William Albert Stanley Oldfield (1894 - 1976). 'Bert'…

William Albert Stanley Oldfield (1894 - 1976). 'Bert' Oldfield's New South Wales State Team cap, with manufacturer's label of Harding's Mercery and Oldfield's name in pen, attractively displayed in a glazed timber case with details of his career. Overall 45 x 45 x 9 cm. Provenance: Presented to Cecil Cooke by a mutual friend, Jim White of Gosford. Oldfield played for New South Wales and Australia as a wicket-keeper . His 52 stumpings during his Test career remained a record for several decades after his final Test. He appeared for Australia in 54 Tests between 1920 and 1937. During World War One Oldfield served with the A.I.F. At the conclusion of the war he was selected to be part of the Australian Imperial Forces cricket team which played 28 first-class matches in Britain, South Africa and Australia between May 1919 and February 1920. In the notorious T hird Test at Adelaide during the 1932/33 'Bodyline Series', the English tactic of bowling fast balls directed at the Australian batsmen's bodies reached its most dramatic moment when a ball from Harold Larwood hit Oldfield in the head, fracturing his skull (although this was from a top edge off a traditional non-Bodyline ball and Oldfield admitted it was his fault). Oldfield was carried from the ground unconscious. He recovered in time for the fifth Test of the series. Always an easy-going personality, Oldfield immediately forgave Larwood for the incident, and the two eventually became firm friends when Larwood later emigrated to Australia. Oldfield played Test cricket for four more years, ending his career in 1937. He was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1927.