Warwick Armstrong had a long and fruitful career both in first class cricket and Test match cricket for Australia. Armstrong played his first match against England during the 1901/02 season, he was a tall man and slim in his early days. When he played his final cricket match 20 years later, he weighed a heavy 22 stone. He currently holds the record for successive wins as Captain for his country (6), joined recently by Steve Waugh while playing against India this season (1999/2000). He was a talented all-rounder, bowling his leg breaks off a very long run up. He took 87 wickets in his Test career at only 33.59 per wicket, scored just under 3,000 runs that included 6 Test Centuries at an average of 38.68.

 

During the 1902 tour, he put on 428 with Monty Noble in a first class match against Sussex at Hove, the record still stands for Australia. Armstrong scored his highest Test score against South Africa in the same year (1902/03 season) of 159 not out. He never took many wickets as a bowler in a series, but managed to fill in the gaps when required, he could bowl for long spells without getting tired which proved a valuable asset. His best bowling return against England came at the Lord's Test in 1909 when he took 6 wickets for 35 in the second innings. In 1921 at The Oval, Armstrong rested his main bowlers in the second innings and retired to the boundary to read a newspaper. The match was a certain draw and his reason for reading the paper? .. He apparently wanted to know who his opponents were due to the un aggressive play offered by England in the test Match.