So when will the Aus v World XI games.........

Massie would lose his 16 wickets on debut stat.

Zat wrote:It would bump up DKL from 355 Test wickets and ruin the symmetry between him and Rod Marsh.

Aye, still one of the more remarkable and apt stats in Aus cricket history. That final Test for the big 3 v Paksters in 83-84 was a stato's delight. DKL and Bacchus finished on 355 victims each, GSC broke Bradman's Aus Test run tally and GSC became the highest Test catcher. Grouse.

Fred Nerk wrote:Umpire Lou Rowan calls the chapter about the ROW series in his autobiog 'My Last Series''.

Not hard to see why he gives the ROW games full rank. If not, Sydney Ashes Feb 71 where he had his stouch with Illy and Snow was his last Test.

That 71 World XI series was the first "Test" series I really understood and passionately followed as a kid. I am still in awe of the two most remarkable features of that series - DKL's 8-29 in Perth and GStAS's 254 at the MCG.

Amazing when you consider some of the efforts Sobers and Lillee's performances relegated to the shade: Pollock's ton, Walters' century in a session in Melbourne, Australia's 400 in a day in Sydney the day GSC made most of his 197, Stacky in Brisbane, Kanhai in Perth the afternoon after the morning DKL took his eight (and a ninth before lunch when they followed on), etc etc etc....

Sobers: 1st test in 1970 - 183 plus 6/21 and 2/43

Fred Nerk wrote:Both Chappells scroed a ton in each innings during the series - Ian in Bris, Greg in Syd (in what would only have been his 7th Test). Bearing in mind that in Jan 1972 Lawrence Rowe was still only playing for his island, would GC (albeit only for a few weeks) have been the least experienced bat ever to 'double up'?

That would also have given GSC 3 x 2 x100s which I think only Sunny has done.

JGK wrote:Also, with the Aust and England ROW games - do you have any summary stats?

Aus v ROW 'Test' stats
Aus v ROW 'ODI' stats
World XI in Aus First Class stats

Cricinfo doesn't seem to have a set of summary stats for the England v ROW series in 1970, but match by match figues can be found here

Who on earth selected that 'Rest of the World' XI?

Asif Masood? Bob Cunis? Richard Hutton? Nigel Gifford? Bob Taylor?

Half the team couldn't make their own national XI, never mind a best in the world team.

Can only assume Richards, Snow, Boycott, et al were unavailable

Bob Taylor was probably a better keeper than Knott.

I suspect that Snow and Boycott were "pursuaded" by the TCCB not to make themselves available.

The 71-72 ROW team was selected at very short notice ...

Don Bradman more-or-less personally put the team together at the last minute, getting whoever was available.

He did a great job to get as many top-notch players as he did.

I think Tony Grieg tells the story of getting a gig and when he came to Australia he was met at the airport by a couple of gentlement. One introduced himself as one of the senior ACB administrators (can't recall which one). Greig turned to the other one and asked "Are you involved in cricket as well?".

To which Don Bradman replied "yes I am".

Didn't Grieg assume that Bradman was a baggage man and handed him his suitcase?

Yeah, it was something like that.

Basil wrote:Bob Taylor was probably a better keeper than Knott.

I suspect that Snow and Boycott were "pursuaded" by the TCCB not to make themselves available.

From memory, Boycott had not played for England earlier that summer v India (some sort of mental health crisis after an initial failure against the Pakistanis), allowing Jameson and Hutton to get games for England they may never have played otherwise; and Snow had been in trouble with the English authorities after what they viewed as an unsavoury incident with Gavaskar.

The ROW series v Australia was fantastic, played throughout with a view to selection of the 1972 Australian team to England. Most of the highlights have already been mentioned: the batting of the two Chappells, Walters, and Stackpole for Australia; Lillee and Massie's bowling for Australia; O'Keeffe's spell in Sydney (rain saved that game for the ROW); Sobers, Greig, and Kanhai's batting for the ROW (with Pollock contributing in the final two games, after he joined the tour late); Sobers and Greig bowling for the ROW; and Bedi and Intikhab bowling spin the like of which had not been seen in Australia for a while. Lowlights included Francis' continued selection for reasons obscure to all; Watson's near fatal blow from a Greig bean ball that he edged into his face (pre-helmet days); and importantly, Redpath's total loss of form early in the year, such that he was dropped from the side and missed the English tour. John Benaud debuted for Australia during the series and from memory, when on 94, tried to tonk a six ... and failed, probably sinking his England tour hopes simultaneously.

As a 12-13 year old I was glued to the TV or transistor radio for most of that summer.

I think Boycott's problem in 1971 was injury - he had his "episode" in 1974 when he got out twice in the same test to Eknath Solkar (the poor man's Mark Ilott)

I was at a cricket dinner last night with Greg and Ian Chappell. The topic of former captains playing in the team came up which caused Ian to recall how LAwry was dropped from the team when he was dumped as captain.

Ian said, Lawry could have handled being dumped from the team but was really pissed off at not getting a spot on the 72 tour and to this day Chappelli says the easiest way to get a rise out of Bill is to say "aren't you the guy who got dropped for Bruce Francis?".

Chappelli also said that Bill could have batted right handed and still be better than Francis.

lardbucket wrote:As a 12-13 year old I was glued to the TV or transistor radio for most of that summer.

Unfortunately for young lardy, solvents that worked on adhesives weren't invented until the mid 1970s.

Fred Nerk wrote:Off the top of my head there are no Australians from 71-72 in the Alan Jones position, but granting Test status to that series would get Garth McKenzie over 250 wickets (as well as Ross Duncan off 0),

It would also posthumously make Hylton Ackerman senior a Test player, and give Garry Sobers the full set of centuries at Australian venues. Tony Greig's appearance in that series six months before he started fpr England would also mean his feat of three half-centuries in his first three innings for England would be null and void.

Greig also played for England in the ROW series there in 1970; before missing selection for the 1970-71 Ashes tour. At the time he played his three 50+ 1972 Ashes innings, the 1970 England series v ROW was still regarded as a Test series, so they weren't regarded as his first three innings!

So when are they going to de-legitimise this particular exhibition match so Chuck has to make a farcical one-off comeback against Ireland to get his 800 back?

Frindall never accepted its official status in Playfair, as far as I remember, though his successor reverted to going with the official records.

I have firmed to the idea that both the 1970 and 1971-72 ROW series, sanctioned by the ECB and ACA respectively, should also be given Test status.

The Barlow hat-trick, the Sobers 254, and Lillee's 8-29 should all be recognised as Test feats. Yes Massie would lose the 16-137 'best figures on debut by an Australian' but they're still the best figures by an Aussie, so I don't think he'd mind ...

JGK wrote:I was at a cricket dinner last night with Greg and Ian Chappell.    The topic of former captains playing in the team came up which caused Ian to recall how LAwry was dropped from the team when he was dumped as captain.

Ian said, Lawry could have handled being dumped from the team but was really pissed off at not getting a spot on the 72 tour and to this day Chappelli says the easiest way to get a rise out of Bill is to say "aren't you the guy who got dropped for Bruce Francis?".

Chappelli also said that Bill could have batted right handed and still be better than Francis.

Bump for Lardy.

Goodest of times.

An inanimate carbon rod would have been better than Francis.