It was after meeting very briefly, one of the West Australian players, who accompanied the state team to Bangalore for a series of matches late last month, that the thought struck me. Scott Meulman, an opening batsman, saved the three-day game against a Karnataka XI making an unbeaten 74 out of 173 for 6, a potentially winning run chase being stopped by a hat-trick from fast medium bowler, N.C. Aiyappa, who needs to be watched by the national selection committee. Young Scott saved the game for the visitors after having threatened to win it.
I somehow suspected that the surname Meulman had a history behind it. I asked among the players as to who answered to this surname and a stockily as well as powerfully built lad stepped out. He said, "I am Meulman." When asked if his grandfather was one Kenneth Douglas Meulman, he nodded in the affirmative and said, "Yes, I never saw him play but he was a good man."
It is unlikely that Scott has any idea about the career of his grandfather who played Sheffield Shield cricket for Victoria and Western Australia. His first class career lasted between 1945 and 1960 during which he made 7,855 runs with 22 centuries at an average of 47.60. In the Sheffield Shield he scored in 70 games, 4916 runs at an average of 48.19, extremely creditable as he was an opening batsman who in his time played alongside some of the finest of this type, Arthur Morris, Sidney Barnes and Bill Brown, the oldest surviving cricketer in Australia.
Test opening batsman, Justin Langer, who led the West Australian team on this tour, remarked about the grandfather, "Ken was a good player, one of the best openers we had. We, who came long afterwards, only knew him by reputation, though we have played against Scott’s dad." I asked him about young Scott and Langer remarked, "He is a good player too. Runs in the family. He saved the three-day game for us and he played very well."
Whether Scott will one day play for Australia remains to be seen. Of course it would be nice because his grandfather’s talent might have been passed on to him — genes and all that. The grandfather had made a century against the South African touring side led by Jack Cheetham in 1952-53, but that did not enable him to force his way back into the Australian Test team. Why was it a matter of forcing his way back into the Test side?
Ken Meulman played in one Test in New Zealand in 1946. When he made his debut alongside Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall, Don Tallon, Colin McCool, Ernie Toshack and Ian Johnson, like his colleagues, he did not know that the match would be given Test status subsequently. It was the only "international" match on the visit without Test status, between an Australian XI and a New Zealand XI. It was the first match ever between the trans-Tasman rivals. It was given Test status in March 1948, precisely two years later. And for Ken Meulman it was to prove his first and last Test. Interestingly, the next time the two countries met in official Tests was in 1973-74.
New Zealand was led by Walter Hadlee (who passed away recently at the age of 91) and Australia by Bill Brown. The latter and Meulman opened the batting with Barnes coming in at number three. Unfortunately, the young opener made nought, bowled by the fast bowler Jack Cowie.
It was a match that lasted precisely eight and a half hours (March 29 and 30, 1946). New Zealand batted first and were all out for 42 with Bill O’Reilly capturing five for 14. Australia were in trouble but went on to declare at 199 for eight. Though Cowie finished with six for 40, Australia had too sizeable a lead on a pitch which was not quite international standard. In the second innings New Zealand were bowled out for 54 with O’Reilly taking another three to finish with match figures of eight for 33. Only when the Test was given official status did O’Reilly know that he had played 27 Tests overall and would have been happy that the wickets obtained in Wellington were added to his overall tally.
All the debutants, apart from Meulman continued to play for Australia with Miller, Lindwall and Tallon becoming greats in the game. The West Australian, however, visited India with one of the Commonwealth sides and scored prolifically. It was rumoured then that he was not one of Donald Bradman’s favourite players, like Bruce Dooland and McCool. But among his peers he was highly respected as a batsman and as a man. There must be numerous instances of such disappointments in international cricket. Ken Meulman’s hopes probably live on in his grandson Scott. The side he came along with also had Shaun, son of former opening batsman Geoff Marsh, and he was interviewed. But then nobody had heard of Ken Meulman, so who would interview Scott?
