Those Aussies. They stole Phar Lap, pavlova, Crowded House and Dunedin’s very own Clarrie Grimmett.
Actually, Grimmett made his own way over there on a short working holiday and stayed.
And then there is that other inconvenient fact. He grew up in Wellington and never played cricket for Otago.
We still claim "The Fox", though. His birth certificate records his place of birth as Caversham, December 25, 1891. And that means he is forever connected to this place.
Dubbed the greatest Christmas present Australia ever received from New Zealand, the spinner went on to forge one of the more remarkable cricket careers.
He made his international debut in 1925 aged 33 and took 216 wickets during an 11-year stint in the Australian team.
Grimmett died in 1980 but he forced his way into the game’s folklore through his mastery of the dark arts of leg-spin. He is widely credited with inventing the flipper and he was renowned for his wonderful accuracy and unmatched skill.
And until recently he held the record as the quickest player to reach 200 test wickets. Pakistan wrist-spinner Yasir Shah eclipsed the 82-year-old record this week when he dismissed Will Somerville on day four of the third test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi. Grimmett took 36 tests to reach the mark, Shah did it in 33.
However, Grimmett was the first player to take 200 test wickets, a record which can never be taken away. Grimmett’s legacy is likely to live on despite one of his records now owned by another. He bowled to some great batsman during in an era of some very flat decks. He earned his rewards through precision, guile and hard work — skills which foster success no matter the era.
