Norman Frank Callaway (5 April 1896 – 3 May 1917) was an Australian

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 ...

er and Australian Imperial Force (AIF) soldier. Born in

Hay, New South Wales Hay is a town in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is the administrative centre of Hay Shire Local government in Australia, local government area and the centre of a prosperous and productive agricultural ...

to Thomas and Emily, Callaway moved to

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 ...

and played for Sydney grade cricket teams Paddington and Waverley. He scored a double century in his one and only

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 ...

match. He was killed in action during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Club career

Callaway appeared for Paddington in Sydney Grade Cricket in 1913–14, playing alongside

Monty Noble Montague Alfred Noble (28 January 1873 – 22 June 1940) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable field ...

. On his first appearance at the age of 17 years and 175 days, he top scored with 41 against Balmain, followed by 16 and 26 (top score again) against University and 137 not out with 24 boundaries against Middle Harbor.

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

went on a stream of praise for the hundred, calling it "a splendid innings, entirely free from blemish", and about the "crispness and strength of his driving", "straight bat" and "splendid judgment" He scored 578 runs in the season for Paddington at an average of 41.28 and took three wickets. In January 1914, Callaway scored an impressive 129, and a

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in the second innings, in a New South Wales Colts v Victorian Colts match at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

. At the beginning of the 1914–15 season, Callaway moved to Waverley where one of his team-mates was a young

Alan Kippax Alan Falconer Kippax (25 May 1897 – 5 September 1972) was a cricketer for New South Wales cricket team, New South Wales (NSW) and Australian cricket team, Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the era ...

. Callaway made his first class debut aged 18 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 ...

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 ...

at the SCG in February 1915.

Callaway's debut

began their innings on the first day after

were all out for 137. Callaway came in to bat at around 4 o'clock with the score at 17 for 3. Callaway and opener Frank Farrar added 41 runs. At the fall of Farrar, the NSW captain Charles Macartney joined Callaway. Macartney was usually a very attacking batsman but on this day he was not well and let Callaway lead the scoring. "From the first ball he swung the bat with great power and precision at anything within striking distance", tells a report of the day, "and the ball hummed to all parts of the field at an extraordinary pace". Callaway's fifty came up in 67 minutes. At 41, he was missed by McAndrews at point off a tough chance. His second fifty took 27 minutes and the hundred was reached with a "magnificent straight drive that landed on the pickets at the southern end". At the end of the first day he was 125 not out in 130 minutes with 16 fours. He outscored Macartney by 112 runs to 57 during the time they were together. Callaway grew careless as he passed 150. He was dropped four more times, at 149, 163, 175 and 180. Macartney was caught at mid on for 103 after their stand reached 256 in 155 minutes. Callaway completed his double century, in 206 minutes, just before lunch on the second day as NSW added 146 runs in the first session. Soon after, he was caught at first slip, via the gloves of stand-in

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

James Sheppard, off John McLaren for 207. He hit 26 fours in 214 minutes. Queensland were out for 100 in their second innings and lost by an innings and 231 runs. The newspapers of the day raved about his batting. ''

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'' called it the best cricket seen on the ground for the season. The ''

'' praised the power of his strokeplay, gritty temperament and the ability to play a long innings. But it felt that "Callaway is not yet a stylist. He holds the bat near the end of the handle and plays the ball at an unusual distance from his body. This method, of course, imparts power to his strokes, though from the defense point of view, it appears to leave considerable openings". The

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

had an outfield of thick grass which made it very difficult to score boundaries. The mighty Macartney had only five fours in his hundred (two of which were all run), yet Callaway hit 26 fours. The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' conjectured that if the ground was in its normal condition, he would have made another 50. "He certainly should rise to great heights", the paper concluded, "all going well with him".

Remaining life

In 1916, before he played another first-class match, Callaway enlisted in the

AIF AIF, A.I.F., AiF or aif may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Argumenty i Fakty'' (AiF), a Russian newspaper * Australians in Film (AiF), a Los Angeles-based organisation for the promotion of Australian actors and filmmakers * Aspen Ideas ...

and was posted to the 19th Battalion as a Private. He left Sydney in October and was posted in France late in December. He was reported

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

in the

Second Battle of Bullecourt The Battle of Arras, also known as the Second Battle of Arras, was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the We ...

on 3 May 1917. By September 1917, it was confirmed that Callaway had died on the same day. His memorial is in

Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway. Villers-Bretonneux borde ...

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. In the pavilion at Waverly Oval, a large photograph of Callaway was hung with the lines of the poet

Robert W. Service Robert William Service (16 January 1874 – 11 September 1958) was an English-born Canadian poet and writer, often called “The Poet of the Yukon" and "The Canadian Kipling". Born in Lancashire of Scottish descent, he was a bank clerk by trade ...

attached : :And though there's never a grave to tell, :Nor a cross to mark his fall, :Thank God! we know that he "batted well" :In the last great Game of all. Callaway holds the record for the highest first-class batting average.

Notes

Some sources, including the Sydney Morning Herald reports of the day, call Callaway the first batsman to score a double century on first class debut. The definition of first class matches has changed over time. As per the modern classification, Callaway is the second, after

Tom Marsden Thomas Marsden (12 September 1803 – 27 February 1843) was an English cricketer whose career spanned the 1826 to 1841 seasons. Born in Sheffield, Marsden was an all-rounder who batted left-handed and bowled either left-arm fast (underarm) or sl ...

who scored 227 for Sheffield and Leicester against

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

in 1826.First-Class Hundred on Debut
''acscricket.com''

References

External links

Norman Callaway's army papers
*
"His record stands, an innings not to be forgotten"

Gideon Haigh Gideon Clifford Jeffrey Davidson Haigh (born 29 December 1965) is an Australian journalist and non-fiction author who writes about sport (especially cricket), business and crime in Australia. He was born in London, was raised in Geelong, and li ...

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...