Bert Ironmonger

Bert Ironmonger

Personal information
Batting style	Left-hand bat
Bowling style	Left-arm medium
International information
National side	Australian
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class Matches 14 96 Runs scored 42 476 Batting average 2.62 5.95 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 Top score 12 36* Balls bowled 4695 27431 Wickets 74 464 Bowling average 17.97 21.50 5 wickets in innings 4 36 10 wickets in match 2 11 Best bowling 7/23 8/31 Catches/stumpings 3/0 31/0
Source:

Herbert Ironmonger (7 April 1882, Pine Mountain, Queensland – 31 May 1971, St Kilda, Victoria, Australia) was a Victorian and Australian cricketer.

He was the youngest of ten children of a farmer. As a child, he lost the forefinger of his left hand (his bowling hand) in an industrial accident.

A graph showing Ironmonger's Test career bowling statistics and how they varied over time.

He only made his first-class debut at the age of 27, and his Test debut at the age of 46. He played Test cricket until the age of 50, and first-class cricket until the age of 53. He is the fourth-oldest Test debutant, and the second-oldest Test player, records which are unlikely to be broken.

Unsurprisingly because of his age, his Test career spanned only 14 matches, during which he took 74 wickets at an average of 17.97. In that time though he achieved some outstanding results.

• A hat-trick against MCC in 1924–25
• 11 wickets for 79 runs against the West Indies in Melbourne in 1930–31
• 9 wickets for 89 runs against South Africa in Brisbane in 1931–32
• 11 wickets for 24 against South Africa in Melbourne in 1931–32
• He took a total of 31 wickets in the 1931–32 South African series

External links

• Player profile: Bert Ironmonger from ESPNcricinfo
• Tough in life and cricket from Cricinfo
• First-class matches played by Bert Ironmonger from CricketArchive
• Oldest Test debutants from Cricinfo
• Oldest Test players from Cricinfo