It is a moment frozen in time that sums up the drama of Test cricket:
John Inverarity, his faced turned away from the umpires accusing finger,
is given out lbw while nine England close catchers celebrate around
him. An epic four hour innings, which would have drawn the last Test and
won the 1968 Ashes series, turns to ashes in the mouth as he pads up to
Derek Underwood and misjudges the line five minutes from time. That
single second probably shaped Inverarity's Test career. The man who one
time held the record for the most runs scored in Australia's Sheffield
Shield, one of the most solid and reliable bats of his day, useful left
arm spinner and safe slip, only played a handful of Tests and never
again in his preferred role.
He forced his way into the Australian side
when Bill Lawry was injured in the fourth Test at Headingley in 1968,
scoring 8 and 34. In that second innings at the Oval he made 56 and was
the only Australian bar Ian Chappell to stand up to Underwood on a wet
wicket. Yet he never played again until 1972 and only crept into the
side to England as a utility spin bowler. He played in the first Test,
batting at number seven, scoring 4 and 3 and bowling only nine overs. He
returned for the Headingley Test - another Underwood extravaganza on a
fungus-ridden wicket - and did better than most, scoring 26 not out and
adding 47 with Ashley Mallett in a poor total of 146, and producing
bowling figures of 33-19-26-3. In the final Test at the Oval he scored
28 and took one wicket. Inverarity played in the unofficial Tests played
by Australia's second string in New Zealand in 1969-70, scoring 117 in
Auckland against the full Kiwi attack. (Bob Harragan) |
Inverarity's daughter Alison Inverarity was an Olympic high jumper, representing Australia at the
1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
and the bronze medal in 1998 and 8 times Australian high jump champion: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997-2000.