Tour of England 1972                 Captain: Ian Chappell
	34th Test tour    (April - September 1972)     Twenty fifth Test tour of England by Australia (previous tour  1968)	At the 1966-67 meeting of the Australian Cricket Board the tour was brought forward from 1973. This was the last touring side over which Sir Donald Bradman had any official influence, as he was in his final year as Chairman of the Australian Cricket Board of Control.  The selectors decided to give youth a chance to restore Australia's fortunes, and discarded McKenzie and Redpath, while opting not to bring back Lawry. The new-look team meant that Western Australia (with six players) had its highest representation yet, while Queensland provided no representative for the first time since the Second World War.  The selectors had foregone Lawry's redoubtable batting skills in order to replace him as captain in 1971 and continued now with the more positive approach of Ian Chappell, who oversaw great improvements in the team's performances. However, in the Tests the opening batting partnerships averaged a mere 18 runs. Bob Massie’s spectacular debut at Lord’s was the undoubted highlight of the season.  The series also saw two of Australia's greatest cricketers, Greg Chappell and Dennis Lillee, fulfil their promise.	All Australian tours     Previous tour To South Africa 1970     Next tour To West Indies 1972-73       Next tour of England 1975
	Members of the Test tour party (17)     Opening batsmen:  Keith Stackpole, Bruce Francis, Graeme Watson Middle-order batsmen:  Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Ross Edwards, Paul Sheahan, Doug Walters, John Inverarity. Wicket-keepers:  Rodney Marsh, Brian Taber Spin bowlers:  Ashley Mallett, Johnny Gleeson Fast bowlers: David Colley, Jeff Hammond, Dennis Lillee, Bob Massie.	G S Chappell SA 23 RHB          RM ODI Left no doubt that Australia possess a batsman of quality who should stand them in good stead I M Chappell SA 28 RHB      (LB)       captain ODI Always seeking positive results when possible, his leadership on the field matured as the tour progressed. D J Colley NSW 25 RFM ODI Could show only six Test victims for all the time he spent meandering back to his bowling mark R Edwards WA 29 RHB ODI A sound number six, he scored 170* as an emergency opener in the 3rd Test. Outstanding fielder in the covers B C Francis NSW 24 RHB opener   Lost his form once the Tests began and a migraine gave Edwards the chance to take his place in the Test XI J W Gleeson NSW 34 LBG   Caused such little trouble that he obtained only three wickets in 3 Tests J R Hammond SA 22 RFM ODI   R J Inverarity WA 28 RHB       SLA ODI   D K Lillee WA 22 RF ODI The real find of the tour, he established a record for an Australian bowler in England with 31 Test wickets A A Mallett SA 26 OB ODI Figured in the last two Tests taking 10 wickets R W Marsh WA 24 WK        LHB ODI Time and again came to the rescue with the bat and distinguished himself behind the stumps R A L Massie WA 25 RFM ODI Accuracy and late swing produced his wonderful feat on his Test debut at Lord's A P Sheahan Vic 23 RHB ODI Appeared in the last two Tests and performed well in both K R Stackpole Vic 31 RHB opener    vice-captain ODI Served the side magnificently by his consistently successful batting but needed a reliable opening partner. H B Taber NSW 32 deputy WK   A stylish understudy to Marsh K D Walters NSW 26 RHB          (RM) ODI Nothing went right for Walters in the Tests where seven innings yielded him only 54 runs. G D Watson WA 27 RHB          RM ODI His finest hour was at Southampton where he hit 176 and put on a record Australian opening stand in England	State representation   Sheffield Shield teams NSW   New South Wales (5) Qld  Queensland (0) SA   South Australia (4) Tas    Tasmania (0) Vic  Victoria  (2) WA  Western Australia (6)         Average age of  team at time of first Test match     (8 June 1972) :   26 yrs  11 months.         ODI played in Prudential one-day series
	Test Appearances made before the tour	Ian Chappell 37,  Walters 31,  Stackpole 27,  Gleeson 26,  Sheahan 25,  Taber 16,  Mallett 10,  Marsh 6,  Greg Chappell 5,  Inverarity 3,  Watson 3,  Lillee 2,  Colley 0,  Edwards 0,  Francis 0,  Hammond 0,  Massie 0.
	Tour officials	Ray Steele Tour manager Fred Bennett Assistant manager Dave Sherwood Scorer Dave 'Doc' McErlane Physiotherapist Tony Smith Transport/Baggage   Arthur James of Hobart missed an England tour for the first time since 1930 but nevertheless came on a private visit.
	Selectors	Neil Harvey (New South Wales),   Sam Loxton (Victoria),  Phil Ridings (South Australia),
	Selection	The Australian Cricket Board of Control announced on 29 December 1971 that Ray Steele would be manager with Fred Bennett as his assistant.   Ian Chappell was appointed captain on 8 March 1972. Unavailable  None Tour Party Announced  6 March 1972 Not selected:  Graham McKenzie, Kerry O'Keefe, Ian Redpath,  John Benaud. McKenzie (Leicestershire) and O'Keefe (Somerset) were in England playing county cricket in 1972 while Redpath was promoting the Haig village tournament.	Time between selection and departure from Australia       43 days (6 March- 18 April)
	Travel Sydney   Q  San Francisco   Q  London	After playing in a double-wicket tournament in Jamaica, Ian Chappell and Doug Walters arrived in England earlier than the main part of the team. The touring party assembled in Sydney and flew out on the night of 18 April 1972. They flew via San Francisco (where 34 items of luggage were mislaid) and arrived at Heathrow Airport, London, on 19 April.	Time spent in England    141 days (19 April - 7 September)
	On-tour selection panel	Ian Chappell (captain),  Keith Stackpole (vice-captain),  John Inverarity.
	Reinforcements	None
	Fixtures/Results                                               The 40-over game against Sussex was in celebration of the centenary of the Hove ground	a † Arundel Duke of Norfolk's XI (50 overs) Lost 28 r b Worcester Worcestershire Won 6 w c Old Trafford Lancashire Drawn d Bradford Yorkshire Abandoned e † Bradford Yorkshire  (50 overs) No result f † Bradford Yorkshire  (50 overs) No result g Trent Bridge Nottinghamshire Drawn h The Oval Surrey Drawn i Southampton Hampshire Won 9 w j Lord's M.C.C. Won 3 w k Bristol Gloucestershire Drawn l Swansea Glamorgan Drawn m Chesterfield Derbyshire Drawn n Edgbaston Warwickshire Drawn o OLD TRAFFORD ENGLAND   First Test LOST 89 r p Oxford Combined Universities Won 10 w q Ilford Essex Drawn r LORD'S ENGLAND  Second Test WON 8 w s † Trent Bridge Cricketers Association  (50 overs) Lost 57 r t Bath Somerset Drawn u Leicester Leicestershire Won inns 46 v Lord's Middlesex Won 5 w w TRENT BRIDGE ENGLAND  Third Test DRAWN x Stoke on Trent Minor Counties Won inns 26 y Hove Sussex Lost 5 w z † Hove Sussex  (40-overs) Drawn a’ HEADINGLEY ENGLAND  Fourth Test LOST 9 w b’ † Perth Scotland  (2-days) Won 6 w c’ Northampton Northamptonshire Lost 7 w d’ THE OVAL ENGLAND  Fifth Test WON 5 w e’ Canterbury Kent Won 9 w f’ §  Old Trafford England (1st ODI - 55 overs) Lost 6 w g’ § Lord's England (2nd ODI Won 5 w h’ § Edgbaston England (3rd ODI) Lost 2 w I’ Old Trafford Lancashire Lost 9 w j’ Scarborough T.N.Pearce's XI Won 4 w k’ † Scarborough T.N.Pearce's XI  (40 overs) Lost 13 r l’ † Scarborough T.N.Pearce's XI  (35 overs) Won 6 w	† not first-class     Time spent in England before First Test:    50 days (19 April - 8 June)
	Test appearances on tour	5 -   Greg Chappell,  Ian Chappell,  Lillee,  Marsh,  Stackpole. 4 -   Edwards,  Massie,  Walters 3 -   Colley,  Francis,  Gleeson,  Inverarity, 2 -   Mallett,  Sheahan,  Watson 0 -   Hammond,  Taber.
	Match appearances         T  Test match o  one-day international  x  other match      W won  L lost  D drawn   N no result   A abandoned   u unknown result	a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a b c d e f g h i j k l G Chappell x x     x x x x   x x x   x T   x T x x   x T   x x T x   T x o o o   x x x I Chappell x x x   x x   x x x x x   x T x x T     x x T   x x T   x T   o o o x       Colley x x     x x   x     x x x x T x   T x x     T x       x x   x   o   x x     Edwards x   x   x x x   x x x   x     x x T   x   x T   x x T   x T x o o o x   x x Francis x x     x x x x   x x   x x T x   T x x x   T x   x   x x   x       x x x   Gleeson   x     x x x   x   x x   x T   x T     x x T x       x x   x       x x x x Hammond x   x       x   x   x   x     x     x x   x   x x x   x     x     o x x x x Inverarity   x x       x x x x   x x x T x     x x x x   x x   T   x T         x x x x Lillee     x       x   x x   x   x T   x T     x   T     x T   x T   o o o         Mallett x   x   x x   x   x x   x     x x   x x x     x x x T x   T x o o o x       Marsh   x     x x   x   x   x   x T x x T     x x T   x x T   x T   o o o   x x x Massie x x     x x   x   x           x x T     x   T x     T   x T   o o o     x x Sheahan   x x       x x x   x x x     x     x x x     x x x T x   T x o o o   x x x Stackpole x x x       x x x x   x x x T   x T x x   x T x x   T x   T x o o o   x x x Taber x   x       x   x   x   x     x     x x   x   x       x x   x       x       Walters     x   x x   x x x   x x x T   x T x   x x T   x x T x     x o   o x x   x Watson x x x   x x x   x   x x x x T   x   x x x x   x x x   x x T   o o   x x x x     RESULTS  L W D A N N D D W W D D D D L W D W L D W W D W L D L W L W W L W L L W L W	Australia’s six previous Test tour results:     i in South Africa 1970 (4 Tests)  - lost 0-4 in India 1969 (5 Tests)  - won 3-1 in England 1968 (5 Tests)  - drawn 1-1 in South Africa 1966-67 (5 Tests)  - lost 1-3 in West Indies 1965 (5 Tests)  - lost 1-2 in Pakistan 1964 (1 Test)  - drawn 0-0
	Highlights	•  Wicket-keeper Rodney Marsh took five catches in the innings at Old Trafford and did so again at Trent Bridge •  Bob Massie took 16 wickets for 137 runs at Lord's, the record for a bowler on his first Test appearance. •  Greg Chappell walked off to a standing ovation after scoring a magnificent 131 at Lord’s. •  Ross Edwards’ played an undefeated innings of 170 when Bruce Francis suffered a migraine and he was called upon to open the second innings at Trent Bridge; Edwards then scored a pair in the Headingley Test. •  All six Western Australians in the party played in the final Test, while for the first time New South Wales had no representative in a Test match. •  Ian and Greg Chappell shared a third wicket partnership of 201 runs against England at The Oval. This was the first occasion that brothers had scored centuries in the same Test innings. •  Dennis Lillee took 31 wickets in the series, the record for Australia in England until Alderman in 1981. His record included ten in the match at The Oval.
	Tour Summary	F  W L D/NR Aban Test Matches   5   2   2   1 - Other first-class matches 22   9   3   9 1 Minor matches   8   2   3   3 - One-day internationals   3   1   2   0 - All Matches 38 14 10 13 1	F  Fixtures   W  Won   L  Lost   D Drawn   NR   No result   Aban Abandoned with no play Canc  Cancelled
	Return to Australia London  Q  Sydney	Ian Chappell wrote “I am a firm believer in finishing a tour of England immeditaely the fifth Test is over…. I am convinced [it] should be the climax of the tour … first-class games after that are a waste of time but we had to play a return match against Lancashire and then face T N Pearce’s XI.” The tour party split up in London on 7 September 1972.  Some went on holiday in Europe.  Massie and Edwards returned home via India where they played in the K S Ranjitsinhji centenary match. The first to reach home were Sheahan and Stackpole, who arrived in Melbourne, and Lillee, who landed at Perth, on 10 September. Greg and Ian Chappell spent three weeks competing in a double-wicket competition in Salisbury (Rhodesia) and a two-day game in Johannesburg for Wilf Isaac's XI.	Time away from Australia   145 days   (18 April to 10 September)
	Finances	Allowances for the tour running from 15 April until 8 September amounted to $2650 for each player, compared with $2150 for the 1968 tour, which lasted a week less.
	Written accounts of the tour	"The Ashes 1972"    by John Arlott  (Pelham Books, 1972) "Tigers Among the Lions"   by Ian Chappell  (Lynton Publications, 1972)
	Postscript