumps were drawn with four wickets in hand.

After rectifying a technical fault, O'Neill made 67 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Old Trafford with the series tied at 1–1, helping Australia take a narrow victory to retain the Ashes. Heading into the final Test, O'Neill had a consistent run, scoring three fifties in four innings. He made his first century against England in the Fifth Test at The Oval with 117 as Australia drew the match to take the series. He did so after being given a "lucky coin" by a spectator and being dropped at second slip when he was on 19. He scored 324 runs at 40.50 in the Tests and was subsequently named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1962. Following the Tests, O'Neill added four half-centuries in five innings in a consistent run towards the close of the tour. He left English soil with 138 against Minor Counties, in a non-first-class match. In all first-class matches, he made seven centuries, and his run aggregate was second only to Lawry, who made 2,019 runs.