OTD 1949 – Dennis Lillee was born

Dennis Lillee is one of the finest and fastest pacers to have played for Australia. If you were to design the ultimate fast bowler in a lab, he would end up being very close to Lillee. The Subiaco-born turns 77 years old on Saturday, July 18. It is a great moment to celebrate his sensational career.

The right-arm pacer impressed in domestic cricket, playing for Western Australia. Lillee earned his Test cap on January 29, 1971, in a match against England. Seven months later, he made his ODI debut against the same opposition. In the early stages of his career, Lillee bowled rockets, making the opposition batters dance to his tunes. This phase lasted for the first three to four years of his international career.

In 1972, Dennis Lillee broke the back of England’s batting line-up in the Ashes, as he bagged a whopping 31 wickets. However, the extreme physical toll of the long, energetic run-up and bending his back over and over proved detrimental to his body. In 1973, he sustained severe stress fractures in his lower vertebrae. He had to be encased in a plaster cast for weeks, and many in the cricket community believed that he would have to bring the curtains down on his playing career.
However, Lillee showed tremendous grit and determination in making a comeback after undergoing an intensive rehabilitation programme. He had remodelled his action so that it was kinder to his body. Lillee dropped a yard of pace but made up for it with his phenomenal tactical understanding of the game.
Lillee used seam movement to keep the batters on their toes, and his leg-cutter got the better of many top batters back in the day. He was also very dangerous with his tactical pace variations and impeccable execution.

Lillee’s combination with Jeff Thomson wreaked havoc across the globe. They complemented each other well and gave no respite to opposition batters in the international circuit.

When he retired, Lillee had the most wickets in Test history. His final ball in Test cricket was in 1984 against Pakistan and he managed to dismiss Wasim Raja, who was out caught by Rod Marsh. In fact, Lillee and Marsh combined to dismiss several batters during their time in the national team.
Lillee is remembered by many for the 1979 Aluminium Bat incident. He walked out to bat with a flat aluminium bat during an Ashes Test at the WACA in 1979.

Lillee finished with 355 wickets in 70 Tests and 103 wickets in 63 ODIs at an average of 23.92 and 20.83, respectively. Since retirement, Lillee shifted to mentoring and coaching young bowlers, most notably Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson, and Pat Cummins. He was also associated with the MRF Pace Foundation in India. Lillee continued playing cricket until 1999 for the traditional Australian Cricket Board President’s XI match against touring teams at Lilac Hill. In his last match, he took three wickets and played alongside his son Adam. From 2004 until his sudden resignation in September 2015, Lillee was the president of the Western Australian Cricket Association.

Disclaimer: This Exclusive News is based on the author’s understanding, analysis, and instinct. As you review this information, consider the points mentioned and form your own conclusions.

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