Born: Perth WA
31 January 1944
John Inverarity was a record-breaking captain and player for Western Australia in a first-class career spanning 16 years from 1962 to 1978.
When he transferred to Adelaide in 1979 to pursue a career in education, he had captained WA more often (53 times), played more matches (119), scored more runs (7607), made more centuries (20) and taken more catches (155) than any other player for the State.
A studious leader with a photographic memory for player’s strengths and weaknesses and a rare ability to get the best out of his men, he became renowned as a master tactician.
Blessed with outstanding players in his teams, he captained the State for four victories in the Sheffield Shield and two in the one-day limited-overs competitions.
A tall, correct right-hander, Inverarity was resolute in his desire to occupy the crease for long periods and perhaps the limitations he placed on his strokeplay held him back in the international arena.
He toured England twice (1968 and 1972) and played six Tests in all, with a top score of 56. However, he was a consistent run-maker in Sheffield Shield cricket and after a further six seasons for South Australia he retired in 1985 as the most prolific run-getter in the competition’s history with 9341 runs.
Iverarity also developed into a good left-arm orthodox spin bowler and at times later in his career must have been close to re-inclusion in the Australian Test team as a spinner.