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Dougie Walters, who trained on cigarettes and a good night out, was the
most exciting Australian batsman of the 1960s and 1970s, though he never
came to terms with the moving ball in England and was suckered out by
Bob Willis and a brace of gulleys on a number of occasions. He had the
last laugh, though, and will always be remembered for hooking Willis
into the crowd on the last ball of the day at Perth in 1974-75 when he
scored 100 between lunch and tea. He was just 19 years old when he
scored 155 and 115 in his first two Tests against England in 1965-66.
He
had to miss the South African tour that followed while he did his
national service with Australia involved in the Vietnam War, but he came
back from the Army to score 93 and 62 not out against India. He made 81
and 86 at Old Trafford in 1968 before England worked out his weakness
and that was the most successful of his 18 Tests in England. A purple
patch against West Indies in 1968-69 brought 118 in Sydney, 110 in
Adelaide and 242 and 103 in the second game in Sydney. Walters made 250
against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1976-77, batting for 394 minutes.
He made 88 at Old Trafford in 1977.
He was recalled for the series
against New Zealand in 1980-81, scoring 107 in Melbourne. In the World
Cup of 1975 he scored 59 against Sri Lanka at the Oval and 20 not out to
steer Australia to victory in a low scoring match against England in
the semi-final. In addition to his batting Walters also bowled a
seemingly unthreatening medium pace which at times would rip the heart
out of an innings in unlikely circumstances, like his 5-66 and 2-63 in
Guyana in 1973. (Bob Harragan)
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