Vernon Seymour Ransford (20 March 1885 – 19 March 1958) was an Australian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played in 20

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

between 1907 and 1912. Ransford was a smooth and stylish left-handed batsman who could score with ease all round the wicket or defend patiently as the situation required. He played for Victoria from 1904 to 1928. He was also an outstanding fieldsman, who could pick up and throw the ball in one movement and with great accuracy. Ransford's best Test series was the 1909 tour of England when he topped the Australian batting averages, helped by a career best score of 143 not out, finishing with 353 runs at an average of 58.83. On the whole tour he made 1783 runs at an average of 43.48, and hit six centuries. The following year he was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. He toured New Zealand with Australian teams in 1913-14 and in 1920-21, when he captained the side. He also toured New Zealand with Victoria in 1924-25. After retiring from playing Ransford served as President of the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

in 1927/28, and secretary of the Melbourne Cricket Club (where he had played his domestic cricket) from 1939 to 1957, ably steering the club and its ground, the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

, through the ground's use as a military camp in World War II and its later use as the chief venue for the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

.''The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket'', Oxford, Melbourne, 1996, pp. 440–41.

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Vernon Seymour Ransford (1885–1958)
Gravesite at Brighton General Cemetery (Vic) 1885 births 1958 deaths Australia Test cricketers Victoria cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers Melbourne Football Club presidents Australian cricketers Cricketers from Melbourne Australian cricket administrators People from South Yarra, Victoria {{AFL-bio-1885-stub