The summer of cricket is about to start and my mind drifts back to the summers of my youth.
Out of all the seasons I think about, the season of 1979-80 is the one I recall most fondly.
I was born in England in the late 1960s to Indian immigrant parents and the first memory I have of following cricket was the 1976 ‘Grovel’ tour by the West Indies. I remember being mesmerised by Viv Richards, Andy Roberts and Michael Holding.
But the next year was more fascinating as Man United won the FA Cup and their manager got sacked, which I could never understand why.
But more importantly, I kept hearing that all these cricketers had signed to play for some millionaire and they would never play Test cricket again.
(Photo by Allsport/Getty Images)
My young mind couldn’t quite fathom all this but in 1978, I saw David Gower bat in a Sunday league match and he became my hero.
I thought he was the best batsman of all time and I spent hours trying to make myself a leftie to no avail (although I did look good in the mirror).
A few months later, my family decided to move to Australia and that was that. Off we went and suddenly I was at the SCG watching an Ashes Test where England were winning easily.
And the next week I was there again and Kerry Packer was collecting my ticket as WSC Australia were beating the WSC West Indies.
I had never been so close to cricketers in my life and yet, through it all, I found a new hero… Kim Hughes.
He was a right hander who just smashed the ball and stuck his tongue out while he did it (just like me except for the smashing the ball part!).
It was an interesting time watching the different series going on but in the middle of 1979, they said that there would be a compromise and everyone would get to play for Australia again.
Hughes was now captain and was scoring lots of runs in India and yet all the bigwigs like Ian Chappell were saying that forget about the captain, he would struggle to make the new Australian team.
By this time, I was also very closely allied with guys like Allan Border, Rodney Hogg, Geoff Dymock and others and I was delighted to see them all picked for the first Test versus the West Indies.
(Credit: Ben Radford/Allsport via Getty Images)
Anyway, the summer came along and suddenly there was official night cricket, white balls, sort of coloured clothes, classic catches (Ian Botham!) and it turned out to be the most memorable summer I can remember.
Hughes scored a fantastic ton at the Gabba versus the West Indies and a brilliant 99 at the WACA versus England to show he belonged on the big stage.
Richards was a beast even though he was injured half the time.
The quartet of Roberts, Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft were out of this world as the West Indies showed that they were now the undisputed number one of cricket.
And I even got to go to the SCG again to see Gower score a sparkling 98 not out!
There were many other highlights of the season but everyone seemed to get along again and enjoy each other’s success.
There may have been better cricket played over the years but for a 11-year-old boy in the suburbs of Sydney, this summer still remains the best of them all.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Neil Harvey never did, either
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Gees...I never would have guessed!
matth
Roar Guru
Great article. I wrote about this summer a couple of years ago on the Roar: https://www.theroar.com.au/2020/05/04/memories-of-backyard-cricket-in-the-summer-of-79/ I was 8 years old that summer, so just getting into the sweet spot when your sporting heroes are set in stone. For me it had been David Hookes in the WSC summer and then of course DK Lillee . Being a left hander I also began to idolise Allan Border. I remember not watching all that much cricket though. My brother and I got the ABC cricket book that used to have the blank scorecards in the back and we played many "tests" that summer in the backyard, methodically keeping score in the ABC cricket books. I seem to remember there must have been a highlights package because I saw plenty of cricket as well.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
Thanks guys for your comments. I’ve been thinking about contributing for a while and that was a summer which seemed so significant in so many ways and yet isn’t talked about much. Great times!
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
On that MCG pitch too. Many current Roarers would remember how bad it was.
Simoc
Roar Rookie
David Gower was superb; the closest you get to that style now is Pakistan captain Babar Azam and the Pom, James Vince (though he has turned to slogging in T20). All in the timing. Kim Hughes was fantastic for WA and Australia.
Peter Hunt
Roar Guru
Did you get your own back in '81, Parky? There was a English kid in my class at school who did more than walk with a spring in his step as Botham and Willis and their mates an amok. Gees, did he give us some lip!
Parky Claret
Roar Rookie
Bruce Laird - now that was one tough hombre...
Lukestar
Roar Rookie
Excellent article and read.That summer are my earliest memories of cricket. Also remember getting the cricket poster from McDonald's. They would be worth some $$ now I reckon. Cheers Lukestar.
Redcap
Roar Guru
Thanks Kalva, good first article. This is a couple of years before my time so it's good to hear a fan's perspective. The favourite summer of my youth was 97-98. Australia won the test series and the ODI tri-series but were pushed all the way in both by a tough South African team. Gary Kirsten made loads of runs with his odd technique, it was my first glimpse of Jacques Kallis - his century to clinch a draw against McGrath and Warne in Melbourne was a great knock - and I loved Shaun Pollock's skillful seam bowling.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Yes a bit forgotten and under-rated these days, no doubt because he didnt fulfill his potential. You should consider using him for your Roar handle.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Yes for me too. The era of the Chappells, Lillee, Thomson and Marsh especially, but also Viv and the Windies starting at the end of the 75-76 season, even though they lost that series badly, and going on through WSC years and beyond.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Great first article Kalva. I have fond memories of that season too, particularly Aus beating England 3-0. I'd forgotten that the non-Packer team had played a 6-Test! series in India just before the Australian season, going down 2-0. I see that Hughes had a great series, nearly 600 at just under 60. Followed by a great series against the Windies. Viv was at his peak and outshone everyone else. But as you say the Windies pace attack was key - all four of them averaged between 21 and 27. Laird had a fine series as an opener against that attack - four fifties and topping the averages. Australia for some reason played three different spinners in the three games - Bright, Higgs and Mallett. Windies didn't play one spinner of course!
The Sports Lover
Roar Rookie
Definitely one of the most elegant stroke makers ever. My personal favourite English batsman is Graham Gooch. On his day, he could destroy an attack.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Gower is my fave Pommy batsman.
Parky Claret
Roar Rookie
Great memories Kalva! Like you I was a young (13 in my case), expatriate English boy, and also like you I loved watching Gower bat. I once read a cricket writer saying that "he makes batting look as easy as drinking tea", and to this day I don't think I've seen a more elegant stroker of the ball. My other hero was "Deadly" Derek Underwood. The wicket for the Sydney test was left damp by the potent mix of foul weather and equally foul covering, and that was Deadly's habitat. Whilst he took five wickets, his greatest contribution to the game was a fighting 40-odd as night-watchman in the second innings, keeping Gower company as he stroked a sumptuous 98 not out. England lost the test series 3-0. I heard all about it at school for the whole of 1980...
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
Hughes was a terrific player in his best form .
Peter Hunt
Roar Guru
Kim was one of my boyhood heroes too. His ton on Boxing Day '81 is one of my favourite cricketing memories from childhood... Here's an old Roar article I wrote about it. :stoked: https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/11/23/the-spirit-of-cricket-gladiatorial-contests/
Peter Hunt
Roar Guru
Thanks for the memories Kalva. I considered an article, once upon a time, making exactly the same point. I was 11 years old in the 1979/1980 summer. It started, from memory, with a terrific day-nighter at the SCG where the new look Aussies beat the Windies. Seeing "establishment" heroes like Hughes and Border playing under lights - in semi-coloured clothing - with likes of Lillee, Marsh, Greg Chappell and Hooksey was such a thrill. Like you, I remember Kim's ton in Brisbane against the Windies and his 99 in Perth against the Poms. I remember cheering on Border - from a holiday house at Avoca Beach - as he scored a ton in Perth as well. And I think that was the Test where Boycott carried his bat in a losing cause? It was great summer, even though the Aussies missed the tri-series final and lost the test series to the Windies. We did beat those pommy boys from your homeland, though! Like you, I remember 79/80 very fondly.
The Sports Lover
Roar Rookie
One of the joys of youth is that impressions seem to cut deeper and last longer, than say, a Test match you watch at the age of 68. For me the years between 1968 and 1976 form the basis of my “great” cricket memories. In my fathers case, he never got over Lindwall, Miller and Bradman. Even though I know that hundreds of truly great players have set the life memories for fans much younger than me, those early impressions stay with you for life.