| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hugh Joseph Plant | |||
| Born | 12 October 1907 Narrandera, New South Wales |
|||
| Died | 30 August 1993 (aged 85) Geelong, Victoria |
|||
| Batting style | Left-handed batsman | |||
| Bowling style | Right-arm off-break | |||
| Role | All-rounder | |||
| Domestic team information | ||||
| Years | Team | |||
| 1932-1936 | Victoria | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Competition | First-class | |||
| Matches | 20 | |||
| Runs scored | 659 | |||
| Batting average | 29.95 | |||
| 100s/50s | 0/4 | |||
| Top score | 76 | |||
| Balls bowled | 3115 | |||
| Wickets | 42 | |||
| Bowling average | 29.35 | |||
| 5 wickets in innings | 1 | |||
| 10 wickets in match | 0 | |||
| Best bowling | 6-43 | |||
| Catches/stumpings | 24/0 | |||
| Source: CricketArchive, | ||||
Hugh Joseph Plant (12 October 1907 – 30 August 1993) was an Australian first-class cricketer who represented Victoria in the Sheffield Shield during the 1930s.
An Old Xaverian, Plant was initially an Australian rules footballer and played a senior match for Victorian Football League club Richmond in the 1925 VFL season. Richmond lost the fixture, which took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, to Melbourne by 39 points.[1] He couldn't break into Richmond's team again and instead continued his football career at Coburg, where he played as a centre half back in their 1928 premiership side.
When Plant made his first-class cricket debut in 1932, it was as a specialist off spinner. Playing against Tasmania at Launceston, Plant took career best figures of 6-43 as the island state collapsed from 2 for 128 to 171 all out.[2] He then took perhaps the two biggest scalps of his career, Herbert Sutcliffe and Eddie Paynter, when Victoria played against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club at the MCG the following year.[3]
An all-rounder, Plant's batting peaked in the 1935/36 season when he made 395 runs at 39.50, including three of his four first-class half centuries.[4] He put on a couple of notable performances early in the summer, starting with an innings of 64 against the Marylebone Cricket Club, who were touring Australia once more. Aside from reaching his then highest first-class score he also chipped in with a couple of wickets.[5] His other memorable effort came against New South Wales at the MCG, where he scored 76 in his first innings and followed it up by having a hand in six dismissals when it was their opponent's turn to bat, two of them wickets and the other four catches.[6]
In 1936/37, his final season, Plant was a member of Victoria's Sheffield Shield winning team, having taken part in three matches during their campaign.[7]