Jim Higgs

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Jim Higgs Australia (AUS)

Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling type	Legbreak googly
	Tests	First-class
Matches	22	122
Runs scored	111	384
Batting average	5.54	5.40
100s/50s	-/-	-/-
Top score	16	21
Balls bowled	4752	24837
Wickets	66	399
Bowling average	31.16	29.66
5 wickets in innings	2	19
10 wickets in match	-	3
Best bowling	7/143	8/66
Catches/stumpings	3/-	43/-
Test debut: 3 March 1978 Last Test: 7 February 1981 Source: Cricinfo

James Donald Higgs (born July 11, 1950, Kyabram, Victoria) is a former Australian cricketer who played in 22 Tests from 1978 to 1981.

Higgs began his district cricket career at Melbourne University, where he studied civil engineering, before transferring to Richmond. He made his début for Victoria against Western Australia. Always a sharp spinner of the ball, he gradually improved to take 42 wickets in the 1974–75 Sheffield Shield season. This included his best first class bowling of 8/66 against Western Australia. He was subsequently selected for the Ashes tour in 1975 to England. He did not play a Test, but gained fame by not scoring a run for the whole tour. He batted twice and was bowled by the only ball he faced, which appealed to his humorous character.

With the introduction of World Series Cricket, vacancies arose in the Australian team, and Higgs made his Test début in 1977–78. He became a regular member of the team from 1979 to 1981, playing in 22 Tests and touring the West Indies in 1978 and India in 1979. His best performances were 5/148 against England in 1978–79 and 7/143 against India in Madras in 1979, both long spells in trying conditions. He was a member of the Sheffield Shield Victorian teams in 1978–79 and 1979–80. In the final match of the 1979–80 season against South Australia, Higgs took 6/57 in the second innings to secure a Victorian win and the Shield. He retired at the end of the 1982–83 season because of persistent back problems. He was a Victorian selector from 1982–83 to 1988–89 and was appointed an Australian selector in 1985–86.

[edit] Reference

Cashman, Franks, Maxwell, Sainsbury, Stoddart, Weaver, Webster (1997). The A-Z of Australian cricketers. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-550604-9.