A Spinner’s Life: The John Watkins Story

Martin Chandler | 9:26am BST 22 September 2024

Published: 2024
Pages: 27
Author: Gardner, Lyall
Publisher: Cricketers In Print
Rating: 3.5 stars

It is not a distinctive name, and John Watkins does not occupy an exalted position in the pantheon of Australian cricketers. That much conceded the story of any Test cricketer is well worth telling and despite never being involved in any significant controversy inside or outside the game the life of John Watkins is an interesting one. It is unusual in cricketing terms in that, in addition to a single Test match, Watkins played just nine times at First Class level. All ten matches came within the space of 14 months between February 1972 and April 1973. Watkins last day as a First Class cricketer was his thirtieth birthday.

As a cricketer Watkins was an all-rounder at Grade level, but he never made more than 36 in the First Class arena. His main suit was his leg spin bowling, but he never managed a five-fer there and his career tally of 20 wickets at 36.30 does not suggest that anything he did on the field demanded his selection to play in the third Test against Pakistan at the SCG in January 1973. But, Ashley Mallett having made himself unavailable for the forthcoming tour of West Indies, Watkins was not only called up for the Test but was then selected in front of fellow leggie Kerry O’Keefe for the match itself.

Such was the roll that Watkins was on that, with O’Keeffe and another leggie, Terry Jenner, he was also selected for the tour. His performance in his single Test was a match winning one, but not in the way expected. His six wicketless overs were poor, but the 83 runs that he (in the course of that innings of 36) and Bob Massie eked out in two and a half hours in the Australian second innings after coming together at 101-8 were the difference between victory and defeat.

Sadly for Watkins. or ‘Wok’ as he was known, the confidence in his own bowling that had deserted him for his Test debut did not return in the Caribbean, hence his First Class career ending with that tour. His story is told here by Lyall Gardner, who has previously contributed a monograph to the Cricketers in Print series on Mike Whitney. Gardner takes his time over Watkins’ back story, the monograph being a few pages longer than previous titles in the series.

Like its predecessors this one is published in a limited edition of seventy signed copies. It would have been interesting to have had a few reflections from Watkins himself on his career, rather than just his signature, but then I suppose we would have ended up with a book rather than a monograph. In any event Gardner sets out an interesting story which is, as ever from this publisher, well illustrated and very nicely produced.