Bill Lawry - Later Career

Later Career

Upon his return to Australia, he became the captain of Victoria for the 1961–62 season following the retirement of Test opener McDonald. A purely domestic season in 1961–62 saw Lawry in charge of his state for a full season. It was not a happy start for the new Victorian leader, as his men lost their first four matches. It was not until his fifth match in charge, against minnows Tasmania—who were not in the Sheffield Shield competition at the time—that the Victorians tasted victory. When the Shield competition resumed, Lawry's men were dealt a ten-wicket defeat and it was not until the next match, the sixth in the competition, that they avoided defeat, managed a draw against Queensland. The new skipper ended the season on a winning note, with an innings triumph over South Australia and seven-wicket victory over Western Australia. In spite of his team's poor form, Lawry remained productive with the bat, particularly against the dominant New South Wales, whose many Test players swept them to a ninth successive Shield title. The left-handed opener was one of the few to perform against the champions, scoring 65 and 113, and 97 and 67 in the respective matches, accumulating more than a third of his team's runs. He scored centuries in both matches against South Australia and ended with three triple-figures scores and three fifties for the season. In all, the Victorian skipper scored 832 runs at 51.68.

Lawry made his Test debut on Australian soil in the First Test of the 1962–63 Ashes series at Brisbane. After making half-centuries in consecutive lead-in matches, he narrowly missed making a century in the drawn series opener, being dismissed for 98 in the second innings. Between Tests, Lawry scored 177 and 26 in a losing effort against the MCC for Victoria, and then made 133 in the next match against New South Wales, helping Victoria to an eight-wicket win, although he was jeered by an impatient gallery fed up with his slow batting.

The Second Test, his first in his home town of Melbourne saw two 50s, but an unhappy result as Australia went 1–0 down after losing by seven wickets. Lawry did not pass fifty again in the series, ending the drawn series with 310 runs at 34.44. Australian crowds became impatient with his dour and defiant style of batting. In the Fifth Test, Lawry had been ordered by captain Richie Benaud to occupy the crease and play out for a draw. He obliged with an unbeaten 45 in four hours on the final day, even though "the crowd booed, barracked and slow-clapped". At one point, he struck two fours in succession, prompting the crowd to yell "lightning does strike twice!" The unbeaten knock was part of barren run of 12 innings in which Lawry passed 20 only twice. The Victorian captain played in five of his state's Shield matches as they won the title and ended New South Wales' nine-year run. He ended the Australian season with 990 runs at 39.60.

1963–64 saw a tour to Australia by South Africa. Lawry began well with 43 and 87* in a drawn First Test at Brisbane overshadowed by the no-balling of Ian Meckiff. Between Tests, the Victorian skipper continued his strong run with 73 and 130 not against Queensland and 94 against New South Wales. He then made his first century on home soil with 157 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the first innings of the Second Test. This helped propel Australia to a 173-run first innings lead and an eventual eight-wicket win that gave them a 1–0 lead. He made another half century in the Third Test in Sydney, scoring 89 in the second innings to help Australia to a safe position after they had ceded a 42-run first innings lead. Lawry then struck an unbeaten 187 for Victoria against the South Africans, but his form tailed away in the remaining two Tests, scoring 77 runs in the last two matches as the tourists won the Fourth Test by ten wickets to square the series. He ended the series with 496 runs at 55.11. The series was highlighted by new ball battles between Lawry and South African pace spearhead Peter Pollock. Pollock attempted to repeatedly bounce Lawry out, but removed Lawry in only three of ten innings. Pollock later nominated Lawry as one of the two hardest openers that he had ever bowled to. The Victorian skipper ended his Sheffield Shield campaign with 119 in a ten-wicket triumph over Western Australia but it was not enough for his team to hold onto their titles. He totalled 1340 runs at 67.00 for the season.

1964 saw Lawry return to England, the venue of his first Test series. He started where he left off last time, scoring 50 and 79 against Worcestershire and 106 and 39 not out against Gloucestershire in the first two matches. However, his runs dried up in the three weeks leading up to the Tests, scoring only 119 runs in seven innings.

After failing to pass 20 in the first two Tests, he scored 78 in the first innings of the Third Test at Headingley, in which Australia took a 121-run first innings lead and went on to win by seven wickets to take a 1–0 series lead. With Australia only needing a draw in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford to retain the Ashes, Lawry scored 106, combining in a double century opening stand with Simpson which laid the platform for a total of 8/656 in over two days, as Australia batted England out of the match. The tourists' strategy was simply to bat as long as possible and to prevent any prospect of an English victory. The match only reached the second over of Australia's second innings, leading Wisden to note "a bad taste was left in the mouth of the cricket enthusiasts." Lawry proceeded to make 94 in the Fifth Test at The Oval, helping to secure a 197-run first innings lead and draw the match, retaining the Ashes 1–0. He ended with series with 317 runs at 39.62. Lawry had struggled in the tour matches between the Tests; in 11 innings, he made three 60s and seven scores below 20. AFter the Tests were over, Lawry was prolific, passing fifty six times in the eight innings of the last fourst first-class matches. This included centuries in each of the last three matches, 101 not out, 110 and 121 against Kent, AER Gilligan's XI and TN Pearce's XI respectively.

He made five centuries in the first-class matches on the tour.

Australia made a visit to the Indian subcontinent on the way back home during the 1964–65 season, and the four Tests were the only fixtures scheduled. Lawry batted consistently and defiantly against the Indian spin attack led by Bhagwat Chandrasekhar in three Tests, compiling three half centuries and two 40s without managing to convert any into a century. Five of his six innings yielded between 47 and 68 runs. He ended the series with 284 runs at 56.80 as the series ended 1–1. In the same season Lawry failed to pass fifty in two one-off home and away Tests against Pakistan, aggregating 89 runs at 22.50 in four innings. The one-off Test was the only international match that Australia hosted in 1964–65 season, allowing the Victorian to lead his state in seven of their eight Shield matches. Lawry was in fine form, striking four centuries, including triple-figure scores in both matches against South Australia. He made an unbeaten 143 in the second innings of the states' first meeting, staving off defeat after the Victorians fell 248 runs behind after the first innings. He then scored 246 and 87 not out in the second match to set up a 111-run win. His team was not so successful, winning two and losing one of the seven matches. Lawry ended the Sheffield Shield campaign with 788 runs at 98.50.

The season ended with a tour to the West Indies. He managed only 79 runs in five innings in the first three Tests as Australia trailed 2–0, as both he and Simpson struggled against the express pace of Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith on grounds with no sightscreens.

However, they recovered to combine in a 382-run partnership in the Fourth Test in Bridgetown, Barbados. Lawry went on to make 210, his highest Test score, and added a further unbeaten 58 in the second innings of a high-scoring draw before Australia declared. This proved to be rather risky, as the hosts were only 10 runs short of the target when time ran out, but in any case, the draw was enough to ensure an unassailable 2–0 series lead. Primarily due to that match, he ended the series with 368 runs at 52.57, having made only 3 and 18 not out in the ten-wicket win in a low-scoring Fifth Test. Lawry was consistent in the tour matches against the various countries of the West Indies, his lowest score being 49 in six innings. He made 62 and 134 not out against Trinidad and Tobago and ended with 423 runs at 84.60 in these matches.

Lawry had one of his best seasons in the 1965-66 Ashes series and "always seemed to be batting", his 592 runs (84.57) were the most in an Ashes series since Don Bradman in 1946–47 and his three centuries the most since Arthur Morris in 1948. He was in fine form in the four lead-up matches, hitting 160 in the opening game of the season against South Australia and 153 and 61 for the Victorians against the Englishmen. The Victorian skipper added fifties in the other two matches.

His 166 in the First Test in Brisbane helped Australia, in the absence of the incapacitated and unavailable Simpson, to set a total of 6/443 declared and force England to follow on, but they managed to hold on for a draw. Lawry continued his run scoring in the Second Test at Melbourne, compiling 88 in the first innings. Australia ceded a 200-run first innings lead and he made 78 in the second innings to help the hosts to 426 and safety. In the Third Test, Simpson was again sidelined and Lawry failed; his duck and 33 coincided with Australia losing the match in Sydney by an innings. After the match, Brian Booth, who was the regular vice-captain of the team to Simpson, and led the team in the First and Third Tests, was sacked after a barren run with the bat, and Lawry became the deputy. Between Tests, the Victorian ran into form in a match for the Tasmania Combined XI against England. He made 47 as the hosts collapsed for 199 in their first innings and then compiled an unbeaten 126 in the second innings to help wipe out a deficit of 272 and prevent defeat. Lawry scored 119 after combining in a record opening stand of 244 with Simpson in the Fourth Test in Adelaide to help level the series with an innings victory, the highest opening partnership for Australia against England and still the highest opening partnership against England at home. A further 108 in a 212 run stand with Bob Cowper in the Fifth Test helped ensure the match was drawn and the Ashes retained. Lawry scored 592 runs at 84.58. Including the tour matches against England, Lawry scored 979 runs at 97.90 against the touring side, occupying the crease for over 41 hours in a typically attritional style.

Lawry continued his marathon season in the final of the Victorian Premier Cricket season for Northcote. The final was played only on Saturdays and Lawry told his team-mates to simply hold up their end. He made 282 in a total of 9/514, batting for three consecutive Saturdays as Northcote eventually wore down Essendon to claim the title.

He was less successful in 1966–67 as Australia toured South Africa and lost the five Test series 3–1. In his first trip to Africa, Lawry struggled. In five first-class matches leading up to the Tests, he made starts without converting them into big scores, scoring 334 runs at 41.75 with four scores between 35 and 60.

Lawry's best score was 98 in the First Test in Johannesburg, which ended in defeat. Lawry's innings took Australia to a 126-run first innings lead, but the hosts made 620 in their second innings. Lawry then made 27 as Australia collapsed to a 333-run loss. His Test series performance declined as the tour went on, failing to pass 45 again and only managing 44 runs in his last four innings as the hosts dominated the series. He aggregated 296 runs at 29.60. He did have some success in the three remaining first-class matches, passing 50 in each one, including a 107 against Griqualand West. In the match against Orange Free State, the Victorian claimed his first wicket at first-class level for six years. In a limited-overs match against the South African XI, he struck 91 out of Australia's 8/323 but the hosts scraped home by three wickets.