Australia v West Indies

At Melbourne, January 31, February 1, 2, 4, 5. Australia won by 165 runs. The pattern of Adelaide was faithfully repeated.

With Cosier unfit, McCosker was recalled to the Australian side and for the West Indies Roberts, who had been having trouble with his ankles for some while, was unable to play and they decided to strengthen the batting by bringing in Baichan, the Guyanese left-hander, who had been unlucky not to have a Test match before this.

This Test will be longest remembered because it was the match in which Lance Gibbs took his 308th Test wicket and beat Fred Trueman's record. He had drawn level at Adelaide and when, on the first day, Redpath had completed his third hundred of the series he went down the cricket and swung Gibbs to deep mid-wicket where Holding held the catch.

After the match Redpath, who had done so much for Australia over the years, announced his retirement from all first-class cricket. While his hundred was the basis of Australia's first innings total, Greg Chappell and Yallop also batted well.

Once again the West Indies were undone by pace, but this time it was pace allied to swing produced by Gilmour which did the damage. Bowling superbly on the third morning, he took five for 34 in ten overs before lunch and pacified a Victorian crowd which would have liked to have seen Walker playing in his place.

Australia gained a first innings lead of 191, for only Richards, again batting splendidly, reached fifty. In the Australia second innings McCosker took the chance to play himself back into form with a somewhat laborious hundred and rather ironically, although it took him four hours, it won him an award for the fastest hundred of the match.

The West Indies needed 492 in ten hours in the final innings and although Richards made a marvellous 98 in two and three-quarter hours and Lloyd was 91 not out at the end after some furious hitting on the last morning, they never looked like getting near their target. When the match was over Lady Worrell, Sir Frank's widow, presented the Worrell Trophy to Greg Chappell.