Bill Lawry
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 Australia (Aus) |
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 |
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| Batting style | Left-handed batsman (LHB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Bowling type | Left-arm Medium (LM) | |
| Tests | ODIs | |
| Matches | 67 | 1 |
| Runs scored | 5234 | 27 |
| Batting average | 47.15 | 27.00 |
| 100s/50s | 13/27 | 0/0 |
| Top score | 210 | 27 |
| Overs bowled | 1.6 | 0 |
| Wickets | 0 | 0 |
| Bowling average | 0 | 0 |
| 5 wickets in innings | 0 | 0 |
| 10 wickets in match | 0 | n/a |
| Best bowling | 0/6 | N/A |
| Catches/stumpings | 30/0 | 1/0 |
|
As of 27 December 2005 |
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William Morris (Bill) Lawry (born 11 February 1937, Melbourne, Australia) was an Australian cricketer, 32nd Australian Test captain and first Australian ODI captain.
Lawry had a reputation for resolute defence and the ability to spend long periods of time at the crease. However, he initially made his mark as a stylish left-hander on the 1961 Ashes tour. As his career progressed he wound back his strokeplay to the point where he was described as "the corpse with pads on".
Lawry played his state cricket for Victoria. In a first class career that lasted from 1955 to 1971 he scored 18,734 runs at an average of 50.90. He played 67 Tests for Australia, accumulating 5,234 runs at an average of 47.15 with 13 centuries and a highest score of 210.
Lawry captained Australia in 25 Tests winning 9, losing 8 and drawing 8. He also captained Australia in the inaugural One-day International.
Lawry was unceremoniously dumped as captain and player for the 6th and final Test of the 1970/71 Ashes series in Australia. Lawry had failed to post a century in his final three series as captain and had averaged just 32.86 from 28 innings in that time. Lawry's dumping is regarded as one of the poorer incidents in Australian cricket. Lawry was not informed personally of the selectors' decision; the decision was first broadcast on radio and he only became aware of his fate when confronted by reporters.
[edit] Commentary career
After retiring from playing, Lawry worked as a commentator on radio and on Channel 9 television, beginning in the days of World Series Cricket. His distinctive and excitable style has often been parodied, especially in the The Twelfth Man series, particularly the phrase "Got him! It's all happening!" and for his love of racing pigeons. Lawry's long-running, argumentative but humorous commentary partnership with former English captain Tony Greig is one of the mainstays of the Nine Network's commentary offering.
Lawry was commentating for Channel 9 during the infamous Australia vs New Zealand ODI underarm bowling incident 1981 where he astutely predicted the controversial event that was about to unfold and described its potential consequences to the viewing audience before it occurred.
[edit] Miscellaneous
In Australia a bottle opener is sometimes called a Bill Lawry, on account of him being a famous opener.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Word Map, Kel Richards and The Macquarie Dictionary, 2005, ISBN 0-7333-1540-2, page 14, recording the term in Perth
| Preceded by Bob Simpson |
Australian Test cricket captains 1967/8-1970/1 |
Succeeded by Ian Chappell |
| Preceded by none |
Australian One-day International cricket captains 1970/1 |
Succeeded by Ian Chappell |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Lawry, William Morris |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bill |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Cricketer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 11 February 1937 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Melbourne, Australia |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
