Athers, David and Bob talk Gough, Gooch and more before the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney
Wednesday 3 January 2018 17:33, UK
Scuffles on the boundary, a T20-style run chase and Darren Gough's hat-trick... Bob Willis, Mike Atherton and David Gower share their SCG anecdotes before the final Test of the Ashes series.
BOB WILLIS: I made my Test debut at Sydney in 1971 on Ray Illingworth's tour so it holds special memories for me. My first Test wicket was Ashley Mallet, caught Knott bowled Willis. The game stopped when John Snow hit Terry Jenner on the head and the crowd threw cans onto the pitch.
Sadly, one of the supporters grabbed hold of Snowy on the boundary (below) and things were quite unpleasant for a while. We won both Tests at Sydney in 1970/71 to win the series 2-0 - the other matches were drawn.
I was captain in 1982/83. We won at Melbourne to come back from 2-0 down to 2-1. In the first over at Sydney I ran out John Dyson by about four yards and the umpire gave it 'not out'. The next day there was a photo in the paper of the incident - and Dyson wasn't even in the picture as the wicket is broken. There was definitely a need for neutral umpires back then.
We didn't get a single lbw on that tour in six completed Test matches. Dyson went on to get 79, which was almost the difference between the teams after the first innings. I'm not sure we would have been able to force a win if he had been given out but it would have been the perfect start to the match after I lost the toss yet again.
DAVID GOWER: My favourite memory is (selfishly) my hundred on the 90/91 tour where I did my best to catch Athers up in the race to three figures, having given him several days head start. We had fielded for far too long and been given a less than inspiring speech from captain Gooch, which perversely spurred me to great things.
We almost got in a position to win the match but had a bit of trouble with Australia's number 11, Carl Rackemann, who overstayed his welcome, and although Gooch and I went out in the fourth innings blazing away in T20 style to try and chase down 255 we were never quite going to pull off a remarkable victory. It was worth a go, though!
MICHAEL ATHERTON: One of the things that makes Australia such a good place to play and watch cricket is the nature of the wickets. Each of the pitches at the major venues have their own characteristics.
Traditionally Sydney has been good to bat on but is also a turning pitch - I'm not sure that's the case now. One of the moments that sticks in my mind, though, was by a seamer: Darren Gough's hat-trick in 1998/99.
It wasn't a top-order hat-trick but it was still a great moment for an Englishman in Australia and one that got us back into the game after Mark and Steve Waugh had shared a big partnership.
If I remember rightly, Ian Healy nicked behind before Goughie cleaned up Stuart MacGill (pictured above) and then knocked over Colin Miller, bowling him off-stump. Australia still went on to win the game - and the series 3-1 - but Goughie deserved his moment of history.
