Tibby Cotter

Tibby Cotter was a short (5'8") fast bowler who generated extreme pace from powerful chest and shoulders and on at least 20 occasions shattered the stumps or bails so quick was he. He was also a more than useful batsman, and in a grade match for Glebe he once smashed 152 in 70 minutes in an innings which included 16 sixes.

He made his debut for New South Wales in 1901 and made his Test debut against England at the end of the 1903-04 series and in his second Test - the last at the MCG - he took 8 for 65 to guide Australia to victory. He was included in the 1905 side which toured England, taking 121 wickets at 20.19, playing three Tests and taking 7 for 148 in the first innings at The Oval. He took five-for in the first two Tests of the 1907-08 Ashes, and in England in 1909 he took 17 wickets at 21.47 in another Australian Ashes success.

He was again in good for against South Africa in 1910-11 and the following season struggled against England ina series increasingly overshadowed by the bitter dispute between leading players and the board. As a result, he was one of six leading cricketers who refused to tour England for the 1912 Trinagular tournament. That was the end of his international career. For the Glebe club, he took 295 wickets at 20.20 between 1900-01 and 1914-15.

He joined the Australian Light Horse, and in 1917 at Beersheba he peeped over the rim of a trench to verify what he had seen in his periscope and was shot dead by a sniper. Shortly before his death he is said to have tossed up a ball of mud and said to a colleague: "That's my last bowl ... something's going to happen."
Martin Williamson