Kerry O’Keeffe has led a chorus of tributes to Ian Redpath after the Australian cricket legend’s death at 83. Redpath was a fixture of Australia’s national side in the 1960s and 1970s and a member of the Australian cricket hall of fame.

The Victorian opening batsman played 66 Tests and scored eight centuries for his country between 1964 and 1976, making 4734 runs at an average of 43.45. He scored 97 on debut for Australia against South Africa at the MCG, but was forced to wait five years for his first Test century.

Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird said Redpath was “a much loved and revered figure”, adding: “As a fine opening batter, Ian was a mainstay of the national team through one of the great eras of Australian cricket and beloved by many throughout the world for his courage, impeccable sportsmanship and wry humour. We were privileged to hear Ian speak of the wonderful experiences and relationships cricket had provided upon his induction into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2023 and this deep love of the game was manifest in his enormous contribution to cricket at first-class and community level.”

When elevated to the hall of fame last year, the right-hander was asked what had made him proud. “The longevity,” said Redpath, who retired at 34 to devote himself to his Geelong antique business, before a comeback with World Series Cricket.

“I was fortunate enough to play for quite a while. In an era where most chaps retired at 30, I had the good fortune of being able to extend it. I’ve been very fortunate to have done it. It takes your breath away a bit, when I look back on it, I can’t believe I was there.”

Taking to social media, former teammate O’Keeffe wrote: “It is a very sad day…if kindness was a superpower, Redder had it….a patriot…tougher than woodpecker lips…genuine…loyal…RIP.” Fans and pundits also paid respect to the man affectionately known as ‘Redders’.

Ian Redpath’s unique cricket career

Redpath remains the last man to play a Test match for Australia as an amateur, when he knocked back payments for his debut series. It allowed him to continue playing for Geelong in Aussie rules in the Victorian Amateur Football Association, before his status was revoked when he accepted tour payments for the 1964 Ashes series.

Redpath became more prolific as his career went on, hitting five centuries in his final 15 Tests and three in his last series. That last series was against a vaunted West Indies attack led by Michael Holding and Andy Roberts, which Australia won.

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He only hit two sixes in his 66 Test matches, with both coming in his second-last match against the West Indies in Adelaide. “I must have had a touch of the sun and I managed to lob one over wide mid-on,” Redpath recounted last year. “It was where the players sat. It lobbed about two rows from where my wife was sitting.

“I am out in the middle flexing my muscles, and there she is, looking the other way, talking about an upcoming shopping expedition, and she missed the whole lot. And I thought, ‘I won’t try to repeat that exercise because I will only hit it halfway to the fence’. I only hit one and she missed it. But oh well, that was her loss.”

with AAP