RECOGNITION: Warwick Franks with Bathurst councillor and sports buff Graeme Hanger at the Charles Turner memorial plaque at the sportsground. 110212bwterror
A BATHURST-BORN sportsman was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame last night.
Charles “Terror” Turner was given the prestigious honour, along with Glenn McGrath, at the annual Allan Border Medal awards ceremony.
The little-known feats of The Terror are incredible.
He only played 17 Tests, all against England between 1887 and 1895, taking 101 wickets at 16.53.
Turner reached 50 Test wickets in just six Tests.
According to Bathurst cricket guru Warwick Franks, a former Australian editor of Wisden, the recognition was not before time.
“I think the attention drawn to Turner by the publishing of Ric Sissons’ book The Terror: Charlie Turner, Australia’s Greatest Bowler late last year really helped draw attention to just how good this player was,” Mr Franks said yesterday.
“That was a substantial body of work on Turner’s life and cricket. I am sure that other people on the Hall of Fame selection panel, including Gideon Haigh, would have been aware of this and put his name on the table for consideration.”
Mr Franks said there tended to be a focus on more recent players for nominations of this type.
“Players like Turner, who were outstanding in their time, dropped out of memory because it was so long ago,” he said.
“The value of the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is to promote people like Turner into some permanent form of recognition.”
Mr Franks said Turner was still the fastest bowler to get to 50 wickets in Test cricket.
“And he’s the second fastest to get to 100 wickets as well, taking a total of 101 wickets in 17 Tests for his country,” Mr Franks said.
“One incredible effort was taking 17 wickets against the touring English party at the Bathurst Sportsground in the season of 1881-82.
“He took 7-33 in the first dig and backed this up with 10-36 in the second innings.
“Ironically, when Turner was dropped from the Australian team, he was replaced by another Bathurstian in the form of Tom McKibbin in 1894-95.”
Mr Franks said Turner was one of seven locals to wear the Baggy Green for Australia.
Others include George Bonnor, Norma Johnson (nee Whiteman), Brian Booth, Peter Toohey and Trent Copeland.
A gathering at the Bathurst Sportsground on November 16 last year celebrated 150 years since Mr Turner’s birth in the city in 1862.