Rick McCosker: Centenary Match Pain

With the MCG playing host to cricket’s most anticipated test match every year, the Boxing Day tests, I thought that a tie in to both the venue and my series of cricketing courage would be perfect for a Boxing Day post.

In March 1977, the Melbourne Cricket Ground played host to a special test match to commemorate a hundred years of tests hosted in Australia. It was also the scene of one of the most remarkable innings of bravery ever witnessed in cricket history.

There were no better opponents for Australia than their fiercest rivals, England, and it was the visitors who won the toss and decided to put the Aussies into bat first. Openers Ian Davis and Rick McCosker, both donned in the famous ‘baggy green’ cap, walked out to the crease; there were no helmets in those days. The first helmets used in test cricket came in 1978 following Englishman Dennis Amiss using one he had asked a motorcycle manufacturer to produce in World Series Cricket in 1977.

Australia got off to a terrible start as Davis was trapped on his pads by John Lever and given out lbw. His opening partner McCosker was then the recipient of a bouncer bowled by England legend, the late Bob Willis. McCosker decided to try and play a hook shot to fend off the delivery, but got nowhere near the ball. As a result the ball struck him in the face before hitting the stumps, leaving him out and nursing his face until a

member of Australia’s medical staff helped him off the field.

He returned to the changing room and decided to lie down, bruised and bloodied. “The bruise kept getting bigger and bigger, and the face just got up like a balloon” McCosker shared to ESPNCricinfo. On the advice of an orthodontist close to the team, who happened to be at the game, he went to hospital and had an x-ray; his jaw was broken in two places. Casts were taken of his teeth and a cast was made to keep the jaw together. An overnight stay in hospital was necessary so McCosker listened to the game on the radio.

Back at the game, Australia had been bowled out cheaply, scoring only 138. Play ended on day one with England 29/1, Mike Brearley and Derek Underwood still at the crease.

By the evening of day two, McCosker was discharged from hospital. On day three he returned to the Australian dressing room watching his team recover from 53/3. Captain Greg Chappell approached him during the day, asking the injured man if he wanted to bat. With no hesitation McCosker said yes.

When asked about his decision by ESPNcricinfo, McCosker said “if you get kicked off a horse, you get back on again. Because it was such a big match and such a big crowd, I wanted to be part of it and do something. Not just sit in the dressing room”.

He walked out to back at number 10 at the final drinks break on day three, but in reality he was ready to go a lot earlier. Chappell didn’t want to risk it. He wanted to post an insurmountable total to defend without needing to put McCrosker in.

Australia was going well in their second innings. Doug Walters posted a commendable 66 and David Hookes scored 56. Wicket-keeper Rod Marsh batted well with the tailenders, scoring 33 with Gary Gilmour, as well as a mammoth 76 with Dennis Lillee on his way to a hundred. However when Lillee fell for 25, leaving Australia on 353 with two wickets left, Chappell knew he had no choice but to send McCosker into bat; they still needed more runs.

The conundrum he had to overcome was that of the bouncer. This was test cricket so of course they were coming but would he go for the hook shot again, the shot which left him broken, or would he find a new way to deal with the short deliveries? The first came from John Lever and, seemingly unfazed about the past, McCosker hooked the ball for four. “It was just a reflex thing. I had no preconception about what I was going to do. If it comes along, if it’s there, I was going for it” he states. He and Marsh left the field at the end of day three unscathed, scoring 17 and 95 respectively.

After a rest day, the fourth day of play saw Marsh make his hundred and McCosker out for 25. In total he had batted for 85 minutes with bandages keeping his jaw together and nothing in the way of head protection.

The ability to overcome such a serious injury and return into a possibly risky situation which had the potential to cause further pain takes a massive amount of resilience and toughness. Despite it happening in an era in which men had to be tough and play through injuries, the severity of the injury makes this feat all the more admirable. Without the ability to move his jaw, McCrosker would’ve found communicating with Marsh exceedingly difficult, especially over the noise of the crowd. The fact that he still took on the short balls, hooking when appropriate, is impressive; he had no fear of getting hit again where many players may have faltered.

Australia declared on 419/9 and sent England into bat. Despite a huge score of 174 from Derek Randall, England were bowled out for 463, 45 runs short. There is no doubt that, without McCosker coming out to bat with his broken jaw, Australia would’ve lost the match. Marsh and McCosker ended with a partnership of 54 runs. Without this pair, England most definitely would’ve comfortably chased the necessary runs.