Education
Norman Dodds was educated at Queen"s College, Hobart, where he was prominent in the First XI.
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Norman Dodds
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Dodds was the youngest of three sons of Sir John Dodds, who was Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor of Tasmania. In his first innings on his first-class debut against Victoria in 1898-1899 Dodds batted at number 11 and added 122 for the last wicket with William Ward, which is still the Tasmanian record for the last wicket. He played in most of Tasmania"s matches for the next 10 seasons, keeping wickets and making useful runs and rising in the batting order.
Against Master Control Console in 1903-1904, batting at number five, he top-scored with 48 ("a fine exhibition of forceful, plucky batting") in Tasmania"s first innings of 141.
Dodds scored his first fifty when he made 81 and 27 against Victoria in 1907-1908. In 1908-1909 he was selected to play for an Australian XI against The Rest in Melbourne and made 80 not out in 66 minutes.
The team for the tour of England in 1909 was due to be selected soon after the match. Harry Trott thought Dodds the best wicket-keeper in Australia, and the best batsman of the wicket-keepers.
But after some discussion among the Australian selectors, and despite the vehement objections of one of them, Clem Hill, Barlow Carkeek was chosen ahead of Dodds as the deputy wicket-keeper.
Although he did not play in either of Tasmania"s two first-class matches in 1909-1910, Dodds was selected as the deputy wicket-keeper for Australia"s tour of New Zealand at the end of the season. He played in three of the first-class matches and the three minor matches, but Charles Gorry kept wicket in the two matches against New Zealand. He played no further first-class cricket after the tour.
