Bill Lawry - Sacking

Sacking

Bill Lawry, a defensive captain, had failed so far to defend the Ashes. Was he more likely to be able to regain the ascendancy? Of course not. Was he more likely to return to his former batting form, his early club and Shield batting form, if he were diplomatically relieved of the responsibility of leadership? Of course, yes. All the more likely if he were undiplomatically removed, because he would be nursing a grudge, burning to stage reprisals...

Richard Whitington

The 1970–71 home series against England was the longest in Test history, with six Tests scheduled and another added when the Third Test was washed out. Lawry was to bow out of international cricket in one of the most acrimonious series in Test history. Lawry had gone through a difficult phase on the previous tour, with only 432 runs at 28.80 in nine Tests on the tour of India and South Africa. With Australia losing, and as a non-smoker and non-drinker, he became more distant from many of his own teammates. Lawry had been under pressure after a highly critical report by team manager Fred Bennett. Australia went to the series with confidence after the tourists were unable to win any of their four opening tour matches. Lawry had success in his preparation, scoring 87 and 58 not out in a ten-wicket win over Western Australia at the start of the season.

During the series, Lawry increasingly came under criticism for some uninspiring leadership marked by a safety-at-all-costs strategy. The First Test in Brisbane was drawn after both teams had passed 400 in the first innings, the visitors taking a 31-run lead, but not before Lawry had top-scored with 84 in the second innings as his team collapsed to be all out for 214. The Second Test was drawn after England made 397 and Australia replied with 440, Lawry making a duck and 38 not out as the hosts batted out the match in the second innings. The Third Test was washed out without a ball being bowled due to rain. In response to this, a Seventh Test was scheduled and the first-ever One Day International was scheduled in place of the washed out match. Australia won the inaugural match by five wickets with five overs to spare, Lawry making 27 in his only ODI.

In the Fourth Test at Sydney, England took a series lead with a 299-run win after taking a 106-run first innings lead and setting Australia 415 for victory. Lawry's critics became more vocal, despite a defiant unbeaten 60 carrying his bat as Australia collapsed and fell for 116 in the second innings. It was England's largest victory in terms of runs over Australia for 34 years. His own batting saw him described by Ian Wooldridge as "a corpse with pads on". According to Ray Robinson, Lawry "appeared to be expecting the worst and getting it often enough to expect more of the same". The selectors responded by axing both of Australia's frontline pace duo of McKenzie and Connolly for the Fifth Test.

Lawry declared in the Fifth Test with Rod Marsh within eight runs of a maiden Test century after the hosts batted first and reached 9/493, the captain making 56 himself. Australia continued to play defensively, and after making 42 in the second innings, the skipper declared and set the tourists 271 in less than a day, and the matched petered into a draw with Australia still behind in the series. Another draw in the Sixth Test meant that Australia needed a win to draw the series and retain the Ashes. After taking a 235-run first innings lead, England did not need to take a risk with their series lead with a bold declaration and set Australia a world-record 469 runs for victory. The hosts were 3/328 when time ran out, and Lawry made only 10 and 21. Lawry had batted for more than 24 hours in the series, averaging around 13 runs an hour.

With Lawry's defensive leadership under heavy fire he was dropped along with three other players, becoming the first Australian captain to be dropped in the middle of a series. He was not informed privately by the Board and only found out after his axing was made public. The Australian selectors Don Bradman, Sam Loxton and Neil Harvey delayed the announcement while they tried to locate Lawry at the end of the Sixth Test, but he had already left for his home in Melbourne and they were unable to find him. He first heard the news on the radio and the selectors were much maligned in the press as a result. Lawry never played for Australia again despite being only 33 and averaging 47.15, but began his 40 year career as a commentator in the Seventh Test, saying "Well, I suppose we all have to get around to it some day". Two days earlier, after lengthy discussion, the ACB had voted 7–6 to acknowledge and respond to Lawry's letter following the South African tour, although their reply did not address Lawry's concerns. His successor Chappell condemned the Board's actions as "unbelievable". Immediately after his appointment, the new leader told his wife "The bastards won't get me the way they got Bill", and he later went out on his own terms. Victorian and Australian teammate Paul Sheahan said "The fact that no-one had the courage to tell him he was to lose his job as Australian captain was disgraceful." At the same time, Sheahan said that Lawry was "a bit of an autocrat" and "not the sort of captain who stood alongside you and drew the best out of you."

Lawry was publicly dignified, later reflecting

I've no anger at all about being dropped. I hadn't been playing well in that series and I had no compassion when I was dropping players as a selector."

Australia went on to lose the final Test and the series 2–0. Lawry played out the remaining two matches of the season for Victoria, scoring two fifties.

The following season, Lawry continued playing for Victoria, leaving himself available for an international recall. He scored 116 not out against Western Australia and added four further fifties, three against South Australia. He added his only limited-overs century during the summer, scoring 108 not out in a win over South Australia. He totalled 488 runs at 44.36 for the first-class season and was not recalled to the Test team during the summer. Lawry was not recalled for the 1972 tour of England, and in his absence Australia was unable to find a reliable opening partnership. Australia's opening stand exceeded 24 only once in the Test series. He retired at the end of the 1971–72 season, bowing out with a three-wicket win over South Australia.