There's something about a Test series involving the Aussies and Windies that gets my heart pounding. Probably only a child of the '70s and '80s could feel that way. After all, the past decade has not been kind to the men from the Caribbean, and their recent record has been pretty ordinary, slumping to seventh in the ICC rankings, perched a few points above New Zealand.
Since beating India in 2002, their only series triumphs over anyone other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh have come against Sri Lanka in 2003 and England three years ago. They even lost both Tests at home to Bangladesh in 2009 and have scraped together just eleven match wins in the past ten years, losing fifty in the same period. Ouch! Australia, too, have lost their near-invincibility of the '90s and early '00s. However, they are once again looking up. Probably best to forget the Warnes, McGraths, Waughs and Gilchrists, just as the current bunch of Caribbean stars wish to avoid comparison with the giants of the '70s and '80s. However, I'm quite happy to relive some of the great encounters between the nations were better matched.
Much has been said about the significance of the 1975-6 series. After the bruising defeat, Clive Lloyd launched the search for a ruthless battery of pace bowlers with which to gain revenge. Dennis Lillee was already a brilliant fast bowler, all bristling moustache and flowing dark locks, attracting shouts of 'Kill, kill!' from fans in time with his forty-pace run-up. What batsmen wouldn't quake in their boots in such a hostile atmosphere. Chuck in the equally fast but wild Jeff Thomson, and Australia really got under the West Indians' skin. However, when you look at the scorecards alone, it was the left-armer Gary Gilmour who actually took most of the wickets. Maybe it was Tommo who softened 'em up while the more innocuous Gilmour could get the edges, but it certainly did the trick as the Aussies racked up a 5-1 series massacre.
They won the First Test at Brisbane by 8 wickets but the tourists bounced back in style at Perth. Fredericks and Lloyd scored centuries, then Michael Holding claimed 7-54 to win by an innings. It was all downhill from there on in. Both Gilmour (omitted in favour of Max Walker) and Holding (unfit) were absent but Greg Chappell's side had the better with bat and ball, and Rod Marsh's eight catches told its own story, as the cavalier batsmen were too keen to go for their strokes rather than play a patient game. At Sydney, Lillee was out but this was the game which really turned nasty. Thomson's brutal lifters sent Lloyd, Julien and Holding off the pitch with injuries and took nine wickets in all. Greg Chappell's unbeaten 182 earned him the Man of the Match award. At Adelaide, Australia triumphed by 190 runs despite some bold attacking innings from Viv Richards and Keith Boyce who dented Lillee's figures somewhat.
Dennis the Menace and Gilmour each took five in the first innings at the MCG and they never had a prayer in the bid to reach the declaration target of 492. Only Lloyd and Richards again had the skill and brio to face up to the attack but it was the spin of Ashley Mallett which mopped up the tail.
Two years later, an Aussie side shorn of many stars by the defection to World Series Cricket faced a Windies team gunning for retaliation. In Trinidad, Andy Roberts was as menacing as ever, joined by Colin Croft and Joel Garner. Australia had resorted to recalling 40-something Bobby Simpson as captain but he was powerless in the face of the Windies trio. Debutant Desmond Haynes, Kallicharran and Lloyd made light work of the Aussie bowling, Jeff Thomson less threatening this time.
Tommo took 6-77 at Bridgetown but his batsmen were blown away. However, controversy struck before the Guyana match. Windies players who had become contracted to the WSC were omitted by the selectors, Lloyd resigned as captain and a hastily-assembled bunch of reserves, led by Kallicharran, were narrowly defeated. It did give Sylvester Clarke a debut, one of the great quicks not to become an international superstar. At Port of Spain, the first three innings produced almost identical totals before spinner (yes, spinner!) Derick Parry took 5-15 to win the match and the series.
There was much controversy at Jamaica where, with the Windies on the verge of defeat with a wicket and six overs remaining, a crowd disturbance halted play. While the boards agreed to go into an unprecedented sixth day, the umpires refused to stand and so the match was officially abandoned as a draw!
The West Indies had exacted the revenge on Australia and, although World Series Cricket left both sides bereft of their top players in official cricket encounters, they had some meaty meetings in the Kerry Packer 'Circus' in the late '70s. When the new world order emerged blinking into the 1980s, the West Indies had developed steel to accompany the 'calypso cricket' and didn't look back for fifteen years or so. Australia had to rebuild under Allan Border but there were more great encounters to come....
