Andrew Hilditch was a qualified solicitor, but one who lacked the IQ to cut out the hook, a stroke that consistently brought about his downfall. Both his Test centuries came in the space of three innings, against West Indies and England in a purple patch in 1984-85, but his penchant for the fatal cross-bat shot soon became a standing joke on that England tour of 1985 when he was Allan Border's vice-captain. He played only one Test after that - and was out twice hooking Richard Hadlee. Hilditch had no reasonable defence, and was dumped for good as Australia turned to Geoff Marsh and David Boon. It was strangely out of character: Hilditch was generally a composed batsman and a responsible player - he was made captain of New South Wales after only two first-class games. He was also Test cricket's second handled-the-ball victim: at Perth in 1978-79, Hilditch was the non-striker when he returned a loose throw to the bowler, Sarfraz Nawaz. Sarfraz appealed and Hilditch was given out. The Adelaide-based Hilditch was appointed as a national selector in 1996-97 and along with illustrious names like Allan Border, Trevor Hohns and David Boon, he helped guide Australia to world dominance at both Test and one-day level. He was appointed as the panel's chairman in April 2006 when Trevor Hohns walked away.
Rob Smyth