The Centenary Test: Saturday, 12th March, 1977

The Centenary Test between Australia and England began this morning at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. England’s captain, Tony Greig, won the toss and sent Australia in to bat. John Lever had Ian Davis trapped l.b.w. when the slim right-handed batsman had scored only five runs. Davis’s opening partner, Rick McCosker, did not last for much longer, cutting a ball from the tall, lanky right-arm speedster, Bob Willis, up into his face, only to have the ball, from there, drop on to his stumps.

Cosier was dismissed for ten and century-maker extraordinaire, David Hookes, playing in his first Test, came to the wicket with the score at 3-23. Hookes quickly added seventeen runs before he was caught by Greig, from the bowling of Chris Old when the total was forty-five. Walters was dismissed for four, in trying to hook a delivery from a metre outside of his off stump and Australia was 5-52, with Greg Chappell having been in for one and a half hours in order to score just eight runs.

Rod Marsh (28), Gary Gilmour (4), Kerry O’Keeffe (0), all fell in quick succession and, at tea, Australia was reeling at 8-126.

“Ngawyni” won the Australia Cup at Flemington and “Somerset Pride”, the Marlboro Classic at Rosehill.

Greg Chappell was bowled, by the left-arm spin of Underwood, for forty (9-136), when his patience finally ran out. One of my favourite racehorses, at present, “Blue’s Finito”, from Queensland, finished second in the last at Rosehill. Max Walker was bowled by Underwood for two, Lillee remained not out 10 and Australia was all out for just 138.

Woolmer and Brearley opened for England, at 5.00 p.m. Woolmer (9) was caught Chappell bowled Lillee when the English total was on nineteen and, at stumps, the score had moved to 1-29 with Brearley on twelve and the nightwatchman, Derek Underwood, on five.

At half past six, a programme of the “Holmes And Yoyo” series was screened and, an hour later, “100 Not Out” examines Test cricket played between England and Australia since that inaugural contest in 1877. Sydney’s maximum reached twenty-nine degrees Celsius.

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