Tony Greig
Encyclopedia
Anthony "Tony" William Greig (born 6 October 1946) is a former English
Test cricket
er and currently a commentator.
Born in Queenstown
, South Africa
, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish
father. He was a tall (6 inch) batting 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 Sussex
. 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. He also clashed with Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee
on the 1974–75 Ashes tour in Australia.
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'".
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 would not 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.
in Trinidad, the West Indies had cruised to a first innings lead of 143, thanks mainly to 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 had not 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 was the only time a batsman had been reinstated in such circumstances during a Test match—until 31 July 2011, when, during the Test match between England and India at Trent Bridge, England batsman Ian Bell was given out in similar circumstances after leaving the field at tea, believing the last ball of the session had gone for four. He was subsequently reinstated during the interval when Indian captain M.S. Dhoni withdrew the appeal. Bell was 137 at the time and went on to score 159, very similar figures to those of Kallicharran.
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 were not premeditated, that his back was to the play and he was unaware that proceedings were over. If his actions had been premeditated, they would have been rather reckless given the risk of stirring up the notoriously volatile Trinidadian crowd. 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, arguably the best all rounder in the world. Some were talking up his prospects of taking over the English captaincy.
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 was 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 was humbled in the first match at Edgbaston, and blame fell on the 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.
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.
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 accentuated the faux pas.
Rarely has an attempt to psych 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
.
toured India for a five-Test series. England had not won a Test series on the subcontinent for fifteen 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 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, and struggling with a stomach bug, 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 venue of the first-ever Test. 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-ever 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. One could well imagine that 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 7–10 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 breakaway troupe caused much annoyance 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
.
's 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. Greig currently hosts a regular weekly podcast called "The Tony Greig Show" for Cricinfo
covering international cricket matters during which he airs his forthright views in a section called "What's eating Tony Greig this week?". Outside the cricket media he is a board member of the Epilepsy Association and 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?". The remark was made "off microphone and not intended for broadcast".
He also joined the Indian Cricket League
as an Executive Board Member, but the league ultimately ceased with the growing popularity of Indian Premier League
.
More recently, he was conferred as the brand ambassador for Sri Lanka
tourism. Initially the appointment is for six months, for which he is charging about USD 10,000.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
er and currently a commentator.
Born in Queenstown
Queenstown, Eastern Cape
Queenstown, named after Queen Victoria, is a town in the middle of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, roughly half way in between the towns of Cathcart and Sterkstroom. It is currently the commercial, administrative, and educational centre of the prosperous surrounding farming district...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
father. He was a tall (6 inch) batting all-rounder who bowled both medium pace
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
and off spin
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
. He became captain of the national side from 1975 to 1977, and was also captain of Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
. Greig's younger brother Ian
Ian Greig
Ian Alexander Greig is a former cricketer, who played in two Tests for England in 1982. Although born in South Africa, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish father....
also played Test cricket.
He was a sometimes controversial figure. His most daring act was when he helped Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
start World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
by signing up many of his English
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
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
Alvin Kallicharran
Alvin Isaac Kallicharran is a former West Indian batsman of Indo-Guyanese ethnicity who played from 1972 to 1981. His elegant, watchful batting style produced some substantial innings for a West Indian team very much in its formative years in the seventies...
in a Test match against the West Indies in 1974. He also clashed with Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
on the 1974–75 Ashes tour in Australia.
Early life and career
Greig was born to a Scottish immigrant father and a South African-born mother and educated atQueen's College
Queen's College (South Africa)
Queen's College is situated at the foot of the picturesque Stormberg Mountains in the pleasant Eastern Cape town of Queenstown. Established in 1858, it is the oldest school on the Border - a region famous for its fine schools...
, 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
Jack Oakes
Jack Oakes , is a former English footballer who played as a centre half in the Football League.He was on the losing side for Charlton Athletic in the 1946 FA Cup Final, and turned out for Nottingham Forest, Southend United and Aldershot before joining the Addicks in 1936.He did not make the line-up...
, Alan Oakman
Alan Oakman
Alan Oakman was an English first-class cricketer. He had a long career for Sussex, playing 538 first-class matches over a 21-year period, and played two Test matches for England...
, Ian Thomson, Ron Bell, Richard Langridge
Richard Langridge
Richard James Langridge was an English first class cricketer who played for Sussex. He was the son of English Test cricketer James 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
SuperSport Series
The SuperSport Series is the main domestic first class cricket competition in South Africa, first contested in 1889-90. From 1990-91 it became known as the Castle Cup, and from 1996-97 by its current title...
. 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'".
When he scored a swashbuckling 156 in 230 minutes against a strong Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
attack in his first game for Sussex, his future direction changed irrevocably. He wrote a brief note to his father, to tell him he would not 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
Eastern Province cricket team
Eastern Province cricket team is the team representing the Eastern Province in domestic first-class cricket in South Africa.-Honours:* Currie Cup - 1988–89, 1991–92; shared - 1989–90* Standard Bank Cup - 1989–90, 1991–92...
for the 1970-71 season.
Controversy and triumph in the Caribbean
Greig was now experimenting with finger-spin to complement his medium pace. He headed to the West Indies with the England team in early 1974 and ran straight into a major controversy. On the second day of the First Test at the Queen's Park OvalQueen's Park Oval
Queen's Park Oval, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, is currently the largest capacity cricket ground in the West Indies and has hosted more Test matches than any other ground in the Caribbean. It also hosted a number of matches in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. It is privately owned by the...
in Trinidad, the West Indies had cruised to a first innings lead of 143, thanks mainly to 142 not out from Alvin Kallicharran
Alvin Kallicharran
Alvin Isaac Kallicharran is a former West Indian batsman of Indo-Guyanese ethnicity who played from 1972 to 1981. His elegant, watchful batting style produced some substantial innings for a West Indian team very much in its formative years in the seventies...
. 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
Bernard Julien
Bernard Denis Julien played 24 Tests and 12 One Day Internationals for the West Indies.He played in England for Kent and joined Packers World Series in 1977. He scored a century at Lords vs England in the 1973 test....
, 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
Douglas Sang Hue
Douglas Sang Hue is a former West Indian cricket umpire. He was a small man, around 5'4" tall, of Chinese descent.Sang Hue umpired 31 Test matches in the West Indies between 1962 and 1981, mostly in the 1970s...
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 had not 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 was the only time a batsman had been reinstated in such circumstances during a Test match—until 31 July 2011, when, during the Test match between England and India at Trent Bridge, England batsman Ian Bell was given out in similar circumstances after leaving the field at tea, believing the last ball of the session had gone for four. He was subsequently reinstated during the interval when Indian captain M.S. Dhoni withdrew the appeal. Bell was 137 at the time and went on to score 159, very similar figures to those of Kallicharran.
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 were not premeditated, that his back was to the play and he was unaware that proceedings were over. If his actions had been premeditated, they would have been rather reckless given the risk of stirring up the notoriously volatile Trinidadian crowd. 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, arguably the best all rounder in the world. Some were talking up his prospects of taking over the English captaincy.
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 ThomsonJeff Thomson
Jeffrey Robert Thomson is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he was one of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket and was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history...
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 was 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 was humbled in the first match at Edgbaston, and blame fell on the captain Mike Denness
Mike Denness
Mike Denness is a former Scottish cricketer who played for England, Scotland, Essex and Kent. Scotland did not have a representative international team at the time of Denness' career, so he could only play for England at Test and ODI level. Denness became the first Scotsman to captain England...
, 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. But 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 did not 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 ThomsonJeff ThomsonJeffrey Robert Thomson is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he was one of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket and was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history...
and LilleeDennis LilleeDennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
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 CloseyBrian CloseDennis Brian Close , usually known as Brian Close, is a former cricketer who is the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was picked for the Test team to play against New Zealand, in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England,...
and a few others, to make them grovel.
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
Gleneagles Agreement
The Gleneagles Agreement was unanimously approved by the Commonwealth of Nations at a meeting at Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Scotland. In 1977, Commonwealth Presidents and Prime Ministers agreed, as part of their support for the international campaign against apartheid, to discourage contact and...
were prominent issues of the day, so a white South African emitting the word 'grovel' heavily accentuated the faux pas.
Rarely has an attempt to psych 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
Alan Knott
Alan Philip Eric Knott is a former Kent County Cricket Club and English cricketer, as a wicket-keeper-batsman....
, 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
Jeff Thomson
Jeffrey Robert Thomson is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he was one of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket and was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history...
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
Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...
.
Redemption in India
The best performance of Greig's captaincy career came in 1976-77, when EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
toured India for a five-Test series. England had not won a Test series on the subcontinent for fifteen 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 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, and struggling with a stomach bug, 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.
Centenary Test and Packer
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 Melbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
, the venue of the first-ever Test. 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-ever 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
This Is Your Life (UK TV series)
This Is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64...
. 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. One could well imagine that 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 7–10 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 breakaway troupe caused much annoyance 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
Mike Brearley
John Michael Brearley OBE is a former cricketer who captained the England cricket team in 31 of his 39 Test matches, winning 17 and losing only 4. He was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 2007–08.-Early life:...
. 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
John Snow (cricketer)
John Augustine Snow played cricket for Sussex and England in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite being the son of a country vicar and publishing two volumes of poetry Snow was England's most formidable fast bowler between Fred Trueman and Bob Willis and played Test Matches with both of them at either end...
) 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
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international 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
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
.
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 NetworkNine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
during the World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international 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
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
and his occasional out-of-context comments. During the 2006 Ashes Perth Test, on commenting on the need for England's Steve Harmison
Steve Harmison
Stephen James Harmison MBE is an English cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODI's, and 2 T20's. He also plays county cricket for Durham....
to intimidate Australia's number 11 Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
, 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. Greig currently hosts a regular weekly podcast called "The Tony Greig Show" for Cricinfo
Cricinfo
ESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
covering international cricket matters during which he airs his forthright views in a section called "What's eating Tony Greig this week?". Outside the cricket media he is a board member of the Epilepsy Association and a famous wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
drinker.
In 1999 Greig was involved in a controversy where, in a match at the North Sydney Oval
North Sydney Oval
-Development:* The first cricket pitch was laid on 6 December 1867, making it one of the oldest cricket grounds in Australia.* The first structure built, in 1879, was a simple pavilion overlooking the cricket ground...
, 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?". The remark was made "off microphone and not intended for broadcast".
He also joined the Indian Cricket League
Indian Cricket League
The Indian Cricket League was a private cricket league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India...
as an Executive Board Member, but the league ultimately ceased with the growing popularity of Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
.
More recently, he was conferred as the brand ambassador for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
tourism. Initially the appointment is for six months, for which he is charging about USD 10,000.