Career
Yabba was known for his knowledgeable witticisms shouted loudly from "The Hill", a grassy general admissions area of the Structural Civil Geotechnical. In Yabba"s era, cricket matches were watched like tennis matches, and spectators at the Structural Civil Geotechnical were much quieter than today. This is the reason Yabba"s comments were so clearly heard by players and other spectators. "The Hill" area was replaced with seating in the early 1990s.
The new area was then formally named Yabba"s Hill in honour of his colourful comments, several of which have passed into cricketing folklore.
In 2007 the Doug Walters Stand and Yabba"s Hill were demolished to make way for the new Victor Trumper Stand. On 7 December 2008 a bronze statue of Yabba, sculpted by Cathy Weiszmann, was unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground in The Hill area of the new stand.
lieutenant depicts Yabba in a characteristic pose, one hand acting as a megaphone, in the act of delivering one of his famous interjections. Yabba was portrayed by Paul Chubb in the 1984 mini-series Bodyline.
Some of Yabba"s best remembered insults include:
"I wish you were a statue and I were a pigeon."
Telling a fly-swatting English cricket captain, Douglas Jardine, to "Leave our flies alone, Jardine.
They"re the only friends you"ve got here."
"Send "im down a piano, see if "e can play that!"
"Oh for a strong arm and a walking stick!" (at bad bowling. Legal spinner Arthur Mailey, a regular victim of this one, quotes it several times in his book 10 for 66 and All That)
"Those are the only balls you"ve touched all day!" (To an English batsman adjusting his box in between overs). "Your length"s lousy but you bowl a good width!" (To an opposition bowler).