First Test In overcast conditions, England captain
Mike Denness asked Australia to bat;
Rick McCosker (59) and debutant
Alan Turner (37) added 80 for the first wicket, and further contributions from
Ian Chappell (52),
Ross Edwards (56),
Rod Marsh (61) and
Jeff Thomson (49) enabled Australia to total 359. Shortly after the commencement of England's reply, a thunderstorm produced treacherous batting conditions; devastating spells from
Dennis Lillee and
Max Walker reduced England to 83/7 at the end of the second day and 101 all out the following morning,
John Edrich (34) providing the only resistance. The pace of
Jeff Thomson accounted for England's second innings demise, bowled out for 173 to hand Australia an innings victory,
Keith Fletcher (51) top-scoring for England.
Graham Gooch, on Test debut, scored a
pair. England captain Denness scored 3 and 8, and was dropped from the side before the second Test, to be replaced as captain by
Tony Greig.
Second Test Dennis Lillee's four-wicket opening spell reduced England to 49/4 before
David Steele (50), on debut, bailed England out. Steele set a platform for more positive contributions from new England captain
Tony Greig (96) and
Alan Knott (69), with
Bob Woolmer (33), also on debut, shoring up the tail. In reply,
John Snow reduced Australia to 37/3 and 81/7, but
Ross Edwards (99) was well supported by the tail, especially Lillee (73 not out, with three sixes).
John Edrich (175) anchored England's second innings, sharing partnerships of 111 for the first wicket with
Barry Wood (52), 104 for the second with Steele (45), 66 for the fourth with
Graham Gooch (31). Sedate at first, Edrich hit out as a declaration neared, adding 65 for the fifth with Greig (41 from 42 balls), before a hard-hitting cameo from Woolmer (31 from 25 balls, with two sixes) heralded Greig's declaration. Thanks to
Rick McCosker (79),
Ian Chappell (86),
Greg Chappell (73 not out) and Edwards (52 not out), Australia did not struggle to salvage a draw, losing only three wickets in one-and-a-half days.
Third Test John Edrich (62) and
David Steele (73) added 112 for England's second wicket, and
Tony Greig contributed 51, but following Greig's run-out, England's last five wickets fell for 20 runs, the last four all to
Gary Gilmour, as England were bowled out for 288. In reply, left-arm spinner
Phil Edmonds, on debut, claimed 5/28 as Australia collapsed to 135 all out. With typical stoicism, Steele (92) anchored England's second innings. Chasing a target of 445, contributions from
Rick McCosker (95 not out) and
Ian Chappell (62) led Australia to 220/3 at the close of the fourth day; with the match thus poised and McCosker set to make a maiden Test century, overnight pitch vandalism (carried out by supporters alleging the wrongful conviction of
George Davis) ensured that no play was possible on the final day. A potentially exciting finish was ruined although heavy rain fell in the afternoon meaning the match would likely have ended in a draw anyway.
Fourth Test Rick McCosker (127, his maiden Test century) and
Ian Chappell (192) took Australia to 280/1 at the end of the first day, setting up a total of 532/9. In reply,
Barry Wood (30),
John Edrich (12 from 98 balls) and
David Steele (39 from 106 balls) painstakingly defied the Australians as England reached 78/1, but following the dismissals of Wood and Edrich,
Jeff Thomson and
Max Walker combined to reduce England to 147/8; only the tail-end efforts of
Chris Old (25 not out) and
John Snow (30) enabled England to reach an eventual total of 191 all out. Chappell asked England to follow on; with two-and-a-half days of a six-day Test remaining, defeat seemed almost inevitable. Still further resistance from Edrich (96) and Steele (66) saw England close the fourth day on 179/1; after Lillee dismissed both in quick succession the following morning, England continued to resist.
Bob Woolmer (149, his maiden Test century) defied Australia for more than eight hours, sharing partnerships of 122 with
Graham Roope (77) and 151 with
Alan Knott (64) as England held out for 14 hours to reach 522/5. Only a spell of medium pace from
Doug Walters eventually conquered England's lower order. In the limited remaining time, Australia reached 40/2. Chappell announced his retirement from the captaincy at the end of the match. ==References==