World Series Cricket.

[Skids]

Where were you when WSC took off in 1977? Did you go to any games?

I have some rippa memories as a 10-12 y.o when it was launched.
A one dayer at Gloucester Park between Oz & the Winidies in 1978. Garner & Roberts blasting out the aussies for121 then Viv Richards & Gordon Greenidge crushing us.
The next day, we watched the aussies bounce back against the World XI.

My grade 7 teacher was Wayne Clark, he toured with the ACB side during this period. That side got spanked!

I remember our bunch of friends used to gather at Wirthy's place to watch the Super Tests and the pyjama cricket one dayers.
His parents were the ones who had an air-conditioner in the lounge room with a 'big' "24" TV and a pool in the backyard.... they were that flash, they had a games room with a pool table!

We'd have our Super Test Series journals and put the stats in... for every ball

A few years later, we were all there when Trevor bowled the infamous under arm delivery. I will remember until the day I die, Wirthy's old man going off!

This is a great little read... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Series_Cricket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Xjdyr6OFg

[piedys]

Good times indeed Skids, even if it did leave our first XI replaced by the second XI for a year or so.

That Waverly VFL Park wicket was the biggest piece of shit of all time [excluding the Subcontinents wickets of course...]

There was a decent documentary made a few years back about the infamous under arm delivery; did you manage to see it?

Dyso

[Skids]

Yes Dyso saw that.

Was talking to the missus about the WSC days and us going to games. She was spun out how a group of us aged 10-12, used to go by ourselves.... it was great! You could get in anywhere you wanted. I got in the changerooms before matches getting autographs.
Was the same deal at footy games. I remember listening to Toddy at Basso Oval and getting in the rooms pretty much every week. Members areas at all the grounds, it was a piece of cake.

[piedys]

[Skids]

It was very lax back then. So easy to just duck through, or run past the bloke on the gate. We even got backstage at the Perth entertainment centre one night when the Harlem globetrotters were in town. I remember this big bloke, he looked 10 feet tall, grabbing us and saying "how'd you kids get in here?"

We were pretty well known around the footy club though. Geez back in the day, we were the unofficial cheer squad. Behind the goals, for all 3 grades, waving our massive B & W flags my Nan made. The league team used to do footy clinics at our school and we were in the Swan Districts combined side, all the players and Toddy knew who we were.

[Donny]

I remember driving past Oakes Oval (late 70s), in Lismore and catching a glimpse of the unmistakable action of one Tangles Walker - described by the great man himself as 'Right arm over left earhole'.

[Skids]

Loved Tangles. He was a pretty handy player.

[Donny]

Those booming inswingers with big leg cut, as the ball bounced. I loved watching him bowl.

I well remember Tangles destroying Pakistan (early 70s) in just his second Test, taking 6/15 to turn their expected win into defeat.

"Walker went on to label that spell of his as the defining moment of his cricketing career. “After this I knew I belonged in Test cricket alongside Lillee, (Geoff) Marsh, the Chappells (Ian and Greg) and company. I didn’t hope I would take wickets any more … I knew.”

Read more: https://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/australias-max-walker-wrong-foots-pakistan-out-of-the-sydney-cricket-ground-21944