Colin Egar
Encyclopedia
Colin John "Col" Egar was an Australian Test cricket umpire.
Born in Malvern, South Australia
, Egar umpire
d 29 Test matches
between 1960 and 1969.
and he quickly gained a reputation for being a forthright arbiter. He became an umpire in district cricket, and gained a reputation for his willingness to no-ball suspicious bowlers for throwing. In his district career, he called bowlers on eight occasions, not counting multiple no-ball calls against a bowler in the same match.
Egar made his first-class umpiring debut during the 1956–57 season when he stood in South Australia's
home Sheffield Shield match against Queensland
at the Adelaide Oval
. This was Egar's only appointment for the season. At the time, there were no neutral umpires, and the host association provided the officials, so Egar's Sheffield fixtures all took place at the Adelaide Oval. During that era, the Shield program consisted of eight matches for each state, with four home games.
The following season, Egar became more of a regular, standing in three of the four matches at Adelaide Oval. In 1958–59, Egar stood in all but one of South Australia's three home Shield matches, and officiated a game involving an international team for the first time. He oversaw two matches between South Australia and the touring England cricket team of Peter May
, but he was not appointed in any of the five Tests.
At the end of this season, the veteran Australian Test umpire Mel McInnes
retired after a controversial season and a series of questionable decisions that prompted May and English manager Freddie Brown to call for his standing down. This left a vacancy for an Australian Test umpire. During the 1959–60 Australian summer, there were no home Tests as the national team was in the Indian subcontinent
. In the meantime, Egar stood in all four Shield matches at the Adelaide Oval. The 1960–61 season saw the first Tests on Australian soil since McInnes's retirement. Egar stood in South Australia's matches against Victoria
, the West Indies and Tasmania
, before being selected to make his Test debut.
In the match against Victoria, he made his first throwing call against a bowler at first-class level. During the match, Egar no-balled South Australian fast bowler Brian Quigley twice on the first day as Victoria batted first. He did so from the bowler's end as Quigley was trying to extract extra pace from the slow pitch. As the calls were made from the bowler's end, almost all of the spectators thought it was for Quigley overstepping the bowling mark, the most common mode of infringement; the fact that Egar made called the bowler for throwing only became apparent to most in the newspapers the next day. Quigley changed his action, but his results thereafter were not enough to gain selection.
and the West Indies
at Brisbane
on 9–14 December 1960. The game resulted in the first tie in Test match history when Egar's partner Col Hoy
adjudged Ian Meckiff
run out
during the final over
of the match. Hoy and Egar stood in every match of that most dramatic of all Test series, and the West Indies captain Frank Worrell
was full of praise for the umpiring in that tension-filled series. Hoy wrote in the newspapers about his experiences at the end of the season; at the time, the practice of player and officials concurrently doing media work was heavily frowned upon and he never umpired a Test again.
Due to his Test commitments, Egar stood in only two Shield matches for the season. In the following summer, 1961–62, Egar stood in all four Adelaide Oval Shield matches as well as a match against a touring New Zealand
team. There were no Tests during the season. In the match against New Zealand, he no-balled South Australian paceman Gordon Brooks
for throwing in the sixth ball of his first over. It was Brooks' tenth first-class match, having made his debut in the same season. Egar had ruled Brooks legitimate in four previous matches at first-class level, but had no-balled him in a district match in Adelaide. However, Brooks played in a further 16 matches for South Australia over the following three years without incident.
During the 1962–63 season, Egar officiated in Ashes Tests
against England for the first time, standing in four of the five Tests, missing the Third Test at Sydney. He stood in four of South Australia's home matches, two in the Shield, and the others against England.
, whose action had particularly angered the English press and parts of the cricket community. During the Tests in 1960–61, as well as in other first-class matches, Egar officiated over Meckiff's bowling, and deemed his bowling legitimate. The bowler noted that the umpire had told him that there was little point in changing his action.
Meckiff was not selected in Tests after some poor performances in 1960–61. In 1962–63, Meckiff was again under the spotlight. He topped the bowling averages for the Australian first-class season with 58 wickets at 19.86 from ten matches, as Victoria won the Sheffield Shield. Meckiff was hoping to regain his Test place, but was not selected despite his success. Problems arose when he was no-balled in separate matches, by Jack Kierse in a match hosted by South Australia, and another hosted by Queensland. In both matches he continued bowling without further incident.
Meckiff's performances as the leading wicket-taker during the 1962–63 season meant that he could not be justifiably denied national selection on grounds of productivity, so the matter of his legitimacy had to be resolved. Meanwhile, the retirement of pace spearhead Alan Davidson
left a vacancy in the Australian team ahead of the 1963–64 home Test series against South Africa. In the first two matches of the season in Melbourne, Meckiff took 11 wickets and was recalled to the team for the First Test in Brisbane.
At the start of the season, the Australian Board of Control had issued a directive calling on the umpires to "get tough" in enforcing the laws of cricket, and asked the state associations to "back the umpires to the fullest extent". In the lead-up to the Test, Meckiff was the centre of media attention, and one report described him as cricket's "bogey man". The South Africans were reportedly stunned by Meckiff's selection, giving the impression that they considered him an illegitimate bowler. Reaction in England was also hostile, ahead of Australia's forthcoming tour in the English summer of 1964. They unequivocally called Meckiff a thrower.
The Brisbane Test was dubbed "Meckiff's Test" by the Australian media; speculation abounded that the bowler was being chosen so that he could be no-balled as a public relations effort to promote Australia's anti-throwing credentials. Keith Miller predicted that the umpires Egar and Lou Rowan
would be having sleepless nights and claimed that the selectors would be biting their fingernails, and that he Meckiff might be a scapegoat for the anti-throwing movement. Many were taken aback by the circumstances of the selection. As a close friend of the fast bowler, umpire Egar was in a difficult situation; the duo had won a pairs lawn bowling competition just a few months earlier. Nevertheless, the paceman and umpire socialised freely at the pre-match function.
conceded 13 runs from the first over. Meckiff then took the ball for the second over, bowling from the Vulture Street End to South African captain Trevor Goddard
. At the same time, the South African manager Ken Viljoen
set up a camera and began filming the left-armer's bowling action. Meckiff was no-balled four times by Egar—who was standing at square leg—in what would be his only over of the match. After the Victorian bowled a gentle "loosener" as his first ball, the drama began. Egar ruled the second, third, fifth and ninth balls to be throws, and therefore illegitimate. After the third and fifth balls—the latter a full toss
that Goddard hit for four—Benaud came over to consult his fast bowler. After the ninth ball, Meckiff and Benaud had another meeting, and the remaining three balls were deemed to be fair. In the meantime, the crowd roared loudly, heckling Egar and supporting the beleaguered bowler. Meckiff had previously been passed in five countries, having played Tests in four of these nations. Egar had cleared his bowling on five previous occasions, in three Shield matches and two Tests; the Victorian had bowled 119.1 overs in these games without incident. Egar later said "My only judgement was what I saw at the time". Benaud removed his paceman from the attack and Meckiff did not bowl again in the match. He retired from all forms of cricket at the end of the game, but continued to proclaim that his bowling action was fair.
Barry Gibbs
, the secretary of the Queensland Cricket Association and the manager of the Australian team, said that the "humiliation" of Meckiff was "without a doubt the most dramatic and emotion-charged" sporting moment he had witnessed. Egar's actions also ignited "one of the most emotional crowd displays in Test history", as the public backed the paceman. During Meckiff's over, the crowd expressed strong disapproval of the umpire's calls. Half an hour before the close of the day's play, proceedings were suspended for two minutes as the crowd repeatedly chanted "We want Meckiff". When play ended, spectators stormed the field and carried the fast bowler off the arena on their shoulders, hailing him as a hero. They then returned to the field and formed two lanes, booing Egar from the ground. After this incident, the Queensland Police escorted the umpire to and from the match venue. The police presence at the ground was increased because of fears that the crowd might attack Egar or Benaud. During the Second Test, which was held in Meckiff's home town of Melbourne, Egar was given a police escort throughout the match after receiving death threats.
implied that Meckiff was throwing, saying that "one courageous Australian umpire has brought it to a timely end".
Team manager Gibbs reported that at the end of the first day's play the Australian dressing room was stunned into silence. Egar asked Benaud for permission to enter, and after the Australian captain allowed him in, the umpire sat quietly for a period before speaking to some other players and then to Meckiff. The pair were close friends, and shook hands before putting their arms around one another's shoulders. The condemned bowler did not take Egar's judgment personally and did not have hard feelings about the incident. Egar said that he was "the second most upset person in the world", and later added that he thought Meckiff's first ball was suspect. He said that he could have called more deliveries, but was worried that the over would never end.
Benaud received criticism for not bowling Meckiff again at the other end, but Rowan later indicated that he would have agreed with Egar, writing in his book that the action was illegitimate. Retired Test umpires Hoy and Les Townsend
were watching at the ground when Meckiff was called. The day after the incident, both asserted that they would not have no-balled the paceman, claiming that Meckiff's action, though unusual, was legitimate.
Meckiff later agreed to a series of ghost-written articles about the no-ball incident. He said that Egar's calls "hit him like a dagger in the back", but described the umpire as "a fair and just man who acted according to his convictions".
Many members of the Australian media alleged a conspiracy against Meckiff, using words such as "the whole affair smacks of a set-up", "obvious fall-guy", and "sacrificial goat". Several called for Bradman and his colleagues to resign. Cricketer-turned-journalist Dick Whitington cited the fact that Egar and Bradman had travelled from Adelaide to the Brisbane Test together as evidence of a plot. Gibbs later claimed that the selection of an extra bowler for the match hinted at fears that Meckiff would not be able to bowl. Alan Connolly
remained adamant that his teammate's action was legitimate and implied a conspiracy, saying "I wasn't amazed [by Egar's call]...There was a good reason for that which I can't disclose and won't disclose." Tom Veivers
, who made his Test debut for Australia in Meckiff’s last match, hinted at the same. He recalled that Rowan had said "It's going to be a very interesting game" at the pre-match function. For his part, Egar always denied any conspiracy had occurred or that he agreed to a premeditated course of events against Meckiff.
Egar stood in all five Tests as well as four of South Australia's home matches during 1963–64. The following season, he stood in Australia's only Test against Pakistan and four matches at Adelaide Oval.
prior to his selection. Despite taking a total of 7/71 on debut, Illingworth was overlooked for further state selection for over two years. Illingworth's best performance in a Sheffield Shield match was against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval
in November 1964, the same match in which he was called.
Illingworth took 4/92 in South Australia's first innings but was no-balled a total of three times by Egar and his partner Jack Ryan, both standing at square leg. He was called twice by Egar on the second and fourth deliveries of his eleventh over, and once by Ryan on the sixth ball of his fourteenth over. In the same fourteenth over, Illingworth had dismissed former Pakistani Test batsman Duncan Sharpe
and Australian Test wicket-keeper Barry Jarman
from the first and fourth deliveries respectively. Victorian captain Bill Lawry
chose not to remove Illingworth and continued to bowl him. The state selectors were reluctant to pick Illingworth for Victoria because of the throwing allegations that surrounded him and he played in only two more matches.
In 1965–66, Egar had the busiest season of his career. He stood in all five Anglo-Australian Tests, two matches between South Australia and England, and three of his state's home Shield matches. The following summer, Egar stood in all four Shield matches at Adelaide Oval while the Test team were away in South Africa
. In 1967–68, Egar stood in all four Tests against India in addition to three Shield matches and two fixtures between South Australia and India and New Zealand respectively.
Egar stood in all five Tests of the West Indian tour of Australia in 1968–69. He also officiated in two Shield matches and two games between South Australia and the West Indies at Adelaide Oval.
Egar's last match, also against the West Indies, was at Sydney
from 14–20 February 1969. The match was won by Australia by 382 runs after Bill Lawry
, the Australian captain, delayed his second-innings declaration until Australia led by 734 runs. In this match Doug Walters
became the first batsman to score a double century and a century in the same match, with scores of 242 and 103. Egar's colleague was Lou Rowan
.
The following season, the Test team were in India
and South Africa
, and Egar stood in all four of South Australia's home Shield fixtures. In 1970–71, Egar stood in one Shield match and then the tour game between South Australia and Ray Illingworth
's touring Englishmen in October, and retired after the match, not standing in the Tests. During the 1960s he umpired 29 out of 30 Test matches played in Australia.
in 1988, Egar protested to the Pakistan Board of Control
over the umpiring of Mahboob Shah
, following an innings loss on a grassless pitch which captain Allan Border
described as a conspiracy from the word go. Steve Waugh, a member of the team, quoted Egar as claiming the umpiring is totally unacceptable. The tour was in danger of being abandoned, but Egar insisted it progress as scheduled.
Muttiah Muralitharan
. In 2002, he criticised Wisden
for ranking Muralitharan the best bowler in Test history, citing his bowling action. After Muralitharan broke the world record for career Test dismissals, Egar said "As far as I am concerned they should have a separate record for bowlers with illegal actions...I've got a photo at home of Murali's arm bending at 48 degrees." Egar criticised laboratory tests on Muralitharan at the University of Western Australia
as "rubbish...The only tests that matter are those conducted under match conditions...The administrators of the game have got to take the blame for letting his action go."
A public bar at the Adelaide Oval
is named the "Col Egar Bar" as a tribute to him.
Egar died in September 2008 following a long illness.
Born in Malvern, South Australia
Malvern, South Australia
Malvern is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley. It borders adjacent suburbs of Unley and Parkside to the north, Highgate to the east, Kingswood to the south and Unley Park to the west...
, Egar umpire
Umpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
d 29 Test matches
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...
between 1960 and 1969.
First-class debut
Egar started his career as an umpire of Australian rules footballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and he quickly gained a reputation for being a forthright arbiter. He became an umpire in district cricket, and gained a reputation for his willingness to no-ball suspicious bowlers for throwing. In his district career, he called bowlers on eight occasions, not counting multiple no-ball calls against a bowler in the same match.
Egar made his first-class umpiring debut during the 1956–57 season when he stood in South Australia's
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
home Sheffield Shield match against Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
. This was Egar's only appointment for the season. At the time, there were no neutral umpires, and the host association provided the officials, so Egar's Sheffield fixtures all took place at the Adelaide Oval. During that era, the Shield program consisted of eight matches for each state, with four home games.
The following season, Egar became more of a regular, standing in three of the four matches at Adelaide Oval. In 1958–59, Egar stood in all but one of South Australia's three home Shield matches, and officiated a game involving an international team for the first time. He oversaw two matches between South Australia and the touring England cricket team of Peter May
Peter May
-External links:* * at Cricket Archive*...
, but he was not appointed in any of the five Tests.
At the end of this season, the veteran Australian Test umpire Mel McInnes
Mel McInnes
Melville James "Mel" McInnes was an Australian cricket Test match umpire.He umpired 16 Test matches between 1951 and 1959...
retired after a controversial season and a series of questionable decisions that prompted May and English manager Freddie Brown to call for his standing down. This left a vacancy for an Australian Test umpire. During the 1959–60 Australian summer, there were no home Tests as the national team was in the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. In the meantime, Egar stood in all four Shield matches at the Adelaide Oval. The 1960–61 season saw the first Tests on Australian soil since McInnes's retirement. Egar stood in South Australia's matches against Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
, the West Indies and Tasmania
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
, before being selected to make his Test debut.
In the match against Victoria, he made his first throwing call against a bowler at first-class level. During the match, Egar no-balled South Australian fast bowler Brian Quigley twice on the first day as Victoria batted first. He did so from the bowler's end as Quigley was trying to extract extra pace from the slow pitch. As the calls were made from the bowler's end, almost all of the spectators thought it was for Quigley overstepping the bowling mark, the most common mode of infringement; the fact that Egar made called the bowler for throwing only became apparent to most in the newspapers the next day. Quigley changed his action, but his results thereafter were not enough to gain selection.
Test debut in the Tied Test
His first match was between AustraliaAustralian 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 the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
at Brisbane
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
on 9–14 December 1960. The game resulted in the first tie in Test match history when Egar's partner Col Hoy
Col Hoy
Colin Hoy , was an Australian cricket Test match umpire, the first Queenslander to be appointed....
adjudged Ian Meckiff
Ian Meckiff
Ian Meckiff is a former cricketer who represented Australia in 18 Tests between 1957 and 1963...
run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
during the final over
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
of the match. Hoy and Egar stood in every match of that most dramatic of all Test series, and the West Indies captain Frank Worrell
Frank Worrell
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
was full of praise for the umpiring in that tension-filled series. Hoy wrote in the newspapers about his experiences at the end of the season; at the time, the practice of player and officials concurrently doing media work was heavily frowned upon and he never umpired a Test again.
Due to his Test commitments, Egar stood in only two Shield matches for the season. In the following summer, 1961–62, Egar stood in all four Adelaide Oval Shield matches as well as a match against a touring New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
team. There were no Tests during the season. In the match against New Zealand, he no-balled South Australian paceman Gordon Brooks
Gordon Brooks
Gordon Victor Brooks was an Australian cricketer who played 26 matches for South Australia between 1961 and 1964.- External links :...
for throwing in the sixth ball of his first over. It was Brooks' tenth first-class match, having made his debut in the same season. Egar had ruled Brooks legitimate in four previous matches at first-class level, but had no-balled him in a district match in Adelaide. However, Brooks played in a further 16 matches for South Australia over the following three years without incident.
During the 1962–63 season, Egar officiated in Ashes Tests
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
against England for the first time, standing in four of the five Tests, missing the Third Test at Sydney. He stood in four of South Australia's home matches, two in the Shield, and the others against England.
Ian Meckiff
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was increasing concern in the cricket community about illegal bowling actions, especially as during that period there were only home umpires, rather than officials from third nations. Several conferences were held to discuss issues of enforcement and modifications to the laws of cricket. One of the main points of controversy was the Australian fast bowler Ian MeckiffIan Meckiff
Ian Meckiff is a former cricketer who represented Australia in 18 Tests between 1957 and 1963...
, whose action had particularly angered the English press and parts of the cricket community. During the Tests in 1960–61, as well as in other first-class matches, Egar officiated over Meckiff's bowling, and deemed his bowling legitimate. The bowler noted that the umpire had told him that there was little point in changing his action.
Meckiff was not selected in Tests after some poor performances in 1960–61. In 1962–63, Meckiff was again under the spotlight. He topped the bowling averages for the Australian first-class season with 58 wickets at 19.86 from ten matches, as Victoria won the Sheffield Shield. Meckiff was hoping to regain his Test place, but was not selected despite his success. Problems arose when he was no-balled in separate matches, by Jack Kierse in a match hosted by South Australia, and another hosted by Queensland. In both matches he continued bowling without further incident.
Meckiff's performances as the leading wicket-taker during the 1962–63 season meant that he could not be justifiably denied national selection on grounds of productivity, so the matter of his legitimacy had to be resolved. Meanwhile, the retirement of pace spearhead Alan Davidson
Alan Davidson (cricketer)
Alan Keith Davidson, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer of the 1950s and 1960s. He was an all rounder: a hard-hitting lower-order left-handed batsman, and an outstanding left-arm fast-medium opening bowler...
left a vacancy in the Australian team ahead of the 1963–64 home Test series against South Africa. In the first two matches of the season in Melbourne, Meckiff took 11 wickets and was recalled to the team for the First Test in Brisbane.
At the start of the season, the Australian Board of Control had issued a directive calling on the umpires to "get tough" in enforcing the laws of cricket, and asked the state associations to "back the umpires to the fullest extent". In the lead-up to the Test, Meckiff was the centre of media attention, and one report described him as cricket's "bogey man". The South Africans were reportedly stunned by Meckiff's selection, giving the impression that they considered him an illegitimate bowler. Reaction in England was also hostile, ahead of Australia's forthcoming tour in the English summer of 1964. They unequivocally called Meckiff a thrower.
The Brisbane Test was dubbed "Meckiff's Test" by the Australian media; speculation abounded that the bowler was being chosen so that he could be no-balled as a public relations effort to promote Australia's anti-throwing credentials. Keith Miller predicted that the umpires Egar and Lou Rowan
Lou Rowan
Louis Patrick “Lou” Rowan , was an Australian Test cricket match umpire.He umpired 25 Test matches between 1963 and 1971. His first match was between Australian and England at Sydney on 11 January to 15 January 1963, when Alan Davidson took 9/79, and Bobby Simpson took 5/57 and made 91 and 36 not...
would be having sleepless nights and claimed that the selectors would be biting their fingernails, and that he Meckiff might be a scapegoat for the anti-throwing movement. Many were taken aback by the circumstances of the selection. As a close friend of the fast bowler, umpire Egar was in a difficult situation; the duo had won a pairs lawn bowling competition just a few months earlier. Nevertheless, the paceman and umpire socialised freely at the pre-match function.
Incident
In the match, Australia batted first. On the second day, South Africa began to bat just after the luncheon interval. Graham McKenzieGraham McKenzie
Graham Douglas "Garth" McKenzie is a former Australian and Western Australian cricketer. He was a fast bowler. First selected to play for Australia at age of 19, he toured England in 1961 under Richie Benaud...
conceded 13 runs from the first over. Meckiff then took the ball for the second over, bowling from the Vulture Street End to South African captain Trevor Goddard
Trevor Goddard (cricketer)
Trevor Leslie Goddard is a former left-hand cricketer. An all-rounder, he played 41 Test matches for South Africa from 1955 to 1970, captaining them over the 1963-64 season and drawing an encounter with Australia. A left-handed, classically correct opening batsman, he was also a successful swing...
. At the same time, the South African manager Ken Viljoen
Ken Viljoen
Kenneth George Viljoen was a South African cricketer who played in 27 Tests from 1930 to 1949, but he is more greatly renowned in cricketing circles as a manager of post-World War II Springbok teams....
set up a camera and began filming the left-armer's bowling action. Meckiff was no-balled four times by Egar—who was standing at square leg—in what would be his only over of the match. After the Victorian bowled a gentle "loosener" as his first ball, the drama began. Egar ruled the second, third, fifth and ninth balls to be throws, and therefore illegitimate. After the third and fifth balls—the latter a full toss
Full toss
A full toss is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It describes any delivery that reaches the batsman without bouncing on the pitch first....
that Goddard hit for four—Benaud came over to consult his fast bowler. After the ninth ball, Meckiff and Benaud had another meeting, and the remaining three balls were deemed to be fair. In the meantime, the crowd roared loudly, heckling Egar and supporting the beleaguered bowler. Meckiff had previously been passed in five countries, having played Tests in four of these nations. Egar had cleared his bowling on five previous occasions, in three Shield matches and two Tests; the Victorian had bowled 119.1 overs in these games without incident. Egar later said "My only judgement was what I saw at the time". Benaud removed his paceman from the attack and Meckiff did not bowl again in the match. He retired from all forms of cricket at the end of the game, but continued to proclaim that his bowling action was fair.
Barry Gibbs
Barry Gibbs (cricket)
Barry Gibbs was a South Australian cricket administrator.Gibbs was the Chief Executive of the South Australian Cricket Association between 1988 and 1997. He was responsible for the opening of the Bradman Stand at Adelaide Oval. He died from cancer, aged 73.-References:...
, the secretary of the Queensland Cricket Association and the manager of the Australian team, said that the "humiliation" of Meckiff was "without a doubt the most dramatic and emotion-charged" sporting moment he had witnessed. Egar's actions also ignited "one of the most emotional crowd displays in Test history", as the public backed the paceman. During Meckiff's over, the crowd expressed strong disapproval of the umpire's calls. Half an hour before the close of the day's play, proceedings were suspended for two minutes as the crowd repeatedly chanted "We want Meckiff". When play ended, spectators stormed the field and carried the fast bowler off the arena on their shoulders, hailing him as a hero. They then returned to the field and formed two lanes, booing Egar from the ground. After this incident, the Queensland Police escorted the umpire to and from the match venue. The police presence at the ground was increased because of fears that the crowd might attack Egar or Benaud. During the Second Test, which was held in Meckiff's home town of Melbourne, Egar was given a police escort throughout the match after receiving death threats.
Reaction
During a rest day after the second day's play the media dissected the events of the previous afternoon. The majority of reporters believed that all of Meckiff's deliveries had been bowled with an identical action. Louis Duffus wrote that he felt "sympathy for Meckiff as well as admiration for Egar." The South African Charles Fortune wrote that Meckiff's action was "not according to the laws of cricket" although he would not call the Australian bowler a "chucker". England captain Ted DexterTed Dexter
Edward Ralph Dexter CBE is a former English cricketer...
implied that Meckiff was throwing, saying that "one courageous Australian umpire has brought it to a timely end".
Team manager Gibbs reported that at the end of the first day's play the Australian dressing room was stunned into silence. Egar asked Benaud for permission to enter, and after the Australian captain allowed him in, the umpire sat quietly for a period before speaking to some other players and then to Meckiff. The pair were close friends, and shook hands before putting their arms around one another's shoulders. The condemned bowler did not take Egar's judgment personally and did not have hard feelings about the incident. Egar said that he was "the second most upset person in the world", and later added that he thought Meckiff's first ball was suspect. He said that he could have called more deliveries, but was worried that the over would never end.
Benaud received criticism for not bowling Meckiff again at the other end, but Rowan later indicated that he would have agreed with Egar, writing in his book that the action was illegitimate. Retired Test umpires Hoy and Les Townsend
Les Townsend
Leslie Hyde Townsend was an Australian cricket Test match umpire....
were watching at the ground when Meckiff was called. The day after the incident, both asserted that they would not have no-balled the paceman, claiming that Meckiff's action, though unusual, was legitimate.
Meckiff later agreed to a series of ghost-written articles about the no-ball incident. He said that Egar's calls "hit him like a dagger in the back", but described the umpire as "a fair and just man who acted according to his convictions".
Allegations of a conspiracy
Sections of the cricket community believed that Meckiff was no-balled to prove that Australia was serious about dealing with the wave of complaints regarding suspected throwing in the 1950s and 1960s. A dinner hosted by board member Don Bradman in January 1963 for visiting state captains was later cited to suggest that Meckiff may have been a sacrificial offering. At the dinner, Bradman had showed film of Meckiff among others, which purportedly depicted incriminating actions. This indicated Bradman's doubts over Meckiff's legitimacy, yet Bradman was one of the selectors who oversaw Meckiff's inclusion.Many members of the Australian media alleged a conspiracy against Meckiff, using words such as "the whole affair smacks of a set-up", "obvious fall-guy", and "sacrificial goat". Several called for Bradman and his colleagues to resign. Cricketer-turned-journalist Dick Whitington cited the fact that Egar and Bradman had travelled from Adelaide to the Brisbane Test together as evidence of a plot. Gibbs later claimed that the selection of an extra bowler for the match hinted at fears that Meckiff would not be able to bowl. Alan Connolly
Alan Connolly
Alan Norman Connolly is a former Australian cricketer who played in 29 Tests and one ODI from 1963 to 1971. Connolly had been a fast bowler in his youth, but slowed his pace to increase his accuracy and became a reliable support bowler in partnership with Garth McKenzie...
remained adamant that his teammate's action was legitimate and implied a conspiracy, saying "I wasn't amazed [by Egar's call]...There was a good reason for that which I can't disclose and won't disclose." Tom Veivers
Tom Veivers
Thomas Robert Veivers is a former Australian cricketer who played in 21 Tests from 1963 to 1967. He was an all-rounder who bowled right arm off-spin bowler and batted left-handed. He later had a brief political career, holding the seat of Ashgrove in the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1983...
, who made his Test debut for Australia in Meckiff’s last match, hinted at the same. He recalled that Rowan had said "It's going to be a very interesting game" at the pre-match function. For his part, Egar always denied any conspiracy had occurred or that he agreed to a premeditated course of events against Meckiff.
Egar stood in all five Tests as well as four of South Australia's home matches during 1963–64. The following season, he stood in Australia's only Test against Pakistan and four matches at Adelaide Oval.
Eddie Illingworth
During the same season, 1964–65, Egar no-balled a fourth and final bowler during his career, Victoria's Eddie Illingworth. The bowler had made his first-class debut two and a half years. This had been controversial as he had twice been no-balled for throwing by two different umpires in Victorian Premier CricketVictorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket is the elite club cricket competition in the state of Victoria, administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matches are played on turf wickets under limited-time rules, with most results...
prior to his selection. Despite taking a total of 7/71 on debut, Illingworth was overlooked for further state selection for over two years. Illingworth's best performance in a Sheffield Shield match was against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
in November 1964, the same match in which he was called.
Illingworth took 4/92 in South Australia's first innings but was no-balled a total of three times by Egar and his partner Jack Ryan, both standing at square leg. He was called twice by Egar on the second and fourth deliveries of his eleventh over, and once by Ryan on the sixth ball of his fourteenth over. In the same fourteenth over, Illingworth had dismissed former Pakistani Test batsman Duncan Sharpe
Duncan Sharpe
Duncan Albert Sharpe is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in three Tests in 1959. Sharpe was an Anglo-Pakistani, therefore he was one of the few Christian players to play for Pakistan....
and Australian Test wicket-keeper Barry Jarman
Barry Jarman
Barrington Noel Jarman OAM is a former Australian Test cricketer and International Cricket Council Match Referee....
from the first and fourth deliveries respectively. Victorian captain Bill Lawry
Bill Lawry
William Morris "Bill" Lawry, AM is a former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Tests, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia in the inaugural One Day International match, played in 1971...
chose not to remove Illingworth and continued to bowl him. The state selectors were reluctant to pick Illingworth for Victoria because of the throwing allegations that surrounded him and he played in only two more matches.
In 1965–66, Egar had the busiest season of his career. He stood in all five Anglo-Australian Tests, two matches between South Australia and England, and three of his state's home Shield matches. The following summer, Egar stood in all four Shield matches at Adelaide Oval while the Test team were away in 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...
. In 1967–68, Egar stood in all four Tests against India in addition to three Shield matches and two fixtures between South Australia and India and New Zealand respectively.
Egar stood in all five Tests of the West Indian tour of Australia in 1968–69. He also officiated in two Shield matches and two games between South Australia and the West Indies at Adelaide Oval.
Egar's last match, also against the West Indies, was at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
from 14–20 February 1969. The match was won by Australia by 382 runs after Bill Lawry
Bill Lawry
William Morris "Bill" Lawry, AM is a former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Tests, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia in the inaugural One Day International match, played in 1971...
, the Australian captain, delayed his second-innings declaration until Australia led by 734 runs. In this match Doug Walters
Doug Walters
Kevin Douglas Walters MBE in Dungog New South Wales, known as Doug Walters, is a former Australian cricketer. He was known as an attacking batsman, and also as a typical ocker.-First-class career:...
became the first batsman to score a double century and a century in the same match, with scores of 242 and 103. Egar's colleague was Lou Rowan
Lou Rowan
Louis Patrick “Lou” Rowan , was an Australian Test cricket match umpire.He umpired 25 Test matches between 1963 and 1971. His first match was between Australian and England at Sydney on 11 January to 15 January 1963, when Alan Davidson took 9/79, and Bobby Simpson took 5/57 and made 91 and 36 not...
.
The following season, the Test team were in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and 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...
, and Egar stood in all four of South Australia's home Shield fixtures. In 1970–71, Egar stood in one Shield match and then the tour game between South Australia and Ray Illingworth
Ray Illingworth
Raymond Illingworth, CBE is a former English cricketer, cricket commentator and cricket administrator. He was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in First class cricket, and the last one to do so...
's touring Englishmen in October, and retired after the match, not standing in the Tests. During the 1960s he umpired 29 out of 30 Test matches played in Australia.
Administration
Following his umpiring career, Egar turned to cricket administration, managing a number of Australian Test teams, and was the Australian Cricket Board's chairman from 1989-92. Ironically, in the Australian tour of PakistanPakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
in 1988, Egar protested to the Pakistan Board of Control
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board is a sporting organization that is responsible for governing all professional cricket including Test cricket and One Day International matches played in Pakistan...
over the umpiring of Mahboob Shah
Mahboob Shah
Syed Mahboob Ali Shah is a former Pakistani first-class cricketer and Test cricket umpire.Mahboob Shah was born in Delhi. Before becoming an umpire, he played in 14 first-class matches for Baluchistan, Central Zone, Karachi Whites, Karachi C, Quetta and Karachi University between 1954/55 and...
, following an innings loss on a grassless pitch which captain Allan Border
Allan Border
Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
described as a conspiracy from the word go. Steve Waugh, a member of the team, quoted Egar as claiming the umpiring is totally unacceptable. The tour was in danger of being abandoned, but Egar insisted it progress as scheduled.
Criticism of throwing
Egar remained outspoken about bowling actions that he considered to be dubious in his later life. He has been strongly critical of the action of the Sri Lankan world record-breaking spinnerSpin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
. In 2002, he criticised Wisden
Wisden
The Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
for ranking Muralitharan the best bowler in Test history, citing his bowling action. After Muralitharan broke the world record for career Test dismissals, Egar said "As far as I am concerned they should have a separate record for bowlers with illegal actions...I've got a photo at home of Murali's arm bending at 48 degrees." Egar criticised laboratory tests on Muralitharan at the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
as "rubbish...The only tests that matter are those conducted under match conditions...The administrators of the game have got to take the blame for letting his action go."
A public bar at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
is named the "Col Egar Bar" as a tribute to him.
Egar died in September 2008 following a long illness.