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The Cricket Captains' Walk is a collection of specially commissioned bronze busts of Test captains of the Australian men’s national cricket team, arrayed on pedestals on the outside of a rectangular path set in a large public park in Cootamundra, New South Wales. The all-weather path, which starts and ends at Wallendoon Street is wheelchair friendly, and approximately 150 metres around.

150m
160yds

16

C l a r k e
O v a l

15

J u b i l e e
P a r k

14

Caravan
Park

10

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Cricket Captains' Walk, Cootamundra. For clarity, only a few names are listed here.

1

Unaarrimin

2

Tom Horan

3

Hugh Massie

4

Hugh Trumble

5

Jack Ryder

6

Vic Richardson

7

Ray Lindwall

8

Ian Craig

9

Ian Chappell

10

Adam Gilchrist

11

Ricky Ponting

12

Steve Smith

16

Bradman figure

History

The Walk was planned and executed by the Cootamundra Shire Council (now Cootamundra–Gundagai Regional Council) with the approval of the Australian Cricket Board (now Cricket Australia).

Stage 1, unveiled on 30 August 1998, comprised the likenesses of Unaarrimin (Johnny Mullagh), Dave Gregory, Bill Murdoch, Arthur Morris, Richie Benaud, Bobby Simpson, Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell, Allan Border and Mark Taylor. Modelling of these busts was performed by Carl Valerius, sculptor and stone mason of Harden–Murrumburrah, perhaps best known for his bronze statues at the Australian Light Horse Memorial in Harden–Murrumburrah, notably the horse "Bill the Bastard", of which the full size version^[1] is now installed at Harden-Murrumburrah.

The nearby statue by Valerius^[2] (shown below) of Bradman in action was unveiled during the celebrations for "Sir Don"'s 92nd Birthday in August 2000.^[3] A minor mystery surrounds the Brian Booth sculpture, similar in style to others by Valerius, but not credited in the official documentation. There is no obvious clue in the plaques, which have remained uniform in style and execution over 30 years.

Stage 2, comprising the remaining 30 captains, was unveiled by the sculptor Tom Bass on 27 August 2008, the centenary of Bradman's birth barely a kilometre away. Much of this work was performed by Bass and his team. His bust of Bradman was unveiled by the cricketer's grandson, Tom Bradman.^[4]
Stage 3, unveiled on 12 March 2020, brought the walk up-to-date with the unveiling of three new busts - Shane Watson, Steve Smith and Tim Paine and a plaque for Michael Clarke, who was mid-career when the second tranche of busts was commissioned. All three were made by the Tom Bass sculpture studio.

In 2023 the pedestals were relocated to a more formal arrangement with the Bradman statue as a focal point.

The busts

For a more complete summary of each captaincy, see List of Australia national cricket captains.

Name	Specialty	Tests as Captain	Artist	Notes
Johnny Mullagh, traditional name Unaarrimin or Unaarrimmim		Led Australian Aboriginal cricket team in England in 1868	Carl Valerius	Sponsored by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
Dave Gregory		3 Tests 1876–77 1878–79	Carl Valerius	Sponsored by Goldenfields Water County Council
Billy Murdoch	RH batsman	16 Tests 1880–1890	Carl Valerius	Murdoch was a practising solicitor in Cootamundra in 1880s. Sponsored by Australia Post
Tom Horan	RH batsman Bowler	2 Tests 1884–85	Robert Pratten
Hugh Massie	RH batsman	1 Test 1884–85	Bernice Lowe
Jack Blackham	Wicketkeeper RH batsman	8 Tests 1884–85 1891–92 1893 1894–95	Karen Alexander
Tup Scott	RH batsman Bowler	3 Tests 1886	Damien Lucas
Percy McDonnell	RH batsman	6 Tests 1886–87	Wendy Black
George Giffen	RH batsman Bowler	4 Tests 1894–95	Michael Christie & Sue Alexopoulos
Harry Trott	RH batsman Bowler	8 Tests 1896 1897–98	Damien Lucas
Joe Darling	LH batsman	21 Tests 1901–02 1902 1902–03 1905	Lea Ferris
Hugh Trumble	RH batsman Bowler	2 Tests 1901–02	Sue Alexopoulos
Monty Noble	RH batsman Bowler	15 Tests 1903–04 1907–08 1909	Carol Crawford
Clem Hill	LH batsman	10 Tests 1910–11	Bernice Lowe
Syd Gregory	RH batsman	6 Tests 1912	Michael Christie
Warwick Armstrong	RH batsman Bowler	10 Tests 1920–21	Christine Crimmins
Herbie Collins	RH batsman	11 Tests 1921–22 1924–25 1926	BJ (Beomjin) Kim
Warren Bardsley	LH batsman	2 Tests 1926	Peter Bartlett
Jack Ryder	RH batsman Bowler	5 Tests 1928–29	Julieanne Mahony
Bill Woodfull	RH batsman	25 Tests 1930 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1934	Virginia Lloyd–Tait
Vic Richardson	RH batsman Slips fieldsman	5 Tests 1935–36	Robert Pratten
Don Bradman	RH batsman	24 Tests 1936–37 1938 1946–47 1947–48 1948	Tom Bass
Bill Brown	RH opening batsman	1 Test 1945–46	Karen Alexander
Lindsay Hassett	RH batsman Bowler	24 Tests 1951–52 1952–53 1953	Petrena Shaw
Arthur Morris	LH batsman	2 Tests 1951–52 1954–55	Carl Valerius
Ian Johnson	RH batsman Bowler	17 Tests 1954–55 1956 1956–57	Janet Coyne
Ray Lindwall	RH Bowler Lower-order batsman	1 Test 1956–57	Michael Christie
Ian Craig	RH batsman	5 Tests 1957–58	Peter Bartlett
Richie Benaud	RH batsman Leg spin bowler	28 Tests 1958–1964	Carl Valerius
Neil Harvey	LH batsman Cover fieldsman	1 Test 1961	Bernice Lowe
Bob Simpson	RH opening batsman Leg spin bowler Slips fieldsman	39 Tests 1963–1978	Carl Valerius
Brian Booth	RH batsman	2 Tests 1965–1966
Bill Lawry	LH opening batsman	25 Tests 1967–1971	Carl Valerius	Sponsored by the City of Darebin, Victoria, who have a replica in their council chambers.
Barry Jarman	RH batsman Wicketkeeper	1 Test 1968	Carol Crawford
Ian Chappell	RH top-order batsman Slips fieldsman	30 Tests 1970–1975	Carl Valerius
Greg Chappell	RH batsman Bowler Fieldsman	48 Tests 1975–1983	Carl Valerius
Graham Yallop	LH top-order batsman	7 Tests 1978–1979	Damien Lucas
Kim Hughes	RH batsman	28 Tests 1978–1984	Wendy Black
Allan Border	LH batsman Bowler Fieldsman	93 Tests 1984–1994	Carl Valerius
Mark Taylor	LH batsman Slips fieldsman	50 Tests 1994–1999	Carl Valerius	Sponsored by Pat Kerin, Cootamundra cricketing aficionado
Steve Waugh	RH batsman Bowler	57 Tests 1999–2004	Carl Valerius
Adam Gilchrist	LH batsman Wicketkeeper	6 Tests 2000–2004	Sue Alexopoulos
Ricky Ponting	RH batsman	77 Tests 2003–2010	Wendy Black
Michael Clarke	RH batsman Slips fieldsman	47 Tests 2011–2015	Christine Crimmins
Shane Watson	RH batsman Fast bowler	1 Test 2013	Wendy Black
Steve Smith	RH batsman Slips fieldsman	34 Tests 2014–2018	Monika Scarrabelotti
Tim Paine	RH batsman Wicketkeeper	19 Tests 2018–2021	Christine Crimmins
Pat Cummins	Right Arm fast bowler	2021–

Gallery

List of Test Captains at the MCG
History of Cricket Captains' Walk
Info on Cricket Captains' Walk
Don Bradman statue nearby
Carl Valerius and Bill the Bastard

References

^ "Carl Valerius, Local Artist, Stone Mason & creator of Bill the Bastard statue". Hilltops Council. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
^ "A Life-size Hollow-cast Bronze Statue of Donald Bradman, By Carl Valerius". Sotheby's Australia. Retrieved 24 September 2019. artist's copy, sold 7 April 2018 for $52,000 at public auction entitled Russell Crowe — Art of Divorce.
^ "Cricket Captains' Walk". Monuments Australia. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
^ From details on "diptych" plaque at entrance to Walk (pictured in "Gallery" directly above)