Harvey family

The Harvey family are six brothers from Victoria, Australia, known primarily for their success in the sport of cricket between the mid-1930s and the early 1960s. The sons of Horace and Elsie Harvey, in chronological order, they are Merv (1918–1995), "Mick" (b 1921), Harold (b 1923), Ray (b 1926), Neil (b 1928) and Brian (1932–1969). All six are closely associated with the Fitzroy Cricket Club (now Fitzroy-Doncaster), which played in Melbourne's district cricket competition.

The most notable of the six is Neil, who represented Australia in 79 Test matches between 1948 and 1963. At the time of his retirement, he held the record for the most Test appearances by an Australian and was the country's second-highest run scorer and century-maker, behind Don Bradman. He was selected in the Australian Cricket Board's Team of the Century [http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s93847.htm. ABC Radio transcript. Accessed 19 July 2007.] and inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

The family's eldest son, Merv, played one Test for Australia in 1946–47 and his grandson Robert Harvey is one of the elite Australian rules footballers of the last twenty years, twice winning the Australian Football League's Brownlow Medal for the best and fairest player of the season and the AFL's MVP in 1997. [The MVP is a voted for by the AFL players and first awarded in 1982. In 2002, it was renamed the Leigh Matthews Trophy.]

Along with their better-known brothers, Mick and Ray played first-class cricket for Victoria, while Mick's daughter Pauline Harvey-Short represented Australia at softball. Mick later became a Test cricket umpire. The two other brothers, Brian and Harold, played for Fitzroy in in district cricket. Apart from Harold, all of the brothers represented Victoria at baseball.

Early years

Born at Kapunda, South Australia, Horace “Horry” Harvey moved to Broken Hill, New South Wales where he worked for BHP driving horse-drawn trailers. [Coleman (1993), p 552.] In 1914, he married Elsie May Bitmead and their first two children, daughter Rita and son Mervyn, were born in the mining town. The family relocated to Newcastle and had two more sons, Clarence (always known as Mick, as he was born on Saint Patrick’s Day) and Harold. [Cashman (1996), p 232.] In 1926, the Harveys shifted to the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, a staunchly working-class, industrial area. Horace secured a job at the confectionery company Life Savers (Australasia) Ltd, located next door to their house at 198 Argyle Street. [Coleman (1993), p 552.] The two youngest sons Neil and Brian were born in Fitzroy.

The Cornish-descended Horry raised his family as strict Methodists, disallowing alcohol, tobacco or profanity in his household. [Coleman (1993), p 552.] An ardent cricketer during his years in New South Wales, he was good enough to hit 198 runs during a match in Newcastle, and he encouraged his children to play sport. As recreational facilities were sparse in densely populated Fitzroy, the boys took to playing cricket in a cobblestone laneway between their terraced house. Here they played cricket with a tennis ball, home made cricket bat and a kerosene tin for a wicket. They were usually joined by other local children, two of whom became elite sportsmen: Allan Ruthven (an Australian rules footballer) and Harold Shillinglaw (both an Australian rules footballer and first-class cricketer). Much of the batting skill displayed by the Harvey brothers is attributable to these games played on the unpredictable surface of the laneway. The Harveys played another form of cricket in their concreted backyard (using a marble instead of a ball) that sharpened their reflexes.

All of the children attended the nearby George Street State School and, one by one, the brothers joined the Fitzroy Cricket Club as they reached their early teens. At Fitzroy, they came under the influence of former Victorian all-rounder Arthur Liddicut and the club’s veteran captain Joe Plant. The Harveys had no formal coaching, and their father, although regularly at the club, chose to stay in the background as their respective careers developed. During the winter, they played baseball for Fitzroy, often competing in matches played as curtain raisers to the elite Australian rules football competition, the Victorian Football League.

Neil Harvey

Harvey represented the Australian cricket team between early 1948 and early 1963. He was the vice captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement. An attacking left-handed batsman, sharp fielder and occasional off-spin bowler, Harvey was the senior batsman in the Australian team for much of the 1950s and was regarded as Wisden as the finest fielder of his era. One of six cricketing brothers, three of whom represented Victoria, Harvey followed his elder brother Merv in making his Test debut in January 1948 aged 19 and three months. In his second match, he became the youngest Australian to score a Test century, a record that still stands. He was then the youngest member of the 1948 Invincibles of Don Bradman to tour England, regarded as one of the finest teams in history. The opening period of his Australian career was particularly fruitful, scoring six centuries in his first thirteen Test innings, at the end of which he averaged over 100. As Bradman's team broke up in the 1950s due to retirements, Harvey became Australia's senior batsman, and was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1954. In 1957 he was passed over for the captaincy and was named as the deputy of Ian Craig who had played just six matches as Australia sought to rebuild the team with a youth policy. The following season, Craig had fallen ill, but Harvey moved interstate and Richie Benaud was promoted to the captaincy ahead of him as Benaud was higher in the New South Wales hierarchy. Harvey continued in the role until the end of his career, and was captain for only one match. In the Second Test at Lord's in 1961 when Benaud was injured, Harvey led the team in the "Battle of the Ridge" on an erratic surface, grinding out a hard fought victory. When Harvey retired, only Bradman, universally regarded as the finest batsman in history, had scored more runs or centuries for Australia. Harvey was best known for his extravagant footwork and flamboyant strokeplay. In retirement, he became a national selector for twelve years but in recent times is best known for his strident criticism of modern cricket. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2000, and also selected in the Australian Cricket Board's Test Team of the Century.cite book | last = Cashman, Franks, Maxwell, Sainsbury, Stoddart, Weaver, Webster | year = 1997 | title = The A-Z of Australian cricketers|pages =117-119] cite web|title= Wisden 1954 - Neil Harvey|url=http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/content/story/154608.html| publisher=Wisden |year=1954|accessdate=2007-06-06]

Merv Harvey

Described by his younger brother Neil as the “best cricketer of us all”, Merv Harvey was an attacking opening batsman, strong on the drive and fond of hooking fast bowling. He graduated to Fitzroy's first XI in 1933-34 and made his first-class debut for Victoria against Queensland at the Gabba in 1940-41. In the next match, he made an impression by scoring 70 in an hour at the SCG against New South Wales. Service in the Royal Australian Air Force as an airframe fitter during World War II severely interrupted his cricket career. After the war, he resumed with Victoria, but faced a lot of competition for a place as an opening batsman in the Australian team. He played his only Test in the 1946-47 Ashes series at the Adelaide Oval, filling in for the injured Sid Barnes. Scoring 12 and 31, he partnered Arthur Morris in a second innings opening stand of 116. After a further two first-class seasons, Harvey retired with a record of 1,147 first-class runs (at 38.23) in 22 matches. This included three centuries, and he captained Victoria five times. The highlight was an innings of 136 in December 1946 against New South Wales, when he hooked a bouncer from Ray Lindwall into the MCG public bar and featured in a partnership of 271 with Keith Miller. His highest score was 163 against South Australia at Adelaide. Harvey continued playing for Fitzroy until 1954-55, and he finished with 6,654 runs in 207 matches for the club.

Robert Harvey

Robert Harvey made his AFL debut for St Kilda Football Club in 1988 and is currently the longest-serving player in the game. A midfielder, he has been All-Australian seven times and won the Brownlow Medal twice, in 1997 and 1998, for the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League. In addition, he was voted the AFL's MVP in 1997 by his peers and also won the Trevor Barker Award for St Kilda's best and fairest three times. He played in one Grand Final, in 1997, when the Saints lost to the Adelaide Crows. [ [http://afl.com.au/saints/tabid/8471/playerId/13486/Default.aspx Player Profile - offical AFL website of the St Kilda Football Club ] ]

Mick Harvey

A printer by trade, Clarence Edgar “Mick” Harvey played in the Fitzroy first XI in 1938-39, then served as an infantryman in the Australian army during World War II. A veteran of Kokoda, he resumed with Fitzroy at the war’s end and made enough runs to be selected for Victoria’s first three Sheffield Shield matches of the 1948-49 season. However, he failed to pass 33 in six innings as an opening batsman and was dropped from the team. Moving to Brisbane the following season, Harvey joined the Toombul grade club and made his first-class debut for Queensland. Noted for his sound defence, he was a patient and dogged batsman, in contrast to the exciting styles of brothers Merv, Ray and Neil. In 1950-51, he hit 490 runs for the state, including 100 not out against NSW at the SCG, batting at number three. His only other first-class centuries came in 1953-54: 102 against SA and 111 against WA. Altogether, he made 1,716 first-class runs (mostly as an opener) in 37 matches at an average of 27.23. A regular choice for the Queensland baseball team, Harvey later turned to cricket umpiring. His initial first-class match was in 1974-75 and he stood in two Tests. The first, Australia versus Pakistan at the MCG was memorable. Played during the World Series Cricket schism, and the Australians were stunned by a spell of 7 wickets for 1 run by Sarfraz Nawaz, just when they looked like winning. At the same venue the following season, he umpired an Australia-West Indies Test, then stood in six of the ODIs played during the inaugural World Series Cup.

In 90 matches for Fitzroy, Mick Harvey scored 2,601 runs at an average of 30.24. His daughter Pauline represented Australia at softball.

Ray Harvey

Ray Harvey played 40 matches for Victoria. After scoring Shield centuries in 1954-55, he was hailed as the best batsman outside the Australian Test team and was selected for and Australian XI in a tour match against the England cricket team. However, the match was curtailed by rain and Harvey was not able to exhibit his talents. He shone mainly for Fitzroy, scoring a club record of 19 centuries and 9146 runs. Bill Lawry said that Harvey was one of the two best district cricketers he had faced.

Harold and Brian Harvey

Due to commitments during the War, the fourth of the brothers, Harold Lindsay Harvey was unable to pursue a cricket career. He played mainly second XI cricket at Fitzroy, but did play in the firsts during the war. A fitter and turner, Harold Harvey served with the Australian army in Bouganville and played 15 matches for Fitzroy, as a wicketkeeper/batsman, scoring 237 runs.

Brian Clifford Harvey, was the tragic member of the family. A Victorian representative at baseball, he was a useful cricketer at club level, spending almost a decade in the Fitzroy first XI. An electrical fitter, he died aged 37 in a work accident, when he was electrocuted while working for the State Electricity Commission. In 111 matches for Fitzroy, he made 2503 runs at 21.57.

Between them, the Harvey brothers totalled 25,185 runs in 772 appearances for the Fitzroy Cricket Club. In 1962-63, the club played their first season for 30 years without a Harvey in the team. At first-class level, the family's contribution is 26,532 in 405 appearances, with 7,964 coming for Victoria.

Notes and references

––