fbpx
Wikipedia

English cricket team in Australia in 1974–75

Mike Denness captained the English cricket team in Australia in 1974–75, playing as England in the 1974-75 Ashes series against the Australians and as the MCC in their other matches on the tour. They lost the Test series and the Ashes 4–1 thanks to the battering they received from the fast bowling of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, but won the One Day International and with Lillee and Thomson injured they came back to win the Sixth Test by an innings.

The Manager edit

England was untried as a consistent winning combination away from home. Their captain had been questioned both as a Test player and leader. Their batting was shallow in specialists and their fast bowling smacked of insurance policies and endeavour rather than hostility. But the touring party was one that demanded respect. There were no fewer than ten members who had previously played against Australian under Australian conditions. Two other players had proved themselves against the old foe in England. It was a professional side, professionally chosen, with a professional knowledge of the gaps that existed in the make-up of the Australian side. It seemed they would give a professional account of themselves.[1]

Frank Tyson

Alec Bedser had toured Australia in the 1946-47, 1950-51 and 1954-55 Ashes series as a player, 1958-59 as a journalist and 1962-63 as the assistant-manager, so was well known down under and very knowledgeable about Australian conditions. He was one of the great servants of English cricket and took a record 236 Test wickets at an average of 24.89 despite carrying England's bowling attack against the powerful Australian teams of the post-war era. Bedser was made an England selector in 1962 and Chairman of Selectors in 1969, a post he held until 1981. As a bowler he had been willing to toil all day if his captain demanded and saw team spirit and dedication as qualities needed by any England player, which led to problems with his two best players, Geoff Boycott and John Snow, who he did not see as team players.

Geoff Boycott was a dedicated if charmless opening batsman who had made 657 runs (93.85) in the 1970-71 Ashes series, but was an awkward tourist who had argued with the Australian umpires. He was named in the touring squad, but was unhappy that he had been dropped for most of the summer and believed that he should have been made England captain instead of Denness. As a result, he announced that he was unavailable for personal reasons and remained in self-imposed exile until 1977. The press speculated on his loss of form, the need to organise his 1975 Benefit Year and a fear of Dennis Lillee, though the Australian fast bowler had not yet returned to cricket after his back injury. Boycott was later accused of cowardice, his many critics saying that he had avoided playing the Australian and West Indian teams of 1974-76 because of their fast bowlers, but no one in the England camp had any idea that Lillee and Thomson would be such a threat until the First Test. Illingworth later said that Boycott was the only England batsmen with the technique to face Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson and it was generally agreed that his loss was a blow to the touring team's chances.

John Snow was a mercurial fast bowler whose short-pitched fast bowling had taken 31 wickets (22.83) in 1970-71 and had knocked out Garth McKenzie and Terry Jenner, leading to trouble with the Australian umpires over intimidatory bowling. Crowd demonstrations in the Seventh Test after Jenner was struck on the head led to Ray Illingworth leading the England team off the field. Boycott and Snow were both disciplined on their return from Australia and Snow wrote "that the selectors would have to be shot before I made a Test comeback".[2] Mike Denness expressly asked for Snow to tour the West Indies in 1973-74, where he had taken 27 wickets (18.66) in 1967-68, but Bedser over-ruled him because Snow "was not a good team man".[3] Denness asked for Snow again in 1974, but when "Alec accepted the managership in Australia Snow’s chances flew out the window".[4] Snow was recalled to play Australia at home in the 1975 Ashes series, where he took more wickets than any other England bowler.[5][6][7][8]

The Captain edit

The pace of Thomson and the deadly accuracy and cunning of Lillee unnerved England and I honestly don't believe that Mike Denness had sufficient status and experience as a player and captain to help his batsmen get over what were deep psychological wounds, particularly as he himself was having such a wretched time of it with the bat.[9]

Tom Graveney

Michael Henry Denness was the leader of the 1974-75 touring team and the first Scottish-born captain of the England cricket team (Douglas Jardine was born in India of Scottish parents). The late 1960s and early 1970s had seen a split in the ranks of English cricket as the nature of the captaincy. The conservatives saw cricket as uniting the Commonwealth with sportsmanship and social skills as important as cricketing ability and preferred the old style amateur captains with public school backgrounds. In the 1960s they had supported the avuncular Colin Cowdrey, but he was a naturally cautious captain whose stints as England captain were broken by ill-timed injuries. The reformers called for tough, professional captains dedicated to winning Test matches, such as Brian Close and Ray Illingworth, who succeeded Cowdrey in 1969 when he damaged his Achilles heel. Illingworth's success as captain gave England 27 consecutive Tests without defeat, including regaining the Ashes in 1970-71 and retaining them in 1972. However, Illingworth could only maintain his place as long as he was winning and he was sacked minutes after losing to the West Indies by an innings and 226 runs in 1973. Mike Denness had succeeded Cowdrey as the captain of Kent and was the surprise choice to lead England to the West Indies in 1973-74, though he had been Tony Lewis's vice-captain in India in 1972-73. Denness was seen a compromise candidate as he was a university graduate and a professional cricketer, though he was not a regular England player. Others pressed for the return of Cowdrey, Close or Illingworth. Boycott thought he should have the job and proved highly critical of Denness's captaincy. The Scot made a good start in the West Indies by drawing the series 1-1 and dealing diplomatically with the problems arising in the Caribbean in the wake of the exclusion of South Africa from Test cricket, though the press found him a bit dour. In 1974 he did even better, beating India 3-0 while making 289 runs (96.33), though Boycott opined that a donkey could have led the team to victory. He therefore went to Australia with some degree of confidence, but soon things went wrong. He picked up a mystery virus which prevented him from playing and affected his form. Though a natural player of spin he was soon found to have a weakness against the Australian fast bowlers and suffered in the Tests, so that he became the first Test captain to drop himself for bad form, for the Fourth Test at Sydney. Denness received a measure of public support for this decision, although he also wryly told of one letter which was simply addressed to "Mike Denness, Cricketer". "If this letter reaches you," it said, "the Post Office think more of you than I do".[10] He returned for Fifth Test in Adelaide after an injury to John Edrich and did slightly better, top-scoring in the first innings with 51.[10] Ironically, in the Sixth Test, also at Sydney, when Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson were unfit to play, Denness made 188 - the highest Test score by an England captain in Australia - and won by an innings. He beat New Zealand with a batting average of 240.00 and retained the captaincy for the 1975 Cricket World Cup, where England lost to Australia in the semi-finals. He lost the First Test of the 1975 Ashes series by an innings and was replaced by the combative Tony Greig, never to play Test cricket again.[11][12][13][14]

Batting edit

It came as a severe shock to the nervous system of the England batsmen when Australia suddenly produced the twin terrors Lillee and Thomson...and my heart went out to the England batsmen. I think the technique of several of the England batsmen left a lot to be desired, but all the coaching and textbook reading in the world could not have prepared them for the sort of short-pitched deliveries that kicked head high and at something like 100 mph.[15]

Tom Graveney

The England batsmen had gorged themselves on the Indian spin bowling in the summer of 1974; David Lloyd averaged 260.00, Keith Fletcher 189.00, John Edrich 101.50, Mike Denness 96.33, Dennis Amiss 92.50 and Tony Greig 79.50. They did well in the rain-affected series against Pakistan and were chosen en masse for the tour of Australia, along with Geoff Boycott who had missed most of the summer due to poor form. Boycott declined to tour and was replaced by Brian Luckhurst, a Kent opener who had made 455 runs (56.87) in 1970-71 and two centuries despite badly bruised fingers[16] None of these had any great experience in facing fast bowling, which had been in short supply in the last few years of Test cricket. This was not seen as a problem as Australian pitches were usually good for batting or spin and while Dennis Lillee had recovered from his back injury he was not seen as a problem. The pipe-smoking Dennis Amiss was a heavy run-maker for Warwickshire who had once carried his bat for 262 out of 432 against the West Indies in 1973-74, but was bounced out of cricket by the Australian and West Indian fast bowlers of the mid-1970s. He returned with a square on stance to make 203 against Michael Holding at the Oval in 1976. David Lloyd made 214 not out against India in his second Test, but failed to make another 50 in Tests and never played after this tour. In 1965 John Edrich made a record 310 not out New Zealand in the Third Test at Headingley with a record 52 fours and 5 sixes,[17] but was hit on the head by a Peter Pollock bouncer in his next Test, forcing him to retire hurt and thereafter he had a distaste for fast bowling. He changed into a solid and unspectacular accumulator of runs and in the 1970-71 Ashes series he batted for a record 33 hours and 26 minutes making 648 runs (72.00) and two centuries.[18][19] Keith Fletcher had a promising career, but like most of the England batsmen was a player of spin with limited technique against real pace and suffered as a result, but came back to make 146 in the Sixth Test and later became a successful captain of Essex. Colin Cowdrey was the first man to have played in a hundred Tests and was asked to reinforce the England squad after the injuries suffered in the First Test. This was his record sixth tour of Australia and he played in the Second Test in Perth just two days after arriving from England. The 6'7" South African born Tony Greig was England's best batsman of the tour, using his height to slash the fast bowlers over the slips and having the advantage of batting at number 6 after the earlier batsmen had faced the brunt of the bowling. The wicketkeeper Alan Knott who came in at number 7 was the next best batsmen, a perky, Punch-like character with a sound defence and some unorthodox shots. Fred Titmus had had great success with the bat on his previous tours in 1962-63 and 1965-66 and had a Test average of 48.89 in Australia. Chris Old was once liken to Ian Botham in his ability as an all-rounder and made six first class centuries.

Bowling edit

It was impossible to recall when the initial selection of an England touring party to Australia had included five out-and-out quick bowlers. Perhaps Lever's experience was intended to underwrite the hard-wicket fallibility of his fellow fast bowling quartet, who had not enjoyed a successful tour in the West Indies...The fact that the England selectors placed all their trump cards in the fast bowling had, also dangerously weakened the batting make-up of the touring party.[20]

Frank Tyson

Without John Snow England depended on the injury-prone Bob Willis to spearhead their fast bowling. Though his chest on action could generate real pace his knees could not take the strain and after bouncing the Australians in the First Test he was reduced to fast-medium pace. In support he had a host of quality fast-medium bowlers; Geoff Arnold, Mike Hendrick, Chris Old and Peter Lever who were able to exploit the seaming pitches and heavy atmosphere in England, but who suffered on the flat, dry pitches in Australia. Arnold shared the new ball with John Snow. but a series of injuries and Snow's fall from grace prevented what could have been a productive partnership, in 1974 he and Old dismissed India for 42. Old was 6'3" Yorkshireman who suffered from a long list of injuries and niggles and so rarely fulfilled his great promise. Hendrick was a gloomy looking bowler who always seemed to beat the bat without success and holds the record for taking the most Test wickets without having captured 5 in a single innings. Lever had toured Australia in 1970-71 without great success, but in this series took his best Test figures of 6/38 in the Sixth Test at Sydney. In the following tour of New Zealand he hit the tailender Ewen Chatfield on the head with a bouncer and almost killed him, Chatworth was saved by cardiopulmonary resuscitation from the team physiotherapist Bernie Thomas and a distraught Lever had to be helped off the field. Before the arrival of Ian Botham the 6'7" Tony Greig was the Golden Boy of English cricket and has the lowest bowling average of any man who averages over 40 with the bat in Tests. Initially he was a medium paced bowler whose great height produced awkward bounce, but in 1973-74 he switched to off-spin and took 13/156 to win the Fifth Test and square the series. Fred Titmus was a veteran off spin bowler who in 1974 become the fourth man after W.G. Grace, Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst to take 2,500 wickets and make 20,000 runs in first class cricket, and "if accolades like that don't make a bloke feel old, then I don't know what does!"[21] He had made his debut in 1947 and thought his selection was a joke, but Alec Bedser told him "our cupboard is pretty bare when it comes to young players".[22] The Cockney took his best Test figures of 7/79 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1962-63 with his flighted off-spinners, but had lost four toes in a boating accident in 1968 and had not played in Tests since. Derek Underwood was a first class bowler from his teens who bowled immaculate slow-medium spinners and used to say that bowling was a "low mentality profession: plug away, line and length, until there's a mistake”[23] as sooner or later every batsmen would make a mistake. On damp English wickets he earned the nickname "Deadly" for his ability to make the ball leap and turn, as when he took 10/82 against Australia at Headingley in 1972 and 13/71 against Pakistan at Lord's in 1974.

Fielding edit

Alan Knott had been chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970 and was regarded as the finest keeper in the world. In this series he dismissed 24 Australian batsmen, a new Test record and Rod Marsh admitted that he learned much of his trade from watching "Knotty" in the 1970-71 series.[24][25] Knott continually exercised before play and between balls[26] and was a highly entertaining player whose partnership with his teammate Derek Underwood was legendary.[27] Others thought that the reserve keeper Bob Taylor was even better, a quiet, unassuming player whose wicketkeeping was so tidy as to be invisible.[28] Colin Cowdrey was an outstanding slip fielder whose 120 Test catches was a record by a fieldsman at the time. He was joined in the slips by John Edrich, though he was a specialist gully fielder. Tony Greig and Bob Willis was an excellent slip and close fielders,[29] while Mike Denness "was by repute...the best fieldsman in his own side".[30]

Touring Team edit

Test Statistics of England Team in 1970-71
Name County Age Role Tests Runs Highest Average 100s 50s Ct St Wickets Best Average 5 Wt 10 Wt
A.V. Bedser Surrey 56 Manager 51 714 79 12.75 1 26 236 7/44 24.89 15 5
A.C. Smith Warwickshire 39 Assistant-manager 6 118 69* 29.50 1 20
B. Thomas Warwickshire Physiotherapist
J.H. Edrich (vc) Surrey 37 Left-handed opening batsman 77 5138 310* 43.54 12 24 43 0/6
D. Lloyd Lancashire 27 Left-handed opening batsman 9 552 214* 42.46 1 11 0/4
D.L. Amiss Warwickshire 31 Right-handed opening batsman 50 3612 262* 46.30 11 11 24
B.W. Luckhurst Kent 35 Right-handed opening batsman 21 1298 131 36.05 4 5 14 1 1/9 32.00
M.C. Cowdrey Kent 41 Right-handed top-order batsman 114 7624 182 44.06 22 38 120
M.H. Denness (c) Kent 33 Right-handed top-order batsman 28 1667 188 39.69 3 7 28
K.W.R. Fletcher Essex 30 Right-handed top-order batsman 59 3272 216 39.90 7 19 54 2 1/6 96.50
A.P.E. Knott Kent 28 Wicket-keeper 95 4389 135 32.75 5 30 250 19
R.W. Taylor Derbyshire 29 Wicket-keeper 57 1156 97 16.28 3 167 7 0/6
R.G.D. Willis Warwickshire 21 Right-arm fast bowler 90 840 28* 11.50 39 325 8/43 25.20 16
G.G. Arnold Surrey 30 Right-arm fast–medium bowler 34 421 59 12.02 1 9 115 6/45 28.29 6
M. Hendrick Derbyshire 26 Right-arm fast–medium bowler 30 128 15 6.40 25 87 4/28 25.83
P. Lever Lancashire 34 Right-arm fast–medium bowler 17 350 88* 21.87 2 11 41 6/38 36.80 2
C.M. Old Yorkshire 25 Right-arm fast–medium bowler 46 845 65 14.82 2 22 143 7/50 28.11 4
A.W. Greig Sussex 28 Right-arm medium bowler
Off-spin bowler
58 3599 148 40.43 8 20 87 141 8/86 32.20 6 2
F.J. Titmus Middlesex 43 Off-spin bowler 53 1449 85* 22.29 10 35 153 7/79 32.22 7
D.L. Underwood Kent 25 Slow left-arm bowler 86 937 45* 11.56 44 297 8/51 25.83 17 6

First Test – Brisbane edit

29 November–4 December 1974
scorecard
  Australia won by 166 runs
Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Australia
Umpires: R.C. Bailhache (AUS) & T.F. Brooks (AUS)

See Main Article - 1974-75 Ashes series

Second Test – Perth edit

See Main Article - 1974-75 Ashes series

Third Test – Melbourne edit

See Main Article - 1974-75 Ashes series

First One Day International - Melbourne edit

1 January 1975
scorecard
  England won by 3 wickets
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Umpires: R.C. Bailhache (AUS) & T.F. Brooks (AUS)
Player of the match: I.M. Chappell (c) and D.L. Amiss

See Main Article - 1974-75 Ashes series

Fourth Test – Sydney edit

4–9 January 1975
scorecard
  Australia won by 171 runs
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Umpires: R.C. Bailhache (AUS) & T.F. Brooks (AUS)

See Main Article - 1974-75 Ashes series

Fifth Test – Adelaide edit

25–30 January 1975
scorecard
  Australia won by 163 runs
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
Umpires: R.C. Bailhache (AUS) & T.F. Brooks (AUS)

See Main Article - 1974-75 Ashes series

Sixth Test – Sydney edit

See Main Article - 1974-75 Ashes series

References edit

  1. ^ p25, Tyson
  2. ^ p138, Snow
  3. ^ p136-138, Snow
  4. ^ p166, Swanton, 1977
  5. ^ p136-138, Snow
  6. ^ p166, Swanton, 1977
  7. ^ pp161-162, Synge
  8. ^ pp17-25, Tyson
  9. ^ p125, Graveney
  10. ^ a b "The captain who dropped himself". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  11. ^ pp110-112, Graveney
  12. ^ pp164-167, Swanton
  13. ^ pp156-162, Synge
  14. ^ pp19-27, Tyson
  15. ^ p125, Graveney
  16. ^ p69, Kelly
  17. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive".
  18. ^ p227, Arnold
  19. ^ p172, Swanton, 1986
  20. ^ p23, Tyson
  21. ^ p184, Titmus
  22. ^ p187, Titmus
  23. ^ p280, Chris
  24. ^ p163, Swanton, 1977
  25. ^ p200, Swanton, 1986
  26. ^ p254-255, Arnold
  27. ^ p135-142, Chris Cowdrey
  28. ^ p237, Swanton, 1986
  29. ^ p294, Arnold
  30. ^ p105, Tyson

Bibliography edit

  • Peter Arnold, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of World of Cricket, W.H. Smith, 1985
  • Ashley Brown, A Pictorial History of Cricket, Bison Books Ltd, 1988
  • Criss Freddi, The Guinness Book of Cricket Blunders, Guinness Publishing, 1996
  • David Gower, Heroes and Contemporaries, Granada Publishing Ltd, 1985
  • Tom Graveney and Norman Miller, The Ten Greatest Test Teams, Sidgewick and Jackson, 1988
  • John Snow, Cricket Rebel: An Autobiography, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, 1976
  • E.W. Swanton, Swanton in Australia with MCC 1946-1975, Fontana, 1977
  • Alan Synge, Sins of Omission, The Story of the Test Selectors 1899-1990, Pelham Books, 1990
  • Frank Tyson, Test of Nerves, Test series 1974-75 Australia versus England, Manark Pty Ltd, 1975
  • Bob Willis and Patrick Murphy, Starting With Grace, A Pictorial Celebration of Cricket 1864-1986, Stanley Paul, 1986

Annual reviews edit

Further reading edit

  • Mark Browning, Rod Marsh: A Life in Cricket, Rosenberg Publishing, 2003
  • Ian Brayshaw, The Chappell Era, ABC Enterprises, 1984
  • Greg Chappell, Old Hands Showed The Way, Test Series Official Book 1986-87, The Clashes for the Ashes, Australia vs England, Playbill Sport Publication, 1986
  • Ian Chappell, Austin Robertson and Paul Rigby, Chappelli Has the Last Laugh, Lansdowne Press, 1980
  • Ian Chappell and Ashley Mallett, Hitting Out: The Ian Chappell Story, Orion, 2006
  • Colin Cowdrey, M. C. C. The Autobiography of a Cricketer, Coronet Books, 1977
  • Bill Frindall, The Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1877-1978, Wisden, 1979
  • Colin Firth, Pageant of Cricket, The MacMillan Company of Australia,1987
  • Chris Harte, A History of Australian Cricket, Andre Deutsch, 1993
  • Ed Jaggard, Garth: The Story of Graham McKenzie, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 1993
  • Ken Kelly and David Lemmon, Cricket Reflections: Five Decades of Cricket Photographs, Heinemann, 1985
  • Dennis Lillee, Lillee, My Life in Cricket, Methuen Australia, 1982
  • Dennis Lillee, Menace: the Autobiography, Headline Book Publishing, 2003
  • Brian Luckhurst and Mike Baldwin, Boot Boy to President, KOS Media, 2004
  • Ashley Mallett, Rowdy, Lynton Publications, 1973
  • Ashley Mallett, Spin Out, Garry Sparke & Associates, 1977
  • Ashley Mallett, One of a Kind: The Doug Walters Story, Orion, 2009
  • Rod Marsh, The Gloves of Irony, Pan, 1999
  • Adrian McGregor, Greg Chappell, Collins, 1985
  • Mark Peel, The Last Roman: A Biography of Colin Cowdrey, Andre Deutsch Ltd, 1999
  • Ray Robinson, On Top Down Under, Cassell, 1975
  • E.W. Swanton(ed), The Barclays World of Cricket, Collins, 1986
  • Derek Underwood, Beating the Bat: An Autobiography, S.Paul, 1975
  • Bob Willis, Lasting the Pace, Collins, 1985

Videos and DVDs edit

External links edit

    english, cricket, team, australia, 1974, mike, denness, captained, playing, england, 1974, ashes, series, against, australians, their, other, matches, tour, they, lost, test, series, ashes, thanks, battering, they, received, from, fast, bowling, dennis, lillee. Mike Denness captained the English cricket team in Australia in 1974 75 playing as England in the 1974 75 Ashes series against the Australians and as the MCC in their other matches on the tour They lost the Test series and the Ashes 4 1 thanks to the battering they received from the fast bowling of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson but won the One Day International and with Lillee and Thomson injured they came back to win the Sixth Test by an innings Contents 1 The Manager 2 The Captain 3 Batting 4 Bowling 5 Fielding 6 Touring Team 7 First Test Brisbane 8 Second Test Perth 9 Third Test Melbourne 10 First One Day International Melbourne 11 Fourth Test Sydney 12 Fifth Test Adelaide 13 Sixth Test Sydney 14 References 15 Bibliography 16 Annual reviews 17 Further reading 18 Videos and DVDs 19 External linksThe Manager editEngland was untried as a consistent winning combination away from home Their captain had been questioned both as a Test player and leader Their batting was shallow in specialists and their fast bowling smacked of insurance policies and endeavour rather than hostility But the touring party was one that demanded respect There were no fewer than ten members who had previously played against Australian under Australian conditions Two other players had proved themselves against the old foe in England It was a professional side professionally chosen with a professional knowledge of the gaps that existed in the make up of the Australian side It seemed they would give a professional account of themselves 1 Frank Tyson Alec Bedser had toured Australia in the 1946 47 1950 51 and 1954 55 Ashes series as a player 1958 59 as a journalist and 1962 63 as the assistant manager so was well known down under and very knowledgeable about Australian conditions He was one of the great servants of English cricket and took a record 236 Test wickets at an average of 24 89 despite carrying England s bowling attack against the powerful Australian teams of the post war era Bedser was made an England selector in 1962 and Chairman of Selectors in 1969 a post he held until 1981 As a bowler he had been willing to toil all day if his captain demanded and saw team spirit and dedication as qualities needed by any England player which led to problems with his two best players Geoff Boycott and John Snow who he did not see as team players Geoff Boycott was a dedicated if charmless opening batsman who had made 657 runs 93 85 in the 1970 71 Ashes series but was an awkward tourist who had argued with the Australian umpires He was named in the touring squad but was unhappy that he had been dropped for most of the summer and believed that he should have been made England captain instead of Denness As a result he announced that he was unavailable for personal reasons and remained in self imposed exile until 1977 The press speculated on his loss of form the need to organise his 1975 Benefit Year and a fear of Dennis Lillee though the Australian fast bowler had not yet returned to cricket after his back injury Boycott was later accused of cowardice his many critics saying that he had avoided playing the Australian and West Indian teams of 1974 76 because of their fast bowlers but no one in the England camp had any idea that Lillee and Thomson would be such a threat until the First Test Illingworth later said that Boycott was the only England batsmen with the technique to face Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson and it was generally agreed that his loss was a blow to the touring team s chances John Snow was a mercurial fast bowler whose short pitched fast bowling had taken 31 wickets 22 83 in 1970 71 and had knocked out Garth McKenzie and Terry Jenner leading to trouble with the Australian umpires over intimidatory bowling Crowd demonstrations in the Seventh Test after Jenner was struck on the head led to Ray Illingworth leading the England team off the field Boycott and Snow were both disciplined on their return from Australia and Snow wrote that the selectors would have to be shot before I made a Test comeback 2 Mike Denness expressly asked for Snow to tour the West Indies in 1973 74 where he had taken 27 wickets 18 66 in 1967 68 but Bedser over ruled him because Snow was not a good team man 3 Denness asked for Snow again in 1974 but when Alec accepted the managership in Australia Snow s chances flew out the window 4 Snow was recalled to play Australia at home in the 1975 Ashes series where he took more wickets than any other England bowler 5 6 7 8 The Captain editThe pace of Thomson and the deadly accuracy and cunning of Lillee unnerved England and I honestly don t believe that Mike Denness had sufficient status and experience as a player and captain to help his batsmen get over what were deep psychological wounds particularly as he himself was having such a wretched time of it with the bat 9 Tom Graveney Michael Henry Denness was the leader of the 1974 75 touring team and the first Scottish born captain of the England cricket team Douglas Jardine was born in India of Scottish parents The late 1960s and early 1970s had seen a split in the ranks of English cricket as the nature of the captaincy The conservatives saw cricket as uniting the Commonwealth with sportsmanship and social skills as important as cricketing ability and preferred the old style amateur captains with public school backgrounds In the 1960s they had supported the avuncular Colin Cowdrey but he was a naturally cautious captain whose stints as England captain were broken by ill timed injuries The reformers called for tough professional captains dedicated to winning Test matches such as Brian Close and Ray Illingworth who succeeded Cowdrey in 1969 when he damaged his Achilles heel Illingworth s success as captain gave England 27 consecutive Tests without defeat including regaining the Ashes in 1970 71 and retaining them in 1972 However Illingworth could only maintain his place as long as he was winning and he was sacked minutes after losing to the West Indies by an innings and 226 runs in 1973 Mike Denness had succeeded Cowdrey as the captain of Kent and was the surprise choice to lead England to the West Indies in 1973 74 though he had been Tony Lewis s vice captain in India in 1972 73 Denness was seen a compromise candidate as he was a university graduate and a professional cricketer though he was not a regular England player Others pressed for the return of Cowdrey Close or Illingworth Boycott thought he should have the job and proved highly critical of Denness s captaincy The Scot made a good start in the West Indies by drawing the series 1 1 and dealing diplomatically with the problems arising in the Caribbean in the wake of the exclusion of South Africa from Test cricket though the press found him a bit dour In 1974 he did even better beating India 3 0 while making 289 runs 96 33 though Boycott opined that a donkey could have led the team to victory He therefore went to Australia with some degree of confidence but soon things went wrong He picked up a mystery virus which prevented him from playing and affected his form Though a natural player of spin he was soon found to have a weakness against the Australian fast bowlers and suffered in the Tests so that he became the first Test captain to drop himself for bad form for the Fourth Test at Sydney Denness received a measure of public support for this decision although he also wryly told of one letter which was simply addressed to Mike Denness Cricketer If this letter reaches you it said the Post Office think more of you than I do 10 He returned for Fifth Test in Adelaide after an injury to John Edrich and did slightly better top scoring in the first innings with 51 10 Ironically in the Sixth Test also at Sydney when Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson were unfit to play Denness made 188 the highest Test score by an England captain in Australia and won by an innings He beat New Zealand with a batting average of 240 00 and retained the captaincy for the 1975 Cricket World Cup where England lost to Australia in the semi finals He lost the First Test of the 1975 Ashes series by an innings and was replaced by the combative Tony Greig never to play Test cricket again 11 12 13 14 Batting editIt came as a severe shock to the nervous system of the England batsmen when Australia suddenly produced the twin terrors Lillee and Thomson and my heart went out to the England batsmen I think the technique of several of the England batsmen left a lot to be desired but all the coaching and textbook reading in the world could not have prepared them for the sort of short pitched deliveries that kicked head high and at something like 100 mph 15 Tom Graveney The England batsmen had gorged themselves on the Indian spin bowling in the summer of 1974 David Lloyd averaged 260 00 Keith Fletcher 189 00 John Edrich 101 50 Mike Denness 96 33 Dennis Amiss 92 50 and Tony Greig 79 50 They did well in the rain affected series against Pakistan and were chosen en masse for the tour of Australia along with Geoff Boycott who had missed most of the summer due to poor form Boycott declined to tour and was replaced by Brian Luckhurst a Kent opener who had made 455 runs 56 87 in 1970 71 and two centuries despite badly bruised fingers 16 None of these had any great experience in facing fast bowling which had been in short supply in the last few years of Test cricket This was not seen as a problem as Australian pitches were usually good for batting or spin and while Dennis Lillee had recovered from his back injury he was not seen as a problem The pipe smoking Dennis Amiss was a heavy run maker for Warwickshire who had once carried his bat for 262 out of 432 against the West Indies in 1973 74 but was bounced out of cricket by the Australian and West Indian fast bowlers of the mid 1970s He returned with a square on stance to make 203 against Michael Holding at the Oval in 1976 David Lloyd made 214 not out against India in his second Test but failed to make another 50 in Tests and never played after this tour In 1965 John Edrich made a record 310 not out New Zealand in the Third Test at Headingley with a record 52 fours and 5 sixes 17 but was hit on the head by a Peter Pollock bouncer in his next Test forcing him to retire hurt and thereafter he had a distaste for fast bowling He changed into a solid and unspectacular accumulator of runs and in the 1970 71 Ashes series he batted for a record 33 hours and 26 minutes making 648 runs 72 00 and two centuries 18 19 Keith Fletcher had a promising career but like most of the England batsmen was a player of spin with limited technique against real pace and suffered as a result but came back to make 146 in the Sixth Test and later became a successful captain of Essex Colin Cowdrey was the first man to have played in a hundred Tests and was asked to reinforce the England squad after the injuries suffered in the First Test This was his record sixth tour of Australia and he played in the Second Test in Perth just two days after arriving from England The 6 7 South African born Tony Greig was England s best batsman of the tour using his height to slash the fast bowlers over the slips and having the advantage of batting at number 6 after the earlier batsmen had faced the brunt of the bowling The wicketkeeper Alan Knott who came in at number 7 was the next best batsmen a perky Punch like character with a sound defence and some unorthodox shots Fred Titmus had had great success with the bat on his previous tours in 1962 63 and 1965 66 and had a Test average of 48 89 in Australia Chris Old was once liken to Ian Botham in his ability as an all rounder and made six first class centuries Bowling editIt was impossible to recall when the initial selection of an England touring party to Australia had included five out and out quick bowlers Perhaps Lever s experience was intended to underwrite the hard wicket fallibility of his fellow fast bowling quartet who had not enjoyed a successful tour in the West Indies The fact that the England selectors placed all their trump cards in the fast bowling had also dangerously weakened the batting make up of the touring party 20 Frank Tyson Without John Snow England depended on the injury prone Bob Willis to spearhead their fast bowling Though his chest on action could generate real pace his knees could not take the strain and after bouncing the Australians in the First Test he was reduced to fast medium pace In support he had a host of quality fast medium bowlers Geoff Arnold Mike Hendrick Chris Old and Peter Lever who were able to exploit the seaming pitches and heavy atmosphere in England but who suffered on the flat dry pitches in Australia Arnold shared the new ball with John Snow but a series of injuries and Snow s fall from grace prevented what could have been a productive partnership in 1974 he and Old dismissed India for 42 Old was 6 3 Yorkshireman who suffered from a long list of injuries and niggles and so rarely fulfilled his great promise Hendrick was a gloomy looking bowler who always seemed to beat the bat without success and holds the record for taking the most Test wickets without having captured 5 in a single innings Lever had toured Australia in 1970 71 without great success but in this series took his best Test figures of 6 38 in the Sixth Test at Sydney In the following tour of New Zealand he hit the tailender Ewen Chatfield on the head with a bouncer and almost killed him Chatworth was saved by cardiopulmonary resuscitation from the team physiotherapist Bernie Thomas and a distraught Lever had to be helped off the field Before the arrival of Ian Botham the 6 7 Tony Greig was the Golden Boy of English cricket and has the lowest bowling average of any man who averages over 40 with the bat in Tests Initially he was a medium paced bowler whose great height produced awkward bounce but in 1973 74 he switched to off spin and took 13 156 to win the Fifth Test and square the series Fred Titmus was a veteran off spin bowler who in 1974 become the fourth man after W G Grace Wilfred Rhodes and George Hirst to take 2 500 wickets and make 20 000 runs in first class cricket and if accolades like that don t make a bloke feel old then I don t know what does 21 He had made his debut in 1947 and thought his selection was a joke but Alec Bedser told him our cupboard is pretty bare when it comes to young players 22 The Cockney took his best Test figures of 7 79 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1962 63 with his flighted off spinners but had lost four toes in a boating accident in 1968 and had not played in Tests since Derek Underwood was a first class bowler from his teens who bowled immaculate slow medium spinners and used to say that bowling was a low mentality profession plug away line and length until there s a mistake 23 as sooner or later every batsmen would make a mistake On damp English wickets he earned the nickname Deadly for his ability to make the ball leap and turn as when he took 10 82 against Australia at Headingley in 1972 and 13 71 against Pakistan at Lord s in 1974 Fielding editAlan Knott had been chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970 and was regarded as the finest keeper in the world In this series he dismissed 24 Australian batsmen a new Test record and Rod Marsh admitted that he learned much of his trade from watching Knotty in the 1970 71 series 24 25 Knott continually exercised before play and between balls 26 and was a highly entertaining player whose partnership with his teammate Derek Underwood was legendary 27 Others thought that the reserve keeper Bob Taylor was even better a quiet unassuming player whose wicketkeeping was so tidy as to be invisible 28 Colin Cowdrey was an outstanding slip fielder whose 120 Test catches was a record by a fieldsman at the time He was joined in the slips by John Edrich though he was a specialist gully fielder Tony Greig and Bob Willis was an excellent slip and close fielders 29 while Mike Denness was by repute the best fieldsman in his own side 30 Touring Team editTest Statistics of England Team in 1970 71Name County Age Role Tests Runs Highest Average 100s 50s Ct St Wickets Best Average 5 Wt 10 WtA V Bedser Surrey 56 Manager 51 714 79 12 75 1 26 236 7 44 24 89 15 5A C Smith Warwickshire 39 Assistant manager 6 118 69 29 50 1 20B Thomas Warwickshire PhysiotherapistJ H Edrich vc Surrey 37 Left handed opening batsman 77 5138 310 43 54 12 24 43 0 6D Lloyd Lancashire 27 Left handed opening batsman 9 552 214 42 46 1 11 0 4D L Amiss Warwickshire 31 Right handed opening batsman 50 3612 262 46 30 11 11 24B W Luckhurst Kent 35 Right handed opening batsman 21 1298 131 36 05 4 5 14 1 1 9 32 00M C Cowdrey Kent 41 Right handed top order batsman 114 7624 182 44 06 22 38 120M H Denness c Kent 33 Right handed top order batsman 28 1667 188 39 69 3 7 28K W R Fletcher Essex 30 Right handed top order batsman 59 3272 216 39 90 7 19 54 2 1 6 96 50A P E Knott Kent 28 Wicket keeper 95 4389 135 32 75 5 30 250 19R W Taylor Derbyshire 29 Wicket keeper 57 1156 97 16 28 3 167 7 0 6R G D Willis Warwickshire 21 Right arm fast bowler 90 840 28 11 50 39 325 8 43 25 20 16G G Arnold Surrey 30 Right arm fast medium bowler 34 421 59 12 02 1 9 115 6 45 28 29 6M Hendrick Derbyshire 26 Right arm fast medium bowler 30 128 15 6 40 25 87 4 28 25 83P Lever Lancashire 34 Right arm fast medium bowler 17 350 88 21 87 2 11 41 6 38 36 80 2C M Old Yorkshire 25 Right arm fast medium bowler 46 845 65 14 82 2 22 143 7 50 28 11 4A W Greig Sussex 28 Right arm medium bowler Off spin bowler 58 3599 148 40 43 8 20 87 141 8 86 32 20 6 2F J Titmus Middlesex 43 Off spin bowler 53 1449 85 22 29 10 35 153 7 79 32 22 7D L Underwood Kent 25 Slow left arm bowler 86 937 45 11 56 44 297 8 51 25 83 17 6First Test Brisbane edit29 November 4 December 1974 scorecard nbsp Australia v nbsp England309I M Chappell c 90 G S Chappell vc 58 R G D Willis 4 56 265A W Greig 110 M H N Walker 4 59 J R Thomson 3 59288 5 dec G S Chappell vc 71 K D Walters 62 R Edwards 53 R G D Willis 3 45 166D L Underwood 30 J R Thomson 6 46 nbsp Australia won by 166 runsBrisbane Cricket Ground Woolloongabba Australia Umpires R C Bailhache AUS amp T F Brooks AUS See Main Article 1974 75 Ashes seriesSecond Test Perth edit13 17 December 1974 scorecard nbsp England v nbsp Australia208A P E Knott wk 51 K D Walters 2 13 G S Chappell vc 3 Ct I R Redpath 3 Ct 481R Edwards 115 K D Walters 103 G S Chappell vc 62 C M Old 3 85 A P E Knott wk 3 Ct and 1 St293F J Titmus 61 J R Thomson 5 93 G S Chappell vc 4 Ct 23 1I R Redpath 12 G G Arnold 1 15 nbsp Australia won by 9 wicketsWestern Australia Cricket Ground Perth Australia Umpires R C Bailhache AUS amp T F Brooks AUS See Main Article 1974 75 Ashes seriesThird Test Melbourne edit26 31 December 1974 scorecard nbsp England v nbsp Australia242A P E Knott wk 52 J R Thomson 4 72 R W Marsh wk 3 Ct 241I R Redpath 55 R G D Willis 5 61 A P E Knott wk 3 Ct244D L Amiss 90 A W Greig 60 A A Mallett 4 60 J R Thomson 4 71 I M Chappell c 3 Ct 238 8G S Chappell vc 61 A W Greig 4 56Match drawnMelbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Umpires R C Bailhache AUS amp T F Brooks AUS See Main Article 1974 75 Ashes seriesFirst One Day International Melbourne edit1 January 1975 scorecard nbsp Australia v nbsp England190G S Chappell vc 44 I M Chappell c 42 C M Old 4 57 191 7D Lloyd 49 D L Amiss 47 A G Hurst 2 27 nbsp England won by 3 wicketsMelbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Umpires R C Bailhache AUS amp T F Brooks AUS Player of the match I M Chappell c and D L Amiss See Main Article 1974 75 Ashes seriesFourth Test Sydney edit4 9 January 1975 scorecard nbsp Australia v nbsp England405G S Chappell vc 84 R B McCosker 80 I M Chappell c 53 G G Arnold 5 86 A W Greig 4 104 295A P E Knott wk 82 J H Edrich c 50 J R Thomson 4 74289 6 dec G S Chappell vc 144 I R Redpath 105 D L Underwood 2 55 228A W Greig 54 A A Mallett 4 21 nbsp Australia won by 171 runsSydney Cricket Ground Sydney Umpires R C Bailhache AUS amp T F Brooks AUS See Main Article 1974 75 Ashes seriesFifth Test Adelaide edit25 30 January 1975 scorecard nbsp Australia v nbsp England304R M Marsh wk 74 T J Jenner 74 K D Walters 55 D L Underwood 7 113 172M H Denness c 51 D K Lillee 4 49 A A Mallett 3 14 M H M Walker 3 58272 5 dec K D Walters 71 R M Marsh wk 55 I R Redpath 52 D L Underwood 4 102 241A P E Knott 106 K W R Fletcher 63 D K Lillee 4 69 M H N Walker 3 89 nbsp Australia won by 163 runsAdelaide Oval Adelaide Australia Umpires R C Bailhache AUS amp T F Brooks AUS See Main Article 1974 75 Ashes seriesSixth Test Sydney edit8 13 February 1975 scorecard nbsp Australia v nbsp England152I M Chappell c 65 P Lever 6 38 A P E Knott wk 3 Ct 529M H Denness c 188 K W R Fletcher 146 A W Greig 89 J H Edrich vc 70 M H N Walker 8 143 R W Marsh wk 3 Ct373G S Chappell vc 102 I R Redpath 83 R B McCosker 76 I M Chappell c 50 A W Greig 4 88 P Lever 3 65 G G Arnold 3 83 A P E Knott wk 3 Ct nbsp England won by an innings and 4 runsSydney Cricket Ground Sydney Umpires R C Bailhache AUS amp T F Brooks AUS See Main Article 1974 75 Ashes seriesReferences edit p25 Tyson p138 Snow p136 138 Snow p166 Swanton 1977 p136 138 Snow p166 Swanton 1977 pp161 162 Synge pp17 25 Tyson p125 Graveney a b The captain who dropped himself ESPNCricinfo Retrieved 2 July 2022 pp110 112 Graveney pp164 167 Swanton pp156 162 Synge pp19 27 Tyson p125 Graveney p69 Kelly The Home of CricketArchive p227 Arnold p172 Swanton 1986 p23 Tyson p184 Titmus p187 Titmus p280 Chris p163 Swanton 1977 p200 Swanton 1986 p254 255 Arnold p135 142 Chris Cowdrey p237 Swanton 1986 p294 Arnold p105 TysonBibliography editPeter Arnold The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of World of Cricket W H Smith 1985 Ashley Brown A Pictorial History of Cricket Bison Books Ltd 1988 Criss Freddi The Guinness Book of Cricket Blunders Guinness Publishing 1996 David Gower Heroes and Contemporaries Granada Publishing Ltd 1985 Tom Graveney and Norman Miller The Ten Greatest Test Teams Sidgewick and Jackson 1988 John Snow Cricket Rebel An Autobiography Littlehampton Book Services Ltd 1976 E W Swanton Swanton in Australia with MCC 1946 1975 Fontana 1977 Alan Synge Sins of Omission The Story of the Test Selectors 1899 1990 Pelham Books 1990 Frank Tyson Test of Nerves Test series 1974 75 Australia versus England Manark Pty Ltd 1975 Bob Willis and Patrick Murphy Starting With Grace A Pictorial Celebration of Cricket 1864 1986 Stanley Paul 1986Annual reviews editPlayfair Cricket Annual 1975 Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1976Further reading editMark Browning Rod Marsh A Life in Cricket Rosenberg Publishing 2003 Ian Brayshaw The Chappell Era ABC Enterprises 1984 Greg Chappell Old Hands Showed The Way Test Series Official Book 1986 87 The Clashes for the Ashes Australia vs England Playbill Sport Publication 1986 Ian Chappell Austin Robertson and Paul Rigby Chappelli Has the Last Laugh Lansdowne Press 1980 Ian Chappell and Ashley Mallett Hitting Out The Ian Chappell Story Orion 2006 Colin Cowdrey M C C The Autobiography of a Cricketer Coronet Books 1977 Bill Frindall The Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1877 1978 Wisden 1979 Colin Firth Pageant of Cricket The MacMillan Company of Australia 1987 Chris Harte A History of Australian Cricket Andre Deutsch 1993 Ed Jaggard Garth The Story of Graham McKenzie Fremantle Arts Centre Press 1993 Ken Kelly and David Lemmon Cricket Reflections Five Decades of Cricket Photographs Heinemann 1985 Dennis Lillee Lillee My Life in Cricket Methuen Australia 1982 Dennis Lillee Menace the Autobiography Headline Book Publishing 2003 Brian Luckhurst and Mike Baldwin Boot Boy to President KOS Media 2004 Ashley Mallett Rowdy Lynton Publications 1973 Ashley Mallett Spin Out Garry Sparke amp Associates 1977 Ashley Mallett One of a Kind The Doug Walters Story Orion 2009 Rod Marsh The Gloves of Irony Pan 1999 Adrian McGregor Greg Chappell Collins 1985 Mark Peel The Last Roman A Biography of Colin Cowdrey Andre Deutsch Ltd 1999 Ray Robinson On Top Down Under Cassell 1975 E W Swanton ed The Barclays World of Cricket Collins 1986 Derek Underwood Beating the Bat An Autobiography S Paul 1975 Bob Willis Lasting the Pace Collins 1985Videos and DVDs editAllan Border and David Gower The Best of the Ashes 1970 1987 2 Entertain Video 1991External links editCricketArchive tour itinerary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title English cricket team in Australia in 1974 75 amp oldid 1182770625, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

    article

    , read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.