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Stanley Joseph "Stan" McCabe (16 July 1910 – 25 August 1968) was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander, McCabe was described by ''Wisden'' as "one of Australia's greatest and most enterprising batsmen" and by his captain Don Bradman as one of the great batsmen of the game.〔(Don Bradman ) at Cricinfo retrieved 5 March 2008〕 He was never dropped from the Australian Test team and was known for his footwork, mastery of fast bowling and the hook shot against the Bodyline strategy. He also regularly bowled medium-pace and often opened the bowling at a time when Australia lacked fast bowlers, using an off cutter. He was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1935. At the age of 19, McCabe was called up for the 1930 tour of England despite being yet to score his maiden first-class century as the selectors chose the youngest ever team to leave Australia. McCabe made his first century in a warm-up match but struggled in his month in England, scoring only 51 runs. His performance began to improve after adjusting his technique and he played in all five Tests, although he continued to have problems converting starts into large scores, failing to make a century during the tour. McCabe managed to maintain his position over the next two home seasons, playing in all ten Tests, but failed to make a century, and after 15 Tests, his average was below 35 although he had become increasingly successful at first-class level. In 1932–33, McCabe made his breakthrough at international level in the First Test of the infamous Bodyline series, scoring an unbeaten 187 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in only four hours as his teammates fell around him. McCabe attacked the bowling vigorously, hooking relentlessly. He ended the series as the only Australian other than Bradman to score a century. McCabe missed most of the next season due to illness, but was retained for the 1934 tour of England despite his interrupted preparation. He scored 2,078 runs and eight centuries for the tour, including his maiden Test century in England. Following the retirement of captain Bill Woodfull at the end of the tour, McCabe became Australia’s vice-captain and held the post for the rest of his career. After missing most of the 1934–35 domestic season due to injury, McCabe scored an unbeaten 189 in the Second Test of the 1935–36 tour of South Africa, including a century in one session, taking Australia to the brink of a world record-breaking victory on a difficult final-day pitch in poor light before the match was called off. It was one of two Test centuries McCabe made on the tour. The following season, he made five fifties in the first four Tests before scoring a century to help Australia win the deciding final Test against the touring Englishmen. In the First Test of the 1938 tour of England, McCabe played what was regarded as his greatest innings, scoring 232 in four hours, including his last 72 in 28 minutes. Bradman regarded the innings as the greatest batting he ever saw. However, none of McCabe’s three most famous innings resulted in an Australian victory; he has a reputation of being at his best when Australia was in difficulty. During the 1938 tour, McCabe had been generally unproductive and he missed much of the subsequent Australian season due to illness and only played sporadically thereafter before cricket was cancelled due to World War II. He served in the military in a clerical position for a year before he was discharged due to a chronic feet problems. McCabe was plagued by poor health in his middle age, and was hospitalised for a liver ailment shortly before his death. He died at the age of 58 after falling off a cliff adjacent to his home in Mosman. There was innuendo that it was a suicide, but the coroner ruled that it was an accident. == Early years == McCabe's paternal grandparents settled in Grenfell, New South Wales in the 1850s; his grandfather Constable Edward James McCabe was an Irish policeman who immigrated to Australia and served in the Victorian Police. Edward left the constabulary and moved from Melbourne to Grenfell after reports of a gold rush. Edward's wife Catherine was ambushed by bushrangers during her relocation to the town with her children three weeks later, but was unharmed.〔Whitington, pp. 114–115.〕 The bushrangers scoured the family’s possessions, but left after finding nothing of value.〔McHarg, pp. 14–15.〕 Her obituary described her as "one of the greatest of the pioneer women of the Australian bush, possessing all the qualities of self-sacrifice, resourcefulness, industry, determination, and courage that left their mark on the Australian race and laid the foundation of the nation".〔Whitington and Hele, pp. 102–103.〕 Her grandson, one of 37 grandchildren,〔McHarg, p. 16.〕 was likewise known for his fearless and courageous play on the cricket field against the most intimidating bowlers of his time.〔 The son of local barber William "Bill",〔 McCabe was the third of four brothers, who grew up playing local cricket in his hometown. The siblings played with rudimentary equipment; a lump of wood was substituted for a bat and cork wrapped in socks improvised as cricket balls. The boys settled their differences in the traditional manner of boxing bouts, and they took their primary education at a Catholic convent staffed by nuns.〔 At the age of 14, McCabe won a scholarship to the Catholic St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill in Sydney due to his sporting ability.〔〔 Run by the Marist Brothers, the large school’s centerpiece stone castle-like building overlooks Sydney Harbour.〔McHarg, p. 17.〕 After a month in the Second XI, McCabe was promoted to the Senior First XI at 14 as an all-rounder.〔 He did not make a good start, registering a duck in his first innings.〔 However, he impressed observers with his ability to hit the ball precisely. McCabe was always short, and playing against boys three years his senior, he could not rely on brute force.〔McHarg, p. 18.〕 Aside from playing cricket, he was also full-back in the school's championship winning Rugby union team in 1926. During his time at St Joseph’s McCabe grew larger and batted more powerfully, and his exploits were regularly featured in the yearbook.〔 In 1925, he struck his maiden century against Sydney Boys High School and score two more the following year.〔McHarg, pp. 20–21.〕 Such was his power that the backyard fence at the home of a friend had to be reinforced—McCabe’s powerful square drives had been dislodging it.〔McHarg, p. 19.〕 McCabe did not receive special coaching attention from the school's staff, who merely encouraged him to hit the ball hard and along the ground. In his later years at school, he was selected for Combined Great Public Schools of Sydney—a combined team from Sydney's private schools—for the state schoolboys' carnival.〔 McCabe studied hard and placed first in the class in each of his three years at St Joseph’s.〔 At the end of 1926, he earned his Intermediate Certificate with five As and two Bs.〔McHarg, p. 21.〕 McCabe then left school and became an accountant’s assistant.〔McHarg, p. 22.〕 He returned to Grenfell at the end of the 1926, and spent two years playing for the Grenfell Juniors,〔 alongside his brothers. During this time Grenfell were undefeated for two years, and McCabe regularly scored centuries against outclassed bowling, including one score of 260.〔 In 1927, McCabe’s cricket came to high-level attention for the first time. Charlie Macartney, who had just retired from Test cricket, brought a team that included six internationals, to Grenfell. McCabe scored 17 and took 5/84 against them.〔McHarg, p. 23.〕 Then state and future Australian selector Chappie Dwyer, who led a team of Sydney Grade Cricketers to play in the country town.〔 The McCabe brothers defeated them, Stan scoring 19.〔 Later, the Test leg spinner Arthur Mailey led a team that also included Test player Tommy Andrews to Grenfell, and McCabe scored 62, 35 and 62 not out in three innings against them.〔McHarg, p. 24.〕 In the 1927–28 season, McCabe played for the Southern Districts against other regional sides within the state. He made 92 not out in one match, but failed to pass 12 in six other innings.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.cricketarchive.com/cgi-bin/player_oracle_reveals_results2.cgi?playernumber=558&opponentmatch=exact&playername=Meckiff&resulttype=All&matchtype=All&teammatch=exact&startwicket=&homeawaytype=All&opponent=&endwicket=&wicketkeepoer=&searchtype=InningsList&endscore=&playermatch=contains&branding=cricketarchive&captain=&endseason=&startscore=&team=&startseason= )〕 Dwyer returned in 1927–28 and McCabe scored 70 against his team. Dwyer convinced McCabe's parents to allow their son to move to Sydney to further his cricket career.〔〔 At the start of the following season, McCabe appeared with the New South Wales Colts team in one match against Queensland, before being selected for the New South Wales Second XI to play their Victorian counterparts. McCabe scored 60 not out in the second innings and took a total of 6/100 for the match.〔 He was selected to represent New South Wales in his first-class debut against Queensland in the 1928–29 Sheffield Shield season while the Test players competed against England.〔〔Harte and Whimpress, pp. 310–316.〕 He made 60 and 34, and bowled 17 overs without success,〔 but was later omitted when the Test players returned from international duty.〔 In four first-class matches in his debut season, McCabe scored 197 runs at 32.83 and took a total of 1/111.〔 McCabe played twice against the touring England cricket team led by Percy Chapman, once in a match at Goulburn for the Southern Districts of New South Wales,〔 and the other time for his state, but managed only 24 runs in three innings.〔 McCabe settled in Sydney permanently in 1929,〔 representing Mosman Cricket Club in Sydney Grade Cricket. His parents only allowed him to settle there permanently if Dwyer could help find him a job and lodgings, and McCabe subsequently began work in the accounting division of Colonial Mutual Insurance Company. Dwyer could only support one player and hard a hard decision in eventually turning down the second McCabe brother Les. Both Stan and Les were similar in batting ability but the former could also bowl.〔McHarg, p. 26.〕 During the 1929–30 season, McCabe totalled 844 runs at 56.27, making him the second-highest runscorer behind Bradman, as New South Wales won the Sheffield Shield.〔Harte and Whimpress, p. 320.〕 Despite his consistency, McCabe had difficulty capitalising on his starts. He passed 50 on eight occasions in the first eight matches of the season, and reached 29 in ten of his 12 innings, but failed to make a century, falling seven times between 60 and 90.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stan McCabe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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