Two for the gods

Rod Marsh, Greg Chappell and Dennis Lillee pose after their final Test © Getty Images

International and Australian cricket suffered a crippling double-blow when first Greg Chappell then Dennis Lillee announced his retirement during the fifth Test against Pakistan in Sydney. Cricket people had known the announcements were coming, but they were ill-prepared when they did.

Chappell, 35, had many times hinted that season 1983-84 would be his last at the game's highest level. Lillee, 34, had been battling against injuries for some time. It is an indication of the man's character that the more his retirement was pre-empted by journalists, the more determined he became to stay on to prove the world wrong.

Still, Chappell's announcement on January 3, and Lillee's the day after, were jolts to all who had followed their careers. It was made worse when the third remaining member of the `Australian mafia', Rod Marsh, became unavailable for the tour of West Indies, and then announced that he, too, was retiring from first-class cricket.

As befits their amazing careers, both Lillee and Chappell managed to make their last Test not only memorable but historic. Chappell equalled Colin Cowdrey's record of 120 Test catches for a fieldsman on the day he told the world he was going; in Pakistan's second innings he took two more catches to finish with 122 from 87 Tests. more importantly, he scored 182, his 24th Test century, broke Sir Donald Bradman's 35-years record of 6996 runs for his country, and became the first Australian to reach 7000 in Test cricket. By the time he had finished carving up the Pakistan attack, he stood with 7110 runs at 53.86 from his 151 Test innings, 19 of which were undefeated.

Lillee, too, refused to go without a batch of wickets. He took eight in the match, including 4 for 75 from 25.5 overs on the final afternoon, when Australia snatched a surprise victory to give them a 2-0 margin in the series. He stretched his world record number of wickets to 355 from 70 Tests.

Figures, of course, are important, but the loss of the pair will mean much more than statistics to Australian cricket. In their widely differing personalities, they had been the two most influential men, both on and off the field, since the retirement of Ian Chappell as captain at the end of 1975. In company with Ian and Rod Marsh, they bestrode the game both at home and overseas like a colossus.

Chappell was the elegant, orthodox technician. Upright in stance as well as character, he was to a degree introverted, and managed to stand aside from the `Ugly Australians' tag won by brother Ian's team at the height of their success. On the other hand, Lillee was defiant, boisterous, occasionally a pain in the neck, and always, always the big-hearted trier who knew only one thing on a cricket field - to give 110 per cent, and if that wasn't enough, to reach into the reserves for that little bit extra. In modern cricket, certainly, no man has worked as hard or as devotedly against the odds of serious injury and illness for his success.

There is no doubt in my mind that Chappell, G.S. is the most profound thinker in modern cricket. Although he led Australia a record 48 times in Tests, it is generally acknowledged that he lacked the leadership flair of his brother. At times, he seemed almost bland. His stock pre-Test summing up to quote-conscious cricket-writers was always: `If we score enough runs and take enough wickets, we should win.' To his credit, he kept a straight face. Often, his pep-talk before taking his team out for a hard day's labour in the field was simply: `Come on, boys. Wish the bowlers good luck, field well, and tonight will be all that more enjoyable.' Towards the end of his reign, Marsh took to standing behind Chappell mouthing these words. The captain, without turning his head, soon caught on. He simply added a few more words'...and you, Rod Marsh, can go and ...'

Emotion rarely showed on Chappell's face on the field, but even an amateur lip-reader could have deciphered his words as he accepted the chance from Mudassar that gave him a share of Cowdrey's record. It was an old-fashioned Australian phrase that beings with `you' and ends with `beauty'. There is only one other word.

Typically, Chappell played down his feat of passing the legendary Sir Donald's total. He has always insisted it is sacrilege to compare the two, even though they have not been on the best of terms since Greg's involvement in the World Series Cricket breakaway. Sir Donald was quick to send him a congratulatory telegram, noting that he had been on the selection panel when Chappell made his debut, against England in Perth, during the 1970-71 season.

Chappell's last innings began in a trauma of uncertainty. But when he reached 69 (to pass Sir Donald's old mark) he began to blossom, producing an array of shots, particularly the on-and cover-drives, that were reminiscent of his best days. He is the only Australian of his era to produce several cricket copybooks ... he was the only Australian of his era qualified.

Chappell, like Lillee, gave family considerations as a major reason for retirement. In an oblique reference to the low point of his career - ordering brother Trevor to deliver the infamous `underarm' delivery against New Zealand at the MCG on February 1, 1981 - Chappell said he had no regrets, `but if I had the chance, there was a couple of things I would do differently'.

Lillee, belligerent as ever, announced his retirement with a shot at those who had tried to write him off as finished, several times. `It was those people who helped set me going again. I knew I was good enough to keep playing,' he said.

Lillee mixed a career that saw him the fastest bowler in the world, then return from a severe back injury, to be the wisest, with a good deal of controversy. The aluminium bat, the kicking of Javed Miandad, and the bet on England in the Leeds Test of 1981, have not endeared him to many people in the game. But no-one who watched him could do anything but admire his superb action and his will to win.

He, too, is leaving at the top, although his aide-de-camp, Austin Robertson, made desperate last-minute bids to get his charge to change his mind. Lillee may not be seen much around the cricket scene in the future, although he is committed to playing out the first-class season with Western Australia. But Chappell will. He is tipped to become an Australian selector in the near future and has talked optimistically of a career as an official. Australian cricket needs him in whatever role he chooses.