Manning was a left-handed lower order batsman and a left-arm orthodox spin bowler.
Manning was a late starter in first-class cricket and did not make his debut for South Australia until he was 28: thereafter, he was pretty much a regular in the team for two-and-a-half seasons.
He was an immediate success in the 1956 season, when he took 116 wickets: Wisden Cricketers' Almanack noted that "his immaculate length and sharp spin made an excellent foil to the subtle variations of [George] Tribe".
[9] Tribe retired at the end of the 1959 season and the balance of the Northamptonshire bowling attack shifted dramatically in 1960 as the team fell to the bottom of the table after more than a month without a single victory.
Manning – "victim of some ruthless rebuilding", wrote Wisden in its obituary of him in 1989 – was dropped from the team at the end of May and did not play for the county's first eleven again, the attack being led by newcomers David Larter, a fast bowler from Scotland, and Brian Crump, a seam bowler from the Potteries.