Australia’s oldest former Test cricketer and one of the four surviving members of Don Bradman’s Invincible squad, which toured England in 1949, Ron Hamence has passed away at the age of 94 in Adelaide.
He is survived by a daughter, Lynette Hallett and granddaughters Sharon and Jan.
Hamence was the oldest living Australian to have played Test cricket. He played 99 first-class games as a batsman who liked to attack bowling, including a Test in 1947 against England and two in 1948 against India.
Hamence was a popular member of the Invincible squad but did not play a Test in that series.
His death leaves Sam Loxton (88), Arthur Morris (88) and Neil Harvey (81) as the only survivors of the Invincible squad.
In his condolences to the friends and family of the cricketer, Cricket Australia chairman Jack Clarke said: “Hamence’s personal popularity with his fellow players of his time had survived more than half a century since his playing days, and was the first thing noted about his legacy when retired cricketers reflected on Australia’s golden era post-World War 2.”
Hamence’s career spanned 15 Australian summers from 1935-36 until 1950-51 but like so many of his generation, his cricket was interrupted by World War 2, during which he served in the Royal Australian Air Force.
