NDCC | Blackmail Newsletter | 13th Jan 2026 No. 8
- crhambleton
- Jan 17
- 7 min read
The series against England had its highs and lows …
Day 1 – Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval – 17th Dec 2025
Accolades pour in for Nathan Lyon as he passes Glenn McGrath’s Record
From humble beginnings as a 23 year old debutant in Galle 2011, to outright 2nd in the list of all time wickets taken for Australia...
...And then the heartbreaking news … “Nathan Lyon injured himself while trying to chase the ball in the deep and was forced to leave the field in the first session on Day 5 of the third Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, December 21. Later, it was confirmed that he had injured his hamstring.
Lyon was ruled out of action for the rest of the series. This did make things a bit tricky for Australia as England showed a lot of fight in the fourth innings, chasing an improbable target of 435 for a victory. Lyon had already made an impact before his injury, as he dismissed Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, and England captain Ben Stokes on the penultimate day of the Test.”
Heavy discussion by all cricket enthusiasts then took over, as rumours of not picking a spinner for the Sydney Test filtered through the cricketing ranks …
The whispers had been growing louder with every cool and overcast Sydney day, and so were the groans from traditionalists.
As spectators poured through the SCG turnstiles on Sunday morning, odds were shortening that Victorian-based off spinner Todd Murphy would once again be the unlucky man to miss selection in the Australian XI for the fifth and final Ashes Test, having already been overlooked in Melbourne.
Australian captain Steve Smith confirmed the news after losing his fourth toss this series, meaning it will be the first time since the late 19th Century that Australia has started an SCG Test match without a frontline spinner.
“There’s a bit of moisture in it,” Smith said of the pitch, admitting it was a hard decision to leave out Todd Murphy and instead opt for a second all-rounder Beau Webster, before pointing the finger of blame squarely at the pitches being prepared.
“We hate doing it (leaving out spinners), but we keep producing wickets that we don’t think are going to spin, so you kind of get pushed into a corner,” Smith explained. The last time Australia didn’t play a spinner at the SCG was way back in 1887-88 … almost 140 years ago.
Welcome to the Members’ breakfast, Day 1 of the Sydney Test.
WOMENS NSW COUNTRY SQUAD
At the recent Cricket Australia U19 Female Country Championships, five NDCC players were selected to represent NSW Country.
Kate McTaggart, Sophie Clune, Emily Humphreys and Ava Drury all performed strongly throughout the carnival, contributing with bat, ball and behind the stumps.
Unfortunately, Caoimhe Bray was ruled out just prior to the tournament due to injury but remained involved in a supporting role throughout the campaign.
Kate McTaggart captained the NSW Country side and finished the tournament as the 3rd highest run scorer, amassing 272 runs at an average of 30.22.
Ava Drury claimed 14 wickets, finishing as the 2nd highest wicket-taker of the tournament.
Kate McTaggart and Ava Drury, were both named in the Australian Merit Team — an outstanding achievement and well-deserved recognition.
Congratulations to all five players on a fantastic carnival. You did the Ranger family proud.
WOMENS 1ST GRADE DEBUTS
NDCC is proud to congratulate Kiarra Laugwitz (Cap 183), Lilly Hayhurst (Cap 182) and Megan Chinnea (Cap 181) on their 1st Grade debuts..
Kiarra is always at training, always giving it 100% and prides herself on being the player who keeps the team upbeat in the field. A great reward and opportunity for Kiarra to have achieved her 1st
grade cap number.
Lilly started in the club’s Brewer Shield team 3 seasons ago and has now added her 1st grade
debut to her list of achievements.
Megan who has played with the club for several seasons, has spent the offseason in Melbourne for her 1st year of university and we are excited to have her back in Ranger colours and for her to have achieved this milestone.
A “Great Ranger” Story – Graham Southwell
Last week I had the great pleasure of spending time with NDs Life Member, Graham Southwell, at his home at Manly. Graham has many “claims to fame” but holds one record that still stands … In the history of grade cricket, he is the youngest player to debut in 1st Grade. This record has stood for over 72 years!
Youngest First Grade Player on Debut
Cricket & more Cricket:
Graham Southwell (Southy) played for NDs for 18 years from 1950/51 to the 1968/69 season. He was selected to play Green Shield as a 12 year old. In his 3rd year of Green Shield he also debuted in 1st grade at the age of 14 and 129days! Our former Club Patron and Life Member, Neil Marks also made his debut for the Club in the same AWG team and was also 12 years old!
In 1958/59 , after scoring 309 runs at an average of
154, Graham was selected in the NSW Colts team. In
a match against QLD, he and Neil Marks staged a
match-saving stand of 149, taking the score from
5/55 to 5/204.
In the same year, Graham was named as 12th man
for the Sheffield Shield team but this was as close as he got to first class selection. In 1959/60 he captained the NSW Colts side. There were several newspaper articles at that time leaving sports reporters bewildered at Graham’s omission from further Shield matches.
Marks and Southwell combined to provide the Club with one of its most reliable opening 1st grade combinations in the Club’s history. Neil Harvey made the comment that it was always a pleasure batting at number 3 for NDs because most of the time the score would be well on the way, thanks to Marks and Southwell.
Neil Marks said of Southy in one of his “Harpo’s Yarns” in Blackmail Newsletter dated 28th Nov 2012 … ‘Southy’ was a batting classicist. The famous English cricket writer, Neville Cardus, would no doubt have waxed lyrical had he seen this man play. Whereas others belted, smashed or just hit the ball solidly, Southy would simply ease it gracefully to spaces unguarded and watch it with an air of imperious impartiality as it smashed into the pickets. For in spite of an intrinsic elegance, Southy possessed power and his run rate was the equal to Lynn Marks. (Once they reached 80 in the first 4 [8 ball] overs of the game.) If Southy had a weakness it was that he didn’t amass many big scores, even when he was in complete control of the attack. Yet it was still worth watching. Southy even got out in style!
Southy was part of the 1st grade team that won
the Belvedere Cup in 1962/63 (captained by Jim Burke) and again in 1966/67, under the captaincy of Neil Harvey.
Graham retired after the third round of the
1968/69 season at the ripe old age of 29 after
suffering a hand injury in the 1968 Final, and
the subsequent demands of his emerging
architectural career.
Graham went on to serve 2 years as Hon Sec.
and club delegate to the SCA. In all, he scored 6
centuries for the Club (4 in 1st grade and 2 in
PGs). He scored a total of 6194 runs at 25 and took 10 wickets!
Career Review:
After attending Fort St Boys High from 1951 to 1955, Graham turned his studies to teaching and then accounting, before discovering his passion for design. He enrolled in the School of Architecture at Sydney Uni in 1958.
This was an inspired move as it was not long before he met fellow student and “life-partner”, Wendy. They were married after Graham graduated (with honours and a design prize) in 1963. He and Wendy both worked in Los Angeles for 12 months, not only gaining experience with a progressive architectural firm but managing to play cricket on Sundays for the Hollywood Cricket Club! Among its members were David Niven and C. Aubrey Smith.
This resulted in his selection to play for California against the travelling Yorkshire Cricket
team.
The return to Australia in 1965 heralded the beginning of family life with 2 sons and a daughter. Graham engaged in private practice in 1968 with Clive Goodwin. After 33 years of practice and a strong commitment to architecture and the profession, Graham retired in 2001. Goodwin and Southwell’s architectural commissions included resorts, retirement living, hostels and nursing homes, private and public hospitals and medium density housing.
Notables include Pacific Bay Beach Resort at Coffs Harbour, “Tingirana”, “Seahaven”, and “Netanya Noosa”, all prominent resorts along the beachfront at Noosa Heads. Architects who have most influenced my professional career include Harry Seidler, Ludwig Mies van Der Rohe, Richard Neutra and Frank Lloyd Wright. Those who have had a significant effect on my approach and attitude towards cricket include Neil Harvey, Jim Burke and Brian Booth.
Thank you “Southy” for your time and recollections.
PRESS
Champion off-spinner Nathan Lyon has moved into outright sixth place on the all-time Test wicket-taker's list after overtaking pace legend Glenn McGrath's 563 scalps.
Lyon's dismissals of firstly Ollie Pope and then Ben Duckett leaves only the immortal Shane Warne (708) ahead of him in terms of Australians.
Pope tried to flick Lyon through the leg-side but hit the ball towards Josh Inglis, who took a good low catch at midwicket.
Lyon then produced a beauty to clean bowl Duckett for his 564th wicket, who tried to defend but couldn't protect his off stump.
Sri Lanka's Muthiah Muralidaran (800), England's James Anderson (704) and Stuart Broad (604) and India's Anil Kumble (619) are the only other bowlers in the format's history with more wickets than the 38-year-old Lyon.
It's fitting that Lyon's latest piece of history takes place at the Adelaide Oval, the venue he was a curator before becoming a full-time cricketer and also the ground he played his first professional match, for South Australia in the state-based T20 competition.
Earlier in the week, Lyon's plaque was unveiled at the Oval's 'Avenue of Honour', commemorating his 12-wicket performance here during the 2014 Test against India.
Lyon's 64 wickets the most at the ground, with Shane Warne (56) and Mitch Starc (55) making up the podium.
A rain-affected encounter at the Sydney Showground Stadium last night saw Sydney Thunder register a crucial four-wicket win over Melbourne Renegades via the DLS method in Match 33 of the Big Bash League 2025–26 season. Chasing a revised target after interruptions and just when the game seemed evenly poised, it was Green who changed the complexion entirely. Walking in under pressure, Green unleashed a stunning 34 off just 13 deliveries, smashing three fours and three sixes to swing the DLS equation firmly in Thunder’s favour.
Despite Gurinder Sandhu’s impressive four-wicket haul for the Renegades, the damage was already done. Green’s onslaught ensured the Thunder crossed the revised target at 140 for 6 in just 15.2 overs. Green was deservingly named Player of the Match for his match-defining knock under pressure.
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