1977 Centenary Ashes Test: Eng vs Aus Quiz

Answer: Hans Ebeling

Hans Ebling, at the time, was the Vice President of the Melbourne Club. He had had the privilege of representing Australia in one Test match, ironically, against England in 1934. He was successful in taking the wickets of the great Walter Hammond, Gubby Allen and Hedley Verity. He capped off a fine match by scoring a well made 41 runs in Australia's second innings.
Part of his vision for this anniversary match was to bring every living Test player from the two nations to the game. Incredibly, 224 accepted and only 26 declined due to age or infirmity.

Answer: Benson & Hedges: Cigarette advertising in sport had been banned

During the 1970s, the Australian government began a concerted push to inhibit the sale of tobacco products. Part of this strategy involved banning cigarette advertising in sport. Existing sponsorship deals were allowed a period of rationalisation, however, any new sponsorship deals that were struck were to rule out advertising in any form. Eventually a limited agreement was agreed to as a 'one-off' for this Test match.

Answer: Greg Chappell

Greg Chappell, at the time, was Australia's best batsman. Such was his standing in the game that in a lead up promotion to this Test, he was selected by the 'Age' newspaper in their version of "the best post-war Australian team". He would eventually be selected by the Australian Cricket Board in their "Team of the Twentieth Century".

Whilst he top scored in Australia's inadequate first innings total of 138, it was a performance that failed to register a boundary and was entirely out of character for Chappell and one that may rank as one of the strangest of his career.

Answer: The ball hit him in the face before falling on his stumps

A rearing delivery from England's fast bowler, Bob Willis, struck McCosker on the jaw, breaking it, before rebounding on to the batsman's stumps. Later, in what could only be described as an extraordinary feat of bravery, McCosker returned to bat in the second innings.

His jaw had been wired together and he was swathed in bandages. He could not hear, talk, or run. Still he managed to piece together 25 runs at crucial time in the game.

Answer: Max Walker

The Melbourne crowd endeavoured to fire up their main strike bowler with a raucous chant of "LILL-EE, LILL-EE" that made the Melbourne Cricket Ground seem like a coliseum. It worked, and in a little over two and half hours, Lillee with six wickets and Walker with four, had decimated the English batting line-up and gained a slender lead for their country. Max Walker was nicknamed 'Tangles' as a result of an ungainly foot placement in his bowling action.

It didn't, however, diminish the quality of his work.

In 34 Tests for his country, he took a total of 138 wickets, forming a formidable combination with Lillee and Jeff Thomson.

Answer: Tony Greig

Australian captain, Greg Chappell, felt that this incident was the turning point in the contest. It galvanised Hookes, inspired his partner, Rod Marsh and gave voice to the 60,000 partisan spectators. Tony Greig was South African born and his qualification to play for England was due to his father's Scottish heritage. Greig never shied away from controversy and his sledge at Hookes only served to underline his hard-nosed attitude to a contest. One of England's finest all-rounders, he scored 3599 runs in 58 Test matches at an average of 40.43, took 141 wickets, and held 87 catches. David Hookes, for his part, stormed into the Australian line-up on the back of six consecutive centuries in the lead up to the Test. Sadly, his Test career never reflected his performances at State level.

Answer: Yes

Amazingly, in a hundred years of Test matches between Australia and England, this was the first instance of an Australian wicketkeeper scoring a century against England. Marsh remained undefeated on 110 runs when the Australian innings closed. He had arrived at the crease with his country teetering at 187 for five.

However his partnerships with David Hookes (57), Dennis Lillee (76), and the injured Rick McCosker (54) steered Australia from immediate danger.

Answer: Derek Randall

In his first Test against Australia, Randall became an unlikely hero with a fine display of batsmanship against the odds and against Dennis Lillee, arguably the finest fast bowler in Test cricket history. Never deflated during the innings, he talked, whistled, and sang.

He even dared taunt his tormentors. On one occasion a ball from Lillee hit Randall in the head. His response was to bounce back up again, smile, adjust his hat and face up again.

Answer: Dennis Amiss

Dennis Amiss' career against every Test playing nation, except Australia was phenomenal. His average against other nations was 57.02. Against Australia it was a mere 15.25. You could say his form here had gone "a-miss". In his previous seven innings against his Ashes opponent, he'd made a total of 19 runs, which included four ducks and had been dismissed on six of those occasions by Dennis Lillee. On this occasion, he put his personal demons aside and took the attack to Lillee and the other Australian bowlers.

His 64 runs helped provide England with a platform and, more importantly, a realistic chance of winning the Test.

Answer: Derek Randall (174 runs in the second innings)

In the end, there were arguments as to who should have been graced with the accolade with many feeling that Lillee should have walked away with the prize. Both, however, were heroic and played their roles to perfection in one of the most pulsating games in the history of Test cricket.