| Tour of India & South
Africa 1969-70 Captain:
Bill Lawry | |
| | | | |
| 33rd
Australian Test tour (October 1969 - March 1970) Fourth Test-playing tour
of India
by Australia (previous tour 1964) Seventh Test-playing tour
of South Africa by Australia (previous tour 1966-67) | The Australian Board’s original
plan was to make a visit to India
followed by a tour of Pakistan
but the Pakistan
leg was cancelled because of political upheavals and the two Cricket Boards'
inability to come to a financial agreement.
The South Africans, whose Test matches the previous year had been cancelled because
Basil D'Oliveira was included in the M C C team, eagerly filled the gap.
Australian trades union leaders unsuccessfully demanded that the South African
section of the tour should be cancelled as an anti-apartheid demonstration. The first section of the tour
in India
was punctuated by trouble from spectators. When Venkat was wrongly given out
caught at Bombay,
the crowd mistakenly thought the Australians had cheated. At Calcutta spectators unable to get a ticket
fought battles with the police and there was more trouble when a local
photographer intruded onto the playing square and Lawry pushed him away with
his bat. The tourists’ bus was stoned as they left the ground. Richie Benaud
was among those calling for the players to terminate the trip. Since the whole trip began with
two weeks in Ceylon,
this became (as recorded by cricinfo) one of the most arduous tours made by an Australian cricket
team. In its later stages the team became
tired and stale, which contributed to the 4-nil defeat against the
Springboks. Lawry's statement that Ian
Chappell was the best batsman in the world acted as a spur to the South
African fast bowlers who cut him down to size (his aggregate being 92 in four
Tests), while Australia's leading bowler Graham McKenzie was jaded because he
could not shake off an illness picked up during the Indian tour. The South African Board’s
proposal that a fifth Test should be played was turned down flat by the
senior players because the financial terms were so mean despite the tour having
produced huge revenues. Lawry’s report to the Australian Cricket Board on
return urged that no Australian team should undertake a double tour again. | Other
Australian Tours Previous
tour England 1968 Next
tour England 1972 Next
tour of India
1979-80 Next
tour of South Africa 1975-76 cancelled 1993-94 | |
| Members
of the Test tour party (15) Opening batsmen: Bill
Lawry, Ian Redpath, Keith Stackpole Middle-order batsmen: Ian Chappell, Jock Irvine, Paul Sheahan, Doug
Walters Wicket-keepers: Brian Taber, Ray Jordon Spin bowlers: Johnny
Gleeson, Ashley Mallett Fast bowlers: Alan Connolly,
Eric Freeman, Laurie Mayne, Graham McKenzie | I M Chappell | SA | 26 | RHB LBG vice-captain | | A N Connolly | Vic | 30 | RFM | | E W Freeman | SA | 25 | RFM | | J W Gleeson | NSW | 31 | LBG | | J T Irvine
| WA | 26 | RHB | | R C Jordon | Vic | 32 | reserve WK | | W M Lawry | Vic | 32 | LHB opener captain | | G D McKenzie | WA | 28 | RFM | | A A Mallett | SA | 24 | OB | | L C Mayne | WA | 27 | RFM | | I R Redpath | Vic | 28 | RHB opener | | A P Sheahan | Vic | 23 | RHB | | K R Stackpole | Vic | 29 | RHB opener LBG | | H B Taber | NSW | 29 | WK | | K D Walters | NSW | 23 | RHB RM | | |
| State representation Sheffield
Shield teams NSW New
South Wales (3) Qld Queensland
(0) SA South
Australia (3) Tas Tasmania
(0) Vic Victoria
(6) WA Western
Australia (3) Average age of team at time of first Test match (4
November 1969) : 28
yrs 0 months | |
| Test
Appearances made before the tour | Lawry 53, McKenzie 49, Redpath 28, Chappell 22, Connolly 19, Walters 16, Gleeson 14, Sheahan 14, Stackpole 12, Freeman 8, Taber 7, Mayne 3, Mallett 2, Irvine 0,
Jordon 0. | | |
| Tour
Officials | Fred Bennett | Tour manager | Dave MacErlane | Masseur / baggage |
| | |
| Selectors | Sir Donald Bradman, Neil
Harvey, Jack Ryder. Jack Ryder retired from the panel in 1970. This
was also the last Test touring party chosen by Sir Donald Bradman (apart from
the Rest of the World XI in 1971-72, which was unofficial). | Bradman took part in choosing 14
Test touring parties, every side between 1938 and 1969-70 with the exception
of the tour of England in 1953. | |
| Selection | Mr
Fred Bennett, who was New South
Wales representative on the Australian Board, was
appointed manager Unavailable: Barry Jarman. Bob Cowper (he retired at the end of the
domestic season to concentrate on business, at which he became a millionaire,
as well as later being Australian representative at the ICC). Tour Party Announced : 3 March 1969. The choices of Irvine,
Mayne and Jordon came as a surprise. Not selected : Queensland batsman
Sam Trimble, overlooked again, led another Australian representative team to New Zealand
in Feb/March 1970. Greg Chappell, Dave Renneberg
and John Maclean were also omitted and
all were chosen for New
Zealand tour instead. The names of the captain and vice-captain were announced
on 5 March. | Time between selection and departure from Australia 234 days (3 March - 15 October) | |
| Travel Sydney Q Colombo Bombay Q Johannesburg | The tour party assembled at Sydney
on 14 October 1969 and next day took off on a flight from Kingsford Smith
Airport, Sydney,
Irvine joining the flight in Perth.
Twelve tourists arrived at Katunayake
Airport on the morning
of 16 October where they were entertained by Kandyan dancers. McKenzie, Mayne and Connolly who flew from England for Colombo
on 18 October were stuck at Calcutta
for three days, unable to get a connecting flight. After the brief tour of Ceylon
the Australians flew, via Madras, to Santa Cruz Airport,
Bombay, on
Tuesday 28 October. The team boarded an Air India flight out of Bombay on 1 January 1970 and touched down at Nairobi Airport, Kenya,
where there was a 24-hour stay before BOAC carried the team on, arriving in Johannesburg on Friday 2
January 1970. | Time spent in India 65 days (28 October - 1 January) Time spent in South
Africa 80 days (2 January - 23 March) | |
| On-tour
selection | Bill Lawry (captain), Ian Chappell (vice-captain), Brian Taber. | | |
| Reinforcements | None. | | |
| Fixtures/Results The Australian Board had asked the South Africans
about touring there as soon as it was known that the Pakistan tour was cancelled in
December 1968 The Madras Test match included play on Christmas
Day | a | ϯ Colombo (PSS) | Ceylon Board President's
XI (1-day) | Drawn | b | ϯ Kandy | Central Province (1-day) | Won 189 r | c | ϯ Colombo (PSS) | President's XI (1-day) | Drawn | d | Colombo (PSS) | Ceylon (3-day) | Drawn | e | Poona | West Zone | Drawn | f | BOMBAY | INDIA First Test | WON 8 w | g | Jaipur | Central Zone | Won inns 32 r | h | KANPUR | INDIA Second Test | DRAWN | i | Jalandhar | North Zone | Drawn | j | DELHI | INDIA Third Test | LOST 7 w | k | Guwahati | East Zone | Won 96 r | l | CALCUTTA | INDIA Fourth Test | WON 10 w | m | Bangalore | South Zone | Drawn | n | MADRAS | INDIA Fifth Test | WON 77 r | | | | | o | Pretoria | North-East Transvaal | Won 10 w | p | Kimberley | Griqualand West | Won inns 1 r | q | Port Elizabeth | Eastern Province | Drawn | r | CAPE TOWN | SOUTH AFRICA First Test | LOST 170 r | s | johannesburg | Transvaal | Drawn | t | DURBAN | SOUTH AFRICA Second Test | LOST inns 129 r | u | East London | Border | Won 2 w | v | JOHANNESBURG | SOUTH AFRICA Third Test | LOST 307 r | w | Durban | Natal | Drawn | x | PORT ELIZABETH | SOUTH AFRICA Fourth Test | LOST 323 r | y | Cape Town | Western Province | Drawn | z | Bloemfontein | Orange Free State | Won inns 185 r |
| † not first-class Time
spent in Ceylon & India
before First Test: 19 days (16 October - 4 November) Time
spent in South Africa
before First Test: 20 days (2 January - 22 January) | |
| Test
appearances on tour | (v India
1969-70) 5 - Chappell,
Connolly, Lawry, McKenzie, Mallett, Redpath, Sheahan, Stackpole, Taber,
Walters 4 - 3 - Gleeson. 1 - Freeman,
Mayne. 0 - Irvine,
Jordon. (v South Africa 1969-70) 4 - Chappell, Connolly, Gleeson, Lawry, Redpath,
Sheahan, Stackpole, Taber, Walters. 3 - McKenzie. 2 - Freeman,
Mayne. 1 - Mallett. 0 - Irvine, Jordon. | | |
| Match
appearances T Test match x other match W won L lost D drawn N no
result A abandoned u unknown
result | | C E Y
L O N | I N D
I A | S O U
T H A F R I C A | | a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | j | k | l | m | n | o | p | q | r | s | t | u | v | w | x | y | z | Chappell | x | | x | x | x | T | x | T | x | T | | T | x | T | x | | x | T | x | T | x | T | x | T | | x | Connolly | | x | x | | x | T | x | T | | T | x | T | x | T | x | x | | T | | T | x | T | x | T | x | | Freeman | x | x | x | | x | | x | | x | | x | T | x | | | | x | | x | T | x | T | | | x | | Gleeson | x | x | | x | | T | | T | x | T | x | | x | | x | x | | T | x | T | | T | x | T | | x | Irvine | x | x | x | x | | | x | | x | | x | | x | | | x | | | x | | x | | x | | x | x | Jordon | x | | | x | | | x | | x | | x | | x | | | x | | | x | | x | | x | | x | x | Lawry | x | x | x | x | x | T | x | T | | T | x | T | x | T | x | x | x | T | x | T | | T | x | T | x | | McKenzie | | | | x | x | T | | T | x | T | | T | | T | x | x | x | T | x | T | | | x | T | | x | Mallett | x | x | x | x | x | T | x | T | | T | x | T | | T | | x | x | T | | | x | | x | | x | x | Mayne | | x | x | x | | | x | | x | | x | | x | T | x | x | x | | x | | x | T | | T | x | x | Redpath | x | | x | x | x | T | x | T | x | T | x | T | x | T | x | x | x | T | | T | x | T | x | T | x | x | Sheahan | x | x | x | | x | T | x | T | x | T | x | T | | T | x | x | x | T | x | T | | T | x | T | x | x | Stackpole | x | x | | x | x | T | | T | x | T | | T | x | T | x | | x | T | x | T | x | T | x | T | x | x | Taber | | x | x | | x | T | | T | x | T | | T | | T | x | | x | T | | T | x | T | | T | | x | Walters | x | x | x | x | x | T | x | T | | T | x | T | x | T | x | x | x | T | x | T | x | T | | T | x | | RESULTS
| D | W | D | D | D | W | W | D | D | L | W | W | D | W | W | W | D | L | D | L | W | L | D | L | D | W |
| Australia’s six previous Test tour results: in England
1968 (5 Tests) - drawn 1-1 in South Africa 1966-67 (5 Tests) - lost 1-3 in West Indies 1965 (5
Tests) - lost 1-2 in Pakistan
1964 (1 Test) - drawn 0-0 in India
1964 (3 Tests) - drawn 1-1 in England
1964 (5 Tests) - won 1-0 | |
| Highlights | • Graham McKenzie started the Test series
against India
taking 5-69 including the first four wickets. • Keith Stackpole scored a hundred (103) in
the opening Test at Bombay • Paul Sheahan’s first Test hundred (114) in
the second Test at Kanpur
included 20 boundaries. • Ian Chappell made 138 at Delhi
and followed up with 99 in the next Test at Calcutta. • Bill Lawry carried his bat for 49* while Australia were dismissed for only 107 to lose
at Delhi • Doug Walters survived a stumping chance when
4* at Madras
and went on to score 102. • Ashley Mallett captured ten wickets in the
match at Madras
(5-91 and 5-53) • He followed up with five more wickets for
126 in the first Test against South Africa
at Cape Town • Alan Connolly took 6-47 at Port
Elizabeth but South
Africa won by their record margin of runs. | | |
| Tour
Summary | | F | W | L | D | Aban | Test Matches | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | - | Other first-class matches | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | - | ϯ Minor matches | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | All Matches | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | - |
| F Fixtures W Won
L Lost
D Drawn NR No result
Aban Abandoned with no play Canc Cancelled | |
| Return
to Australia Johannesburg Q Melbourne | At the end of the tour the team flew from Jan Smuts Airport, Johannesburg,
on Sunday 22 March 1970. They arrived
in Melbourne
on 24 March after a 15-hour flight. Connolly took a holiday in South
Africa before flying to England to play county cricket
for Middlesex. | Time away from Australia
160 days (15 October to 24 March) | |
| Finances | The Australian Board wanted the
players to take part in a fifth Test, one more than they were contracted to
play. Although at first agreed by the
tour manager, Ian Chappell, backed by Doug Walters and Graham McKenzie,
refused and the proposed match was dropped. On 2 September 1970 the
Australian Board disclosed that the tour profit was $A 130 000. Of this $103 500 was the guarantee from the
Indian section of the tour. | | |
| Written
accounts of the tour | “Souvenir of the Tests" [Rand Daily
Mail] “Book of the Tests: South
Africa v. Australia 1970” by Eric
Litchfield chapters 3 and 4 in “Spin Out”
(1977) by Ashley
Mallett (pub Garry Sparke Associates) | | |
| Postscript | This was the last time Australia won a series in India, but victory came at a price. There
were too many incidents and the Indian cricket board made an adverse report
to their Australians counterpart about Lawry’s conduct and his criticisms of
their arrangements, including hotels and security. Tour manager Fred Bennett put
in an unfavourable report about Lawry, too, and without the Board’s backing
it became inevitable he would lose the Australian captaincy as soon as
results flagged during the next Test series. Long-serving Jack Ryder, now
81, decided it was time to retire as an Australian Test selector and Bill Lawry
was contemplated as Victoria’s
representative to replace him until the Board abruptly substituted Sam
Loxton’s name instead. 1969-70 was also the last time
any Test side visited South Africa
until ‘readmission’ (when India
made the ‘friendship tour’ in 1992-93). | | |