Doug Walters was the ultimate batting excitement machine when he burst onto the Test scene in 1965 at 19 years of age.
Cricket lovers got an earlier taste of the Dungog-born all-rounder when he debuted for NSW against Wes Hall at 17, helping himself to a fearless 50.
He tripled that at the Gabba on his Test debut against England with 155, and made England pay again at the MCG in his second Test with 115.
I was lucky enough to be at both Tests, as well as at the SCG to see his superb 246 and 103 against the Windies in 1969, the first time any batsman had scored a double and a century in the same Test.
Add to those memorable digs the century in a session against England at the WACA, slamming Bob Willis for a massive six over midwicket off the last ball of the day, and his majestic 250 against New Zealand at Christchurch in 1977.
There was never a dull moment when Kevin Douglas Walters was on duty, scoring stand at attention boundaries, weedling out stubborn batsmen and breaking big partnerships with his nagging medium pacers, or taking great catches in the cordon or the country.
He was the fans’ favourite, best described by teammate Dennis Lillee:
“There will never be another like him. I never saw him throw a bat, never heard him say a bad word about anyone. He was so cool.”
And Doug has never changed, he’s the same unflappable bloke he’s always been, with an acute sense of humour, which prompted me to ask him last week to name a team of the best cricketers he’s ever played against.
It reads like a Who’s Who of legends, with the exeption of Sri Lanka that earned Test status in 1984, three years after Doug retired.
West Indies
Gary Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffiths, Lance Gibbs, Roy Fredericks, Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, and Joel Garner.
England
Geoff Boycott, Ken Barrington, Tom Graveney, Colin Cowdrey, John Edrich, Alan Knott, Derek Underwood, John Snow, Bob Willis, Ian Botham, and Tony Greig.
South Africa
Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards, Peter Pollock, Denis Lindsay, Eddie Barlow, and Mike Procter.
India
Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Erapalli Prasanna, Bishen Bedi, Gundappa Viswanath, and Srinivas Venkataraghavan.
Pakistan
Imran Khan, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq Mohammad, Wasim Bari, and Sarfraz Nawaz.
New Zealand
Bevan Congdon, Glenn Turner, and Richard Hadlee.
Despite the talent on show, Doug took just five minutes to circle the names on the list. His selection policy was like his batting – get on with it.
The Doug Walters World XI:
(1) Geoff Boycott
(2) Barry Richards
(3) Graeme Pollock
(4) Viv Richards
(5) Gary Sobers
(6) Clive Lloyd (capt)
(7) Ian Botham
(8) Alan Knott
(9) Richard Hadlee
(10) Andy Roberts
(11) Derek Underwood
(12) Bishen Bedi
Thanks Doug Walters, that was one mighty interesting exercise.
NANDA
Guest
This is obviously Douggie's choice and one may any way not want to argue with him. One change he could have done better is to replace either Bedi or Underwood with Prasanna or Gibbs. 3 left arm spinners ( if one includes Sobers) is a little too much although both Underwood and Bedi are greats and deserve to be there on shear ability.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Correction here, Walters did play two tests against India in early 1968 with an average in the 90s.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
To me, Dougie was one of the greats. Maybe not in terms of runs or averages but in his presence on the field whether batting, bowling or fielding. Yes, he never really reached the heights in England but he did score centuries in other cricketing countries bar SA. David comments that his average is 48.26 but no one has mentioned his time out for National Service. He missed the 1966 tour to SA, the home series against India and the early tests against the West Indies in the 1968/9 series. These could have easily brought him into the 50s with his average. I was lucky to be at the SCG in his comeback match from Nashos when he got a double century and a century in that game.
Mitch
Guest
Who doesn't love a player that can sink cans all night, go to bed at 4am, wake up still smashed then go out and thrash the kiwis around the ground for 250.
David Lord
Expert
JGK, this time you are spot on. In four tours of England in 1968, 1972, 1975, and 1977, Doug played 18 Tests, scored 81 and 86 in his first game in 1968 at Old Trafford, and another 88 at the same venue in 1977, but only averaged 25.68, with no tons and just six half-centuries in 30 digs. Yet Doug's career average in 74 Tests and 124 digs is 48.26. He would have averaged well over 50 had England's slow turning tracks been more receptive to his dominant strokeplay. Just look at the all-time Australian Test batting averages: Don Bradman (99.94), Greg Chappell (53.86), Ricky Ponting (51.85), Mike Hussey (51.52), Steve Waugh (51.06), Matt Hayden (50.73), Michael Clarke (50.59), Allan Border (50.56), Neil Harvey (48.41), Doug Walters (48.26), Bill Ponsford (48.22), and Stan McCabe (48.21)
JGK
Roar Guru
Huh? I was pointing out that Dougie never played against Marshall. That being the case, who knows whether he would have rated Marshall above Roberts. Not sure where the "caustic" impression came from. Or the suggestion that any of them are pedestrian?
David Lord
Expert
JGK, I gather from that caustic Marshall comment, you rate Wes Hall, Charlie Griffiths, Andy Roberts. Michael Holding, and Joel Garner as pedestrian?
David Lord
Expert
Doug spent three minutes deciding the 12th man.
JGK
Roar Guru
To be fair to your boss, Dougie never performed well in England.
Gururobbo
Guest
I find it a shame that Dougie is often not remembered or revered as an Australian Cricket great. I had an unfortunate conversation with my boss a few years ago who was a pom. He was about 40 years of age at the time. I remember telling him that Doug Walters was my favourite cricketer of all time and he looked at me blankley and asked me who he was. Even after googling his name did not jog his memory. I find it sad that a lot of cricket fans could forget someone who played the game as flamboyantly as Douggie. If he played today on some of the flat tracks and small boundaries that they paly on today and using one of the bats they now use, he would have averaged about 60. To me, Douggie will always be the man. I still remember how this 8 year old boy sat glued to the television, watching him score a century in a session against the Poms by hitting a six off the last ball of the day off Bob Willis. That is my most cherished cricket memory.
JGK
Roar Guru
Many leading batsmen of the era rated Roberts as good as any of them (Dougie included it seems). I do note that Walters never played against Marshall though.
Tanami Singh
Guest
I have always felt people underestimate Andy Roberts in the company of Holding, Marshall and Garner but he was, in my opinion at least, the man that started the golden era of West Indian fast bowling. He was as quick as anyone going and had a fantastic cricket intellect. Maybe it's because he showed almost no emotion while wanting to either knock/get the batsman out.
JGK
Roar Guru
Interesting that Roberts is his selection from the WI pace battery. And that he picks Boycott over Sunny.
John
Guest
Surprised it took Dougie 5 minutes, that list picks itself..