Almanac Cricket: The Ashes 1972 – The Australians arrive in London

 

Barry Nicholls recalls the arrival of the Australians in England in 1972. This is an excerpt from the manuscript of a book he is writing about the tour and its effect on Australian cricket. Having extensively researched the events and interviewed many past players, Barry aims to provide insight into what he is trying to achieve with the book.

 

 

 

 

The Australians arrive in London, April 1972

 

‘Gee, I’d like to buy that whistle,’ said one of the press as Chappell and Walters walked out of the Waldorf Hotel on a cool mid-April evening.

 

So began Ian Chappell’s Tigers Among the Lions, the Australian captain’s account of the 1972 Ashes tour. The saying that surprised the Australian captain was Cockney slang, short for whistle and flute and rhymes with suit. Chappell and Walters had arrived in England 12 hours before the rest of the side, the captain dressed in an Australian-made mauve safari suit more suitable for the heat of the West Indies from where he’d come than the English chill of an April day. Chappell and Walters had just played in a double-wicket competition that was also a testimonial for Garry Sobers in Jamaica.

 

Having flown on a BOAC Flight 500 via New York, they arrived at 8:40 am on 18 April. The pair spent the day resting and settling into their rooms before meeting the rest of the squad at the airport at 10:25 pm. After the team landed, Ray Steele briefed Chappell on the plane incident involving Sheahan. It was the first of several on the tour requiring Steele’s delicate handling. Another challenge facing Steele was that the Australians’ baggage had been lost. Keith Stackpole had to wear the same pink shirt and blueish-grey suit for four days. Many found sleep hard to find on their first night at the sedate Waldorf Hotel, the Australian’s base for the next five months. The new players looked on with wonder at the Waldorf with its 60-metre curving facade of Aberdeen granite, complete with a frieze of cherubs illustrating the arts and sciences. Australian Associated Press (AAP) journalist Mike Coward may have viewed the Waldorf’s as ‘a pokey old place,’ but some of its finery impressed him. There were the first-floor bay windows, a clear view of Aldwych, a one-way horseshoe-shaped traffic way with its non-stop parade of cars, trucks, cyclists, black cabs, red double-decker buses and pedestrians. The hotel also had a gentlemen’s smoking room and a billiard room. At the same time, the Australians experienced some luxury in the 300-square-foot area dining space (now the Adelphi Suite), as well as the beautiful Palm Court. The Waldorf was in the West End in the heart of the theatre district; Australia House, Fleet Street, the Strand and numerous restaurants were nearby. The large bedrooms also made the sharing of rooms easier. The protected confines of the Waldorf Hotel were where the Australians felt they could be themselves. With his captain’s allowance, Ian Chappell held court with a beer in hand and was always willing to shout a drink for those dropping in.

 

The more fashion-conscious Australians spent the next day in Carnaby Street trying new outfits. Given their lost luggage, a call also went out for shirts, socks, shoes, and shavers as hotel staff checked the stocks in the lost property office, hurriedly washing shirts and repairing an electric razor. Ray Steele wore a shirt provided by the housekeeper and socks from the valet. Team scorer Dave Sherwood was sent to Southampton, hoping to get the bulk of the cricketing gear off the Iberia and back to London in time for practice.

 

John Inverarity, as the third selector, was determined to deal with his role straightforwardly. He was soon met with the same pragmatic approach from Ian Chappell and Keith Stackpole. Inverarity knew he could work with Chappell’s leadership style.  Although more conservative, his approach would complement Chappell’s ‘charismatic, assertive, alpha male style that was consistent, positive and strong on self-belief.’  Inverarity also understood that Chappell was well-schooled in the game’s history and technicalities. The pair had toured England together on that featureless tour of 1968 led by Bill Lawry.  However, the world had changed significantly in the four years to 1972. The social revolution in Europe and the US had finally hit the cricket scene. In 1968, the Australians wore short back and side haircuts, black lace-up shoes, and grey and navy-blue suits with navy ties. By 1972, it was purple suits, buckle shoes, flairs, long hair, moustaches, sideburns and flowery ties. There was indeed a very different social dynamic. Inverarity recalled that 1971 the students held a strike at Scotch College, the exclusive Boy’s school in Perth.

 

‘These were more rebellious times … that’s how society was at that time, and that’s what it was like in cricket; the team was much more flamboyant and rowdier.’  The new Australian captain seemed to be in lockstep with the changing times.

 

Soon, Ian Chappell faced the glare of television lights, radio microphones, and pens on Fleet Street, deep in one of the lavish reception rooms of the Waldorf Hotel. His message was that the Australians would be taking every opportunity to win.  Vice-captain Keith Stackpole didn’t think much of the questioning from the English Press, describing the event as a waste of time, remembering, ‘It would have been better to have held an informal cocktail party, simply so that you could meet the English writers and learn to know who, in future, you were speaking to if anyone tried to lead you astray.’ Stackpole used the chance to sound out who he thought might be worthwhile talking to and made note of some he thought best to avoid. The players stood behind as cameras flashed and the journalists fired questions at Chappell and Steele. Bob Massie was shocked to stand under the bright lights as an exhausted John Gleeson briefly nodded off, leaning on Massie’s shoulder. Chappell stressed that Australian cricket was more robust than when England won the Ashes in 1970/71. His squad had at least three or four Shield season’s experience. The press soon learned to appreciate Chappell’s straight-talking and accessible approach.

 

Mike Coward was on his first tour of England with AAP  in a group that included former Test opening batsmen Jack Fingleton (freelance), Richie Benaud (BBC), Dick Tucker (Sunday Mirror), Phil Tressider (Sydney Daily Telegraph), Graham Eccles (The Herald, Melbourne), Alan McGilvray (ABC), Russell McPhedran (photographer, Sydney Morning Herald) Percy Beames (The Age), Norm Tasker (Sydney Sun) and Phil Wilkins (SMH). The 1972 Australian press contingent was typical of its day. Made up solely of men with a balanced blend of press and former players. There were no scripted messages from the players at daily press conferences via the public relations department of the Australian Cricket Board. The media and players all got along.  In 1972, off-field matters were largely considered just that, off-field. There was mutual respect between the press and players. For the Adelaide-raised Coward, the tour provided a first taste of Test cricket. Having arrived in the UK on the Fairstar in 1969, Coward, basing himself in England, had been covering international sporting events such as the British Open (golf), Wimbledon, French Open (tennis), Eisenhower Cup (golf) as well as the Johnny Famechon – Vicente Saldivar fight in Rome. These were golden times for Australian sport with the likes of Evonne Goolagong, John Newcombe and Rod Laver.

 

As Coward began to find his feet on the 1972 tour, it wasn’t long before Richie Benaud was on hand to offer his support and encouragement. ‘Are you managing ok? Is there anything I can do for you?’ It reminded the 25-year-old Coward that despite the intensely competitive nature among the journalists, there was also friendly support. For Coward, it seemed a long time since he started at the Adelaide News as an 18-year-old before gaining experience in Melbourne for the News and, later, the Melbourne Herald.  These were extraordinary times in print journalism, with over a million papers printed at 44 Flinders Street daily. In 1972, the AAP was funded by major newspapers, and its pressmen were always the first to publish a story that would break the news or complement the specialist reports.

 

Ian Chappell rarely held team meetings and didn’t believe in curfews. He knew his side was made up of grown men who wanted to play for Australia. However, at the start of the tour, he set a few ground rules, stressing that if anyone had a problem, they should come directly to him. His door was always open.  When he saw Doug Walters smiling at this remark, Chappell amended his comment, ‘My door is open until 3 am then I’d like to get some sleep.’ By 1972, Walters’ night outings were legendary. He was even nicknamed by his army mates ‘Hanoi’ as he was ‘bombed’ every night. Advised on the 1968  tour by an English doctor to stop smoking for a week to remove a chronic hacking cough, Walters calmly ignored the advice and promptly lit up another cigarette once he reached the Australian dressing room. Chappell knew Walters’ laid-back demeanour often obscured a highly competitive and astute approach. ‘A lot of suburban cricketers thought Doug was just like them as he obviously enjoyed a beer and looked laid back. This couldn’t be further from the truth.’ The fact that Chappell was a drinker played into his favour.  He knew that if he put his beer down at 11 p.m. and told everyone that he was going to bed, it was a good sign that it would probably be a good idea if they did the same.

 

On his second tour of England, twenty-five-year-old Victorian Paul Sheahan noticed a ‘freshness, an expectation and youthful vitality about the 1972 tour that wasn’t there in 1968.’  On his first tour, he felt less at ease surrounded by more experienced players like Bob Cowper, Graham McKenzie and Neil Hawke.  ‘I was a starry-eyed youngster back then, but in 1972, I was in the middle to top age range.’  Sheahan admired Bill Lawry but noted the difference in captaincy styles between him and Chappell. ‘Lawry’s position was one of making sure the side was in a comfortable position before possibly going for a win. Ian Chappell was always looking for an opportunity to dictate circumstances, carried this attitude onto the field, and persuaded others to follow. He trusted his players more than Bill, which always yields greater returns from a team.’ Chappell’s leadership style was to collaborate and be collegiate, but all the players knew he would make the tough decisions if required. Chappell also had the advantage that his touring side was filled with young men desperate to make their mark. Ashley Mallett thought Chappell empowered and trusted his players, ‘He never questioned you or thought that you weren’t good enough, so he’d make you feel that you were good enough. The other captains I played under were a bit different. He’d ask me what I wanted for a field placement. He’d go along with what you wanted to lay out as long as it wasn’t ridiculous. He never told you how he wanted you to bowl (you never heard directions like ‘keep this bloke quiet’).

 

Ian Chappell also pointed out that he didn’t want his players talking on the field unless there was something constructive to say. If so, mention it to Chappell or the bowler. He tried to create an atmosphere among the team where if players had ideas, they’d go to him. ‘When Australia was on top, the show pretty well ran itself.’  Chappell also knew you never know where the next good idea might come from. Despite his growing confidence, he knew he had yet to lead Australia to a win in a Test match. Chappell had a welcoming charisma, and it wasn’t long before people from all walks of life wandered into a Waldorf bar specially decked out for the Australians. More lounge room than a bar, the Australians often entertained the likes of Mick Jagger, dressed in blue jeans, sloppy joe windcheater and sandshoes, drinking a half-handle of Double Diamond and Australian actor Ed Devereaux. ‘Everyone gravitated toward Chappelli except a couple of Victorians who didn’t drink but still mixed in well at functions,’ Mallett remembered. Sometimes autograph hunters would approach and be given short shrift from the Australian captain, although his brother Greg could see no harm in taking 30 seconds to oblige and sign an autograph for a fan.

 

 

 

 

Read more from Barry Nicholls Here

 

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