A right-arm medium-pace spinner, with exceptional control, Joey Palmer was considered a must-have on pitches which favoured batsmen and almost unplayable on ones which favoured bowlers. He made a sensational first-class debut when, one month after his 20th birthday, he took match figures of 9 for 94 against Lord Harris's touring side at Melbourne. He toured England four times - 1880, 1882, 1884 and 1886 - almost achieving the double on his last visit, ending with 972 runs and 106 wickets. His best series was against England in 1881-82 where he took 24 wickets at 21.75, including 11 for 165 and 9 for 90, both at Sydney. Shortly after returning to Australia in 1886 he fractured his kneecap and was never a force in the first-class game thereafter. He was no slouch with the bat either, and Wisden commented that as his bowling declined, he developed into an excellent batsman, ending his career opening both batting and bowling for Victoria.
Martin Williamson