Cricket Captains' Walk Explained

The Cricket Captains' Walk is a collection of specially commissioned bronze busts of Test captains of the Australian men’s national cricket team, arrayed on pedestals on the outside of a rectangular path set in a large public park in Cootamundra, New South Wales. The all-weather path, which starts and ends at Wallendoon Street is wheelchair friendly, and approximately 150 metres around.

History

The Walk was planned and executed by the Cootamundra Shire Council (now Cootamundra–Gundagai Regional Council) with the approval of the Australian Cricket Board (now Cricket Australia).

• Stage 1, unveiled on 30 August 1998, comprised the likenesses of Unaarrimin (Johnny Mullagh), Dave Gregory, Bill Murdoch, Arthur Morris, Richie Benaud, Bobby Simpson, Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell, Allan Border and Mark Taylor. Modelling of these busts was performed by Carl Valerius, sculptor and stone mason of Harden–Murrumburrah, perhaps best known for his bronze statues at the Australian Light Horse Memorial in Harden–Murrumburrah, notably the horse "Bill the Bastard", of which the full size version^[1] is now installed at Harden-Murrumburrah.

The nearby statue by Valerius^[2] (shown below) of Bradman in action was unveiled during the celebrations for "Sir Don"'s 92nd Birthday in August 2000.^[3] A minor mystery surrounds the Brian Booth sculpture, similar in style to others by Valerius, but not credited in the official documentation. There is no obvious clue in the plaques, which have remained uniform in style and execution over 30 years.

• Stage 2, comprising the remaining 30 captains, was unveiled by the sculptor Tom Bass on 27 August 2008, the centenary of Bradman's birth barely a kilometre away. Much of this work was performed by Bass and his team. His bust of Bradman was unveiled by the cricketer's grandson, Tom Bradman.^[4]
• Stage 3, unveiled on 12 March 2020, brought the walk up-to-date with the unveiling of three new busts - Shane Watson, Steve Smith and Tim Paine and a plaque for Michael Clarke, who was mid-career when the second tranche of busts was commissioned. All three were made by the Tom Bass sculpture studio.

In 2023 the pedestals were relocated to a more formal arrangement with the Bradman statue as a focal point.

The busts

• For a more complete summary of each captaincy, see List of Australia national cricket captains.

Work	Name	Specialty	Tests as Captain	Plaque	Artist	Notes
	Johnny Mullagh, traditional name Unaarrimin or Unaarrimmim					Sponsored by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
			3 Tests 1876–77 1878–79		Carl Valerius	Sponsored by Goldenfields Water County Council
		RH batsman	16 Tests 1880–1890		Carl Valerius	Murdoch was a practising solicitor in Cootamundra in 1880s. Sponsored by Australia Post
		RH batsman Bowler	2 Tests 1884–85		Robert Pratten
		RH batsman	1 Test 1884–85		Bernice Lowe
		Wicketkeeper RH batsman	8 Tests 1884–85 1891–92 1893 1894–95		Karen Alexander
		RH batsman Bowler	3 Tests 1886		Damien Lucas
		RH batsman	6 Tests 1886–87		Wendy Black
		RH batsman Bowler	4 Tests 1894–95		Michael Christie & Sue Alexopoulos
		RH batsman Bowler	8 Tests 1896 1897–98		Damien Lucas
		LH batsman	21 Tests 1901–02 1902 1902–03 1905		Lea Ferris
		RH batsman Bowler	2 Tests 1901–02		Sue Alexopoulos
		RH batsman Bowler	15 Tests 1903–04 1907–08 1909		Carol Crawford
		LH batsman	10 Tests 1910–11		Bernice Lowe
		RH batsman	6 Tests 1912		Michael Christie
		RH batsman Bowler	10 Tests 1920–21		Christine Crimmins
		RH batsman	11 Tests 1921–22 1924–25 1926		BJ (Beomjin) Kim
		LH batsman	2 Tests 1926		Peter Bartlett
		RH batsman Bowler	5 Tests 1928–29		Julieanne Mahony
		RH batsman	25 Tests 1930 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1934		Virginia Lloyd–Tait
		RH batsman Slips fieldsman	5 Tests 1935–36		Robert Pratten
		RH batsman	24 Tests 1936–37 1938 1946–47 1947–48 1948
		RH opening batsman	1 Test 1945–46		Karen Alexander
		RH batsman Bowler	24 Tests 1951–52 1952–53 1953		Petrena Shaw
		LH batsman	2 Tests 1951–52 1954–55		Carl Valerius
		RH batsman Bowler	17 Tests 1954–55 1956 1956–57		Janet Coyne
		RH Bowler Lower-order batsman	1 Test 1956–57		Michael Christie
		RH batsman	5 Tests 1957–58		Peter Bartlett
		RH batsman Leg spin bowler	28 Tests 1958–1964		Carl Valerius
		LH batsman Cover fieldsman	1 Test 1961		Bernice Lowe
		RH opening batsman Leg spin bowler Slips fieldsman	39 Tests 1963–1978		Carl Valerius
		RH batsman	2 Tests 1965–1966
		LH opening batsman	25 Tests 1967–1971		Carl Valerius	Sponsored by the City of Darebin, Victoria, who have a replica in their council chambers.
		RH batsman Wicketkeeper	1 Test 1968		Carol Crawford
		RH top-order batsman Slips fieldsman	30 Tests 1970–1975		Carl Valerius
		RH batsman Bowler Fieldsman	48 Tests 1975–1983		Carl Valerius
		LH top-order batsman	7 Tests 1978–1979		Damien Lucas
		RH batsman	28 Tests 1978–1984		Wendy Black
		LH batsman Bowler Fieldsman	93 Tests 1984–1994		Carl Valerius
		LH batsman Slips fieldsman	50 Tests 1994–1999		Carl Valerius	Sponsored by Pat Kerin, Cootamundra cricketing aficionado
		RH batsman Bowler	57 Tests 1999–2004		Carl Valerius
		LH batsman Wicketkeeper	6 Tests 2000–2004		Sue Alexopoulos
		RH batsman	77 Tests 2003–2010		Wendy Black
		RH batsman Slips fieldsman	47 Tests 2011–2015		Christine Crimmins
		RH batsman Fast bowler	1 Test 2013		Wendy Black
		RH batsman Slips fieldsman	34 Tests 2014–2018		Monika Scarrabelotti
		RH batsman Wicketkeeper	19 Tests 2018–2021		Christine Crimmins
		Right Arm fast bowler	2021–

See also

• List of Australia national cricket captains

Notes and References

1. Web site: Carl Valerius, Local Artist, Stone Mason & creator of Bill the Bastard statue . 27 May 2019. Hilltops Council. 23 September 2019.
2. Web site: A Life-size Hollow-cast Bronze Statue of Donald Bradman, By Carl Valerius . Sotheby's Australia. 24 September 2019. artist's copy, sold 7 April 2018 for $52,000 at public auction entitled Russell Crowe — Art of Divorce.
3. Web site: Cricket Captains' Walk. Monuments Australia. 23 September 2019.
4. From details on "diptych" plaque at entrance to Walk (pictured in "Gallery" directly above)