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(Part 27.) Chappell’s “Ugly” Australians.
Ahead of the 1975 Cricket World Cup, West Indies were installed as the bookmakers’ favourites to lift the trophy in the 21 June final at Lord’s.
But with 24 days to go to the 50th anniversary of that golden moment in Caribbean cricket history, it is fair to say that the host nation—as much as they were very familiar with most of Clive Lloyd’s players for reasons explained earlier in this series—were most interested in the Australian squad led by the abrasive, often confrontational Ian Chappell.
This was only natural given that their rivalry in official international cricket goes back to 1877, and the creation of the Ashes mystique a few years later only intensified the open hostility on the field of play between the colonial superpower and the former subjects from the land Down Under.
Chappell underscores the extent of the bad blood between the two nations, with particular reference to the World Cup, in his autobiography Cricket in our Blood:
“The one game we wanted was to beat the Poms (English). We used to get so pissed off with them saying how we couldn’t play one-day cricket. How you had to play different cricketers.
“We all just said ‘Bull. A good cricketer is a good cricketer. We’ll adjust.’”
Photo: Getty Images.
That mutual animosity was particularly intense though in the lead-in to the World Cup, and that had everything to do with the havoc wreaked by two Australian fast bowlers just a few months earlier in the latest Ashes series in Australia.
Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee had not only combined for 58 wickets in the 1974/75 six-Test duel, but also left a trail of bruised and battered English batsmen.
They created such a state of panic among the visitors that they summoned then 41-year-old former captain Colin Cowdrey out of retirement after just the first Test in Brisbane, when England’s plan to engage in a bouncer war with their bitter opponents backfired spectacularly to the tune of a 166-run defeat.
(via Wisden.)
Australia reclaimed the Ashes with a 4-1 drubbing of their rivals. The sole England success came in the final Test, when Thomson was out injured and Lillee bowled just six overs due to the recurrence of a back ailment in the tourists’ only innings—as they were able to at least sign off on a disastrous campaign with an innings victory.
With a return series of four Tests to follow right after the World Cup, Australia’s matches in that tournament generated massive English spectator and media interest.
The London-based newspapers fuelled the fire by labelling Chappell’s team as The Ugly Australians, for what they perceived to be the team’s hostile, unsportsmanlike behaviour—both on and off the field.
(via Wisden.)
In Australia’s opening match of the World Cup against Pakistan at Headingley, the notoriously abrasive Yorkshire crowd hurled constant abuse at Thomson during his opening spell, prompting the tearaway pacer to respond in their direction with a vulgar, two-fingered gesture after his opening over.
Putting all that psychological warfare aside, there was no question that the Aussies possessed the quality to seriously challenge for the inaugural World Cup crown.
Apart from the considerable menace of Lillee and Thomson, there was also the threat of seamer Max Walker (23 wickets in that recent Ashes series) and swing bowler Gary Gilmour who were both expected to excel in English conditions.
On the batting side, the Chappells—Ian and Greg—together with Doug Walters were the prolific core of their middle-order. Greg had already replaced his elder brother with the reputation as the best batsman in the team and one of the best on the world.
Greg compiling 608 runs in that abrasive 1974/75 series and had come to England with great expectations, after a masterful hundred at Lord’s in the previous Ashes rubber on English soil in 1972.
So, the position of batting supremo had already been passed on, while the leadership was also about to change hands as Ian already announced that the England tour would be his last as captain with Greg taking over for the highly-anticipated home series of six matches against the West Indies in 1975/76.
Photo: Getty Images.
In bowing out from the helm though, Ian Chappell didn’t just want to retain the Ashes—although he made it clear that it was his number one priority. In true, competitive Australian fashion he expected his team to go all the way to become inaugural World Cup holders.
They would get very close.
(Part 28.) England expects… If experience alone was the deciding factor, England would have won the 1975 Cricket World Cup Read more
(Part 26.) Fountain of knowledge. While Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira was almost dizzy with delight at being selected on the Caribbean Read more
(Part 25.) Last of the Mohicans. Of those familiar voices who related the action of West Indies’ performances at home Read more
(Part 24.) Hoping for the best. One of the things you can never accuse self-proclaimed “cricket people” of is humility. Read more
(Part 23.) All-round excellence. This series started with a clear plan of articles counting down to the 50th anniversary of Read more
(Part 22.) Home away from home. When it came to familiarity with British conditions, England weren’t the only team at Read more
Fazeer Mohammed is a journalist/broadcaster with almost 40 years’ experience across a range of media.
His interest in cricket, and particularly its history, started at home via his father’s small collection of autobiographies and magazines, offering perspectives and context which have informed his commentary and analysis on contemporary issues in the game.
Brilliant & exceedingly informative articles Fazeer. Daily, I eagerly look forward to them and can’t wait for the rest in the build up.
Tony Inniss