Test Cricket Tours - Australia to Pakistan 1979-80
Tour
of Pakistan
1979-80Captain: Greg
Chappell
42nd
Australian Test tour
Fourth Test-playing tour
of Pakistan
by Australia
(February - March 1980)
The
first visit by an Australian team to Pakistan
for sixteen years created a lot of interest, intensified by Pakistan’s victory in the first
Test.
Political
events in Afghanistan
where the Soviet Union had just invaded posed a threat to the tour and the Cricket
Board met in Melbourne on 7-8 February to hear
a report from Fred Bennett, who had visited Pakistan earlier and consulted
with the Australian High Commission.
The Test
series was dominated in the first match by the spin bowlers who took all but
two of the wickets that fell, but thereafter by the batsmen who returned an average
of 62 runs per innings.
The Australian captain complained that the
pitches had been specially prepared to negate Lillee's speed. Thus spectators
were denied seeing Dennis Lillee or Imran Khan at their best
Middle-order batsmen: Allan Border, Greg
Chappell, David Hookes, Kim Hughes, Graham Yallop
Wicket-keeper:Rodney Marsh
Spin bowlers:Graham Beard, Ray Bright
Fast bowlers:Geoff Dymock, Geoff Lawson, Dennis Lillee, Mick Malone.
G R
Beard added
N
29
RHBRM/OB
A R
Border
N
24
LHB
R J
Bright
V
25
SLA
G S Chappell
Q
31
RHBcaptain
G
Dymock
Q
33
LFM
D W
Hookes
S
24
RHB
K J
Hughes
W
26
RHBvice-captain
B M
Laird
W
29
RHB
G F
Lawson
N
22
RF
D K
Lillee
W
29
RF
A
A Mallett w/d
S
OB
M F
Malone
W
29
RFM
R W
Marsh
W
32
LHBWK
J M
Wiener
V
24
RHB
opener
G N Yallop
V
27
LHB
State
representation
NNew South Wales (3)
QQueensland
(2)
SSouth Australia (1)
TTasmania
(0)
VVictoria
(3)
WWestern Australia (5)
Average
age ofteam at time of first Test
match
(27 February 1980) :
27 yrs11
months
Test
Appearances made before the tour
Marsh 58, G S Chappell 57,Lillee 38,Hughes 23, Yallop 21, Dymock 18, Border 17, Hookes 7, Bright 5, Laird 5, Wiener 4, Malone 1,Beard 0, Lawson 0.
Tour
Officials
Fred
Bennett
Manager
Mike
Mason
Physiotherapist
Hugh
Torode
Medical
Officer
Selectors
Sam Loxton (Victoria),Ray Lindwall (Queensland)
andPhil Ridings (South
Australia),
Selection
The manager Fred Bennett
was appointed on 2 January 1980. He was asked to visit Pakistan
in advance of the tour to check security arrangements.
Unavailable:Jeff Thomson, unfit.Ian
Chappell, Rick McCosker and Len Pascoe made themselves unavailable
On 9 January the selectors
named a squad of 18 players to prepare for the tour.Rodney Hogg withdrew and Max Walker was
named to replace him.
At the last moment Jim Higgs asked not to be
considered for the tour, citing family and fitness reasons (torn muscle in
his left side).
Tour Party Announced : 30 January
1980.
Not selected : Three
players - Richie Robinson, Dav Whatmore and Max Walker - apart fromHiggs and Hogg who had withdrawn, were not chosen from the
squad of eighteen preparing for the tour. Also, Kevin Wright.
Withdrawal :
Ashley Mallett withdrew because of a shoulder injury and Beard replaced him.
Time between selection and departure from Australia18 days
(30 January - 17 February)
Travel
SydneyQBombayQKarachi
The team flew out of Sydney on 17 February 1980: they arrived at Bombay at 6:30 am next morning and watched some of the
Jubilee Test match between India
and England, then flew to Karachi that evening.Greg Chappell and his players
were mobbed by hundreds of fans at the airport. Lillee has written that he
tried to avoid the crowds on arrival by posing as a team official.
By contrast, after they had
flown 1000 miles to Rawalpindi for the first
match, only local officials and rain greeted them when they touched down at Islamabad Airport at dusk on 20 February.
•Ray Bright had match figures of 10 for 111
in the first Test at Karachi.
•The entire Australian XI bowled in the
second innings at Faisalabad,
which last occurred in a Test match in 1884.
•Allan Border scored 150 in each innings of the third Test match at Lahore.
Tour
Summary
P
W
L
D
Aban
Test Matches
3
0
1
2
-
Other first-class matches
2
0
0
2
-
ϯ Minor matches
0
-
-
-
-
§ One-day internationals
0
-
-
-
-
All Matches
5
0
1
4
-
Return
to Australia
KarchiQMelbourne
On 25 March 1980 the team
flew back from Karachi and arrived that night
at Tullamarine Airport,
Melbourne.
Time away from Australia
37 days
(17 February to 25 March)
Finances
Discussions held before the tour had to wrestle with
financial problems. The guarantees had to be substantially increased for the
tour to take place at all but the programme was cut from eight matches to
five.
Written
accounts of the tour
Postscript
“The
Australian Cricket Board's decision to send a physiotherapist on the tour
paid dividends.Mike Mason, 45, of Adelaide, managed to
get the 14 players to the last leg of the tour without any serious injury
problems.”Canberra Times