Graham McKenzie

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For the Australian Olympic fencer, see Graham McKenzie (fencer).

Graham McKenzie
Personal information
Full name
Graham Douglas McKenzie
Born (1941-06-24) 24 June 1941 (age 82)
Bowler
RelationsEric McKenzie (father)
Douglas McKenzie (uncle)
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 220)22 June 1961 v England
Last Test9 January 1971 v England
Only ODI (cap 5)5 January 1971 v England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1959/60–1973/74
Transvaal
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 60 1 383 151
Runs scored 945 – 5,662 519
Batting average 12.27 – 15.64 11.28
100s/50s 0/2 – 0/18 0/0
Top score 76 – 76 41*
Balls bowled 17,681 60 76,780 7,515
Wickets 246 2 1,219 217
Bowling average 29.78 11.00 26.96 19.55
5 wickets in innings 16 0 49 3
10 wickets in match 3 0 5 0
Best bowling 8/71 2/22 8/71 5/15
Catches/stumpings 34/0 1/0 201/0 38/0
Source: CricketArchive, 3 February 2009

Graham Douglas McKenzie (born 24 June 1941) – commonly known as "Garth", after the

Alan Davidson as Australia's premier fast bowler and was in turn succeeded by Dennis Lillee, playing with both at either end of his career. McKenzie was particularly noted for his muscular physique (hence his nickname) and ability to take wickets on good batting tracks. His father Eric McKenzie and uncle Douglas McKenzie played cricket for Western Australia. Garth was chosen for the Ashes tour of England in 1961 aged only 20. He made his debut in the Second Test at Lord's
, where his 5/37 (including the last three wickets in 12 balls) wrapped up the England innings to give Australia a 5-wicket victory.

Early years

McKenzie grew up in a sporting family. His father, Eric McKenzie, was an opening batsman who played once for

Western Australian Cricket Association. Both Douglas and Eric also represented Western Australia in field hockey.[1][2]

In his youth, McKenzie was an

all rounder, batting right-handed and bowling off spin. Aged twelve, he gained selection for Western Australia in the 1953–54 under-14 interstate competition held at Adelaide, but the team withdrew after a polio epidemic in Western Australia. The next season, he captained the state when the competition was held in Perth, leading his team to the championship.[1]

McKenzie attended

Perth with 3/69. At season's end, his captain Ken Meuleman advised McKenzie to concentrate on his fast bowling.[1]

International career

The 1960–61 season began with McKenzie's third first-class match, against the West Indies. He did not bowl in the first innings but took 4/41 in the second to seal a 94 run win, prompting West Indies captain Frank Worrell to predict a bright future.[1]

Further strong performances during the Shield season saw him selected at age 19 for the 1961 Ashes tour under

Alan Davidson. He held his end for 32 runs while Davidson's powerful hitting saw 98 added for Australia's highest tenth wicket partnership on English soil. This allowed Benaud to bowl Australia to victory on the final day. The youngest member of the touring party, McKenzie was one of eight bowlers to take at least fifty wickets.[1]

When Dexter's Englishmen toured

South Africa toured in 1963–64. He was Australia's leading bowler with 16 wickets at 43.06. In the Third Test in Sydney, he hit his highest Test score of 76.[1]

Five-wicket hauls

McKenzie's international cricket five-wicket hauls[4]
Against Home Away
 England 3 3
 India 1 3
 Pakistan - 1
 South Africa - 3
 West Indies 1 1

In

bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement,[6] and as of August 2014 only 23 bowlers have taken at least 20 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[7]

1964 saw McKenzie make his second Ashes tour of England. He led the attack as Australia retained the Ashes. His 29 wickets in five Tests equalled the highest obtained for Australia in England by

Pakistan in Melbourne in December established a new record for the number of Test wickets in the space of one year; from 11 December 1963 to 8 December 1964 he took 73 wickets in fifteen Tests. This surpassed Maurice Tate's 65 wickets in 1924–25. In this period, he became the youngest bowler to reach 100 wickets, at the age of 23 and 162 days, 139 days younger than A.L. Valentine. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1965, the first Western Australian born recipient.[8]

He toured South Africa in 1966–67 and in 1967–68 was dropped for the final two Tests after taking his only ten wicket match haul against India.

In 1968, McKenzie became a full-time cricketer, believing that it would offer him the best chance of financial security. At the time the Australian Cricket Board regarded its players as amateurs and paid them accordingly. McKenzie joined Leicestershire, captained until 1968 by the Western Australian skipper and former England Test stalwart Tony Lock. He took over four hundred wickets for the county and was instrumental in its four One Day Cricket trophies in the early 1970s and winning their first County Championship in 1975.[9]

In 1968–69 he took 30 wickets (25.26) against the visiting West Indies and at 27 became the youngest man to take 200 Test wickets, a record since beaten. Another 21 wickets (21.00) came on the Indian tour of 1968–69, but when the Australian team proceeded to South Africa his form slumped (1/333 in four Tests) and they were whitewashed. It led to suspicions that he had contracted hepatitis. He played in the first four Tests of the

Geoff Boycott's forearm in a tour match just before the vital Seventh Test,[11] but was not recalled and was left stranded on 246 Test wickets, two short of Richie Benaud
's Australian record. He was only 29 years old.

In his 60 Tests McKenzie took 5 wickets in an innings 16 times, and 10 in a match three times.[12] McKenzie only played one One Day International, the first ODI against England in 1971, in which he took 2/22.[13]

Pace spearhead

1964 saw McKenzie make his second Ashes tour of England. He led the attack as Australia retained the Ashes. His 29 wickets in five Tests equalled the highest obtained for Australia in England by

Pakistan in Melbourne in December established a new record for the number of Test wickets in the space of one year; from 11 December 1963 to 8 December 1964 he took 73 wickets in fifteen Tests. This surpassed Maurice Tate's 65 wickets in 1924–25. In this period, he became the youngest bowler to reach 100 wickets, at the age of 23 and 162 days, 139 days younger than A.L. Valentine. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1965, the first Western Australian born recipient.[1]

McKenzie had an unproductive tour of the West Indies in 1964–65 and had mixed fortunes in the 1965–66 Ashes series. He was not selected for the First Test, but took 5/134 in England's mammoth 558 the Second Test at Melbourne. He did little in the Third Test, which Australia lost by an innings, and was one of the five men dropped for the Fourth Test. Fortunately Peter Allan was injured and McKenzie was brought back into the team. The Adelaide Oval was notoriously flat, but McKenzie was an expert on getting batsmen out on dull wickets and used the humid atmosphere and fresh pitch to bowl Bob Barber for a duck and have John Edrich caught by the ever-reliable Simpson at slip. McKenzie took 6/48 to have England out for 241 and Australia won by an innings. He took 3/17 in the second innings in the Fifth Test to finish with 16 wickets (29.18), the chief wicket taker along with Neil Hawke who took 16 wickets (26.18). Thereafter McKenzie became one of the most consistent opening bowlers in the world.

He toured South Africa in 1966–67 and in 1967–68 was dropped for the final two Tests after taking his only ten wicket match haul against India. This was speculated to be due to fears that his dominance over the Indian batsmen was diminishing public interest in the series.[2]

In 1968, McKenzie became a full-time cricketer, believing that it would offer him the best chance of financial security. At the time the Australian Cricket Board regarded its players as amateurs and paid them accordingly. McKenzie joined Leicestershire, captained until 1968 by the Western Australian skipper and former England Test stalwart Tony Lock. He took over four hundred wickets for the county and was instrumental in its four One Day Cricket trophies in the early 1970s and winning their first County Championship in 1975.[14]

In 1968–69 he took 30 wickets (25.26) against the visiting West Indies and at 27 became the youngest man to take 200 Test wickets, a record since beaten.

Geoff Boycott's forearm in a tour match just before the vital Seventh Test,[11] but was not recalled and was left stranded on 246 Test wickets, two short of Richie Benaud
's Australian record. He was only 29 years old.

He continued to play for Western Australia until 1974. He came out of retirement in 1977 to play in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. After that, he moved his family to South Africa to play in domestic Limited Overs cricket, before returning to Western Australia.[2]

He has the record for taking the most dismissals, hit wicket (4), in Test match history.[15]

In 2010, McKenzie was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Wisden 1965 – Graham McKenzie". -Wisden. 1965. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d Cashman; Franks; Maxwell; Sainsbury; Stoddart; Weaver; Webster (1997). The A-Z of Australian cricketers. pp. 193–194.
  3. ^ "2nd Test: England v Australia at Lord's, Jun 22–26, 1961". espncricinfo. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo.
  5. ^ "Swinging it for the Auld Enemy – An interview with Ryan Sidebottom". The Scotsman. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2013. ... I'd rather take fifers (five wickets) for England ...
  6. ISBN 978-81-7370-184-9
    . Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Records / Combined Test, ODI and T20I records / Bowling records / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Cricketer of the Year 1965 - Graham McKenzie". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Cricket Archive - Garth McKenzie". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  10. ^ a b p101, John Snow, Cricket Rebel, Hamlyn, 1976
  11. ^ a b p104, John Snow, Cricket Rebel, Hamlyn, 1976
  12. ^ "Bowling records / Tests / Graham McKenzie". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  13. ^ "Only ODI: Australia v England at MCG, 5 January 1971". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  14. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". www.cricketarchive.co.uk.
  15. ^ "Records | Test matches | Bowling records | Most wickets taken hit wicket | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Lawry and McKenzie gain places in Hall of Fame". ESPN Cricinfo. 14 February 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2010.

External links

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