I'm not sure any of the England team at the time do. Remember his comments about how he was going to make the West Indies team GROVEL. What an idiotic thing to say.
Thommo was a unique talent until he wrecked his shoulder against Pakistan's in late 1976. Consistentlly bowling at least 5mph faster than anyone else (he would frequently have exceeded 100mph on today's speed guns) he regularly got the ball to rear up shoulder high off just short of a good length. To play deliveries like that without a helmet and all the other protection batsmen have these days required real skill and courage. Hats off to Greig and the others who did.
Thommo was timed 99.699 mph in 1975 in his prime. There possibly could have been times where he bowled in excess of 100 mph no doubt just as Lee, Tait and Akthar
Tony Greig was a massive character and maybe the most important player in the history of cricket who as deputy to Kerry Packer changed the game of cricket forever
No excuse needed, would av appended anyway.. Lillee & Thompson, great combination for a couple of years, not many have come close. All friends after. RIP Tony Greig
Not sure it would have taken much for Dennis Lillee to start bouncing the shit out of English batsmen. Dennis loves giving it the big one on Tony Greig and blaming Greig, however, he and Jeff Thomson had been terrorising batsmen in Australia for years. Admittedly Lillee had been injured and Thomson was new to Test cricket but the pair of them were no strangers to bowling short and hitting batsmen. Tony Greig knew it was coming he just got in there first.
This video presents the story of a single series, but bouncer wars have a long history in Ashes series, starting with "Bodyline" in to 1930s. John Snow was the protagonist in the 1970-71 series, resulting in Adelaide Oval fans throwing drink cans at him, and his captain Ray Illingworth leading the whole team off the field for safety.
He was a very good all-rounder, one of the best of the 1970s. His career wasn't hugely long, unlike Imran Khan, Kallis, Botham or Kapil Dev, but he was very impactful, and was a very imaginative captain. He brought David Steele into the England side, when we needed a top order anchor.
These were the guys facing fierce fast bowling without a helmet or arm guard etc. Current generation cricketers may be the fittest ever yet but not strongest as you can see in the video the guy was hit and yet he behaved as if normal stuff.
There is an important lesson in this. If you're bowling so fast that the batsman can barely see the ball, then aim for the stumps (or in at the batsman's ribs). If you bowl at his head, you're probably wasting a delivery.
@@EarlJohn61- probably our most useful bowler at that time. Underwood is one of the most underrated bowlers of all time, very adaptable and very economical.
Greig didn't seem to think much before doing or saying something. He also said England were going to make the West Indies grovel before one series.Didn't turn out well.
mark willy "Greig didn't seem to think much before doing or saying something." What are you on about? Greig was a rabble rousing self publicist who deliberately garnered controversy and fanned flames in an almost Machiavellian manner. And good for cricket it was. You always need a likable villain. Sure beats the planned, dull soundbites many cricketers utter today in interviews.
@@markwillies4330 It was less about backing up "big talk" and more about Greig's expansive personality and his "grovel" comment setting the series on fire. He apologized after and won the support of the West Indian cricket fans by he pretending to crawl on his hands and knees in front of the open stands at The Oval in the last Test match, delighting the crowds that had previously jeered him. You're way too emotional.
With all the protection worn by even the World's best batsman today, you could appreciate what England what England were going through with no helmets or chest/arm guards (not to mention Bumble's pink box that he wore against Thommo !. )Amiss batted in the second innings with a broken thumb and Edrich with a broken hand. We could have given it back to the Aussies with a Willis/Snow pace combination but the selectors refused to pick the latter ! 😪
And yet when the world talks about fast bowlers, only the likes of Marshall, Holding, Roberts, Garner, Akram are really remembered. ONLY the Aussies remember the likes of Lillee and Thomson.
How many South Africans have batted in the middle order for England over the years? From the top of my head: Greig, Trott, Pietersen, Malan, Lamb, and de Oliveira. I don't know whom I've left out.
Actually the Aussies did it in 1971 when Ray Illingworth was the Captain of England. One thing I have noticed though is that the Aussies can dish it out quite happily but receive it back and they whine. 2005 Ashes tour and before the series started, an agreement was made between Vaughan and Ponting over the use of substitutes. Australia broke the agreement in the first test. So England gave it back to Australia and Ponting was caught by a substitute in the next test and Ponting cussed and cursed about how wrong it was and threw his bat as he left the field. On a previous tour of England by Australia, during a test match somebody threw a piece of orange peel at an Australian player. Allan Border took the whole team off. So England did the same when they toured Australia after a number of beer cans and bottles were thrown from The Hill in a test match. England complained and were ordered by the Aussie umpires to play on or forfeit the match. Then there was the complaint by the Aussies on a different tour when the Pakistanis were deliberately throwing the ball onto the batting pitch. Fast forward to the sandpaper incident in the test against South Africa and Smith and the other one tried to put all the blame on the bloke caught with the sandpaper.
Now how about we add some facts to your lovely fairy tale. 1971 - Lillee bowled fast on that tour and did bowl bouncers...to the top order as was the practice in the day. Greig in theseries shown in this video bowled them at the tail...and admitted it. 2005 Ashes - the agreement on substitutes concerned players from the chosen squad coming on when they were not released for county duty...not players chosen from outside the squads specifically for their fielding ability whilst the designated 12th man was in the rooms. Ponting was run out, not caught. There is no record of an orange peel incident involving Australia - Sylvester Clarke, WI, famously threw a brick into the crowd in Pakistan after being hit by orange peel but nothing involving Allan Border. There is no record of Australia complaining about Pak throwing the ball into the pitch. Pak were censured by the ICC umpires and match referee for alleged ball tampering on many occasions including deliberately throwing the ball into the ground...but so were most of the other countries too, Australia included.
@@echochamber8350 they should have taken a leaf out of South Africa's, or India's, or England's book and rubbed lollies on the ball. Probably wouldn't have mattered though, racist bigots will always be racist bigots.
@@willrobinson4089 Moral Dilemma: does one illegal/immoral action justify another? I suppose hypocrisy is part of the human condition. And it afflicts me as much as the next person. 😀
Just about now cricket was changing from being a gentleman’s game to a kind of sneering, whining, abusive war. The main culprits were England and Australia, but others caught up before long. The ‘bouncer’ altercation started much earlier, with Larwood as its chief exponent-and, sadly, as its most prominent victim
The period In 1975-76 is belongs to jeoff Thompson only.The Pakistan team was very lucky in1977 tour in Ausi.Jeoff Thompson was got seviour injury to his right hand in the very first test match between them. For this reason he was not rich again to his original real pace. Bad Luck for him
Greig started it against the W Indies with his 'make them grovel' comment. However, that unlike here with his tactics of wind up had insidious overtones.
This is nonsense. Harold Larwood started this in the 1932 ashes series. Specifically targeting Sir Don Bradman, a very talented batsman. This ashes series later became known as the body line series.
@@prophet78653 yes, you’re probably correct about that but in a broader sense it was that 1932/33 series where the ball was intentionally used to intimidate batsmen for the first time.It was a technique used by the great West Indies teams of the 60s, 70s and eighties although in fairness at that time they also had some world class batsmen. It seems strange now watching batsmen facing those tremendously fierce bowlers with no protective equipment. Watching Jimmy Anderson bowling against india for the last couple of days demonstrates that a talented bowler as he is doesn’t need to intimidate.
@@1320613 Yes , it was Larwood back in the day with the famous "Body Line" series, and Douglas Jardine was the mastermind...there was also a TV series on this..used to air in India way back in the late 80s...yes seems strange how batsmen in those days faced such bowling..Mitchell Johnson can also be mentioned ...and yes Anderson (the pacer with the most number of Test wickets ) bowled really well...
I would have been only four and Play School age at the time. This bouncer war was bad for the game and turned it into coconut-shy cricket! The need for spin bowling and subtlety was forgotten. If I had been captain of England, I would have encouraged courtesy and respect between the two countries. Reducing the game to the level of a common street brawl is an abomination, and when players deliberately aim to hit one another, that's when I call it a day!!!
This is hilarious. Greg was nowhere near the same pace as Thompson and Lillie Winging Aussies miffed because Lillie got bounced out by a medium pace bowler! lol
@Lats Niebling that's what is said 'modern.' I have see bowlers bawl 155kmh and just dissappearing over the ground. Times have changed. Speed and intimidation it self not going to defeat batsmen anymore.
@anirudhsuresh4481 Thommo was timed 99.699 mph in 1975 at his peak So although he wasn't timed to be above 100 mph he definitely could have in many games which there wasn't a radar
Brian Luckhurst getting out to Dennis Lillee is one thing but he was regularly dismissed by a very sedate slow bowler Eknath Solkar from the Indian team when England came avisiting in the 70s!
Who in 2021 still misses Tony Grieg?
I'm
Thommo!
Yes
I will always miss Tony Grieg
I'm not sure any of the England team at the time do. Remember his comments about how he was going to make the West Indies team GROVEL. What an idiotic thing to say.
Tony Grieg is quite a character. Miss you Tony. RIP.
Thommo was a unique talent until he wrecked his shoulder against Pakistan's in late 1976. Consistentlly bowling at least 5mph faster than anyone else (he would frequently have exceeded 100mph on today's speed guns) he regularly got the ball to rear up shoulder high off just short of a good length. To play deliveries like that without a helmet and all the other protection batsmen have these days required real skill and courage. Hats off to Greig and the others who did.
Thommo was timed 99.699 mph in 1975 in his prime. There possibly could have been times where he bowled in excess of 100 mph no doubt just as Lee, Tait and Akthar
Great comment on Thomson 👍
@@gokuvegeta9500 And Mohammed Zahid too. Akthar acknowledges Zahid was a yard quicker than him.
There were so many top class quickies in that era. Every country had them. Great cricket.
Happy memories, thank you for sharing.
I am from Sri Lanka I cried many days when he left us Still when I listened to his voice I don’t know how to express my heart
"These days they come out like Sir Lancelot." Thommo!
He's great to listen to. Loved his commentary during the 1999 CWC.
Tony greig will always have a special place in the hearts of the Indian subcontinent especially Sri Lankans 🙂♥️
Tony Greg... a Legend
Tony Greig was a massive character and maybe the most important player in the history of cricket who as deputy to Kerry Packer changed the game of cricket forever
Most lovable commentator. his commentary was awesome.
No excuse needed, would av appended anyway.. Lillee & Thompson, great combination for a couple of years, not many have come close. All friends after. RIP Tony Greig
@David Flanagan
You're almost a decade too late with that "RIP."
That yorker is deadly.
Not sure it would have taken much for Dennis Lillee to start bouncing the shit out of English batsmen. Dennis loves giving it the big one on Tony Greig and blaming Greig, however, he and Jeff Thomson had been terrorising batsmen in Australia for years. Admittedly Lillee had been injured and Thomson was new to Test cricket but the pair of them were no strangers to bowling short and hitting batsmen. Tony Greig knew it was coming he just got in there first.
This video presents the story of a single series, but bouncer wars have a long history in Ashes series, starting with "Bodyline" in to 1930s. John Snow was the protagonist in the 1970-71 series, resulting in Adelaide Oval fans throwing drink cans at him, and his captain Ray Illingworth leading the whole team off the field for safety.
Those were the days of class great players and commentators, now we have the likes of David Warner who has brought cricket to an all time low.
Good to seee these old adversaries again
Dont know what tony greig did as a cricketer but as a commentator he was a legand none other than GOAT
Captained England, very handy allrounder.
40+average in batting, 2.5wickets/ match with 32average in bowling inspite of big soulder injury
He was a very good all-rounder, one of the best of the 1970s. His career wasn't hugely long, unlike Imran Khan, Kallis, Botham or Kapil Dev, but he was very impactful, and was a very imaginative captain. He brought David Steele into the England side, when we needed a top order anchor.
I loved cricket back in those days. Thommo was my hero as a kid. I cannot believe how fast DK Lillee used to storm in.
Once upon a time tony greg had hair
First time i saw tony greg without his iconic hat
Great video
just terrific
My lovely commentator for ever
That was fantastic ❤
These were the guys facing fierce fast bowling without a helmet or arm guard etc. Current generation cricketers may be the fittest ever yet but not strongest as you can see in the video the guy was hit and yet he behaved as if normal stuff.
There is an important lesson in this. If you're bowling so fast that the batsman can barely see the ball, then aim for the stumps (or in at the batsman's ribs). If you bowl at his head, you're probably wasting a delivery.
"Oh that's a shame. We were aiming for the left"
Mostly because he was a left arm finger spinner
@@EarlJohn61- probably our most useful bowler at that time. Underwood is one of the most underrated bowlers of all time, very adaptable and very economical.
I love quality of video of 1974... In indian subcontinent you can't figure out ball in ground ( 1990-2000)
All you need to focus on, in this video is that they are facing the bowling wearing caps.
4:02 Greig lifting Lillee over slips…ahead of his time
Tony greg beautiful person
He was a rank racist
Greig didn't seem to think much before doing or saying something.
He also said England were going to make the West Indies grovel before one series.Didn't turn out well.
mark willy
"Greig didn't seem to think much before doing or saying something." What are you on about? Greig was a rabble rousing self publicist who deliberately garnered controversy and fanned flames in an almost Machiavellian manner. And good for cricket it was. You always need a likable villain. Sure beats the planned, dull soundbites many cricketers utter today in interviews.
@@hyena131 you are right about interviews but you got to be able to back up big talk.
@@markwillies4330
It was less about backing up "big talk" and more about Greig's expansive personality and his "grovel" comment setting the series on fire. He apologized after and won the support of the West Indian cricket fans by he pretending to crawl on his hands and knees in front of the open stands at The Oval in the last Test match, delighting the crowds that had previously jeered him.
You're way too emotional.
Thommo, the light-speed carthorse; Lillee, the smooth, graceful King of the Fast Bowlers; almost a pleasure to be bowled ends up by him.
With all the protection worn by even the World's best batsman today, you could appreciate what England what England were going through with no helmets or chest/arm guards (not to mention Bumble's pink box that he wore against Thommo !. )Amiss batted in the second innings with a broken thumb and Edrich with a broken hand. We could have given it back to the Aussies with a Willis/Snow pace combination but the selectors refused to pick the latter ! 😪
And yet when the world talks about fast bowlers, only the likes of Marshall, Holding, Roberts, Garner, Akram are really remembered. ONLY the Aussies remember the likes of Lillee and Thomson.
Good century though by Greig, the number 4 South African allrounder of that era.
Well he was the England all rounder but never mind.
How many South Africans have batted in the middle order for England over the years? From the top of my head: Greig, Trott, Pietersen, Malan, Lamb, and de Oliveira. I don't know whom I've left out.
@@Siphamandla.Ngcobo,Robin Smith is another one.
@@stephenmcloughlin7718 yep.
@@stephenmcloughlin7718 also Matt Prior, but he was kind of lower order. A wicket keeper.
Tony Grieg was very well respected in the Caribbean don't listen to the stupid stories people love to say about him
Actually the Aussies did it in 1971 when Ray Illingworth was the Captain of England. One thing I have noticed though is that the Aussies can dish it out quite happily but receive it back and they whine. 2005 Ashes tour and before the series started, an agreement was made between Vaughan and Ponting over the use of substitutes. Australia broke the agreement in the first test. So England gave it back to Australia and Ponting was caught by a substitute in the next test and Ponting cussed and cursed about how wrong it was and threw his bat as he left the field. On a previous tour of England by Australia, during a test match somebody threw a piece of orange peel at an Australian player. Allan Border took the whole team off. So England did the same when they toured Australia after a number of beer cans and bottles were thrown from The Hill in a test match. England complained and were ordered by the Aussie umpires to play on or forfeit the match. Then there was the complaint by the Aussies on a different tour when the Pakistanis were deliberately throwing the ball onto the batting pitch. Fast forward to the sandpaper incident in the test against South Africa and Smith and the other one tried to put all the blame on the bloke caught with the sandpaper.
Now how about we add some facts to your lovely fairy tale.
1971 - Lillee bowled fast on that tour and did bowl bouncers...to the top order as was the practice in the day. Greig in theseries shown in this video bowled them at the tail...and admitted it.
2005 Ashes - the agreement on substitutes concerned players from the chosen squad coming on when they were not released for county duty...not players chosen from outside the squads specifically for their fielding ability whilst the designated 12th man was in the rooms. Ponting was run out, not caught.
There is no record of an orange peel incident involving Australia - Sylvester Clarke, WI, famously threw a brick into the crowd in Pakistan after being hit by orange peel but nothing involving Allan Border.
There is no record of Australia complaining about Pak throwing the ball into the pitch. Pak were censured by the ICC umpires and match referee for alleged ball tampering on many occasions including deliberately throwing the ball into the ground...but so were most of the other countries too, Australia included.
@@TheJonkerr7 Hmmm.... And the Sandpaper bit....?
@@echochamber8350 they should have taken a leaf out of South Africa's, or India's, or England's book and rubbed lollies on the ball. Probably wouldn't have mattered though, racist bigots will always be racist bigots.
@@willrobinson4089 Moral Dilemma: does one illegal/immoral action justify another?
I suppose hypocrisy is part of the human condition. And it afflicts me as much as the next person. 😀
Just about now cricket was changing from being a gentleman’s game to a kind of sneering, whining, abusive war. The main culprits were England and Australia, but others caught up before long. The ‘bouncer’ altercation started much earlier, with Larwood as its chief exponent-and, sadly, as its most prominent victim
Grieg looked 70 at his peak as a player
The period In 1975-76 is belongs to jeoff Thompson only.The Pakistan team was very lucky in1977 tour in Ausi.Jeoff Thompson was got seviour injury to his right hand in the very first test match between them. For this reason he was not rich again to his original real pace. Bad Luck for him
So they are saying the whole time Grieg made the 100, Ian Chappell waited til going in the change rooms to tell the bowlers where they went wrong? 😂
What year was this filmed?
you can't defend against something like Thomson in 74/75, that must have been ridiculous for those English batsmen
No helmet and still managed to score 100
Yep the Aussies are not guilty of anything 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
It's fact though...Tony Greig even spoke about it, he refused to back down and made an excellent 100 in the first innings here.
@@TheJonkerr7 Pretty sure Douglas Jardine started it ?
Greig was a tough competitor!
Greig started it against the W Indies with his 'make them grovel' comment. However, that unlike here with his tactics of wind up had insidious overtones.
As I remember geoff arnold started slinging bouncers down as well, boy did england regret starting that one sided war
Definitely not Geoff Arnold. He very rarely bowled a bouncer. And he DIDN'T play in that test
Wasn't it was Jardin that did that?
Yep. The infamous Bodyline series.
A few years earlier
@@EarlJohn61
"Few years" lol 😂
Greig was fast medium at best not outright fast like Lillee and Thomson
He was just above medium pace no way near fast but he was very aggressive just like a fast bowler
@@jahno7154
Lol, he seemed good only cause the wicket was green
This is nonsense. Harold Larwood started this in the 1932 ashes series. Specifically targeting Sir Don Bradman, a very talented batsman. This ashes series later became known as the body line series.
Yes. Larwood, a long time ago. One wishes people who rush to post such snippets would check their facts first
I believe that they are specifically talking about the barrage started by Lillee and Thommo in 1974/75..
@@prophet78653 yes, you’re probably correct about that but in a broader sense it was that 1932/33 series where the ball was intentionally used to intimidate batsmen for the first time.It was a technique used by the great West Indies teams of the 60s, 70s and eighties although in fairness at that time they also had some world class batsmen. It seems strange now watching batsmen facing those tremendously fierce bowlers with no protective equipment. Watching Jimmy Anderson bowling against india for the last couple of days demonstrates that a talented bowler as he is doesn’t need to intimidate.
@@1320613 Yes , it was Larwood back in the day with the famous "Body Line" series, and Douglas Jardine was the mastermind...there was also a TV series on this..used to air in India way back in the late 80s...yes seems strange how batsmen in those days faced such bowling..Mitchell Johnson can also be mentioned ...and yes Anderson (the pacer with the most number of Test wickets ) bowled really well...
this is nonsense, 13206 face, w.g grace knocked the bails off, and said it was too windy to play.... in 1601, surely ?
Not the smartest thing Tony Greig would have done considering the two fast bowlers in the opposite team.
But Australia cried when westindies buggered them .look at them cry when they are sledged in return
He also managed to rile up the west indies with his words.. windies had 4 gun fast bowlers then!!!
@@vibrantvittlesvlogs But it was the poor English batsmen who suffered especially the openers Brian Close and Dennis Amiss
@@satyajitmisra5244 Look at all those World Cup victories! Yeah we are crying rivers down here.
@@iankearns774 infact uour tears all dried up in 80s
Hated Melbourne and Melbourne hated him!
I would have been only four and Play School age at the time. This bouncer war was bad for the game and turned it into coconut-shy cricket! The need for spin bowling and subtlety was forgotten. If I had been captain of England, I would have encouraged courtesy and respect between the two countries. Reducing the game to the level of a common street brawl is an abomination, and when players deliberately aim to hit one another, that's when I call it a day!!!
We need lillee as coach of India
My best comentetor
This is hilarious.
Greg was nowhere near the same pace as Thompson and Lillie
Winging Aussies miffed because Lillie got bounced out by a medium pace bowler! lol
Now a days people like kohli will destroy these bowlers. With moderns pitches and bats.
It's all about you, isn't it?
@Lats Niebling that's what is said 'modern.' I have see bowlers bawl 155kmh and just dissappearing over the ground. Times have changed. Speed and intimidation it self not going to defeat batsmen anymore.
@anirudhsuresh4481
Thommo was timed 99.699 mph in 1975 at his peak
So although he wasn't timed to be above 100 mph he definitely could have in many games which there wasn't a radar
@anirudhsuresh4481
Same goes for Lee and Akthar
@anirudhsuresh4481
I'd say even crossed the 160 Kmph mark in domestic matches where there weren't any speed guns
Hoooo windies paid back.
Then the rules came out, not to bowl fast
Yeah the aussies never start anything
whats this...why is everyone annoyed and complaining...such sissies....Mr Holding are you watching????
Who is complaining? I didn't see one complaint in the video....did you actually watch it??
As if Greig had the pace to bowl a true bouncer. Aussies crying afoul here...
Yeah cos they would have just bowled slow half volleys if he hadn’t ‘started it’. 🙄🤦🏻♂️
Amitgupta
Tony Greg was hardly a cricketer!! Maybe a good commentator
never liked lillllillllilleeeee still dont like him
No it wasn’t. Not heard of boarder line. Or Douglas jardine. Obviously not
Brian Luckhurst getting out to Dennis Lillee is one thing but he was regularly dismissed by a very sedate slow bowler Eknath Solkar from the Indian team when England came avisiting in the 70s!
Poor old Dennis
They did not have any helmets, protective gears then!