The first Ashes series I remember with any clarity took place forty years ago. The early part of the 1975 summer was memorable for the inaugural World Cup, about which I have waxed lyrical more than once. The previous winter had introduced England to the twin pace threat of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. Now they were bringing their brand of cricket to these shores to thrill teenagers like me, just developing my enthusiasm for cricket.
Australia defeated England in the World Cup semi-finals (through the unfamiliar swing of Gary Gilmour) and gave the West Indies a cracking contest in the final. There followed a four-Test series for the little red urn which would give the home nation a chance for revenge.
England were thumped 4-1 Down Under but at last did end the series on a high, thanks to an innings victory at Melbourne. Even without a sulking Geoff Boycott and John Snow, the tourists turned the tables thanks to a captain’s innings by Mike Denness and Peter Lever’s 6-38. Nevertheless, the Aussie squad staying on from the one-day showpiece was pretty formidable.
Rick McCosker was a very useful opener, Ian Chappell a combative skipper and brother Greg one of the best batsmen in the world. Doug Walters was an old-school, smoker, drinker and gambler yet he ended with a Test average of 48, extremely high back in the Seventies. Rod Marsh was another character, whose wicketkeeping was just as strong. And then there was the bowling. Apart from ‘Lilian Thomson’, Max Walker was a fine exponent of swing and Ashley Mallett offered skilful off-spin.
That’s not to say England were weak. We had world-class players such as Alan Knott, Derek Underwood, Snow, opener Dennis Amiss and all-rounder Tony Greig, so a useful series was in the offing. However. from their standpoint, it didn’t get off to a promising start.
At Edgbaston, Denness won the toss and fielded. Australia notched 359, then on day two, Lillee and Walker ripped England apart. Following on, it was Thomson’s turn to claim a five-for and it was all over by the fourth morning. The match was also memorable for Graham Gooch’s debut. After some great performances for Essex, the 21 year-old was thrust into the Test side – and bagged a pair!
Gooch was retained at Lord’s but there were changes elsewhere. Barry Wood opened, Amiss dropped down to four, while debuts were handed to the grey-haired bespectacled David Steele and Kent all-rounder (as he was then) Bob Woolmer. More significantly, Mike Denness made way for new captain Tony Greig. The result was an honourable draw. Edrich, Greig and Knott nullified the threat of Chappell’s seam attack, and even Gooch scored 6 and 37.
At Headingley, left-arm spinner Phil Edmonds played his first Test, and there were recalls for Yorkshire pair John Hampshire (for Gooch) and Chris Old. England were on top at stumps on day four but were denied the chance to level the series by the infamous pitch vandalism by supporters of imprisoned East End villain George Davis. He may have been, as the ubiquitous graffiti proclaimed ‘innocent, OK’ but cricket fans were horrified that someone could ruin an excellent Test match by digging holes on a length making the pitch unplayable.
I’m not sure whether it was the result of the lost day at Leeds but the fourth Test at The Oval was allocated six days. As such it became the longest first-class game in England. A second-wicket partnership of 277 between McCosker and Ian Chappell took the visitors beyond 500, then the pacemen left Greig’s men to follow on 341 behind. Things looked as grim as the late August weather. However, second time around, England took control. Woolmer, promoted to five, responded with 149, four others passed fifty, and they left the Aussies no time to reach their target.
The series ended 1-0 to Australia, but England had regained some confidence. Gooch’s time would come again and David Steele’s quiet determination and resilience struck a chord with the British public, earning him the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award! Australia would destroy the West Indies the following winter, a result which in turn would lead to Clive Lloyd’s all-pace strategy and a new world order in the sport for years to come.
I doubt whether 2015 will create another watershed in world cricket but hopefully there’ll be plenty of drama and excitement for me and all those teenagers out there looking for new sporting heroes, whatever the nationality.
Showing posts with label Mike Denness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Denness. Show all posts
Monday, 6 July 2015
Friday, 19 April 2013
Mike Denness RIP
Just four months after Tony Greig passed away, it is doubly sad that cricket has today lost his immediate predecessor as England captain, Mike Denness. While the obituaries all remark upon his gentlemanly demeanour and classy batsmanship, I never actually met him and so cannot comment. The closest I got was taking a photo of a smiling Denness on the boundary at Chelmsford in a Sunday League match, and he certainly seemed a very affable character.
His tenure as England skipper was marked by a clash with Geoff Boycott in 1974. Of course, the Yorkshire opener could start an argument with his own shadow but in this case it was basically because Denness was Scottish, or that he wasn't good enough as a batsman or, especially, because Boycott wanted the job himself. Either way, England were roasted by Lillee, Thomson et al in 1974-75 and an innings defeat to the Aussies at Edgbaston the following summer ended both his captaincy and international career. Denness could hardly be blamed for that loss, nor the absent Boycott. Another batsman bagged a pair on his debut in that match, and went on to be one of England's most enduring opening batsmen of recent times: Graham Gooch!
Like a later captain, Mike Brearley, Denness wasn't a world-class batsman but his England statistics were not to be scoffed at. In his 28 Tests, 19 as skipper, he averaged almost 40, pretty good in those days, including four centuries. Curiously, they came in pairs, two against India in 1974 and then against the Aussies and New Zealand the following winter. His 188 at Melbourne contributed to a rare Ashes innings victory and was small compensation for the four previous defeats on that tour.
In a twenty-one year career, Mike played more than 500 first-class matches and 232 one-dayers, compiling more than 30,000 runs in total. For most of that time, his name was synonymous with Kent, and he led them with distinction in the early 1970s, his record clearly winning approval from the England selectors looking for a successor to Illingworth, Fletcher and Lewis. Along with the likes of Luckhurst, Knott and Underwood, he was a stalwart at Canterbury and was president of Kent CCC when he died. I'm not sure what prompted his move to Essex in the Seventies, when I saw him play, but his first county were to welcome him back later on after his controversial stint as an ICC referee earned him notoriety and vilification from Indians. He even had his effigy burned by fans after sanctioning six players, including Saint Sachin, in South Africa eleven years ago. Maybe Sir Geoffrey was sticking pins in a Denness doll at the same time.
Better to remember Mike Denness as an attractive cricketer, decent bloke and a man who served Kent, Essex, England - and Scotland - so admirably for so long.
His tenure as England skipper was marked by a clash with Geoff Boycott in 1974. Of course, the Yorkshire opener could start an argument with his own shadow but in this case it was basically because Denness was Scottish, or that he wasn't good enough as a batsman or, especially, because Boycott wanted the job himself. Either way, England were roasted by Lillee, Thomson et al in 1974-75 and an innings defeat to the Aussies at Edgbaston the following summer ended both his captaincy and international career. Denness could hardly be blamed for that loss, nor the absent Boycott. Another batsman bagged a pair on his debut in that match, and went on to be one of England's most enduring opening batsmen of recent times: Graham Gooch!
Like a later captain, Mike Brearley, Denness wasn't a world-class batsman but his England statistics were not to be scoffed at. In his 28 Tests, 19 as skipper, he averaged almost 40, pretty good in those days, including four centuries. Curiously, they came in pairs, two against India in 1974 and then against the Aussies and New Zealand the following winter. His 188 at Melbourne contributed to a rare Ashes innings victory and was small compensation for the four previous defeats on that tour.
In a twenty-one year career, Mike played more than 500 first-class matches and 232 one-dayers, compiling more than 30,000 runs in total. For most of that time, his name was synonymous with Kent, and he led them with distinction in the early 1970s, his record clearly winning approval from the England selectors looking for a successor to Illingworth, Fletcher and Lewis. Along with the likes of Luckhurst, Knott and Underwood, he was a stalwart at Canterbury and was president of Kent CCC when he died. I'm not sure what prompted his move to Essex in the Seventies, when I saw him play, but his first county were to welcome him back later on after his controversial stint as an ICC referee earned him notoriety and vilification from Indians. He even had his effigy burned by fans after sanctioning six players, including Saint Sachin, in South Africa eleven years ago. Maybe Sir Geoffrey was sticking pins in a Denness doll at the same time.
Better to remember Mike Denness as an attractive cricketer, decent bloke and a man who served Kent, Essex, England - and Scotland - so admirably for so long.
Monday, 31 December 2012
Cricketing Honours and 2012 Farewells
Amidst the many Olympic and Paralympic athletes and usual array of political arse-lickers in the New Year's Honours List, there were a few deserving cases from the world of cricket. The late Tony Greig may have been beyond the pale as far as the Establishment is concerned, but his predecessor as England captain, Mike Denness, has at least been recognised with an overdue OBE. He played 28 Tests for England, 19 of them as skipper, averaging a creditable 40 with the bat. His 22-season first-class career, including long stints with Kent and Essex, yielded almost 26,000 runs, alongside more than 5,000 in one-dayers. He must be one of the most successful Scottish-born cricketers in history.
MBEs have gone to a couple of recent retirees who have made frequent apparances in my blog: Mark Ramprakash and Robert Croft. Both never quite attained world-class status, despite their prolific run-scoring (Ramps) and wicket-taking (Croftie) in county cricket. The lowly honour is the very least their two decades and more of professional dedication deserves, especially when compared with OBEs and CBEs doled out to gold medallists in their early twenties!
I don't know where the Commonwealth stands in terms of the archaic British honours system but where on earth is the knighthood for Rahul Dravid? This list probably came too soon for Ricky Ponting but I hope we get a chance to greet Sir Ricky come the summer. Perhaps the civil servants are awaiting the full retirement of Sachin Tendulkar before giving out gongs to overseas cricketing legends. 2013 maybe?! Perhaps Andrew Strauss will join them now that he has bidden farewell to Test and county cricket after Graeme Smith et al thumped England.
Others who bowed out without an invitation to the Palace include Aussie run machine Michael di Venuto (although still available for one-dayers, despite this being his least favoured format) and Charl Willoughby, the South African left-arm swing merchant who performed sterling service for several counties, including my own Somerset, albeit only five times for his country.
Less-renowned county stalwarts also merit a mention here. Jonathan Batty was a fine wicketkeeper-batsman for Surrey and Gloucestershire, and was unlucky not to play for England. He tended to be eclipsed by his Surrey colleague Alec Stewart for the first half of his career, but went on to score more than 12,000 runs and claim 1000-odd victims behind the stumps. Will Jefferson was a powerful, very tall left-handed opening batsman but has called it a day at 32 because of a persistent hip injury, rather than the inconsistent performances which often held him back. The somewhat shorter 'keeper, Ben Scott, has also retired at a young age (31). Whilst clocking up more than 100 first-class matches, including a few for the Lions, he couldn't quite hold his own in 2012, and his century for Worcestershire in July will probably prove to be his last.
Congratulations to all of the above for giving us all such pleasure over the years, medals or no medals.
MBEs have gone to a couple of recent retirees who have made frequent apparances in my blog: Mark Ramprakash and Robert Croft. Both never quite attained world-class status, despite their prolific run-scoring (Ramps) and wicket-taking (Croftie) in county cricket. The lowly honour is the very least their two decades and more of professional dedication deserves, especially when compared with OBEs and CBEs doled out to gold medallists in their early twenties!
I don't know where the Commonwealth stands in terms of the archaic British honours system but where on earth is the knighthood for Rahul Dravid? This list probably came too soon for Ricky Ponting but I hope we get a chance to greet Sir Ricky come the summer. Perhaps the civil servants are awaiting the full retirement of Sachin Tendulkar before giving out gongs to overseas cricketing legends. 2013 maybe?! Perhaps Andrew Strauss will join them now that he has bidden farewell to Test and county cricket after Graeme Smith et al thumped England.
Others who bowed out without an invitation to the Palace include Aussie run machine Michael di Venuto (although still available for one-dayers, despite this being his least favoured format) and Charl Willoughby, the South African left-arm swing merchant who performed sterling service for several counties, including my own Somerset, albeit only five times for his country.
Less-renowned county stalwarts also merit a mention here. Jonathan Batty was a fine wicketkeeper-batsman for Surrey and Gloucestershire, and was unlucky not to play for England. He tended to be eclipsed by his Surrey colleague Alec Stewart for the first half of his career, but went on to score more than 12,000 runs and claim 1000-odd victims behind the stumps. Will Jefferson was a powerful, very tall left-handed opening batsman but has called it a day at 32 because of a persistent hip injury, rather than the inconsistent performances which often held him back. The somewhat shorter 'keeper, Ben Scott, has also retired at a young age (31). Whilst clocking up more than 100 first-class matches, including a few for the Lions, he couldn't quite hold his own in 2012, and his century for Worcestershire in July will probably prove to be his last.
Congratulations to all of the above for giving us all such pleasure over the years, medals or no medals.
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