A left arm medium paced bowler known for his accuracy and stamina in the application of leg theory, Toshack was a member of Don Bradman's "Invincibles" that toured England in 1948 without being defeated.

In 1945–46, the first season of cricket after the end of the War, Toshack made his debut at first-class level and after only seven matches in the Sheffield Shield he was selected for Australia's tour of New Zealand.

He took his career-best match bowling figures of 11 wickets for 31 runs (11/31) in the First Test but began to suffer recurring knee injuries, and a medical board had to approve his selection for the 1948 England tour.

Orphaned at the age of six,[1][2] he was raised by relatives in Lyndhurst in the central east of the state, and played his early cricket and rugby league for Cowra.

[6] His cricket aspirations, already hindered due to economic difficulties caused by the Great Depression, were further interrupted when he neede to use a wheelchair for months after a ruptured appendix in 1938.

[4] Upon the resumption of first-class cricket in 1945–46, Toshack made his debut for New South Wales against Queensland as an opening bowler aged almost 31, and was quickly among the wickets.

[6] By the end of the season, in March 1946, Toshack had taken 35 wickets in seven first-class matches, at an average of 18.82, making him the second highest wicket-taker behind George Tribe.

[8] After going wicketless in a rain-curtailed match for his state against England, Toshack was selected to make his Ashes debut in the First Test at Brisbane.

[16][17] Having started the day wicketless, Toshack dismissed Yardley and Hammond in the space of 13 runs to break the English resistance and finished with an economical 3/17 from 17 overs as England were bowled out for 141.

He continued where he finished in the first innings, taking four of the first six wickets (Bill Edrich, Denis Compton, Hammond and Yardley)[6] as the English top order were reduced to 6/65.

He defended stubbornly and ended unbeaten on two as his partner Lindwall went from 81 to 100 to score the fastest Test century by an Australian, in 88 balls.

[6][19] Toshack was more productive in the drawn Fourth Test in Adelaide, where he took match figures of 5/135 from 66 eight ball overs in extreme heat,[5][12] including the wicket of Hammond twice, Edrich and Joe Hardstaff junior.

[8] Ahead of the final Test, Toshack removed Compton, Edrich and Godfrey Evans in a drawn match for Victoria against the tourists.

The following 1947–48 season, Toshack warmed up for the Test campaign against the touring Indians by taking 2/64 and 4/65 for New South Wales in an innings win,[6] dismissing Hemu Adhikari twice.

[13] In reply to Australia's 8/382 declared, India had been reduced to 5/23 by Lindwall, Miller and Bill Johnston before Vijay Hazare and captain Lala Amarnath took the score to 53 without further loss, prompting Toshack's introduction into the attack.

[23][24] Bradman enforced the follow on and India reached 1/27 before a spell of 6/29 from Toshack reduced them to 8/89, including the wickets of Hazare, Amarnath and Khanderao Rangnekar for a second time.

[6][13] He returned for the second match against arch-rivals Victoria, and took 6/38 and 2/71 to play a key role in a New South Wales victory by six wickets.

[6] His victims in the first innings included Test batsmen Lindsay Hassett, Neil Harvey and Sam Loxton as New South Wales took a decisive 290-run lead.

[26] By the end of the Indian series, knee injuries had begun to hamper Toshack, and he only made the trip to England for the 1948 tour on a 3–2 majority vote by a medical team,[12] despite being one of the first selected by the board.

[5] Between the new-ball attacks of Lindwall, Keith Miller and Johnston every 55 overs, Toshack played the role of stifling England's scoring.

[5][28] At Bramall Lane, Sheffield, he recorded the best innings analysis of his first-class career, taking 7/81 from 40 consecutive overs,[29][30] bemusing the Yorkshire spectators with his accent and distinctive "Ow Wizz Ee" appealing.

[13] He was involved in an aggressive final wicket partnership of 32 with Johnston, scoring 19 runs, his best at Test level to date in just 18 minutes.

[6] He took 4/41 and 5/59 in a Shield match against Queensland in Brisbane,[6] removing Ken Mackay and Wally Grout twice,[8] helping to seal a close 15-run win.

[38] Bowling primarily from over the wicket, his accuracy, changes of pace, and movement in both directions, coupled with a leg stump line to a packed leg-side field, made scoring off him difficult.

His accuracy and stamina allowed Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller, one of Australia's finest fast bowling pairs of all time, to draw breath between short and incisive bursts of pace and swing.

[2][3][5][12] Standing 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm), he was particularly effective on sticky wickets, reducing his speed to slow medium pace and using a repertoire of off cutters, inswingers, outswingers and leg breaks.

[27] Nicknamed the "Black Prince" because of his tanned skin, Toshack's looks and sense of humor made him a crowd favorite, as did his theatrical appealing, which was more reminiscent of later eras of cricketers.

[4] His vocal appealing prompted the journalist and former Australian Test batsman Jack Fingleton to dub him "The Voice", while teammate Sid Barnes called him "The film star" because of his looks.

[2][5][12] Following his career, Toshack joined a firm of builders and spent 25 years as a foreman and supervisor on construction sites around Sydney.