Australia get a drubbing of the decade
By A.C. De Silva
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David Gower (England) made 65 in the first innings and that
was all that he batted as England beat Australia by 9
wickets.
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Ian Botham – (England Chipped in with 4 wickets in the
Australian total of 198 all out. He didn’t bowl in the
second innings. He scored 23.
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Graham Gooch (England) _ made 74 in the only innings that he
batted as England who made 308 in their first innings, won
the match by 9 wickets.
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Graham Yallop (Australia) made the top score of 121 in the
match, but yet was on the losing side. The Aussies made 198
in the first innings and Yallep made 17 in the second
innings total of 143 and Australia lost the match.
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Bruce Yardley made 7 in the Australia’s first innings score
of 198, but played a rearguard action in the second innings
to be 61 not out in their second innings score of 143. |
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John Emburey – the England bowler took 2 for 48 in
Australia’s first innings score of 198 and had the fine
figures of 4 for 52 in the second innings score of 143. |
FLASHBACK: There were may Test matches played between the blue-eyed
teams - England and Australia in the good old days. In many ways the
sixth and final Test between Australia and England was the most
humiliating for the Australians. England's nine-wicket victory at Sydney
was the last rubbing of the Kangaroo's nose in the Sydney dirt.
Having been beaten 5-1 in the series, Graham Yallop offered it as his
opinion that the wickets could not have suited the hand of the England
bowlers better if they had carried round their groundsman. There was
some truth in the statement that the final wicket at Sydney of all the
other wickets was somewhat over-watered at the start to try and ensure
that it was not dangerous and would last as long as any pitch could on a
square worn out by too much cricket and then turning often and shaply
within a matter of hours.
England's seamers and off-spinners who bowled a better line than any
in the world at that time because of the practice that they get in
domestic cricket were altogether too much for the inexperienced
Australian batsmen those days. Thus once again the winning of the toss
which Yallop has managed five times out of the six was of no help
whatever.
The Australians too contributed to their defeat. The Aussies had not
improved in technique or in batting habits during the course of the
tour. Four months is a long enough time for some measurable improvement.
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Bob Taylor made 36 not out in England’s first innings total of 308 and he
didn’t bat in second innings as England won by 9 wickets.
Keeping a close eye is Aussie stumper Kevin Wright. |
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Geoff Miller – Gave a pleasing performance 1 for 13 in the
Aussies first innings 198 all out had a fine ‘take’ of 5 for
44 in Australia’s second innings score of 143. |
Alan Hurst took 3 for 58 for Australia in the England first
innings score of 308 runs. He didn’t bowl in the second
innings as England won the match by 9 wickets.
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One example will surely be enough to show how little the Australian
side had progressed. England's first success on the first morning was a
run out, one of ten during the series. Even Yallop at the end assessed
the number of such unnesessery dismissals as only 7. When the victim was
young Hilditch and the batsman at the other end Wood who has featured in
most of the incidents leading to a run out then you can imagine the full
impact of such a dismissal in team morale.
Yallop's century superb
Yallop's century, his second of the series, won him the 'Man of the
Match' award and was quite the best and bravest innings seen from the
Australians. Yallop would surely would have said to himself things
cannot get worse, let me at least play my own game. Yallop is one of the
best batsmen in Australia and for once the cares of captaincy dripped
off his shoulders as he proceeded to time the ball against the quicker
bowlers when he hit hard in the left-hander's favourite area of third
man and then coming forward against the spinners he clubbed them on the
leg side in the normal manner of Australian players, whether right or
left-handed.
Botham - top wicket-taker
Of the others, Hughes, the one classical driver in the squad, made 16
and Wood 15. The other eight were in single figures and so Yallop's 121
out of 198 shone like a beacon. None could follow far in that direction.
Botham was the top wicket-taker in the series with 23 with a haul of 4
for 57 in the first innings, while Miller took 5 for 44 in the second
innings while Emburey had 4 for 52.
None of the English batsmen reached three-figure scores. But
Brearley's 46, Gosch's powerful 74, Gower's graceful 65 and Taylor's 36
were priceless contributions to England's total of 308, though not
looking big scores were sufficient to give England the strong scent of
victory.
At close of play on the third day, five Australians had been out -
the fifth wicket fell at 48 and the others fell the next day and all
were out for 143 runs and the icing was on the cake for England and they
made 35 for one wicket - thus getting a win.
A feature of England's play emerged in letters a mile high: the
excellence of the fielding and especially the catching, Botham's catches
in the first innings were of a quality seldom seen in the England slips,
even in the 1950s. In the second innings in his helmet, Botham came out
in the catching and helped the off-spinners to exert such a level of
pressure that the Australian never expected.
SCOREBOARD
AUSTRALIA – 1ST INNINGS
G.M. Wood c Botham b Henclinch 15
M.M. Hilditch runout 03
K.J. Hughes c Botham b willis 16
G.N. Yallop c Gower b Botham 121
P.M. Toohey c Taylor b Botham 08
P.H. Carlson c Gooch b Botham 02
B. Yardley b Smburey 07
K.J. Wright st. Taylor b Emberey 03
R.M. Hogg c Emburey b Miller 09
J.D. Higgs not out 09
A.G. Hurst b Botham 00
Extras: 05
Total: 198
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-19, 3-67, 4-101, 5-109, 6-116
7-124, 8-159,9-198
Bowling (England): R.G.D. Willis 11-4-48-1
M. Hendrik 12-2-21-1
I.T. Botham 9.7-1-57-4
J.E. Emburey 18-3-48-2
G. Miller 9-3-13-1
G. Boycott 1-0-6-0
ENGLAND – 1ST INNINGS
G. Boycott c Hilditch b Harst 19
J.M. Brearley c Toohey b Higgs 46
D.W. Randall lbw b Hoggs 07
G.A. Gooch st. Wight b Higgs 74
D.I. Gower c Wright b Higgs 65
I.T. Botham c Carlson b Yardlay 23
G. Miller lbw b Hurst 18
R.W. Taylor not out 36
J.E. Emburey c Hilditch b Hurst 00
R.G.D. Willis b Higgs 10
M. Hendrick c and b Yardley 00
Extras 10
Total 308
Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-46, 3-115, 4-182, 5-233
6-247, 7-270, 8-280, 9-306
Bowling (Australia) R.M. Hogg 18-6-42-1
A.G. Hurst 20-4-58-3
B. Yardley 25-2-105-2
P.H. Carlson 10-1-24-0
J.D. Higgs 30-8-69-4
AUSTRALIA – 2ND INNINGS
G.M. Wood c Willis b Miller 29
A.M. Hilditch c Taylor b Hebdrick 01
K.J. Hughes c Gooch b Emburey 07
G.N. Yallop c Taylor b Miller 17
P.M. Toohey c Gooch b Emburey 00
P.H. Carlson c Botham b Emburey 00
B. yardley not out 61
K.J. Wright c Boycott b Miller 05
R.M. Hogg b Miller 07
J.D. Higgs c Botham b Emburey 02
A.G. Hurst c and b Miller 04
Extras 10
Total 143
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-28, 3-48, 4-48, 5-48, 6-82
7-114, 8-130, 9-136
Bowling (England): R.G.D. Willis 3-0-15-0
M. Hendrick 7-2-22-1
J.E. Emburey 24-4-52-4
G. Miller 27-1-6-44-5
ENGLAND – 2ND INNINGS
B. Boycott c Hughes b Higgs 13
J.M. Brearley not out 20
D.W. Randall not out 00
Extras 02
Total (for one wicket) 35
Fall of wicket: 1-31.
Bowling (Australia) Yardley 5.2-0-21-0
J.D. Higgs 5-1-12-1 |
