Classic Ashes Battles: 1970-71 Quiz

Answer: Derek Underwood

Derek Underwood turned a ball quite sharply to get the edge of Paul Sheahan's bat, and a level of panic seemed to overtake the Australian batsmen. However, whilst Underwood may have been the trigger, John Snow was the bullet as he began his dominance over the Australians that summer, with six wickets in the innings and a match tally of eight wickets for 162 runs.

Answer: (Sir) Donald Bradman

Stackpole's innings was not without its good fortune. When on 18, he was clearly run-out by a direct hit from Geoffrey Boycott, and umpire Lou Rowan inexplicably gave him not out. Sadly by the last day, all evidence of a genuine contest had evaporated from this match, as had much of the public's interest. A draw ensued and journalists were left wondering if anyone cared.

Answer: Graham McKenzie

Graham McKenzie, affectionately referred to as 'Garth' (the gentle giant), was one of two West Australians in this game, the other being wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, participating in only his second test. McKenzie started the match requiring just eight wickets to overtake Richie Benaud (248 wickets) as Australia's leading wicket-taker in test matches.

He completed the first innings of this game with the strong figures of four for 66 from 31.4 overs.

Answer: Greg Chappell (108 runs)

Greg Chappell, born in Adelaide, is the grandson of champion Australian cricketer, Vic Richardson. During this innings, he was to display the poise and style that would make him one of the world's premier batsmen over the course of the next decade. Australia was in serious trouble when he arrived at the crease, five down for 108, chasing almost 400 runs.

He took exactly 200 minutes to put together his first 50 runs and only 58 minutes to compile the second. Ray Illingworth's declaration on the final day was pure tokenism, leaving Australia with no chance to chase a victory and the game petered out to another draw.

Answer: Yes

After the umpires had adjudicated the tossing of the coin (won by England), the heavens opened up and rain fell consistently for the next three days, leading to the abandonment of the game. Somehow, the tossing of the coin signified that a game had taken place.

The Australian Cricket Board of Control arranged a meeting between England's team manager David Clark, and visiting dignitaries Sir Cyril Walker and 'Gubby' Allen. This led to two historic decisions. A 'One Day International' game would be played immediately between the two sides to compensate for the loss in play, and a 'replacement' test would be scheduled later in the tour.

This led to (a) the first-ever 'One Day International (ODI), and (b) created the first occasion that a tour would consist of seven test matches.

Answer: Geoffrey Boycott

With this innings, Boycott stamped himself as the most outstanding batsman of either side that summer. By the series end, he'd scored 657 runs at a remarkable average of almost 94 runs per innings.

Answer: He 'carried' his bat through a completed innings

To "carry one's bat" through an innings means that you have opened the innings for your side and remained 'not out', while the rest of the side is dismissed. This is a difficult and rare feat in Test cricket. Australia had been set a task of scoring 415 runs to win the test. Lawry's innings was a lone hand as the rest of the team succumbed to John Snow's hostility. England won by 299 runs, taking a one-nil lead in the series and a firm grasp of the Ashes.

Answer: Dennis Lillee

By the time of his retirement, Dennis Lillee had taken a (then) world record of 355 test wickets. 95 of those dismissals were from catches taken by wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, which also set a world record. Thomson and Walker would debut later that year in the series against Pakistan, while Massie made his first test appearance the next year against England at Lords.

Answer: All these factors played a part

This match was played in the days prior to the introduction of helmets and the range of protective equipment that is available today. As a consequence, an unwritten rule amongst cricketers was that you didn't bowl bouncers at tail end batsmen. They were called 'tail-enders' due to their lack of batting prowess. John Snow, however, did and Terry Jenner was struck a sickening blow to the back of the head. With memories of Graham McKenzie's jaw being broken by a Snow bouncer during the fourth test, the crowd became restless. Umpire Rowan then, incorrectly, warned Snow for intimidating bowling. As one bouncer did not constitute intimidating bowling, John Snow remonstrated with the umpire and he was supported by his captain. This further inflamed the crowd.
Illingworth then made an error in judgement and positioned John Snow on the boundary line. The crowd, by now, had become hostile, and began booing and throwing cans onto the oval. It was at this point that a spectator bodily interfered with Snow and the England captain, fearing for the safety of his players ordered his team from the field.
Order was eventually restored and England returned to the field. They managed to set Australia a target of only 223 runs to win the test and square the series. The Australian batting, lacking the stout resistance of Bill Lawry, crumbled to the wiles of Ray Illingworth and Derek Underwood to lose by sixty two runs. England had won the series two-nil and regained the Ashes.

Answer: John Snow

John Snow was, without doubt, the most imposing presence during this series. More than just the wickets (he took 31 wickets at an average of 24) it was his ability to intimidate and bully that set the series up for England. In short, England walked taller when John Snow had the ball in his hand.