About Ian Redpath
Ian Ritchie Redpath MBE (11 May 1941 – 1 December 2024) was an Australian international cricketer who played in 66 Test matches and five One Day Internationals between 1964 and 1976. Greg Chappell said he was one of only two players he knew who would kill to get into the Australian Test team, the other being Rod Marsh. == Career == Educated at Geelong College, Redpath played first-class cricket for Victoria in 92 matches, scoring 6,103 runs with a highest score of 261 made in only his tenth first-class innings, scored in February 1962 against a Queensland attack including Wes Hall. He made his test debut on New Year's Day at Melbourne in the second test of the 1963–64 series against South Africa. Opening the batting with Bill Lawry, the pair added 219 before Redpath was bowled on 97. Redpath was the last Australian Test cricketer to play as an amateur. He declined the match fee in his early Tests in order not to jeopardise his Australian rules football career in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA), where he played for Geelong Amateurs and was a four-time club best and fairest winner. His playing permit was revoked when he eventually accepted a match fee for the 1964 Ashes series, but it was restored by the VAFA 60 years later in August 2024. With his lean, gangly body and long neck, Redpath attracted the early nickname "Gandhi" among his teammates. However, when some concerns about this were expressed by local fans on the Australian tour of India in 1964–65, his colleagues permanently reverted to the simpler "Redders".
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.