Max Walker

{{Infobox cricketer

| name = Max Walker

| image =

| country = Australia

| fullname = Maxwell Henry Norman Walker

| nickname = Tangles{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/8137.html |title=Max Walker | Australian Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo | publisher=cricinfo.com |access-date=2013-07-12}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1948|9|12|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Hobart, Tasmania, Australia{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27773197 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=The Mercury |volume=CLXVIII |issue=24,263 |location=Tasmania|date=14 September 1948 |access-date=28 September 2016 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|9|28|1948|9|12|df=y}}

| death_place = Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

| batting = Right-handed

| bowling = Right-arm fast-medium

| role = Bowler

| international = true

| testdebutdate =

| testdebutyear =

| testdebutagainst = Pakistan

| testcap = 263

| lasttestdate =

| lasttestyear =

| lasttestagainst = England

| odidebutdate =

| odidebutyear =

| odidebutagainst = New Zealand

| odicap = 23

| lastodidate =

| lastodiyear =

| lastodiagainst = New Zealand

| club1 = Victoria

| year1 = {{nowrap|1968/69–1981/82}}

| columns = 4

| column1 = Test

| matches1 = 34

| runs1 = 586

| bat avg1 = 19.53

| 100s/50s1 = 0/1

| top score1 = 78*

| deliveries1 = 10,094

| wickets1 = 138

| bowl avg1 = 27.47

| fivefor1 = 6

| tenfor1 = 0

| best bowling1 = 8/143

| catches/stumpings1 = 12/–

| column2 = ODI

| matches2 = 17

| runs2 = 79

| bat avg2 = 9.87

| 100s/50s2 = 0/0

| top score2 = 20

| deliveries2 = 1006

| wickets2 = 20

| bowl avg2 = 27.30

| fivefor2 = 0

| tenfor2 = 0

| best bowling2 = 4/19

| catches/stumpings2 = 6/–

| column3 = FC

| matches3 = 135

| runs3 = 2,014

| bat avg3 = 15.49

| 100s/50s3 = 0/3

| top score3 = 78*

| deliveries3 = 31,647

| wickets3 = 499

| bowl avg3 = 26.47

| fivefor3 = 21

| tenfor3 = 0

| best bowling3 = 8/143

| catches/stumpings3 = 49/–

| column4 = LA

| matches4 = 41

| runs4 = 261

| bat avg4 = 15.35

| 100s/50s4 = 0/0

| top score4 = 31

| deliveries4 = 2,425

| wickets4 = 52

| bowl avg4 = 25.28

| fivefor4 = 0

| tenfor4 = 0

| best bowling4 = 4/19

| catches/stumpings4 = 9/–

| date = 17 June

| year = 2014

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{cr|AUS}}}}

| source = http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/8137.html ESPNcricinfo

| module ={{Infobox AFL biography

| embed=yes

| club1 = {{AFL Mel}}

| years1 = 1967-72

| games_goals1 = 85 (23)

}}

Maxwell Henry Norman Walker {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} (12 September 1948 – 28 September 2016) was an Australian sportsman who played both cricket and Australian rules football at high levels. After six years of balancing first-class cricket in summer, professional football in winter and study for a degree in architecture, Walker earned a place in the Australian cricket team in 1972 and represented his country in the sport until injury ended his career in 1981. Following his retirement, he worked as an architect and also commenced a career in radio and television media. He wrote 14 books over a period of thirty years and became a successful public speaker. His unorthodox cricket bowling action earned him the nickname "Tangles", and his larrikin character made him a much-loved figure with the Australian public. Walker died of multiple myeloma on 28 September 2016 after being diagnosed with the disease three years earlier. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.

Early life and education

Walker was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on 12 September 1948.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/28/max-walker-former-australian-cricketer-dies-aged-68 |title=Max Walker: former Australian cricketer dies aged 68 |date=28 September 2016 |access-date=28 September 2016 |work=The Guardian}} While in high school he represented Tasmania as an opening batsman in their colts team, scoring a century in one match.{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/max-walker-dead-at-68-20160924-grnplu.html |title=Max Walker dead at 68 |last=Pierik |first=Jon |date=28 September 2016 |access-date=28 September 2016 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}} As a schoolboy at The Friends' School, Hobart, Walker was vice-captain of the firsts cricket team, played Aussie Rules football and was a talented junior athlete for his school. He also played for North Hobart Cricket Club and North Hobart Football Club as a junior.{{cite web|url=https://www.themercury.com.au/sport/tasmanians-recall-their-fond-memories-of-former-cricketer-max-walker/news-story/5817a717d3e7f6ca1e4d269216d30375 |title=Tasmanians recall their fond memories of former cricketer Max Walker

|last=Bresnehan |first=James |date=29 September 2016 |access-date=29 August 2024|work=The Mercury}}

After graduating from Friends' School in 1967 he relocated to Melbourne to play football and also enrolled in an architecture degree at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.{{cite web |url=http://www.theweeklyreview.com.au/meet/1831792-meeting-max-walker/ |title=Meeting Australian cricket legend Max Walker |last=Wilmoth |first=Peter |date=4 February 2015 |work=The Weekly Review |access-date=28 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001185126/http://www.theweeklyreview.com.au/meet/1831792-meeting-max-walker/ |archive-date=1 October 2016 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.cricket.com.au/news/max-walker-passes-away-aged-68-tangles-australia-test-fast-bowler/2016-09-28 |title=Max Walker passes away, aged 68 |last=Cavalier |first=Rodney |work=cricket.com.au |access-date=28 September 2016}} He graduated with a fellowship diploma in 1973.

Football career

In 1966, while still a high school student, Melbourne Football Club coach Norm Smith visited Walker's family home in Hobart to sign him to the Demons. He relocated from Hobart to Melbourne in 1967 and made his VFL debut the same year. He spent six seasons with Melbourne, playing 85 games{{refn|group=note|Some sources state 93 games.}} as a ruckman and defender and earning one Brownlow Medal vote in 1968.{{cite web|url=http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/cricket/australian-cricket-legend-max-walker-dies-after-cancer-battle/news-story/0c7127d526e7ff6fc75277f17a066059 |title=Australian cricket legend Max Walker dies after cancer battle |date=28 September 2016 |last=Anderson |first=Jon |work=PerthNow |access-date=28 September 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-28/former-australian-cricketer-max-walker-dies/7883808 |title=Max Walker dies, aged 68, after 34-Test career with Australian cricket team |work=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=28 September 2016 |access-date=28 September 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/M/Max_Walker.html |title=Max walker |work=AFL Tables |access-date=28 September 2016}} After returning from the Australian cricket team's 1972–73 tour of the West Indies, Walker informed the club that he would not be joining them for the 1973 VFL season, as the season was about to start and he needed to complete a thesis for his university degree.{{cite web|url=http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/max-walker-an-excellent-fast-medium-bowler-who-was-doomed-to-play-the-support-role-30817 |title=Max Walker: An excellent fast-medium bowler who was doomed to play the support role |last=Sengupta |first=Arunabha |date=12 September 2016 |access-date=28 September 2016 |work=Cricket Country}}

Cricket career

Upon moving to Melbourne in 1967, Walker joined the Melbourne Cricket Club. Although he earned a reputation as a batsman as a junior, he was given an opportunity to open the bowling attack for Melbourne, which showed his true cricket potential. His strange bowling action, bowling right arm over his right leg, earned Walker the nickname of "Tanglefoot" which was quickly shortened to "Tangles". He made his first-class debut for Victoria in February 1969 against Queensland, the final match of Victoria's 1968–1969 Sheffield Shield season. Despite taking five wickets in the match, he did not get a chance to play in the 1969–1970 season due to the depth in Victoria's bowling. He earned a second match in December 1970 and became a regular in the 1971–72 season, playing a total of 135 matches for Victoria.

He made his test debut for Australia in the second Test against Pakistan that commenced on 29 December 1972. He took five wickets in the match and retained his place in the team for the next match, the final of the series. In that match, a final innings performance of 6–15 by Walker prevented Pakistan from winning the match. During the series he was selected for Australia's tour of the West Indies that ran from February to April 1973.

Walker played a total of 34 Tests, taking 138 wickets as a medium-fast bowler. He played in 17 ODIs between 1974 and 1981, as well as playing in the breakaway World Series Cricket from 1977 to 1979. His final match for Australia was the infamous underarm match between Australia and New Zealand on 1 February 1981. An Achilles tendon injury subsequently forced his retirement from cricket.

Post-retirement from cricket

After retiring from competitive cricket in 1981, Walker practised architecture for 10 years. He also became a highly regarded for his work in the media, including television and radio. He was also a successful author and public speaker.

= Media career =

Once he retired from cricket, Walker first appeared on radio, calling cricket for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) with Drew Morphett and Alan McGilvray for four years from 1981. He was also part of the commercial radio cricket coverage run by 2UE and 3AK. His first television appearances date back to 1982, where he was the cricket expert on Channel 7's World of Sport. After moving to Channel 9 in 1985, he was also part of National Nine News Melbourne with Brian Naylor, reading sports reports on the nightly news. He also hosted the Nine Network's The Sunday Footy Show from 1993–1998 and Nine's Wide World of Sports program until it was cancelled in 1999. He was also a commentator for Channel Nine's cricket matches between 1985 and 1991. In 2005 he appeared on the Nine Network's sports show Any Given Sunday, hosted by James Brayshaw, as well as ABC2's sports program Late Night Legends featuring highlights of the 1974–75 Ashes series in which Walker had a prominent role.

Walker's distinctive broad Australian accent was parodied in several albums by The Twelfth Man (Billy Birmingham), including being featured as the central character on the 1994 album Wired World of Sports II. It follows Walker through a day at his job at the Nine Network in which he assaults co-host Ken Sutcliffe in order to increase his chances of regaining a place on the cricket commentary team.

He also appeared in television advertisements throughout his career, commencing with an Aerogard commercial in the mid-1970s. He also made a guest appearance on Red Faces for an episode of Hey Hey It's Saturday.{{Citation |title=Kenny Codgers - Red Faces |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU9ec84KoIc |access-date=2023-09-01 |language=en}}

= Writing career =

Max Walker was also the author of 14 books, with total sales exceeding one million copies. His first book, Tangles (written with Neil Phillipson), was an autobiography published in 1976. His subsequent books contained light-hearted anecdotes from his career, with titles such as The Wit of Walker, How to Kiss a Crocodile and How to Puzzle a Python. His final book Caps, Hats and Helmets was released in 2006.{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/16121123 |title=Caps, hats & helmets : cricket's a funny game! / Max Walker |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=28 September 2016}}

=Public speaking=

Following the cancellation of Nine's Wide World of Sports in 1999, Walker commenced appearing on the public speaking circuit. He turned it into a successful business and continued speaking until at least 2015. Walker held the designation of Certified Speaking Professional, which is the highest accreditation within Professional Speakers Australia. In 2016, he presented a keynote address at the Professional Speakers Australia annual convention.{{Cite web|url=http://2016.psaconvention.com.au/speakers/max-walker|title=Professional Speakers Australia Convention 2016 :: Max Walker|website=2016.psaconvention.com.au|access-date=2016-09-29}} He received the Educator of the Year{{Cite web|url=http://www.professionalspeakers.org.au/about/awards/#Educator|title=The Nevin Award, Keynote Presenter & Educator Award for Excellence|website=www.professionalspeakers.org.au|access-date=2016-09-29}} award from Professional Speakers Australia at that same convention.

Honours

On 13 June 2011, Walker was named a Member of the Order of Australia for service to cricket at a national and international level as a player and commentator, and to the community through a range of youth and social welfare organisations.{{cite web|title=Max Walker AM|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1144316|publisher=Australian Honours Database|access-date=13 June 2011|archive-date=4 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004140635/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1144316&search_type=quick&showInd=true|url-status=live}}

Personal life

Walker was married twice and had five children: three sons from his first marriage, and two daughters with his second wife Kerry. He was an avid collector of fountain pens and featured in one episode of the ABC's Collectors.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-28/farewell-to-tangles-as-max-walker-dies-at-68/7884440 |title=Max Walker: Larrikin, sportsman, raconteur and broadcaster dies aged 68 |date=28 September 2016 |work=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |last=McGarry |first=Andrew |access-date=28 September 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/collectors/video/default.htm?pres=ep_vid_EP28&story=1 |title=The Collectors |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=28 September 2016}} Walker died from multiple myeloma on 28 September 2016, after being diagnosed in August 2013.{{cite news|title=Max Walker died of a blood cancer called myeloma, not melanoma|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-29/max-walker-died-of-myeloma-not-melanoma/7888012|access-date=29 September 2016|work=ABC News|date=29 September 2016}}

Bibliography

Books authored or co-authored by Walker:{{cite web|url=http://www.maxwalker.com.au/writer-max/book-shelf/ |title=Book Shelf – Max Walker |access-date=28 September 2016 |archive-date=1 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301193609/http://www.maxwalker.com.au/writer-max/book-shelf/ |url-status=dead }}

Tangles (1976), with Neill Phillipson, {{ISBN|095970986X}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9527423?q=Tangles&c=book&versionId=11053649 |title=Tangles / Max Walker with Neill Phillipson |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=28 September 2016}}
Cricketer at the Crossroads (1978), with Neill Phillipson, {{ISBN|0908081405}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9557197?q=Cricketer+at+the+Crossroads+&c=book&versionId=11089247 |title=Cricketer at the crossroads / [by] Max Walker with Neill Phillipson |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=28 September 2016}}
Back to Bay 13 (1980), {{ISBN|0908081804}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/24948351?q=Back+to+Bay+13&c=book&versionId=30095642 |title=Back to bay 13 / Max Walker. |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=28 September 2016}}
The Wit of Walker (1983), with Mike Coward, {{ISBN|0908081499}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/21652133?q=The+Wit+of+Walker&c=book&versionId=45763548 |title=The wit of Walker / Max Walker with Mike Coward. |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=28 September 2016}}
How to Hypnotise Chooks (1987), {{ISBN|0908081510}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8476676?q=How+to+Hypnotise+Chooks+&c=book&sort=holdings+desc&_=1475049656731&versionId=45772393 |title=How to hypnotise chooks and other great yarns / Max Walker. |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=28 September 2016}}
How to Tame Lions (1988), {{ISBN|0908081758}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18832825?q=How+to+Tame+Lions&c=book&sort=holdings+desc&_=1475049764058&versionId=45774740 |title=How to tame lions and other great yarns / Max Walker. |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=28 September 2016}}
How to Kiss a Crocodile (1989), {{ISBN|0908081839}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/16860557?q=How+to+kiss+a+crocodile&c=book&sort=holdings+desc&_=1475049943897&versionId=19790440 |title=How to kiss a crocodile and other snappy stories / Max Walker |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=28 September 2016}}
How to Puzzle a Python (1990), {{ISBN|0908081367}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/6198597?q=How+to+puzzle+a+python&c=book |title=How to puzzle a python / Max Walker |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=28 September 2016}}
The best of Mr Walker (1992), {{ISBN|0947334513}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/34936980?q=The+best+of+max+walker&c=book&versionId=45786259 |title=The best of Mr Walker : a collection of Max Walker's favourite stories. |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=29 September 2016}}
A Chip Off the Old Block (1996), {{ISBN|0947334823}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/13818641?q=A+chip+off+the+old+block&c=book&sort=holdings+desc&_=1475106654478&versionId=45798001 |title=A chip off the old block / Max Walker. |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=29 September 2016}}
Sports Jokes (1997), with Brian Doyle, {{ISBN|0947334823}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/23040070?q=Sports+Jokes&c=book&sort=holdings+desc&_=1475107277894&versionId=45521679+185206467 |title=Sports jokes / Max Walker, Brian Doyle. |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=29 September 2016}}
Ladies and Gentlemen (1999), with Mike McColl Jones, {{ISBN|1865080802}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/26209881?q=Ladies+and+Gentlemen&c=book&versionId=45870235 |title=Ladies and gentlemen : tales and misadventures from the microphone / Max Walker and Mike McColl Jones. |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=29 September 2016}}
The Volunteers (2001), with Gerry Gleeson, {{ISBN|1865085685}}{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/33665098?q=exact_creator%3A%22Walker+Max+1948%22&c=book&versionId=45873657 |title=The volunteers : how ordinary Australians brought about the extraordinary success of the Sydney 2000 Games / Max Walker and Gerry Gleeson. |via=National Library of Australia |access-date=29 September 2016}}
Caps, Hats and Helmets (2006), {{ISBN|0975791109}}

Notes

References

External links

{{official website|http://www.maxwalker.com.au/}}
{{ESPNcricinfo|id=8137}}
[http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/M/Max_Walker.html Walker's football statistics] from AFL Tables
[https://web.archive.org/web/20071105090050/http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1851453.htm Interview on ABC Television's Talking Heads February 2007]

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Category:1948 births

Category:2016 deaths

Category:Architects from Melbourne

Category:Australia One Day International cricketers

Category:Australia Test cricketers