Tony Greig

Anthony "Tony" William Greig (born October 6, 1946) is a former test cricketer and currently a commentator.

Born in South Africa, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish father. He was a tall (6' 7") all-rounder who bowled both medium pace and off spin. He became captain of the national side from 1975 to 1977, and was also captain of the Sussex county side. Greig's younger brother Ian, also played test cricket.

He was a sometimes controversial figure. His most daring act was when he helped Kerry Packer start World Series Cricket by signing up many of his English colleagues as well as West Indian and Pakistani cricketers, a move which cost him the captaincy of England. He is also noted for a controversial run-out of Alvin Kallicharran in a test match against the West Indies in 1974. In a later match, he turned in a personal performance that saved the series for England. He also clashed with Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee on the 1974/75 Ashes tour in Australia.

Greig was born at Queenstown in the Eastern Cape in Border Province, South Africa to a Scottish immigrant father and a South African-born mother. Educated at Queen's College, Queenstown,South Africa, the choice of this school decided his cricket destiny. Many ex-Sussex players had been recruited to coach the cricket team at Queen's College: during Greig's schooldays, Jack Oakes, Alan Oakman, Ian Thomson, Ron Bell, Richard Langridge and Mike Buss all came out for a winter of work in the sunshine. All of them noticed Greig's developing abilities, which led to a trial at Sussex when he was 19. He had already made a first class debut for Border Province in the Currie Cup. Greig's father helped him decide between university study or pursuit of the Sussex offer. "He used to slam into me for not reading enough, for being generally immature. He would look at me sometimes and say 'Boy, when I was your age I was fighting a war', but in the end he grinned and said: 'Go over to England for one year, one year mind and see what you can do'"^{Wisden 1975}.

When he scored a swashbuckling 156 in 230 minutes against a strong Lancashire attack in his first game for Sussex, his future direction changed irrevocably. He wrote a brief note to his father, to tell him he wouldn't be coming back to go to university. Greig set a goal of making the England test team in six years, which was interesting as his home nation had yet to be banned from international cricket. Indeed, Greig returned to play in South Africa during the winter for a number of years, eventually transferring to Eastern Province for the 1970-71 season.

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Controversy and Triumph In the Caribbean

Greig was now experimenting with finger-spin to complement his medium pace. Along with the English team, Greig headed to the West Indies in early 1974 and ran straight into a major controversy. On the second day of the First Test at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad, the West Indies had cruised to a first innings lead of 143, thanks mainly to a brilliant 142 not out from Alvin Kallicharran. With four wickets still in hand, the home team was in a dominant position when the last ball of the day was bowled to Bernard Julien, who blocked it past Greig (fielding in close on the off side) and then headed off to the pavilion with Kallicharran. However, Greig fielded the ball, whirled around, threw down the stumps, and appealed for a run out decision against Kallicharran. Umpire Douglas Sang Hue gave the batsman out, and a near riot broke out in the crowd. The spectators stormed the ground and laid siege to the pavilion, calling for the decision to be reversed. Technically, the decision was correct as Sang Hue hadn't called time on the day's play, but Greig's actions were not considered an act of sportsmanship. The crowd's reaction forced a rethink, and after the teams were completely off the ground, the English decided to withdraw the appeal. Kallicharran was reinstated the following day, when he took his score to 158. This is the only time a batsman has been reinstated in such circumstances during a test match.

The incident was a clear black mark against Greig's character, although some were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt - Greig claimed that his actions weren't premeditated, that his back was to the play and he was unaware that proceedings were over. Regardless of intent, the act of stirring the notoriously volatile Trinidadian crowd was in its self rather reckless. England convincingly lost the test and Greig failed with bat and ball. It was a measure of his resolve and determination as a cricketer that he dominated the remainder of the series, scoring 430 runs at 47.7, taking 24 wickets (most of them with spin) at 22.6 and seven catches. He scored 148, backed up with six wickets, in the third test in Barbados, 121 in the fourth test in Guyana and won the fifth test in Trinidad for his team with bowling figures of 8 for 86 and 5 for 70. Many of his victims in this game were gained via off-spin, a new addition to the Greig repertoire. This victory enabled England to draw the series, and Greig left the Caribbean as arguably the best all rounder in the world. Some were talking up his prospects of taking over the English captaincy.

The Road To the Captaincy

During the home summer of 1974, England faced three tests against India and three against Pakistan. Overall, Greig averaged 41.5 with the bat and grabbed 14 wickets. His highlight was a century against India at Lord's. This was a good tune up for the Ashes tour of Australia at year's end, where England would probably start favourite and Greig would be a key player. Shocked by the Australian fast bowling attack of Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee, most English batsmen struggled in the first test at Brisbane. However, Greig played a lone hand with 110 in the first innings. As the series progressed, the Australian bowling overawed their opponents, apart from Greig, who lifted his standard and enhanced his reputation. He was the stand out character in a losing team and won the admiration of the crowds and the Australian players, who liked his approach to the game.

Greig played in the first World Cup in England in 1975, when his team were eliminated by Australia in the semi final. Although ideally suited to the one-day game, Greig never really produced a major performance in the 22 ODIs that he played for England. After the tournament ended, Australia stayed on to play four Ashes tests. England were humbled in the first match at Edgbaston, and blame fell to their captain Mike Denness, who had just endured a 1-4 defeat in Australia. Denness was sacked and Greig appointed, to high expectation that he would play aggressively and fearlessly in an endeavour to counteract the Australians' strengths.

A Commercial Skipper

The transformation was swift. In the second test at Lord's, Greig received a huge ovation on his way to bat, and delivered 96 runs. He scored 41 in the second innings and took three wickets in a drawn match that favoured England. The run continued in the next match at Leeds with England poised for victory at the end of the second last day. Unfortunately, vandals destroyed the pitch during the night and Greig agreed to abandon the match, thus conceding the Ashes. The final game was a long-winded draw. Even though he had failed to beat the best team in the world, Greig could be satisfied that he didn't lose either.

With a long gap between England commitments, Greig headed to Australia for the 1975-76 season to play grade cricket in Sydney. Greig was well known among colleagues as a man who wanted to take commercial advantage of his profile as a leading sportsman. He signed a number of endorsements and appeared in commercials in Australia, most famously in his ads for the new breakfast cereal "Nutri-Grain", where his catchphrase "It's just like a cricket bat with holes" struck a chord. He also took time to commentate and generally build his contacts in Australia, a country where his naturally gregarious personality seemed to fit better than his chosen home of England.

"I Intend To Make Them Grovel"

When he returned to England, Greig caused more controversy in the lead up to the 1976 series against the West Indies. Appearing on television to discuss the coming summer, Greig's ebullient oratory landed him in hot water when he expounded the West Indies players' reputation for wilting under pressure:

"I like to think that people are building these West Indians up, because I'm not really sure they're as good as everyone thinks they are. I think people tend to forget it wasn't that long ago they were beaten 5-1 by the Australians and only just managed to keep their heads above water against the Indians just a short time ago as well. Sure, they've got a couple of fast bowlers, but really I don't think we're going to run into anything more sensational than Thomson and Lillee and so really I'm not all that worried about them. You must remember that the West Indians, these guys, if they get on top are magnificent cricketers. But if they're down, they grovel, and I intend, with the help of Closey and a few others, to make them grovel." (Tossell, David; Grovel! The Story and Legacy of the Summer of 1976; Know The Score Books, 2007)

The outcry was instantaneous. The word 'grovel' had sinister connotations for West Indian people, many of whom have slave ancestry. Moreover, apartheid and the Gleneagles Agreement were prominent issues of the day, so a white South African emitting the word 'grovel' heavily accenuated the faux pas.

Rarely has an attempt to psyche out an opposition failed so spectacularly. The West Indian fast bowlers took great delight in adding yards to their run up when Greig came to the wicket and their supporters took equal delight when his wicket was captured. Apart from a sensational double in the fourth Test at Leeds, where he fought back with 116 and 76 not out and shared a big partnership with keeper Alan Knott, Greig scored just 51 runs in seven innings. Worse, his bowling lost penetration and he took only five wickets as England slumped to a 0-3 loss. At times during the series, the West Indies got carried away with bowling bouncers for which they were roundly criticised. This was the way of the game during the 1970s, and to cope with the plethora of short-pitched fast bowling, Greig had remodelled his technique. To compensate for his unusual height, Greig held the bat at shoulder height (rather than leave it on the ground) as the bowler ran in, thus not utilising a back swing of the bat. While it helped him to combat the short ball, it left him vulnerable to the yorker (full pitch) and he was bowled quite regularly for a top order batsman. The Australians had exploited this weakness - Jeff Thomson called the stream of yorkers he bowled at Greig his "sandshoe crushers", a name that has stuck to this day. In 1976, the West Indian bowlers managed to hit Greig's stumps often and purists were divided as to whether the technique delivered an overall benefit. Certainly, many copied Greig over the years, most notably England teammate Graham Gooch.

Redemption In India

The best performance of Greig's captaincy career came in 1976-77, when England toured India for a five test series. England had not won a test series on the subcontinent for 15 years and were clear underdogs against an Indian team that boasted some of the best spinners in the world and could count on the support of tens of thousands of vociferous fans who would fill the stadia. Greig made good use of his experience from his previous tour and consciously set out to build a rapport with the Indian crowd. England went on to score one of their one most convincing wins in a very long time when they won the first three tests by huge margins. Greig rated the win at Calcutta, when he scored 103 on a broken pitch in front of 100,000 Indian fans, as the finest moment of his career. With 342 runs (at 42) and ten wickets, Greig had regained form to take with him to Australia.

The Centenary Test and A Fateful Meeting

After a brief sojourn in Sri Lanka, Greig's team arrived in Australia in March 1977 to prepare for a unique moment in the game's history. To commemorate 100 years of Australia vs England test matches, a one-off test was organised for the same venue (the Melbourne Cricket Ground) on the same dates as the first contest. The associated functions and a gathering of hundreds of ex-players demonstrated the depth of the game and its history. Greig, recognising the spirit of the fixture, had his team play positively, and the match was still in the balance late on the last day before Australia won by 45 runs. Everyone marvelled at the margin, as it was the same as the first test, and there was a self-satisfied air to proceedings that would be shattered in just two months' time.

Greig had played well in the match (18 and 41, two wickets and four catches) and he left an open letter with a newspaper thanking the people of Melbourne for their support. The admiration was mutual and Greig's public standing was high. On his return home, a surprise crew was waiting to film an episode of This Is Your Life. As he sat through the tributes and emotion of the programme, Greig was preoccupied. Just weeks before, he had signed a contract with the owner of the Nine Network in Australia, Kerry Packer, to play cricket in a series that would take place during the next Australian summer. Greig knew that many of the people he was enthusiastically greeting on This Is Your Life would be bitterly opposed to his new enterprise.

Nevertheless, Greig helped Packer by signing a number of English and foreign players he was acquainted with. Great secrecy cloaked these signings, although Greig dropped a number of hints to friends not involved. The touring Australians arrived in England and they were scheduled to play Greig's Sussex team on 7 to 10 May, 1977. The match was ruined by poor weather, but at a party held at Greig's house during the match, two Australian journalists discovered the secret signings and the news became public. Greig moved quickly to put his side of the story to friends, journalists and supporters, assuring all concerned that Packer would be good for the players and the game.

Although Greig had counted on a backlash, he was taken aback by the severity of the condemnation and vitriol that poured in his direction. His central role in the organisation of the break away troupe caused much angst and surely conflicted with his role as England captain. As the furore continued on, Greig became the focal point for critics, particularly because Packer was still an unknown in Britain. Finally, after a week of politicking, Greig was removed from the England captaincy.

Surprisingly, Greig retained his position in the team for the five tests under his successor Mike Brearley. Jeering accompanied his appearance for most of the summer. His form was only average after he made a dramatic 91 at Lord's in the opening test. England defeated a dispirited Australian team 3-0 to reclaim the Ashes after four games. Brearley convinced the selectors to retain Greig for the last test and requested that he received a share of any bonus due to the team. Greig's test career ended quietly at The Oval on 30 August 1977.

But his work for World Series Cricket (WSC - Packer's organisation) was just beginning. In September, backed by Packer, he was the plaintiff (along with Mike Proctor and John Snow) in a case against the English authorities (the TCCB), who were attempting to ban Packer's players from test and first class cricket. Greig was conspicuous throughout the trial and elated when the decision went in favour of WSC.

The lack of regular domestic cricket as well as the intensity of World Series Cricket, brought a premature end to his career as he could not recover from a poor start in the first season. The super-test final of the 1978-79 season was the last match Greig played at any level of cricket. During an interview on the eve of the match, he "promised" a century to the audience. He fell short by exactly 100 runs, caught behind off his arch rival, Dennis Lillee.

Epilepsy

Greig first suffered an epileptic fit at the age of 14, during a tennis match. Successfully controlling the condition with medication and self management, few knew about it for much of his playing career. In 1971-72, he collapsed on the field during his first match for Eastern Province and half a dozen teammates were required to hold down his large frame. The incident was explained away as heat stroke. Returning from the tour of Australia in 1975, Greig suffered another fit at Heathrow Airport. His affliction became public during the Packer furore, when a number of commentators questioned his judgment in the matter and speculated that epilepsy impaired his ability to make decisions. These uninformed opinions were central to Greig's decision to leave England in 1979. "I am proud to have achieved so much despite such a handicap," he later wrote.

Later career

After forming a bond with the Nine Network's late Kerry Packer during the World Series Cricket days, Greig was offered a "job for life" by Packer as a commentator during Nine's cricket coverage. Today, Greig lives in Australia and continues this commentary role, and is criticised by some for his bias against the Australian team and his occasional out-of-context comments. During the 2006 Ashes Perth test, on commenting on the need for England's Steve Harmison to intimidate Australia's number 11 Glenn McGrath, Greig indicated the need to "Touch him up, before rolling him over" - much to the hilarity of his co-commentators. Greig also has commentated for Channel Four in the United Kingdom. Out of the commentary box, he is a board member of the Epilepsy Associationand a famous wine drinker.

In 1999 Greig was involved in a controversy where, in a match at the North Sydney Oval, the camera zoomed onto a couple in a marriage ceremony at a nearby church. Greig made a remark implying that the woman shown was a mail order bride: "Do you think she’s been flown in?". [2] The remark was made "off microphone and not intended for broadcast".

More recently he has joined the Indian Cricket League [3] as an Executive Board member.

References

• Rae, Simon; It's not cricket; Faber and Faber Ltd., 2001; ISBN 0-571-21582-3
• Tossell, David; Grovel! The Story and Legacy of the Summer of 1976; Know The Score Books, 2007; ISBN 1905449437

See also

• International cricketers of South African origin