Memories of Cricket on Boxing Day
(Trinidad Guardian)
Once upon a time, cricket on Boxing Day was unthinkable to Trinbagonians, full of pastelles and ham and punche de creme. I believe that must be true of all West Indians. But in Australia, the Boxing Day Test is almost a tradition for Melbourne.
On the West Indies? second tour to Australia, 1951/2, the Third Test was scheduled for Adelaide from December 24 to 28, with play on Christmas Day. But the Windies were not at home so it should not have prove too big an effort to play cricket on those days.
It would take their minds off homesickness.
Well, the Aussies got a shock for Christmas.
Australia had won the first two Tests by three and seven wickets respectively and were bubbling with confidence for the third.
After all, Lindwall and Miller had muzzled the vaunted West Indies batting battery and Miller and Hassett had taken the measure of Ramadhin and Valentine.
The boys gave themselves a great Christmas present. Frank Worrell, with six wickets for 38 runs, and John Goddard, three for 36, hustled the Aussies out for 82, at that time their lowest score against the Windies in Australia and still their lowest score at Adelaide.
Bill Johnston, left arm fast medium swinger, hit back for the Aussies, scalping six Windies batsmen for 62 to hold them down to 105 in their first innings and keep the match wide open.
Alf Valentine took six wickets in the second innings to limit the Australians to 255, which was a better total than seemed possible at three for 81 or six for 172.
But Doug Ring at number eight hit an aggressive 67 with Gil Langley scoring 23 to post what, in the context of that match and the ?sporting? wicket, must have looked a formidable target.
Ring took three West Indies wickets for 63 but every West Indian batsman contributed to a memorable victory.
The lowest score in the Windies? second innings was 28 by Worrell and Gerry Gomez (46 not out) and Robert Christiani 42 not out brought the team home to a six-wicket victory in three days on Christmas Day of 1951.
In the 1984/5 tour, the Windies also won the Boxing Day Test in four days at the MCG to take a 3-0 lead in the series. Marshall (seven) Holding (five) Garner and Walsh (four each) bundled the Aussies out for 175 and 271 runs in a total of 145 overs in the days when all the world complained about the Windies slow over rate but the matches were finishing in three and four days, depending on who batted first.
In reply. Richardson (138) and Lloyd (114) led the Windies to 424, so that only 23 runs were needed for the victory, which came for the loss of two wickets.
The Windies did it again in the 1988 Test on Boxing Day at the MCG. Windies made modest totals of 280 and 361 for nine declared but Australia was never in the match.
Patrick Patterson, the then newest of the stream of Windies fast bowlers, had match figures of nine for 88 runs and Ambrose six for 81 as no Aussie batsman got 50 runs. Australia was dismissed for 242 and 114 as the Windies won by 285 runs.
West Indies? last Boxing Day victory in Australia came in 1996 and again the Windies won in three days. Ambrose took nine for 72 in the match and Kenny Benjamin four, Walsh three and Ian Bishop two wickets as Australia was skittled for 219 and 122 in a total of 115 overs. West Indies breezed to a six-wicket win, despite McGrath?s match figures of eight for 91.
How times have changed!