Australia's oldest Test cricketer Norma Whiteman passes away at 86

Australias oldest Test cricketer and a trailblazer of the womens game Norma Whiteman has passed away aged 86A middleorder batter and mediumpace bowler Whiteman also known as Norma Johnston represented Australia in seven Tests from 1948 to 1951 Until her passing Whiteman was the oldest Australian Test cricketer alivehttpstwittercomCricketAusstatus1612320285952466946Australian Cricket is mourning the loss of Norma Johnston nee Whiteman who has passed away aged 95 Norma played seven Tests from 194851 and until her passing was Australias oldest living Test cricketer Our thoughts are with her family and friends Australia Cricket announced on TwitterEveryone across Australian Cricket will be saddened to hear of Normas passing As a pioneer Norma not only made a wonderful contribution as a player but helped set the platform for the many thousands of women and girls now playing the game ESPNcricinfo quoted Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley as sayingAlso readGautam Gambhir backs Suryakumar Yadav for Test cricketWhiteman made her debut in 1948 on a tour of New Zealand and finished her career following the 1951 tour of England She scored 151 Test runs at 2516 and scalped 22 wickets at 2054I loved listening to her recall touring with the pioneers of the womens game It was an interest she carried all the way through to her love of the WBBL and the thrill she got from just how far the game had progressed Being a girl from Bathurst in country New South Wales she always kept an eye on and had a place close to her heart for all the country girls who would come through and play for their state and Australia Lisa Sthalekar said in a statement issued by the Australian Cricketers Association ACAAustralia captain Pat Cummins also tweeted This morning I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Norma Johnston She was passionate about cricket about her home town of Bathurst and the many women who would follow in her footsteps representing their state and country Her contribution to Australian cricket and the friendships she made with so many within the game will live on foreverThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever