Anne Palmer was an off-spin bowler who partnered with Peggy Antonio to form a lethal combination for Australia in the 1934/35 series against England.
Anne was an off-break bowler who played in the very first Test match at Brisbane in 1934/35 against England. Bowling in tandem with Peggy Antonio, Anne took the first five wicket haul for Australia in Tests. Her 7-18 in England’s first innings is still the second best bowling by an Australian and fifth best in the world. (In fourth spot is Myrtle Maclagan with 7-10 from the same Test match.)
Anne took 10 wickets across the three Tests she played at an average of 12.00. She also scored 92 runs at 15.33 which would have been valuable down the order as Australia’s batting struggled in that series.
Shamefully we do not know Anne’s birthday, but we do remember an Aussie pioneer on the anniversary of her passing. The photo below is from 2004 when she finally received her Test cap (number 9).
“I can still remember the feeling of walking into the MCG. People used to watch our cricket as much as the men – you’d never believe it based on the publicity we got.”
On 9th July 2006, in Victoria, Anne Palmer passed away, aged 91.
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