Melville James "Mel" McInnesOAM (30 August 1915 inProspect, South Australia – 23 July 1996 inAdelaide, South Australia) was anAustralian cricket Test match umpire.
He umpired 16Test matches between 1951 and 1959. His first match was betweenAustralia and theWest Indies atAdelaide on 22 to 25 December 1951 (the first Test to include play on Christmas Day), won by the West Indies after dismissing Australia for 82 in the first innings. McInnes' partner in this match wasRon Wright.
McInnes' first international match was the England againstSouth Australia match in January 1951. He no-balledDoug Wright three balls in succession for overstepping, and this courageous act may have led to his first Test appointment the following year.
His last match – also at Adelaide and with Ron Wright as his partner - was between Australia andEngland on 30 January to 5 February 1959. This was won by Australia by 10 wickets largely due to 170 byColin McDonald and 9 wickets toRichie Benaud. McDonald pulled a thigh muscle and had resumed batting with a runner, when a Run out appeal was made at the bowler’s end. McInnes had moved to the same side as the runner to view the action, and after giving McDonald out to the appeal, had to reverse his decision, as the runner was behind him and out of his view.
In the1979 Australia Day Honours McInnes was awarded anOrder of Australia medal (OAM) for his umpiring services.[1] According to hisWisden obituary he "won a solid reputation for his judgement, impartiality and bearing, but became mired in controversy on the 1958-59 tour [of Australia by England] when he was blamed by the English press after some bad decisions and for not stamping outthrowing and dragging among the Australian fast bowlers". (PresumablyWisden had bowlersIan Meckiff andGordon Rorke in mind with this comment.)Johnnie Moyes in 1959 thought "McInnes, in my opinion, ranks withHele andCrockett as the finest Australia has produced … McInnes adopted the English idea of never rushing into a decision and perhaps that is why he makes so few mistakes".
McInnes stood six feet four and a half inches tall, and playedAustralian rules football forNorth Adelaide and cricket forProspect before enlisting in theAIF in 1940.[2] He served as a captain in the Middle East and in New Guinea.[3] He worked in the state public service.[2]