Austin Thomas Eugene Punch (16 August 1894 – 25 August 1985) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. He played one first-class match for

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

in 1927/28 and 32 matches for

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

between 1919/20 and 1928/29. A tall and forceful batsman, strong on the front foot, Punch made his highest score of 176 against

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

when New South Wales toured New Zealand early in 1924; New South Wales scored 649 on the second day of the three-day match. His best bowling figures with his leg-breaks were 5 for 33 against

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

earlier that season. In 1923 Punch, described in the Sydney ''Referee'' as "a finely-trained baritone of undoubted excellence", resigned his position with the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Company to become a professional singer. He married Sylvia Byrne in the Sydney suburb of

Neutral Bay Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Neutral Bay takes ...

in November 1934.

References

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* 1894 births 1985 deaths Australian cricketers New South Wales cricketers Tasmania cricketers Cricketers from Sydney 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-cricket-bio-1890s-stub