Club Legend · inducted 2015
Neil Harvey grew up in Fitzroy, the second youngest in a family of six brothers and a sister. His eldest brother Mervyn also represented Australia (and is a member of the FDCC Hall of Fame), Clarrie (Mick) and Ray (also an FDCC Hall of Fame member) played for Victoria (Neil and Clarrie also played for NSW and Queensland respectively), and Harold and Brian played first grade cricket with Fitzroy. Neil learned his cricket playing with his five brothers and their friends with a marble and cut-down bat, and in the cobblestone laneway near their house. In his book, “My World of Cricket”, Neil says “practically every Sunday about ten of us would make up two teams for a weekly match. A tennis ball was used and naturally it would do some crazy things off the cobblestones.”
Neil followed his brothers to play for Fitzroy, and says of this in his book, “The Fitzroy Club, for which I played for 15 years, had a marvellous scheme in operation to help young cricketers make good. They donated a medallion to all schools in the surrounding area, to be given as an incentive to the leading young sportsman in each of the schools. This medallion entitled the lucky boy to share in all the facilities of the Fitzroy Club for that particular year, including the right to practise at the club nets with the leading players. Fitzroy secured some pretty useful players from the medallion winners and, if I remember correctly, all six Harvey brothers achieved that honour. I won my medallion at the age of twelve and wandered up regularly to practise on the club’s magnificent turf practice strips.”
His early coaching at Fitzroy was from Joe Plant and Arthur Liddicut. Neil says “Fitzroy had two coaches in charge at that time in Joe Plant and Arthur Liddicut.
Both had represented Victorian Sheffield Shield cricket and the club was indeed fortunate to have two such outstanding players on hand to instruct and improve the young players. I certainly have good cause to thank both of them, particularly Joe Plant, who watched my every move in those formative years.”
In 1941 in his first season, aged 13, Neil advanced from the Fifth XI to the Third XI, making 101 and 141no in the Third XI Final. After a season in the Second XI, Neil made his First XI debut aged 15. As Neil’s career advanced, a particular family thrill was in 1947, when Neil, Ray and Mervyn played together for Victoria for the first time, against NSW.
In Neil’s career with Fitzroy he played 104 games, making 4044 runs at an average of 37.10 with 8 centuries.
For Victoria, Neil made 4955 runs at an average of 50.05, with 12 centuries.
In all First Class cricket he played 306 matches, making 21699 runs at an average of 50.93 with 67 centuries.
In Test cricket, he played 79 Tests and made 6149 runs at an average of 48.41 with 21 centuries.
There are many Test performances for which he will be remembered but foremost among them were his 153 against India in his second Test (an innings which made him the youngest-ever Australian to score a Test century); his 112 in the celebrated Leeds Test of 1948; his 151 in Durban in 1949-50; and his highest Test score of 205 against South Africa in Melbourne in 1952-53. He amassed six centuries in his first 13 Test innings alone.
In later times, Neil continued to play a role at the forefront of Australian cricket as a national selector for a period of 12 years. In recognition of his string of outstanding achievements in the game, he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in early 2000. He was also selected in the Australian Cricket Board's official Test Team of the 20th Century.
A further honour was the inclusion of a statue of Neil in batting pose in the MCG Avenue of Honour.