Carl Gray Rackemann (born 3 June 1960) is a former

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 ...

and Australian cricketer. He was a fast bowler in 12 Test matches, 52

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

s and 167

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

matches in a career spanning 1979/80 to 1995/96.

International career

Rackemann, a well built fast bowler, was born in Wondai, Queensland. He made his Test debut versus England at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in 1982 and was consistently picked for the national side, mainly for One Day Internationals, until 1985. He was the leading wicket taker during the 1984–85 tour of India. He signed up to play in the rebel tours of South Africa (1985–86 and 1986–87), thereby becoming ineligible to be a member of the official Australian team during that time. Rackemann came back into the Australian team in 1989, being picked for that year's Ashes tour to England. In the 2nd innings of the Test against New Zealand in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in 1989–90, he achieved the bowling analysis of 31 overs, 21 maidens, 23 runs and 1 wicket. He was well known for being a poor batsman, making only 53 runs in his 14 test innings, with a highest score of 15 not out. Ironically, in spite of this reputation, Rackemann's last test innings in 1991 helped Australia to retain

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...

, his stubborn 102-ball second-innings 9 helping Australia secure the draw that they needed in the third test at

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Queensland career

Rackemann held the

state record of 425 wickets until overtaken by

Michael Kasprowicz Michael Scott Kasprowicz (born 10 February 1972) is a former Australian international cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a right arm fast bowler. He represented Queensland and played in the English county scene at first cla ...

. Rackemann's last game for Queensland was the 1994–95

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...

Final. Queensland won this match and the Shield for the first time. This was a relief for Rackemann as he had played in four of Queensland's previous final defeats. He played English county cricket for Surrey 2nd XI in 1981 and

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in 1995 and was briefly recalled to the Australian side in 1995 for their tour of the West Indies due to a fast bowling injury crisis. After his playing career, he went on to the national coaching position for the Zimbabwean national cricket team for two seasons from 2000. He has now returned to farming in Queensland and is also an after dinner speaker. He has inspired an expatriate Australian cricket team in London "Carl Rackemann All Stars (CRAS)"

Politics

Rackemann stood as a Katter's Australian Party candidate in the electoral district of Nanango during the 2012 Queensland state election. His attempt was unsuccessful.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rackemann, Carl 1960 births Australian cricketers Australia One Day International cricketers Australia Test cricketers Australian cricket coaches Cricketers from Brisbane Living people Queensland cricketers Queensland cricket captains Surrey cricketers Australian expatriate cricketers in England Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Coaches of the Zimbabwe national cricket team 20th-century Australian sportsmen