Tony Dell

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Tony Dell
Personal information
Full nameAnthony Ross Dell
Born (1945-08-06) 6 August 1945 (age 76)
Lymington, Hampshire, England
BattingRight-hand bat
BowlingLeft-arm fast-medium
International information
National side
Test debut12 February 1971 v England
Last Test29 December 1973 v New Zealand
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class
Matches 2 41
Runs scored 6 169
Batting average – 5.63
100s/50s -/- -/-
Top score 3* 13*
Balls bowled 559 8549
Wickets 6 137
Bowling average 26.66 26.70
5 wickets in innings – 6
10 wickets in match – 1
Best bowling 3/65 6/17
Catches/stumpings -/- 18/-
Source: Cricinfo

Anthony Ross "Tony" Dell (born 6 August 1945 in Lymington, England) is a former Australian cricketer who played in two Tests, one in 1970–71 and the other in 1973–74.

Cricket career[]

Dell was a fast-medium seam bowler who made his debut against England for the vital Seventh Test at Sydney in the 1970–71 Ashes series. With Australia needing to win he opened the bowling with Dennis Lillee and took 2–32 in the first innings – John Edrich caught by Greg Chappell for 30 and Basil d'Oliveira bowled for 1 – as England collapsed to 98–5 and 184 all out. In the second innings he was the best bowler with 3–65, but England made 302 and 223 was too much for Australia to make for victory. Dell batted last and made 3 not out in each innings and so was present at the crease when The Ashes were lost. His five wickets (19.40) put him ahead of Dennis Lillee (8 wickets at 24.87) at the top of the series averages, if you exclude Ian Chappell's one wicket for 10.00. His only other test was the First against New Zealand at Melbourne in 1973–74 where he did not bat, but took 1–54 and 0–9 in Australia's innings victory.

Life[]

Dell was born in England and came to Australia at the age of 14 when his father was transferred to Queensland.[1] Educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane,[2] Dell served in the Vietnam War as a National Serviceman in the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment from 19 May 1967 until 26 March 1968.[3] He took part in several battles around the Australian base at Nui Dat.[1]

He worked in an advertising agency in Brisbane until the 1990s, when the company collapsed.[1]

As a result of his military service, Dell suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), undiagnosed till 2008. He founded the PTSD support group Stand Tall for PTS.[4][5] Stand Tall For PTS was the official charity partner of the Prime Minister's XI match at Manuka Oval on 14 January 2015 versus the English cricket team.[4]

Dell’s life story is the subject of a biography written with the journalist and published by Pitch Publishing on 21 June 2021.[6]

Dell's year of birth was officially listed as 1947 throughout his career and long into his retirement. He revealed in a Zoom presentation supporting his new book on 27 August 2021 that he had lied about his birth year in order to make his Test selection more likely. Dell was actually born two years earlier than recorded, in 1945.[7]

Further, Dell's birthdate of 6 August 1945 fell on the same day as the bombing of Hiroshima. As such, his parents gave him the middle name "Hiroshima", with the initial "H" listed on his birth certificate. Dell officially had his middle name abbreviated to Ross while at school.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Greg Growden, Cricketers at War, ABC Books, Sydney, 2019, pp. 293–303.
  2. ^ Mason, James (2011). Churchie: The Centenary Register. Brisbane, Australia: The Anglican Church Grammar School. ISBN 978-0-646-55807-3.
  3. ^ "DVA's Nominal Rolls".
  4. ^ a b Coverdale, Brydon. "Tony Dell still standing tall". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  5. ^ Kieza, Grantlee (25 November 2013). "Tony Dell, the Test fast bowler who went from Vietnam killing fields to war with the English in Ashes". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  6. ^ https://news.sky.com/story/tony-dell-the-australian-cricketer-who-fought-in-vietnam-and-struggled-for-decades-with-the-horrors-of-war-12337014
  7. ^ "Ric Finlay". 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Ric Finlay". 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.

External links[]

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