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Lillee was born on July 18, 1949, in Subiaco, Western Australia. His test match debut, in 1970 was against England, in Adelaide. He took 5/83 off 28.3 overs, a fantastic result for a debut match. He was anointed cricketer of the year by Wisden in 1973, and inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2002.
One of the most infamous incidents in Lillee's career occurred at the WACA cricket ground in December of 1979. Australia were playing England, and were in trouble at the end of the first day, at a score of 8/232 with Lillee not out. When the second day of play began, Lillee emerged onto the field carrying not the traditional willowAbout 350, including: Salix alba White Willow Salix amygdaloides Peachleaf Willow Salix arbuscula Mountain Willow Salix aurita Eared Willow Salix babylonica Peking Willow Salix caprea Goat Willow Salix caroliniana Coastal Plain Willow Salix cinerea Grey S bat, but a cricket bat made from aluminiumAluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is the chemical element in the periodic table with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. A silvery and ductile member of the poor metal group of elements, aluminium is found primarily as the ore bauxite and. The bat, manufactured by the company of Lillee's good friend Graham Monoghan , was intended only as a cheap replacement for traditional cricket bats for schools and developing countries. Nevertheless, Lillee decided to use it in the test match, and at that point, there were no rules against using such a bat.
The trouble began on the fourth ball of the day, when Lillee straight drove a ball from Ian BothamIan Terence Botham OBE, (born November 24, 1955) ( nicknamed "Beefy") was one of England's best-ever cricketers and one of the best all-round cricketers of all time. In a Test career spanning 15 years from 1977, he made 5200 runs at 33. 54, and took 383 w. The ball went for two runsRuns or running is a music slang term for adlibbing and expanding on a musical note with one's voice. For example, a lyric may call for you to sing: I love you. Putting a run on the same lyric would sound like, I looooove yooooouuu ooooohhhhhh. A run can, and nothing appeared untowards. However, Australian captain Greg ChappellGregory Stephen Chappell (born August 7 1948) was an Australian cricketer. External link Chappell, Greg. thought that the ball should have gone for a four, and instructed twelfth man Rodney Hogg to deliver a conventional wooden bat to Lillee. As this was happening, English captain Mike Brearly complained to umpires Max O'Connell and Don Weser that the metallic bat was damaging the soft, leather cricket ball.
Lillee instructed Hogg that he wasn't going to change his bat, and assumed a posture to face the next delivery. Brearly, Lillee, and the umpires held an animated discussion for almost ten minutes, before Chappell decided that the game would be held up if things continued. He emerged onto the ground, took one of the willow bats from Hogg, and instructed Lillee to be quiet and use the bat. Lillee threw his aluminium bat away in disgust, and grudgingly took the wooden bat.
Astonishingly, Lillee was not censured or disciplined for this incident. Both the umpires and the Australian Cricket Board decided to let Lillee off with only a warning. After the game, sales of the bat skyrocketed for a few months, with Monoghan giving Lillee a small cut of the profits. This only lasted a few months though, before the laws of the game were amended, specifying that bats had to be made from wood. The actual wooden bat that Lillee used is still in his possession. After the match ended, he had it signed by both teams. Brearly, realising a sales stunt when he saw one, simply signed the bat "Good luck with the sales".