The cricketers The cricketers The cricketers is a 1948 painting by the Australian artist Russell Drysdale. The painting depicts three boys set among the buildings in an empty town; two playing cricket and the other watching them. The National Gallery of Australia describes the painting as "one of the most original and haunting images in all Australian art." The "Sydney Morning Herald" said the work is "possibly the most famous Australian painting of the 20th century." The painting was commissioned by Walter Hutchinson, an English publisher, for his own collection, known as the "National Collection of British Sports and Pastimes". Looking for
The cricketers illustrative realism." The model for the batsman was Teddy Woolard and Roy Holloway was the model for the bowler. In 1996, after the models were identified, Woolard was asked for his opinion of Drysdale's portrayal; "I just don't rate it ... It makes us all look out of proportion." The town of Hill End itself is not as desolate as shown in the painting, with a later visitor to Hill End remarking "Even the scattered buildings—so blank and menacing in The Cricketers—appear as if ripped from the cover of a chocolate box." The cricketers The cricketers is a 1948 painting