Celebrating 40 years since the Centenary Test

I think that was Randall on 161. That was some innings too. Only his second test I think and he won the crowd as well. Must be one of the highest and best 4th innings scores by an englishman.

Julian, This is correct. It wasn't until after WSC that cricket gave players a career. Before that, they might mostly play for 7 or 8 years, or stretch it to 10 years if they were lucky, then retire to find a proper career before it was too late for them. Outstanding cricketers retiring in their late 20s or early 30s happened far too often. English County cricket didn't open its doors to overseas players until 1968. Before then, they competed for spots in the Lancashire & Yorkshire leagues. In later years (up to present time), players were able to hang around until their late 30s because the remuneration was so good. Remember Ricky Ponting had to pushed out & Steve Waugh before almost had to be pushed out! All cricketers post 1977 owe Kerry Packer & his WSC pioneering pirates the earth for their later riches.

Yes, this is also correct. Boycott returned triumphantly just a few months later in the 3rd test against Australia, hitting two centuries in three tests.

This is correct. Hookes replaced Turner with McCosker moving back to opener. David Hookes didn't fulfil his talent because he never overcame his weakness against quality spin bowling. Of all the guys who defected to WSC, he was the one guy who should have stayed with the ACB & toured India in 1979. Ah, but hindsight is a wonderful thing! We then might have seen an entirely different Hookes in later years. But he wanted to be with his mentor Chappelli & all his hard-bitten, senior, veteran mates.

James, The centenary test was a snapshot in time. The Aussie XI could've been much stronger but life is full of "could've beens". From the previous summer Ian Chappell & Ian Redpath, aged 33 & 35 in the summer of 1976/77 had retired, as had spinner Ashley Mallets (31) in a huff when O'Keeffe was preferred to him for the 1st test against Pakistan. By today's standards, & even by the standards of the time, they weren't old men, but back then they had to find a career outside of cricket. Also of course, paceman Jeff Thomson (26) missed the remainder of the domestic season after being injured in that first test of the summer. But he returned for the 1977 Ashes tour. Gary Gilmour (then 25) was briefly an all-rounder of tremendous potential, but by 1977 had inexplicably lost the swing to his bowling. Unfortunately, he loved the good life too much & players had a different mindset back then. A centenary test team with Chappelli, Redders, Thommo & perhaps even Rowdy Mallett would have provided a much stronger example of Australia's depth at the time, as indeed it was in 1974 through 1976.

Thanks John, An excellent trip down memory lane. The actual test was held on the 12-14, 16-17 of March 1977. The 15th was a rest day as was the practice back then. I turned 21 on the 16th of March & had a massive party the following Saturday 19th March. Much to the horror of my parents I had invited about 200 people & just about everyone of them turned up! These were great days & I loved my cricket back then, watching as many hours of each test through summer. Even though I was rowing surf boats in summer, you didn't miss the cricket. On any Saturday or Sunday on any Sydney beach, or for that matter around the country, about 9 out of every 10 radios were tuned into the cricket, whether it was a test match or ODI. The 12th men for the centenary test would be a good trivia question even for cricket buffs! In the 1980 Centenary test in England, the 12th men were Jeff Thomson (Australia) & Robin Jackman (England). The only Aussies to play in both centenaries (1977 & 80) were Greg Chappell, Rod Marsh & Dennis Lillee, while incredibly the only Englishman to play in both was Chris Old.

I think we all forget that pre the 80s Windows teams there were seldom complete sides, the 1948 tourists a notable exception. Even the mid 70s team was a mixture of great (Chappell, Marsh, Lillie, Thomson) and very good (Redpath, Walters, Walker) but Mallet, Terry Jenner, Gilmore, McCosker, Cosier, Turner were handy at best. Compare that with the best around 2001-02 (Hayden, Langer, Ponting, S Waugh, M Waugh, D Martyn, gillie, Warne, Lee, Gillespie and McGrath) and you can see how time can overlook weaknesses

Cool. Can't it be edited?

Not even close and neither is the team Clarke inherited from Ponting and dare say Ian Chappell's that got flogged by SA. Border's side that was gutted by retirements, WSC and Rebel Tour exile would be pushing it. They would be even worse if he wasn't given experience at a young age

A great memory. A mate an I drove from Brisbane to Melbourne watched the five days cricket and drove home. lol both lost our jobs for not turning up to work but loved every minute of it. Cricket lovers from all over the world watching it at the G

I count 10 players on the Australian team, not 11.

Thanks John. A golden summer for Dennis. He also took 10 vs Pakistan.

Should've read "Marsh", being Rodney...not the other two often discussed in these pages...

I recall March taking a catch behind the stumps, then signalling to the Umpires that he wasn't sure it was a clean catch (IE half volley), and asking Chappell to withdraw the appeal. Ahhh, those were the days, what?

40 year anniversary of the 100 year anniversary. Ah, good times. Or, wait, does that mean it's actually the 140th anniversary of the 1st test? LOL.

Clearly, you dream of an old day.

Boycott was still on his self emposed Boycott as well.