Emerson Rodwell Edwin Emerson Rodwell MM ( 12 April 1921 – 27 February 2011 ) was an Australian soldier , cricket player , umpire , commentator and administrator . He fought in World War II , in New Guinea , and Borneo , and was awarded the Military Medal . Rodwell was an opening batsman and a prolific run - scorer at club level , and represented Tasmania on 15 occasions at first - class level , captaining the side five times between 1950 – 51 and 1955 - 56 . He also played three times for a first - class " Tasmanian Combined XI " . During his captaincy Tasmania won their first first - class match after a winless period of over 20 years , making him the first successful Tasmanian captain since Jim Atkinson in the early 1930s . Early life . Born in Glenorchy , Tasmania , Emerson Rodwell attended The Hutchins School in Hobart and showed an early talent as an athlete . He was a promising Australian rules football player , who regularly represented Hutchins in the Old Scholars Football Association ( OSFA ) , but his true talent lay in cricket . By the age of 15 he had made his senior debut for his local side , Glenorchy Cricket Club in the Tasmanian Grade Cricket competition , and was at ease batting against adults at that young age . He played as an aggressive opening batsman , and enjoyed attacking opening bowlers . By the age of 17 his name was already being discussed amongst state selectors , when his career was interrupted due to the suspension of all grade cricket following the outbreak of World War II . Military career . Emerson Rodwell enlisted in the Australian Army in 1940 , after turning old enough to do so . He was attached to the 2 / 24th Battalion of the 26th Brigade , and infantry brigade of the 9th Division . Although the 9th Division had initially served in North Africa , including at the Siege of Tobruk , Rodwell never served in Europe or North Africa . Rodwell ' s service throughout the war was in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II . He initially fought in New Guinea until 1943 , and then in 1945 his Battalion went on to Borneo where they played a vital part in the allied victory . During the Battle of Tarakan Rodwell was recommended for the Military Medal for his bravery in attacking enemy positions . The award was made for his actions during the attack on the " Wills feature " . He was a Bren gun ner with 1 section , 16 platoon , D Company 2 / 24th when his section commander was killed . Despite the fact it was his first time in action , Rodwell took command of the remaining members of the section , then placed himself in full view of the main loophole of a Japanese - held concrete pillbox , and fired his Bren gun at the loophole to give another member of his platoon chance to knock - out the pillbox with a flamethrower . The award was gazetted on 3 July 1945 . He was discharged from the Army in November 1946 , having obtained the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2 . First - class career . Despite the interruption of more than six years to his cricketing career due to the war , Rodwell returned to Glenorchy Cricket Club after being demobbed , and set about where he had left off by terrorising the competition in the 1946 - 47 season . He immediately caught the attention of the state selectors , who finally gave him his long - awaited first - class debut against Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in January 1948 . On debut he made 14 and 23 , but performed much better with the ball , taking 3 / 67 in the first innings , but not getting to bowl in the second , as Victoria won by 10 wickets within 9 overs . Rodwell made the only first - class century of his career on 25 January 1950 . Going into the second day of a three - day game against Victoria , the Tasmanians were trailing by 12 runs on the first innings . They began their second innings with an excellent partnership between Ronald Thomas and Rodwell , taking the score past 100 without loss . Thomas soon departed , but Rodwell was in the finest form of his career , soon passing 100 himself . However , once he reached the milestone , he was dismissed soon after for 104 , caught behind by Bert Wright off the bowling of Bernard Considine . His century had given Tasmania a lead of 297 , but Victoria chased down the runs , winning by 4 wickets . By 1950 Rodwell had been appointed as state captain , and enjoyed reasonable success , winning one and drawing two of the five matches he led the side for . It was an astute piece of captaincy on the part of Rodwell that led to the victory . After winning the toss and putting Victoria in to bat first , Tasmania skittled the Victorians for 119 , setting up the victory . In 1956 , Rodwell , at the age of 35 decided to retire from first - class cricket having scored 709 runs and taken 8 wickets in 18 matches , and then returned to concentrating on his career at Glenorchy Cricket Club . Tasmanian grade cricket career . Rodwell was one of the premier club cricket players of the immediate post - war period in Tasmania . He dominated the Tasmanian Grade Cricket competition as both a batsman and as a captain . Playing as an aggressive opening batsman for his beloved Glenorchy Cricket Club , whom he represented for his whole club career , Rodwell amassed 11 , 542 first grade runs from 337 innings at an average of 38 . 47 . He also had the competition ' s highest season average on six occasions , and was the leading run - scorer five times . During the 1949 - 50 season he compiled 1071 runs for the season , still the competition ' s second highest tally behind Ronald Morrisby who made 1099 runs in 1950 - 51 . His club career total of 11 , 542 is the third highest total in the competition ' s history behind Ronald Morrisby who made a remarkable 16 , 000 runs exactly , and Kenneth Burn who made 12 , 100 runs in his career . In the 1950 - 51 season Rodwell made his highest score of 215 against Kingborough Cricket Club at their home ground of Kingston Beach Oval . Rodwell ' s prolific run - scoring as an opening batsman leads people to forget he was a talented all - rounder . Although only a medium pace bowler , he was able to move the ball quite dramatically off the pitch , and claimed 331 wickets during his club career . He also once claimed a wicket with a legitimate underarm delivery , as he had realised the technique had not been outlawed in the Tasmanian Grade Cricket Competition . His career best return was 7 / 44 . Rodwell was equally effective as Glenorchy ' s club captain . During his captaincy , the club dominated the TCA competition , winning seven titles , and being runner - up three times . They won the competition every season of the 1950s except for two ( 1954 – 55 and 1958 – 59 ) . In all , Glenorchy won eight of their 14 TCA First Grade titles during his time as a player with the club . Rodwell ' s eight titles is still the most by a single player in TCA history . Later life . By the time he finished his playing career , Rodwell was already a life member of Glenorchy Cricket Club , where he continued to work as a club administrator , as well as the club ' s representative on the Tasmanian Cricket Association . He also worked as a delegate on several TCA sub - committees , and was made Chairman of the Umpire Appointment Board . By the 1960s Rodwell was commentating on local cricket on 936 ABC local radio , where he quickly became a well known and recognised local celebrity for his expert and colourful analysis of the competition . The Emerson Rodwell Medal , named in his honour in 2007 is awarded annually to the TCA Best and Fairest Player , in the Tasmanian Grade Cricket Competition . He died on 27 February 2011 .