Test cricket in the 1970s often saw slow, boring cricket, with many teams favouring the safety-first approach. Still, there were some exciting finishes to many Test matches, and none more so than in the grand Centenary Test at the MCG.
Austalia vs England – Centenary Test, 1977, MCG
When Derek Randall, the 26-year-old from Nottingham, was walking to the crease on the fourth day of the Centenary match his Test record read five Tests (running) eight innings, 90 runs, avg 11.25, highest 37, two ducks. Picked for the Indian tour based on his reputation as a fine player of spin bowling, he found the great Indian spin trio a different class from the county spinners. Here, in the first innings, he had fallen victim to the famous trap – caught by Rodney Marsh, bowled by Dennis Lillee.
As he started his innings, he was not only playing for his international future; he was trying to reduce the margin of a defeat that looked certain at that moment. On the opening day Tony Greig had put the opposition in and his bowlers did a fine job restricting them to only 138. But since then the home side had recovered to take the initiative thanks to the brilliance of two of the greats of Aussies cricket. Dennis Lillee took 6-26 and then Marsh became the first Australian keeper to score a ton in a Test against England as the home side set a nearly impossible target of 463 to the tourists.
Bob Woolmer departed cheaply and Randall came to the wicket to join Mike Brearley, a highly respected figure in the county circuit but, just like Randall, with little or no credential as a top-level Test batsman.
Randall batted for seven and a half hours. During that period he scored a career best 174, hit 21 fours, got a reprieve thanks to Marsh, shared jokes with the great Lille, entertained and at the same time frustrated the thousands of Aussie fans. He gave his side an outside chance of a memorable victory. While he never reached consistent success at the top level, this innings at the MCG has ensured a permanent place for him in the history of this great cricket rivalry.
It was the third-wicket stand between Randall and Dennis Amiss that genuinely raised the English hopes. Amiss, another Midlander, had a proven record against fast bowling and ended his Test career with an average of 46. But his poor Ashes record denies him a place among the greats of the game. Here it seemed he was about the get the record straight. But after scoring 64 he fell to the part-time medium pace of the Australian captain.
But the biggest wicket was taken by Kerry O’Keeffe, the leggie. He dismissed Randall thanks to a brilliant catch by Gary Cosier. The score became 6346. England still seemed in the hunt. But O’Keefe also picked up the wicket of Tony Greig and the tail collapsed.
Quite appropriately it was Lillee who took the last wicket. He had match figures of 11-165, but Randall was adjudged the man of the match.
India vs England – fourth Test, 1979, The Oval
At the Queen’s Park Oval in 1976 India created a new record for a successful fourth-innings chase. They very nearly improved it the Kennington Oval in 1979. And as usual Sunil Gavaskar was at the forefront of things.
The Little Master had enjoyed a memorable winter in 1978-79. After scoring hundreds in both innings at Karachi for a losing cause, he scored freely against young Sylvester Clarke and young Malcolm Marshall plus a group of club level spinners from the West Indies at home.
But until this final innings this series was a case of missed opportunity for him. In the five innings prior to this Test he had a lowest score of 42, but his highest was 78. He was struggling to convert starts in to scores, something very unusual for him. After scoring 13 in the first innings here the fourth innings chase was his final chance in this tour.
Here he made amends for all those missed opportunities. Chasing 438 for victory, India reached 0-213 before Bob Willis dismissed Chetan Chauhan. But the in-form Dilip Vengsarkar continued to give his Bombay teammate excellent support. England spinners Phil Edmonds and Peter Willey were steady but lacked the killer venom to win Test matches. In this scenario there was extra pressure on Willis and Ian Botham, and for once they were not up to the task.
India reached 1-366, and with Gavaskar in unstoppable form history was beckoning. But then the Inidan captain Srinivas Venkataraghavan made a bad tactical mistake. He sent an inexperienced Kapil Dev at the fall of the second wicket. Quick runs were required, but Kapil scored a duck from five balls. When Ian Botham dismissed Gavaskar for 221 the Indians changed their strategy. Yashpal Sharma was told to shut one end up while the batsmen at the other end were to go for their shots. Veteran Vishy scored a quick 15 from 11 deliveries, but the inexperienced players struggled under the pressure. India finished at 8-429, agonisingly close to history.
(PA Images via Getty Images)
India vs Australia – fifth Test, 1978, Adelaide Oval
During the 1970s the Indians seemed like fourth-innings chase specialists, and they generally preferred the different Oval grounds for their heroics.
With the series tied at 2-2 an extra day was added to this Test, and indeed the drama went until the sixth day. India started their fourth innings late on the fourth day, chasing 493 for victory. At least time was not a factor.
For once Gavaskar failed in a fourth-innings chase. With Jeff Thomson unable to bowl, Ian Callen opened the bowling with Wayne Clarke. Debutant Callen – in fact this was his only test – produced the big breakthrough, having Gavaskar caught behind for 29. India finished the day 2-101.
The fifth day saw fortunes swinging one way and then the other. First, Mohinder Amarnath and Gundappa Viswanath, both heroes of the 1976 chase, took the score to 2-210. But both fell short of the century mark. Similarly Vengsarkar fell for 78.
Still, wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani carried the fight on. He completed a fine 50 as India one stage reached 6-415. But the tail couldn’t survive the pressure and India’s brave chase ended at 445.
It would have been very harsh on the Australians if they had lost the match. Their premier fast bowler, Jeff Thomson, bowled just 3.3 overs in the match, but during that time he dismissed Gavaskar and Amarnath.
Simpson had to rely on his inexperienced bowlers for the wickets. To their great credit Callen, Clarke and Bruce Yardley kept up picking wickets just in the right time. And there was special delight for skipper Bob Simpson, as he took the final wicket, caught by Bhagwat Subramanya Chandrasekhar behind for two.
(PA Images via Getty Images)
New Zealand vs England – first Test, 1973, Nottingham
Kiwi cricket enjoyed its golden days in the mid-1980s with historic series wins in Australia and England. But back in the early 1970s they were still the whipping boys of world cricket.
When the touring New Zealand team was bundled out for only 97 in the first innings here it came as a surprise to no-one. England scored 8-325 (declared) to set up a target of 479 runs.
Although the New Zealand top order produced a more determined effort in the second innings, the English bowlers kept picking up vital wickets just in the right time to restrict them to 4-130. It was at this stage Victor Pollard, the Lancashire-born Kiwi all-rounder, joined captain Bevan Congdon. The skipper was already batting beautifully and in company with Pollard started to dominate the England bowling.
While England seamers John Snow and Geoff Arnold were bowling quite well, the spinners were disappointing. Arnold bowled Congdon for a superb 176, but the fight went on. Accompanied by wicketkeeper-batsman John Wadsworth, Pollard completed his hundred.
The Kiwis at one stage reached 5-402, but just like in few other cases, the lower order couldn’t handle the pressure. England eventually won by 38 runs.
Australia vs Pakistan – first Test, 1979, MCG
While Graham Yallop’s young Australians were trying to recover from the 5-1 drubbing in the hands of their old enemy, Mushtaq Muhammad’s Pakistan side had just completed a 1-0 series win in New Zealand. Earlier in the season they had defeated India 2-0 at home.
Yallop won the toss and boldly put the opposition in. His fast bowlers, Rodney Hogg and Alan Hurst, justified the decision, restricting the strong Pakistan batting line-up for just 196. But then the Australia batting struggled against the Pakistan bowling.
A fine century by opener Majid Khan and some useful contributions from others helped Pakistan set a target of 382.
Initially no-one gave the Aussies any chance. But openers Andrew Hilditch and debutant Dave Whatmore gave the home side a solid start. But it was the fourth-wicket stand between Allan Border (105) and Kim Hughes (84) that took Australia to the brink of a famous victory.
Well, that’s what everyone thought when they reached 3-305. It’s difficult to explain how it happened, but Australia were bowled out for 310. For the record, Sarfraz Nawaz took 9-86. No-one else took a wicket. Yallop, the Aussie captain, was run out.
from The Roar https://www.theroar.com.au/2020/04/20/fourth-innings-chases-from-the-1970s-the-close-ones/
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