Last stand at the G
Andrew McLean on Melbourne 1987-88
It was a Test that had everything. It was the series when New Zealand revealed the last of its great truly gritty No 3's, Andrew Jones. We lost in Brisbane and Jones was maligned for his technique. His 150 and 64 in Adelaide were an emphatic reply. On to Melbourne where New Zealand batted first and Jones was soon in the action again: "caught" down the leg side by Greg "The Liar" Dyer for 40-odd. John Wright fell for 99. Australia came and went - can't recall what they scored or who got them - and in New Zealand's second dig, Martin Crowe passed 4000 runs in the calendar year, with what media reports of the time called some of the finest batting ever witnessed. However, New Zealand posted only a moderate target which, at tea on the final day, Australia seemingly had under control. That was until Dipak Patel took a brilliant catch at point to dismiss Mike Veletta. Then, the wheels fell off as Richard Hadlee zeroed in on Ian Botham's world record. He was level on 383 Test wickets when Mike Whitney joined Craig McDermott at the crease with just one wicket left. An 11-over spell was too much in the end for Hadlee: he would have to wait until Bangalore the following year to claim the record. Danny Morrison thought though, as did thousands glued to their boxes across the Tasman, that he had McDermott plumb LBW but umpire French disagreed. It was the longest six overs of Whitney's life but an episode that made him a TV star.
Andrew McLean on Melbourne 1987-88
It was a Test that had everything. It was the series when New Zealand revealed the last of its great truly gritty No 3's, Andrew Jones. We lost in Brisbane and Jones was maligned for his technique. His 150 and 64 in Adelaide were an emphatic reply. On to Melbourne where New Zealand batted first and Jones was soon in the action again: "caught" down the leg side by Greg "The Liar" Dyer for 40-odd. John Wright fell for 99. Australia came and went - can't recall what they scored or who got them - and in New Zealand's second dig, Martin Crowe passed 4000 runs in the calendar year, with what media reports of the time called some of the finest batting ever witnessed. However, New Zealand posted only a moderate target which, at tea on the final day, Australia seemingly had under control. That was until Dipak Patel took a brilliant catch at point to dismiss Mike Veletta. Then, the wheels fell off as Richard Hadlee zeroed in on Ian Botham's world record. He was level on 383 Test wickets when Mike Whitney joined Craig McDermott at the crease with just one wicket left. An 11-over spell was too much in the end for Hadlee: he would have to wait until Bangalore the following year to claim the record. Danny Morrison thought though, as did thousands glued to their boxes across the Tasman, that he had McDermott plumb LBW but umpire French disagreed. It was the longest six overs of Whitney's life but an episode that made him a TV star.