Vale Norma Johnston (nee Whiteman)

The ACA is saddened to hear of the passing of Norma Johnston (née Whiteman) this morning.

Norma was a dear and much-loved member of the ACA and a trailblazer who helped lay the path for all of the women playing the game today.

Up until her death, Norma -- who turned 95 last month – was Australia’s oldest living Test cricketer, representing her country on seven occasions between 1948 and 1951.

Cap number 27 for the Australian team, Norma was a contemporary of Betty Wilson, scoring 151 runs at 25.16 and taking 22 wickets at 17.26 across her seven Tests. Her inspiration and influence extended across generations – including Ellyse Perry, who Norma fondly recalled meeting when the Australian star was just 15 years old.

Norma was regarded as a players’ player, a sound middle-order bat, and a second- or third-change bowling option. Off the field, she was remembered by her teammates as a beautiful personality who was always fun to be around.

ACA Board member, Lisa Sthalekar recalled speaking with Norma at the Cricket Hall of Fame in Bowral in 2018.

“Norma looked like she could still play the game, and was still playing golf once a week,” she says.

“I loved listening to her recall touring with the pioneers of the women’s game, and 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.”

Norma’s love of the country may have ultimately cut sort her international career, as after the 1951 tour she preferred to stay close to home at a time when the only viable women’s cricket competitions were played in the city. But Australian cricket’s loss was Bathurst’s gain, with Norma being an intrinsic part of her hometown’s sports scene for the next 50 years. Only last year, the sightscreen at the Bathurst Sportsground was named in her honour.

Today, we honour a life well lived and the thoughts of everyone at the ACA are with Norma’s family and her many friends in the game.