I get it, but that was a tailor made pitch. Compare that to Holding taking 14 wickets on a road against England or Harbi in 2001 against an ATG lineup.
And then you have Massie taking 16 wickets on debut in an away win against England.
Massie’s career story in general is crazy. Had that 1972 Ashes series: 8/84 and 8/53, 4/43 and 1/49, 0/34, 0/69 and 2/77. Followed by 2 matches against Pakistan at home in 72/73: 4/70 and 0/26, 3/123 and 0/19.
He fell ill and missed the tests in the Windies tour in 73.
Unquestionably, the turning point came on the 1973 tour of the West Indies. When I reminded him that, even after an illness put him out of the Test side in the Caribbean, he was still able to show his successor, Max Walker, how to bowl the outswinger, he agreed but explained: "It was on that tour that the outswinger deserted me. I found that pounding the ball into the slow tracks impaired my action and I was never the same bowler again. A lot of people gave time trying to help me but it was too late. I used to be able to bowl the `outie' at will. Now I'm lucky if I produce a couple each afternoon.”
He played only 5 matches for WA after his test debut and was retired from FC cricket after the 74/75 season with just 52 matches to his name.
This was Massie’s career circa ~1979-80:
This season Massie has transferred to Bassendean-Bayswater where sometimes he does not get a chance of using the new ball. He is in the same side as fast-medium bowler Wayne Clark who took 44 wickets in 10 Tests against India, West Indies and Pakistan, and club captain, Tom Mullooly, a former inter-state medium pace bowler.