Brad McNamara

Over more than a decade, Brad McNamara was a feisty all-rounder for New South Wales in Australian domestic cricket. An indomitable competitor who was among the first picked for the Blues (especially in one-day teams) when fit, the most pronounced of McNamara's strengths was his ability to trouble batsmen with his accurate and awkward medium pace bowling. From a relatively slow, short jog to the wicket, he applied pressure with a mixture of well concealed changes in pace, wobbling swing, subtle movement off the seam, and a capacity to maintain an impeccable line on or around the off stump. McNamara's shrewd approach also extended to his batting. He was never a particularly commanding strokemaker but he was certainly a hard working, gritty and stubborn member of the lower order and was at the heart of many resilient tailend fightbacks for the Blues. As a case in point, his name still features in the state's all-time record partnership (an unbroken 138 with Phil Alley) for the tenth wicket against Tasmania. McNamara, who was best man at Australian captain Steve Waugh's wedding, retired from interstate competition at the end of the 1999-2000 season. (John Polack, July 2000)