Australian cricket star Graeme has passed away at the age of 75 after a battle with cancer. The test cricket great died in his home town of Burradoo on Friday, with his fourth wife Jan by his side.
He is survived by Jan, who recently underwent a kidney transplant, as well as daughters Laura and Louisa, whom he shared with his third wife Karina.
Watson’s former teammate Ian Chappell confirmed the news and penned an emotional tribute for ‘Beatle’ – a nickname he got due to his Fab Four-style haircut – which was published by Nine on Saturday.
“You never forget your first touring roommate; it’s not quite love of your life remembrance but a fond recall,” he wrote. “My first room mate on a five month tour of Rhodesia [as it was then] and South Africa in 1966-67 was Graeme Donald Watson.
“On a five month tour where you’re regularly cooped up in the same room you get to know a guy pretty well. The friendship is either a lasting one or it runs out of steam pretty quickly. In our case it remained firm until Friday, when sadly cancer claimed the Beatle’s life.”
Chappell, 76, also reminisced about some of the famous injuries that Watson suffered throughout his sporting career, including a “near-death experience” in the early ’70s when he took a full-toss from Tony Greig to the nose and had to be carted off the pitch bleeding profusely.
“It was only on that 1972 tour when I met one of his nurses at a social function that I found out Beatle had actually stopped breathing for a while when he was in hospital,” Chappell wrote.
Watson began his cricketing career playing for Victoria, before moving on to Western Australia and then New South Wales. He was also selected for Queensland, but went on to play World Series Cricket instead.
He finished his career with 4,674 runs and 186 wickets from 107 first-class games.
Following the news, tributes also poured in for the all-rounder on social media, as cricket fans reminisced about the highlights of his career. One wrote: “Vale Graeme ‘Beatle’ Watson, from cancer at the age of 75. An allrounder, Watson played 5 Tests and 2 ODIs for Aust, and was the first cricketer to represent three states: Vic, WA and NSW before taking part in World Series Cricket.”
Another commented: “The famous incident- struck in the face TWICE in the same match- R.I.P Graeme Watson.”
While another said: “Vale Graeme Watson, one of the last men to play both Test cricket and VFL footy.”
Ben Fordham also paid tribute to Watson, revealing that his late father was a close friend of his. The 2GB radio host said: “RIP Australian test cricketer Graeme Watson who has lost his battle with cancer. He was a thoroughly charming bloke with a cheeky grin permanently on his face. My dad counted ‘Beatle’ as a close mate and I hope they’re having a beer together.”