Dennis Keith Lillee,
MBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 18 July 1949 in
SubiacoSubiaco is an inner western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, situated to the north of Kings Park. Its Local Government Area is the City of Subiaco.-History:Prior to European settlement the area was home to the Noongar Indigenous people....
,
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
) is a former Australian
cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...
er rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation". Lillee was known for his fiery temperament, 'never-say-die' attitude and popularity with the fans.
In the early part of his career Lillee was an extremely quick bowler, but a number of
stress fractureA stress fracture is one type of incomplete fracture in bones. It is caused by "unusual or repeated stress" This is in contrast to other types of fractures, which are usually characterized by a solitary, severe impact....
s in his back almost ended his career. Taking on a strict fitness regime, he fought his way back to full fitness, eventually returning to international cricket. By the time of his retirement from international cricket in 1984 he had become the then world record holder for most
TestTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. It is generally considered the ultimate test of playing ability in the sport.The name "Test" may have arisen from the idea that the matches are a "test of strength and competency" between the sides involved...
wickets (355), and had firmly established himself as one of the most recognisable and renowned Australian sportsmen of all time.
Test career
Aged 20, Lillee made his
first-classFirst-class cricket refers to the class of cricket matches of three or more days scheduled duration, between two sides of eleven players and officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut for
Western AustraliaThe Western Warriors are an Australian first class cricket team based in Perth, Western Australia...
in 1969-70 and impressed with his raw pace. At the end of the season, he toured New Zealand with an Australian second team and took 18 wickets at 16.44 average.
Debut
The following season, he made his Test debut in the Sixth Test at
AdelaideAdelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide and has a history which dates back to the 1870s. It is considered to be one of the most picturesque Test cricket grounds in Australia, if not the world...
in the 1970-71 Ashes series, taking 5/84 from 28.3
eight-ball oversIn the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it shall be completed by a teammate....
. His first Test wicket was
John EdrichJohn Hugh Edrich MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Surrey and England. He earned a reputation as a dogged and fearless batsman, and his figures show that he was amongst the best players of his generation. He played a total of 77 Test matches for England in an international career...
, caught by
Keith StackpoleKeith Raymond Stackpole Junior is a former Victorian and Australian cricketer who played in 43 Tests and 6 ODIs from 1966 to 1974, who is now a radio cricket commentator...
for 130, but it was not until the Seventh Test at
SydneyThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney. It is used for Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches, and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian Football League...
that
John HampshireJohn Harry Hampshire , better known as Jackie Hampshire, was an English cricketer who played only a handful of Tests and ODI's for England. He also played first-class cricket for 20 years for Yorkshire and then, after leaving during one of the county's perennial bouts of civil war, for Derbyshire...
became the first batsman to be "caught
MarshRodney William Marsh, MBE is a retired Australian wicketkeeper.A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same as his pace bowling Western Australian...
, bowled Lillee".In 1971–72 against a World XI at
PerthThe WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
, he destroyed a powerful batting lineup that included Garry Sobers,
Clive LloydClive Hubert Lloyd CBE born 31 August 1944 in Georgetown, British Guiana , is a former West Indies cricketer. He captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 and oversaw their rise to become the dominant Test-playing nation, a position that was only relinquished in the latter half of the 1990s...
,
Rohan KanhaiRohan Bholalall Kanhai is a former West Indian Cricket player of Indo-Guyanese descent. He is widely considered as one of the best batsmen of the 1960s...
and
Sunil GavaskarSunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar , is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in test match history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most runs and most centuries scored by any batsman...
by taking 8/29. Lillee followed this performance with a successful Ashes tour of England in 1972, when he "asserted himself as a great bowler". In a series that ended 2–2, he was the outstanding bowler on either team, taking 31 wickets at an average of 17.67. This earned him selection as one of
Wisden'sWisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
Five Cricketers of the Year for 1973.
Back injury
During a Test against Pakistan in the 1972–73 season, Lillee felt sharp pain in his back for the first time, but continued to play. On the tour of the West Indies that followed, Lillee broke down completely and was diagnosed with stress fracture in his lower vertebrae. Forced out of cricket, he spent six weeks during the winter of 1973 wearing a plaster cast that encased his entire torso. After the removal of the cast, he played club cricket in Perth as a specialist batsman.
There was speculation that his bowling career was over. Lillee persevered, undergoing an intensive physiotherapy routine and remodelling his bowling action. In 1974–75, he returned to Test cricket for the Ashes series and was paired with Queensland fast bowler
Jeff ThomsonJeffrey Robert Thomson is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he was one of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket and was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history...
to form one of the most effective opening bowling combinations in Test cricket. The pair was a major factor in Australia's emphatic 4–1 victory. In 1975, the University of Western Australia timed Lillee's bowling at 154.8 km/h.
Lillee and Thomson
Lillee toured England again in 1975. During the
inaugural World CupThe 1975 Cricket World Cup was the first edition of the tournament. It was held from June 7 to June 21 1975 in England. 8 countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in 2 groups of 4 each...
he captured eight wickets in five matches, including 5/34 against Pakistan at
LeedsHeadingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
. His aggressive bowling was not always suited to the run-containing style required in the one-day game. In the subsequent four-Test series against England, Lillee claimed 21 wickets as his team finished winners by 1–0. With the bat, he made 73 not out at
Lord'sLord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
to rescue Australia from a difficult situation.
Another 27 wickets (at 26.37 average) followed in the summer of 1975–76 against the West Indies. At this time, Lillee was one of the most marketable personalities in Australia, but he was frustrated by the small amounts that he earned from the game. Outspoken in his opinions, he came into conflict with the game's administrators. Lillee suggested that a made-for-television exhibition series could be played each season with profits given to the players.
John CornellJohn Cornell is a film producer, actor and businessman.Born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Cornell once managed Paul Hogan and often appeared alongside Hogan in his popular television show The Paul Hogan Show as Strop, a dim-witted dinkum Aussie surf lifesaver...
, his manager, took this idea to
Kerry PackerKerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC , son of Sir Frank Packer, was an Australian media tycoon whose family company owned controlling interests in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC (17 December...
, who later fashioned it into
World Series CricketWorld Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
(WSC).
An injury to Thomson early in 1976–77 forced Lillee to take on a greater workload during the six Tests of the season. He responded with 47 wickets including match figures of 10/135 against Pakistan at the
MCGThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park in inner Melbourne, home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the largest stadium in Australia, and holds the world record for the highest light towers at any sporting venue. The MCG is within walking distance of...
and 11/123 at
AucklandEden Park is the biggest sports ground in Auckland, New Zealand for both rugby union during winter, and cricket in summer . To accommodate both sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
against New Zealand. In the
Centenary TestCentenary Test refers to two matches of Test cricket played between the English cricket team and the Australian cricket team, the first in 1977 and the second in 1980. These matches were played to mark the 100th anniversaries of the first Test cricket matches played in Australia and in England ...
, his 11/165 was the
decisive performance in Australia's victory. However, the extra exertion created "hot spots" in his back and not wanting to reaggravate his previous condition, he made himself unavailable for the 1977 tour of England.
World Series Cricket
Remaining in Australia to do television commentatary on the tour, Lillee was isolated from the furore in England surrounding the plans for the breakaway professional competition, WSC. He was announced as one of the WSC players in May 1977. The Lillee image and personality were key components in WSC's innovative marketing of their games. However, he struggled on-field during the first season of WSC and in the winter of 1978 made further adjustments to his action. He also spent time working with ex-World professional sprint champion Austin Robertson, improving his running technique and fitness. In nine "Supertests" (four in Australia and five in the West Indies) during 1978–79, Lillee captured 46 wickets at 22.5 average, with a best of 7/23 against the West Indies XI at the
SCGThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney. It is used for Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches, and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian Football League...
.
Cutting down his pace and the length of his run up, Lillee now concentrated on moving the ball off the seam with an occasional faster or slower ball for variation. During the season of his return to official cricket, Lillee collected 35 Test wickets in six matches against the West Indies and England, and gave Australia's bowling attack stability while the selectors experimented with the team. In the
World Series CupThe World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia and two touring teams from 1979-80 to 1995-96. The tournament was renamed the World Series from 1990-1. This was the very first of the One Day International ...
, his changed style helped to bring him 20 wickets (at 12.7 average) in eight ODIs, including 4/12 against West Indies and 4/28 against England, both at the SCG. However, the tour of Pakistan that followed was ruined for Lillee by flat batting pitches prepared by local curators to blunt his effectiveness. He managed just three wickets in three Tests.
Australian and world records
Against New Zealand and India in 1980–81, Lillee took 37 wickets in six Tests and was the leading bowler in the World Series Cup for the second successive season. He contributed 25 wickets to Australia's first victory in the competition. After breaking
Richie BenaudRichard "Richie" Benaud OBE is an Australian former cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
's Australian Test record of 248 wickets, Lillee toured England in 1981 when his preparation was compromised by a viral infection. A return of 39 Test wickets (at 22.30) for series was the best of his career and he won man of the match awards in the first and last Tests. Lillee formed a penetrative partnership with fellow West Australian
Terry AldermanTerence Michael Alderman is a former Australian cricketer.He began his first-class career in 1974 with Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and came to international prominence when he was chosen for the Australian national team to tour England in 1981...
, who claimed an Australian record of 41 wickets. Despite possessing this potent attack, Australia lost the series by 1–3 when Ian Botham turned in a series of brilliant individual performances.
Granted a testimonial for 1981–82, Lillee's season got off to a poor start when he was involved in the infamous incident with Javed Miandad (see below) in the first Test of the summer. Suspended for two ODIs, the level of his on-field aggression was again criticised. However, he continued taking wickets: 15 in three Tests against Pakistan and 16 in three Tests against the West Indies. Against the latter, his 7/83 and 3/44 at the MCG in the first Test took him past the world record for the most Test wickets held by
Lance GibbsLancelot Richard Gibbs Lancelot Richard Gibbs Lancelot Richard Gibbs (born 29 September 1934 in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana) was a West Indies cricketer, one of the most successful spin bowlers in Test cricket history. He took 309 Test wickets, only the second player (after Fred Trueman)...
. His ODI season was less successful, with 12 wickets in 12 games. His best effort was 2/18 in ten overs against the West Indies during the third final of the World Series Cup, the only match in the final series Australia was able to win.
Retirement
Bowling as a first-change, Lillee had an uneventful tour of New Zealand in March and April 1982 before suffering a serious knee injury in the first Ashes Test at the WACA Ground in November of the same year. This forced him to miss the rest of the series and Australia's 2–1 victory, which reclaimed the Ashes. Returning to the team for the latter stages of the World Series Cup, Lillee was no longer an automatic choice to take the new ball. Nevertheless, his 11 wickets in six ODIs helped Australia win the tournament with a victory over New Zealand in the final.
His wicket-taking capacity was diminishing. During Australia's brief tour of Sri Lanka in 1983, Lillee took three wickets at Kandy in the inaugural Test between the two nations and went wicket-less in two ODIs. Later in the year, his ODI career finished during the third World Cup in England when he conceded 52 runs from 12 overs in the match against the West Indies at Lord's. Dropped from the team, Lillee acknowledged that he was not fully fit, but he remained motivated to continue in Test cricket by the number of people who had written him off.
During the first two Tests of 1983–84 against Pakistan at Perth, he took only one wicket and looked set to be dropped from the Test team as well. Fate intervened when
Carl RackemannCarl Gray Rackemann, born in Wondai, Queensland, is a former Queensland and Australian cricketer. He was a fast bowler in 12 Tests, 52 ODIs and 167 first-class cricket matches in a career spanning 1979–80 to 1995–96....
, the man of the match from the second Test, was injured. This allowed Lillee to play the rest of the Test series and he finished with 20 wickets at 31.65. Along with
Greg ChappellGregory Stephen Chappell, MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held upon his retirement 1983...
he announced his retirement during the final Test at Sydney, and took eight wickets, including a wicket with his last delivery in the match.
Caught Marsh bowled Lillee
Throughout his Australian career Lillee was also famous for his partnership with wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, and the scorecard entry 'c Marsh b Lillee' appeared 95 times in Tests, a partnership record between wicketkeeper and bowler that is yet to be broken. Coincidentally, both took 355 wickets. They also shared much success at first-class level, playing for
West AustraliaThe Western Warriors are an Australian first class cricket team based in Perth, Western Australia...
.
Most successful bowler & wicketkeeper/fielder combinations in Test cricket
| Team |
Bowler |
WK or Fielder* |
Matches |
Wickets |
| Australia |
Dennis Lillee |
Rod Marsh |
69 |
95 |
| Australia |
Glenn McGrathGlenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon" is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history , and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket since the mid-1990s to early 21st century...
|
Adam GilchristAdam Craig Gilchrist , nicknamed Gilly or Church, is a former Australian international cricketer. He is an aggressive left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national team through his aggressive batting. He is considered to be one of the best...
|
71 |
90 |
| South Africa |
Makhaya NtiniMakhaya Ntini is a South African cricketer who was the first ethnically black player to play for the South African team. A fast bowler, he tends to bowl from wide of the crease with brisk, although not express, pace...
|
Mark Boucher Mark Verdon Boucher is a South African cricketer. He was educated at Selborne College. He has represented Border, Africa XI, ICC World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore of the Indian Premier League, and South Africa...
* |
94 |
84 |
| Australia |
Brett LeeBrett Lee is an Australian cricketer.After breaking into the Australian Test team, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket...
|
Adam Gilchrist |
65 |
81 |
| South Africa |
Shaun PollockShaun Maclean Pollock is a retired South African cricketer who is considered a bowling all-rounder. From 2000 to 2003 he was the captain of the South African cricket team, and also played for Africa XI, World XI, Dolphins and Warwickshire. He was also chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in...
|
Mark Boucher |
88 |
79 |
| West Indies |
Malcolm Marshall Malcolm Denzil Marshall was a West Indian cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, Marshall is regarded as one of the finest pacemen ever to have played Test cricket. His Test bowling average of 20.94 is the best of anyone who has taken 200 or more wickets...
|
Jeff Dujon Peter Jeffrey Leroy Dujon was a West Indian cricketer.He was the wicketkeeper for the West Indian cricket team of the 1980s, an athletic presence behind the stumps as well as a competent lower-order batsman....
|
68 |
71 |
Statistics correct at 4 August 2009. Source:http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283457.html.
Aluminium bat incident
During a Test at the
WACA GroundThe WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
in December 1979 between Australia and England, Lillee went to the crease with an aluminium bat manufactured by a company owned by a personal friend. There were no rules against using such a bat, but trouble began when Lillee hit a ball that went for three
runsIn the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
. Australian captain
Greg ChappellGregory Stephen Chappell, MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held upon his retirement 1983...
thought that the ball should have gone for a four, and instructed
Rodney HoggRodney Malcolm Hogg is a former Victorian, South Australian and Australian cricketer. He was a fast bowler. Hogg played in 38 Tests and 71 ODIs between 1978 and 1985. In Tests he took 123 wickets at an average of 28.47....
to deliver a conventional wooden bat to Lillee. As this was happening, English captain
Mike BrearleyJohn Michael Brearley OBE is a former cricketer who captained the England cricket team in 31 of his 39 Test matches, winning 17 and losing only 4...
complained to the umpires that the bat was damaging the ball.
Lillee refused to change the bat. Brearley, Lillee, and the umpires held an animated discussion for almost ten minutes, before Chappell insisted that Lillee should change bats. In a fit of pique, Lillee threw "the offending lump of metal fully 40 yards towards the pavilion", and grudgingly took the wooden bat. He was not disciplined by the
ACBCricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
for this incident. After the game, sales of the bat skyrocketed for a few months, before the laws of the game were amended, specifying that bats had to be made from wood.
Betting
At Headingley on the 1981 tour of England, Australia was in such a strong position at one stage of the third Test that bookmakers at the ground were offering odds of 500–1 on an England victory. These odds were flashed on the scoreboard during a break in the game and noticed by the Australian players. Lillee and Rod Marsh believed that the odds were so ludicrous that, via a third party, they each put a small wager on the outcome, later describing their actions as a "joke". Between them, they collected 7,500 pounds when England pulled off a comeback victory. Both men openly discussed the incident and received no official censure or sanction, although some criticised their actions. There has never been a suggestion that the bets compromised their efforts in the game. However, the issue has been re-examined in modern times following the match-fixing scandals that have plagued international cricket since the mid-1990s.
Lillee vs Miandad
Described by Wisden as "one of the most undignified incidents in Test history" , the clash between Lillee and Pakistani batsman
Javed MiandadMohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975-1996. After his playing career, he has at various times been a coach, as well as held positions in the Pakistan Cricket Board...
occurred during the first Test at Perth in 1981.
Miandad turned Lillee behind square for a single, and in completing an easy run, he collided with the bowler. Eyewitnesses agreed that Lillee was to blame and most observed that he had deliberately moved into the batsman's path. The two players' versions of events differ ... As Lillee turned to go back to his mark he maintained that Miandad struck him from behind with his bat; Miandad countered with the claim that Lillee had kicked him as he passed. What isn't in doubt is that Lillee then turned to confront Miandad, and Miandad lifted his bat above his head as if to strike him. The unedifying images of Tony Crafter, the umpire, stepping in to hold back Lillee while Miandad wielded his bat like a deranged javelin thrower were beamed around the world.
... The media were in no doubt where the blame lay–with Lillee. Bob SimpsonRobert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
, the former Australian captain, wrote that it was "the most disgraceful thing I have seen on a cricket field". Keith MillerKeith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
, in the Sydney Sunday Telegraph, added that Lillee "should be suspended for the rest of the season," and Ian ChappellIan Michael Chappell is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation...
added that Lillee's actions were those of "a spoiled, angry child".
But Greg Chappell, Australia's captain, supported Lillee and ... even suggested that it has all been part of a plot by Pakistan to entrap Lillee.
The Australian players–who sat in judgment on such matters in those days–announced that Lillee would be fined AU$200, a decision which attracted almost as much anger as the incident itself. The two umpires complained at the leniency of the punishment, and the Australian Board acted swiftly, reducing the fine to AU$120 but adding a two-match ban. Cynics noted that the punishment ensured that Lillee missed two fairly low-key one-day internationals, and none of the Tests..
After retirement
Lillee made a brief comeback to first-class cricket in 1987–88 for
TasmaniaThe Tasmanian Tigers represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and the domestic Twenty20...
. In 1988, he played eight matches for English county team
NorthantsNorthamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire...
and suffered a severe ankle injury. In his recent autobiography, Lillee claimed that he played again as a preparation for a possible comeback to the Australian team that was suggested by the then captain
Allan BorderAllan Robert Border, AO is a former Australian cricket captain. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh. Border still retains the world record for the number of consecutive Test appearances of 153...
.
During the 1990s and in the early years of the 21st century Lillee has dedicated himself to educating and improving young fast bowlers, working closely with bowlers from all around the world. He is currently considered one of the finest fast bowling coaches in the world. Lillee continued playing competitive cricket until 1999 for the traditional
ACBCricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
President's XI match against touring sides at
Lilac HillLilac Hill is a picturesque cricket ground in Western Australia in the Perth suburb of Guildford, where the Swan River wraps itself around its southern and eastern sides. The ends of the ground are known as the river end and the pavilion end....
. In his final match he took three wickets and played alongside his son Adam.
He has also appeared in many TV commercials for items as diverse as carpets, work boots,
glucosamineGlucosamine is an amino sugar and a prominent precursor in the biochemical synthesis of glycosylated proteins and lipids. Glucosamine is part of the structure of the polysaccharides chitosan and chitin, which compose the exoskeletons of crustaceans and other arthropods, cell walls in fungi and...
tablets to relieve
osteoarthritisOsteoarthritis , is a group of diseases and mechanical abnormalities involving degradation of joints, including articular cartilage and the subchondral bone next to it...
symptoms and solar power companies.
Since 2004 he has been the president of the Western Australian Cricket Association.
Awards, records and accolades
- He was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1973
- He was one of the ten inaugural inductees into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is a part of the Australian Gallery of Sport and the Olympic Museum in the National Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This Hall of Fame commemorates the greatest Australian cricketers of all time....
in 1996
- He was selected in the official Australian Test Team of the Century
- He was immortalized in the Men at Work
Men at Work were an Australian reggae-influenced rock band which achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a #1 album and single simultaneously in the United States . At the same time, they also had a simultaneous #1 single and album in the United...
song "No Restrictions" with the line: "Hear the cricket calling, switch on the TV, sit and stare for hours, and cheer Dennis Lillee."
- He was also mentioned in the Iain Campbell Smith
Iain Campbell Smith is a former Australian diplomat, singer/songwriter and comedian. He performs under the stage name Fred Smith in Australia and his full name in the United States.-Diplomatic career:...
song "Blue Guitar." In a lyric where the narrator is describing unlikely, fantastic events he sings "I hit a six off Dennis Lillee and I clean bowled Gavaskar." When performing in the United States Smith will often change the lyric to "I scored thirty-seven points off of Kareem Abdul-JabbarKareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired basketball player. During his 20-year professional career in the NBA, from 1969 to 1989, he scored the highest points total of any player in league history , in addition to winning a record six Most Valuable Player Awards and six NBA championships...
."
External links