Elsie Deane only played one Test match for Australia, but it was a good one to play: it was Australia’s first Test victory.
Born on 22nd June 1910 in Brighton, Victoria, Elsie Deane played one Test match for Australia on the 1937 tour of England, at Northampton. She scored 2 runs, didn’t take a catch, bowled 3 overs taking 0-7. It was a very long voyage from one side of the world to the other, and back, to have had such a short Test career.
Elsie’s best work on the tour was actually against the Netherlands where she took 2-1 at Nijmegen and on the following day, 3-3 at Haarlem.
When the England team toured Australia in 1948/49, Elsie was selected to play in Margaret Peden’s XI against the tourists. Peden’s XI was mainly made up of players from the 1937 tour. As with her only Test. Elsie made 2 runs, didn’t take a catch and took 0-17 from 2 overs.Elsie passed away on July 22nd 1978 at just 68 years of age. Despite her modest stats, hers is a glorious cricket journey by one of the game’s pioneers.