Greg Matthews
Encyclopedia
Gregory Richard John "Mo" Matthews (born 15 December 1959 in Newcastle, New South Wales
) is a former New South Wales
and Australian
cricketer
who is now a television cricket commentator.
When Australian cricket was in the doldrums
in the late 1980s "his dashing batsmanship and growing ability as a spin bowler suddenly elevated Matthews to a position of a national hero". He made centuries in times of crisis against New Zealand and India in 1985-86, took ten wickets in the Tied Test
at Madras and batted well against England in 1986-87. Thereafter his career declined as the "effervesent and unorthodox" Matthews did not fit in with the rest of the Australian Test team. As Australia rose to dominance in the 1990s Matthews proved to be "not good enough in either of the game's main departments to make a lasting impact as a Test all-rounder" and despite a century against England in 1990-91 he played only irregularly and was finally dropped in 1993. He continued to play with success for New South Wales
until he retired in 1997.
Public School and played for the Rydalmere Cricket Club, where he won the Under 11s Northern Districts Cricket Association Cricketer of the Year Award in 1970-71 and 1971-72. Prior to his cricket career taking off, Matthews played Colts (under 20's) Rugby for the Eastwood Rugby Club
and was a pro for the Cumbrian side Whitehaven Cricket Club for three seasons, starring in the clubs 1981 league championship victory. At the conclusion of a successful season for Eastwood there was speculation that cricket may be put aside for Rugby, but he opted to play cricket.
Early in his cricketing career Matthews was regarded "as a bowler who fielded energetically and could bat a bit" and a "complete extrovert, dressing to shock". He was usually referred to a Greg, but his teammates nicknamed him 'Mo', "short for 'misère', which he always called when we played five hundred
". Matthews enjoyed clubbing and ignored the midnight curfew imposed by New South Wales fast bowler Geoff Lawson
as "these were his socialising hours and the time he came to life", and his mantra
was "'live each day as if it's your last'". He was first picked for the Australia against Pakistan in the Fourth Test at Melbourne
in 1983-84, taking 2/95 and 2/48, running out Zaheer Abbas
in the first innings and bowling him in the second. With the bat he joined Graham Yallop
(268) on 354/7 and together they added 185 runs for the eighth wicket. The Test was drawn and Matthews was kept for the Fifth Test and was Greg Chappell
's batting partner when he was dismissed for 182 in his final Test innings. Dennis Lillee
and Rod Marsh
also retired and the Australian Test team was further weakened by the Rebel Tour of South Africa in 1984-85
. This provided opportunities for ambitious young players, but Matthews was initially unable to capitalise. He was taken on the unsuccessful tour of the West Indies in 1983-84, where he played in the Fifth Test and was a makeshift opener
in the second innings as Steve Smith was injured. At home he played another one-off Test against the West Indies in the Fourth Test, dismissing Viv Richards
(208) and Clive Lloyd
(91) in his 2/67 in a draw that ended their 11 match winning streak. He was not one of the three spinners chosen for the Fifth Test on his home ground at Sydney
where Australia won by an innings. Nevertheless he was taken to England England in 1985
, where he proved popular in the county matches. In the One Day Internationals Matthews batting at number eight and hit the winning runs at Old Trafford (22 not out) and Lord's
(29 not out) as Australia won the Texaco Trophy
2-1. in the Third Test at Trent Bridge
he mixed with the crowd and read a newspaper in the stands; "Matthews of the petit-punk hair and puppet movements...has a happy knack of winding up crowds". In the Test series he only played in the Fourth Test because Graeme Wood
was injured and again volunteered to open in the second innings, but also ran out Allan Lamb
from extra cover. Matthews had now played in five Test matches, but had only made 139 runs (19.85) and taken 7 wikcets (45.28) and was far from establishing his place in the Australia team.
Greg Matthews joined me at the wicket to start an innings which was to 'make' him as a Test cricketer...I think we had all regarded him as a bowler who fielded energetically and could bat a bit. We'd misjudged him, and that century put the true all-rounder stamp on him.
The First Test against New Zealand at the Woolloongabba saw Australia lose their third Test in a row by an innings as Richard Hadlee
took 15/123. Matthews was Australian's best bowler (3/110) and joined the Australian captain Allan Border
at 67/5 in the second innings with 307 runs required to make the New Zealand bat again. He made his first Test century - 115 off 229 balls with 10 fours and a six - and most of the 197 runs added with Border (152), a record sixth wicket stand for Australia against New Zealand. This was backed up with 50 and 32 in the Second Test at Sydney
, which Australia won by 4 wickets and he was second in the Australian series batting averages after the captain with 247 runs (41.16).
he came in at 109/5 and made 100 not out adding 46 for the last wicket with his New South Wales
team-mate Dave Gilbert (4) - who came in when Matthews was 59 - to hoist the Australian total up to 262. Lacklustre Indian batting and late rain saved the match after Allan Border
(163) and Gilbert (10 not out) made a reargaurd action in the second innings. Though they outplayed Australia in all three Tests this was the nearest they came to winning a Test and the series.
One Day series between Australia, New Zealand and India, who were the current World Champions
, and Australia and India made it into the best out of three finals. In the First WSC Final Matthews was run out for 7 in Australia's 170/8, but returned an econmonical 9-0-27-3 to bowl out India for 159 to win by 11 runs. In the Second WSC Final he took 10-0-37-2 to restrict India to 187 and saw Australia win the game by 7 wickets and the Finals 2-0 without the need for a third game. Matthews was voted Player of the Finals and it was a considerable boost to Australian confidence as the team completed a lap of honour round the Melbourne Cricket Ground
.
Australia toured New Zealand
in 1985-65 and lost their second series against them in the same season despite several improvements. In the First Test Matthews (130) came in at 166/4 and added 213 for the fifth wicket with Greg Ritchie
(92), a record for Australia vs New Zealand and Matthews' highest Test score. Rain ensured a draw in both the first two Tests and in the Second Matthews had the unusual bowling analysis of 3-3-0-1 when he caught and bowled Bruce Edgar
in New Zealand's second innings of 16/1. Australia lost the Third Test when they collapsed to 103 in the second innings and lost by 8 wickets. Matthews had taken his then best Test bowling of 4/61, dismissing Bruce Edgar
(24), Ken Rutherford
(0) and Martin Crowe
(0) with the score on 73. This gave him 8 wickets (29.50), his best series bowling so far, but he had taken only 23 wickets (43.69) in 14 Tests to add to his 725 runs (32.95). The Australian captain Allan Border
threatened to resign if Australia did not win the four game One Day International and then saw New Zealand go 2-0 up. Fortunately Australia won the last two games and Matthews was Man of the Match in the Fourth ODI at Eden Park
, where he made 54, took 9-1-33-3 and held onto three catches in Australia's 44 run win. This allowed Border to announce that the team had improved enough for him not to resign, much to the advantage of Australian cricket.
Australia toured India at the start of the 1986-87 season and played the First Test at Madras
, a huge concrete bowl which radiated the intense heat, which rose to 50°C with 90% humidity. Allan Border
won the toss and Australia declared on 574/7 on the third day when Matthews was out for 44. In the Indian innings he took 5/103, his first five wicket haul in Test cricket
, as his dismissed Sunil Gavaskar
(caught and bowled), Krishnamachari Srikkanth
, Ravi Shastri
, Chandrakant Pandit
and Kapil Dev
as India were bowled out for 397. Declining to enforce the follow on in the heat Border batted again and Matthews made 27 not out in Australia's 170/5, which set India 348 runs to win on the last day. Matthews dismissed Srikkanth
, Mohinder Amarnath
and Pandit
as India collapsed from 200/2 to 291/6. His 40th over was the last that could be played in the match, bowling to Ravi Shastri
, with India's last man Maninder Singh
at the bowler's end. India needed four runs to win from the 6-ball over with only one wicket remaining;
India were all out for 347, Matthews having taken 5/146 (10/249 in the match) and the match was the Second Tied Test
in cricket history. It was the second and last time that he would take five wickets in a Test innings and the only time that he took ten wickets in a Test match
. Dean Jones
(210) was 'man of the match', but to applease local opinion so was Kapil Dev
(119). Greg Matthews was later made 'all-rounder of the match'. The Second Test began with three days rain and Matthews did not bat or bowl. The Third Test was a draw, Matthews taking 4/158 to dismiss Gavaskar
, Srikkanth
, Amarnath
and Mohammad Azharuddin
in India's only innings. He took 14 wickets (29.07) and made 91 runs (45.50) in the series, his most successful with the ball.
Matthews returned to Australia as with improved all-rounder credentials and the Test team's first choice spinner. Despite high hopes of regaining The Ashes
against an England team that "can't bat, can't bowl and can't field" Australia found itself in trouble again. Allan Border
won the toss at The Gabba and put England in to bat and watched them make 456. Greg Matthews was the most senior of bowlers, and had played as many Tests (17) as the others combined; Bruce Reid
(8), Steve Waugh
(8), Merv Hughes
(1) and Chris Matthews
(0). Still, he made a gritty 56 not out in the first innings, but Australia could not avoid the follow-on and lost by 7 wickets. In the Second Test at the WACA
England made 592/7 declared and Matthews batted for 190 minutes for his 45 and 14 not out to see out the draw. The Third Test at Adelaide finally saw Australia on top, but Border declared their innings on 514/5 with Matthews on 73 not out and Waugh on 79 not out after complaining about their slow scoring rate. In any case England had no trouble drawing the match on a slow, flat wicket, though Matthews did bowl the England captain Mike Gatting
for a first ball duck. The Fourth Test at Melbourne
was a debacle as the Australian batsmen threw their wickets away to Ian Botham
(5/41) and Gladstone Small
(5/48) and losing inside three days. Although he had made 217 runs (53.75) Matthews had taken only two wickets (147.50) and could hardly justify his place in the bowling line up. With The Ashes
out of reach the selectors dropped David Boon
, Greg Matthews and Craig McDermott
for the Fifth Test, which was won thanks to the debutant spinner Peter Taylor
.
Matthews would remain out of favour with the Australian Test selectors for four years. Despite his 10 wicket hall in the Tied Test
his bowling was not of Test standard and his batting average 36.82 was not enough to keep him in the team by itself when David Boon
, Allan Border
, Dean Jones
and Steve Waugh
were occupying the middle order. He did play One Day Internationals until the Sharjah Cup
in 1986-87, where he had an off-field argument over a barbecued steak and was fined $1,000
by Ian McDonald and Bobby Simpson
. Steve Waugh
thought he "was being punished largely for previous infractions and perceived attitude problems...and straight away you could sense that a couple of guys felt their careers might be over". Bobby Simpson
was Matthews' personal manager and the Australian coach and though he had been supportive in his early career, but now wanted a more disciplined team and Matthews did not fit in.
Matthews continued to play well for New South Wales
and was recalled for the First Test against England at Brisbane in 1990-91. Peter Taylor
had not proved to be a long term success and Matthews was the only Australian spinner in the side, apart from Allan Border
. He made 35 batting at number seven and took 1/30, but Australia won by eight wickets and he kept his place. He took 3/40 in the Second Test at Melbourne
and 2/26 at in the Third Test at Sydney
, where he also hit 128 with 17 boundaries to lift Australia from 292/5 to 512/9. In the Fourth Test at Adelaide he made 65 and 34 not out and 60 not out at Perth
in the Fifth. Australia won the series 3-0 and Matthews made 353 runs (70.60), his best Test series with the bat, though he only took 7 wickets (60.28).
and here he did better. In the First Test at Colombo
he was Man of the Match as he made 6 and 64, took 3/93 and 4/76 and caught Ranjith Madurasinghe
off Shane Warne
to give Australia a 16 run win. He followed this up with 55, 51, 57 and 96 to draw the two following Tests and Australia won the series. He was kept for the First Test against the West Indies at The Gabba in 1992-93, but again failed and was dropped. Recalled for the Third Test at Sydney
he made 79, but was hit for 2/169 as Brian Lara
made 277 in the tourists 606. With Shane Warne
in the side Australia no longer needed Matthews as a spinner, he could not get a place on his batting alone and he never played for Australia again.
representative of the Australian Cricketers' Association
, which had been formed in August on the 1997 tour of England. Matthews currently plays in the Sydney Grade Cricket
competition for the University of Sydney team and had a bowling average of 11.04 for the 2008 season. On 24 January 2009, he bowled Australia opener Phil Jaques
for 5 with his first ball when Sydney University was playing Sutherland. In 2009 he co-hosted SBS
televisions coverage of The Ashes
series along side former Test players Stuart MacGill
and Damien Martyn
.
as his manager he soon became a wealthy man, endorsing a whole range or products, until he and Simpson fell out. He later set up cricket coaching clinics with Steve Waugh
and Brad McNamara
in 1991-92. However, the distraction of having agents and pushing products unsettled his career, and he was "not so good that he can succeed in high company with giving his game everything he has". Matthews was involved in a high-profile "yeah, yeah" promotion for a hair regrowth company, Advanced Hair Studio, as have cricketers Graham Gooch
, Martin Crowe
and Shane Warne
.
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
) is a former New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
and Australian
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...
cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
who is now a television cricket commentator.
When Australian cricket was in the doldrums
Doldrums
The doldrums is a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage for those parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm...
in the late 1980s "his dashing batsmanship and growing ability as a spin bowler suddenly elevated Matthews to a position of a national hero". He made centuries in times of crisis against New Zealand and India in 1985-86, took ten wickets in the Tied Test
Tied Test
Tied Test refers to a rare result in Test cricket. Only two ties have occurred in the 2,000 Tests played since 1877. The first was in 1960 and the second in 1986...
at Madras and batted well against England in 1986-87. Thereafter his career declined as the "effervesent and unorthodox" Matthews did not fit in with the rest of the Australian Test team. As Australia rose to dominance in the 1990s Matthews proved to be "not good enough in either of the game's main departments to make a lasting impact as a Test all-rounder" and despite a century against England in 1990-91 he played only irregularly and was finally dropped in 1993. He continued to play with success for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
until he retired in 1997.
Early life
During his youth Matthews attended ErmingtonErmington, New South Wales
Ermington is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ermington is located 19 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. Ermington lies on the northern bank of the Parramatta River.-Aboriginal culture:The area now...
Public School and played for the Rydalmere Cricket Club, where he won the Under 11s Northern Districts Cricket Association Cricketer of the Year Award in 1970-71 and 1971-72. Prior to his cricket career taking off, Matthews played Colts (under 20's) Rugby for the Eastwood Rugby Club
Eastwood Rugby Club
Eastwood Rugby Club is a rugby union club playing in the Sydney grade competition. The club is based at T G Millner Field, named in honour of its benefactor Colonel Tom Millner MC VD, and the club's players and supporters are primarily drawn from the Northern Suburbs and Hills District of Sydney....
and was a pro for the Cumbrian side Whitehaven Cricket Club for three seasons, starring in the clubs 1981 league championship victory. At the conclusion of a successful season for Eastwood there was speculation that cricket may be put aside for Rugby, but he opted to play cricket.
Early Test Career
Matthews is a tough, useful, determined little cricketer; a steady, flat, off-spin bowler; a staunch, correct left-hand bat; and a brilliant fielder. He is also a cocky, slightly zany character.
- Christopher Martin-Jenkins
Christopher Martin-JenkinsChristopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins MBE, also known as CMJ , is a cricket journalist and Past President of the MCC. He is also a commentator for Test Match Special on BBC Radio....
Early in his cricketing career Matthews was regarded "as a bowler who fielded energetically and could bat a bit" and a "complete extrovert, dressing to shock". He was usually referred to a Greg, but his teammates nicknamed him 'Mo', "short for 'misère', which he always called when we played five hundred
500 (card game)
500, Five Hundred, is a game devised in America shortly before 1900 and promoted by the United States Playing Card Company, who copyrighted and marketed the rules in 1904. The game can be played by two to six players but the most common form is for four players in partnerships although some sources...
". Matthews enjoyed clubbing and ignored the midnight curfew imposed by New South Wales fast bowler Geoff Lawson
Geoff Lawson (cricketer)
Geoffrey Francis Lawson, OAM is a former Australian cricketer and the former coach of the Pakistan cricket team....
as "these were his socialising hours and the time he came to life", and his mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
was "'live each day as if it's your last'". He was first picked for the Australia against Pakistan in the Fourth Test at Melbourne
Melbourne 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...
in 1983-84, taking 2/95 and 2/48, running out Zaheer Abbas
Zaheer Abbas
Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani , popularly known as Zaheer Abbas, is a former Pakistani cricketer, regarded as one of the finest batsman produced by that country. He is widely known as the "Asian Bradman", a reference to former Australian great Sir Donald Bradman...
in the first innings and bowling him in the second. With the bat he joined Graham Yallop
Graham Yallop
Graham Neil Yallop is a former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia briefly during the tumultuous era of World Series Cricket in the late 1970s...
(268) on 354/7 and together they added 185 runs for the eighth wicket. The Test was drawn and Matthews was kept for the Fifth Test and was Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
's batting partner when he was dismissed for 182 in his final Test innings. Dennis Lillee
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
and Rod Marsh
Rod Marsh
Rodney William Marsh MBE is a former Australian wicketkeeper.A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same number his pace bowling Western...
also retired and the Australian Test team was further weakened by the Rebel Tour of South Africa in 1984-85
South African rebel tours
The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because South Africa was throughout this period banned from international cricket due to the apartheid regime...
. This provided opportunities for ambitious young players, but Matthews was initially unable to capitalise. He was taken on the unsuccessful tour of the West Indies in 1983-84, where he played in the Fifth Test and was a makeshift opener
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
in the second innings as Steve Smith was injured. At home he played another one-off Test against the West Indies in the Fourth Test, dismissing Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
(208) and Clive Lloyd
Clive Lloyd
Clive Hubert Lloyd CBE AO is a former West Indies cricketer. He captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 and oversaw their rise to become the dominant Test-playing nation, a position that was only relinquished in the latter half of the 1990s...
(91) in his 2/67 in a draw that ended their 11 match winning streak. He was not one of the three spinners chosen for the Fifth Test on his home ground 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...
where Australia won by an innings. Nevertheless he was taken to England England in 1985
Australian cricket team in England in 1985
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1985 season to play a six-match Test series against England.England won the series 3-1 with two matches drawn...
, where he proved popular in the county matches. In the One Day Internationals Matthews batting at number eight and hit the winning runs at Old Trafford (22 not out) and Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
(29 not out) as Australia won the Texaco Trophy
Texaco Trophy
The Texaco Trophy was the name used for One Day International cricket tournaments held in England from 1984 until 1998.The series were sponsored by American oil company Texaco replacing the previous sponsorship by Prudential...
2-1. in the Third Test at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
he mixed with the crowd and read a newspaper in the stands; "Matthews of the petit-punk hair and puppet movements...has a happy knack of winding up crowds". In the Test series he only played in the Fourth Test because Graeme Wood
Graeme Wood
Graeme Malcolm Wood is a former Australian cricketer who played in 59 Tests and 83 ODIs from 1978 to 1989. He scored nine Test centuries in his career and it was a West Australian record until 2001-02 when it was passed by Justin Langer....
was injured and again volunteered to open in the second innings, but also ran out Allan Lamb
Allan Lamb
Allan Joseph Lamb is a former England cricketer and captain who played for the first class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire, the latter as an Overseas player...
from extra cover. Matthews had now played in five Test matches, but had only made 139 runs (19.85) and taken 7 wikcets (45.28) and was far from establishing his place in the Australia team.
Australia vs New Zealand 1985-86
Greg Matthews joined me at the wicket to start an innings which was to 'make' him as a Test cricketer...I think we had all regarded him as a bowler who fielded energetically and could bat a bit. We'd misjudged him, and that century put the true all-rounder stamp on him.
- Allan BorderAllan BorderAllan 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...
The First Test against New Zealand at the Woolloongabba saw Australia lose their third Test in a row by an innings as Richard Hadlee
Richard Hadlee
Sir Richard John Hadlee, MBE is a former New Zealand cricketer who played provincial cricket for Canterbury, Nottinghamshire and Tasmania. He is the son of Walter Hadlee, and the brother of Dayle and Barry Hadlee. His former wife Karen also played international cricket for New Zealand.Hadlee was...
took 15/123. Matthews was Australian's best bowler (3/110) and joined the Australian 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...
at 67/5 in the second innings with 307 runs required to make the New Zealand bat again. He made his first Test century - 115 off 229 balls with 10 fours and a six - and most of the 197 runs added with Border (152), a record sixth wicket stand for Australia against New Zealand. This was backed up with 50 and 32 in the Second Test 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...
, which Australia won by 4 wickets and he was second in the Australian series batting averages after the captain with 247 runs (41.16).
Australia vs India 1985-86
New Zealand was only the third country to beat Australia at home after England and the West Indies and India looked set to be come the fourth. They made scores of 520, 445, 59/2 and 600/4 in the Tests and Matthews suffered with the other Australian bowlers, taking only two wickets (118.00) in the series. In the Second Test at MelbourneMelbourne 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...
he came in at 109/5 and made 100 not out adding 46 for the last wicket with his New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
team-mate Dave Gilbert (4) - who came in when Matthews was 59 - to hoist the Australian total up to 262. Lacklustre Indian batting and late rain saved the match after 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...
(163) and Gilbert (10 not out) made a reargaurd action in the second innings. Though they outplayed Australia in all three Tests this was the nearest they came to winning a Test and the series.
Benson and Hedges World Series Cup 1985-86
After the two Test series there was a triangular World Series CupWorld Series Cup
The World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia and two touring teams from 1979-80 to 1995-96. The tournament was renamed the World Series from 1990-1. This was the very first of the One Day International ...
One Day series between Australia, New Zealand and India, who were the current World Champions
1983 Cricket World Cup
The 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup was the third edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 June to 25 June 1983 in England and was won by India. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each, and each...
, and Australia and India made it into the best out of three finals. In the First WSC Final Matthews was run out for 7 in Australia's 170/8, but returned an econmonical 9-0-27-3 to bowl out India for 159 to win by 11 runs. In the Second WSC Final he took 10-0-37-2 to restrict India to 187 and saw Australia win the game by 7 wickets and the Finals 2-0 without the need for a third game. Matthews was voted Player of the Finals and it was a considerable boost to Australian confidence as the team completed a lap of honour round the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne 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...
.
New Zealand vs Australia 1985-86
I could never analyse why, right from the outset, sections of the New Zealand crowds had taken a set against Greg. Perhaps it was his juanty manner on the field. Perhaps he was a shade too successful for the liking of the more rabidly parochial Kiwi fans...You could never understand the mentality behind the crank phone calls Greg received in New Zealand, the egg-throwing and the incident in Wellington where a toilet seat was thrown on the field.
- Allan Border
Allan BorderAllan 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...
Australia toured New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1985-65 and lost their second series against them in the same season despite several improvements. In the First Test Matthews (130) came in at 166/4 and added 213 for the fifth wicket with Greg Ritchie
Greg Ritchie
Gregory Michael Ritchie is a former Australian cricketer who played in 30 Tests and 44 ODIs from 1982 to 1987....
(92), a record for Australia vs New Zealand and Matthews' highest Test score. Rain ensured a draw in both the first two Tests and in the Second Matthews had the unusual bowling analysis of 3-3-0-1 when he caught and bowled Bruce Edgar
Bruce Edgar
Bruce Adrian Edgar was a cricketer from Wellington and one of the best batsmen New Zealand has ever produced. An accountant by profession, in the 1980s, he played 39 Tests and 64 One Day Internationals, altogether he played 175 first-class matches...
in New Zealand's second innings of 16/1. Australia lost the Third Test when they collapsed to 103 in the second innings and lost by 8 wickets. Matthews had taken his then best Test bowling of 4/61, dismissing Bruce Edgar
Bruce Edgar
Bruce Adrian Edgar was a cricketer from Wellington and one of the best batsmen New Zealand has ever produced. An accountant by profession, in the 1980s, he played 39 Tests and 64 One Day Internationals, altogether he played 175 first-class matches...
(24), Ken Rutherford
Ken Rutherford (cricketer)
Kenneth Robert Rutherford is a former New Zealand cricketer who enjoyed a ten-year career with the national team, and was captain for a period. Aged 19, with a solitary first class season behind him, he was asked to open the batting for New Zealand against West Indies when the latter were at the...
(0) and Martin Crowe
Martin Crowe
Martin David Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1985, and was credited as one of the "best young batsmen in the world". Crowe represented New Zealand from the early 1980s until his retirement in 1996 as a right-handed batsman...
(0) with the score on 73. This gave him 8 wickets (29.50), his best series bowling so far, but he had taken only 23 wickets (43.69) in 14 Tests to add to his 725 runs (32.95). The Australian 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...
threatened to resign if Australia did not win the four game One Day International and then saw New Zealand go 2-0 up. Fortunately Australia won the last two games and Matthews was Man of the Match in the Fourth ODI at Eden Park
Eden Park
Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
, where he made 54, took 9-1-33-3 and held onto three catches in Australia's 44 run win. This allowed Border to announce that the team had improved enough for him not to resign, much to the advantage of Australian cricket.
India vs Australia 1986-87 and The Second Tied Test
There were many heros throughout the exhausting five days of play, but with a doubt, the most unsung of them was Greg Matthews, who scored 44 and 27 not out and took five wickets in each innings. His stamina and resilience were absolutely staggering, especially on the last day, when he bowled 39.5 overs just about consecutively to keep us in the game and then ultimately tie it. Making his feat all the more noteworthy in the eyes of his fellow players was the fact that he wore two sleeveless sweaters throughout the day. Actually, he gave one to the umpire when he fielded and only wore them both when he was bowling. We just shook our heads in disbelief, because it was so hot with 90 degree humidity, but as usual Greg had a theory. He explained that nomadic herders in the desert wore woollen coats because they kept the cool air in, thus acting as a kind of air-conditioner.
- Steve Waugh
Steve WaughStephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
.
Australia toured India at the start of the 1986-87 season and played the First Test at Madras
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is a cricket stadium in Chennai , India, named after M. A. Chidambaram, the former President of BCCI and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The stadium was formerly known as Madras Cricket Club Ground or Chepauk Stadium. Commonly known as Chepauk, its first match was...
, a huge concrete bowl which radiated the intense heat, which rose to 50°C with 90% humidity. 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...
won the toss and Australia declared on 574/7 on the third day when Matthews was out for 44. In the Indian innings he took 5/103, his first five wicket haul in 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...
, as his dismissed Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
(caught and bowled), Krishnamachari Srikkanth
Krishnamachari Srikkanth
Krishnamachari Srikkanth is a former captain of the Indian cricket team and the current chairman of the selection committee...
, Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
, Chandrakant Pandit
Chandrakant Pandit
Chandrakant Sitaram Pandit is a former Indian cricketer who played in 5 Tests and 36 ODIs from 1986 to 1992. After his retirement as a player, Pandit became a cricket coach, enjoying successful stints with the Mumbai cricket team.In the 1980s he was given the status of second wicketkeeper behind...
and Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
as India were bowled out for 397. Declining to enforce the follow on in the heat Border batted again and Matthews made 27 not out in Australia's 170/5, which set India 348 runs to win on the last day. Matthews dismissed Srikkanth
Krishnamachari Srikkanth
Krishnamachari Srikkanth is a former captain of the Indian cricket team and the current chairman of the selection committee...
, Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket analyst. He is commonly known as "Jimmy". He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. His brother Surinder Amarnath was a Test player...
and Pandit
Chandrakant Pandit
Chandrakant Sitaram Pandit is a former Indian cricketer who played in 5 Tests and 36 ODIs from 1986 to 1992. After his retirement as a player, Pandit became a cricket coach, enjoying successful stints with the Mumbai cricket team.In the 1980s he was given the status of second wicketkeeper behind...
as India collapsed from 200/2 to 291/6. His 40th over was the last that could be played in the match, bowling to Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
, with India's last man Maninder Singh
Maninder Singh
Maninder Singh is a former international cricket player who represented India in 35 Test matches and 59 One Day Internationals. With his slow left-arm orthodox spin, Maninder was considered as an heir to Bishan Singh Bedi, who then held the record as India's leading spinner in terms of wickets....
at the bowler's end. India needed four runs to win from the 6-ball over with only one wicket remaining;
- 1st ball : To Shastri: no run. Four runs required off five balls.
- 2nd ball : Shastri took two runs, retaining the strike. Two runs required off four balls.
- 3rd ball : Shastri pushed the ball to square leg for a single. The scores are now tied, with one run required for victory, but the Indian 11th man was now on strike.
- 4th ball : To Singh: no run. One run required off two balls.
- 5th ball : The ball hit Singh on his back leg and umpireUmpire (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...
Vikram Raju gives him out leg before wicketLeg before wicketIn the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
after a loud appeal.
India were all out for 347, Matthews having taken 5/146 (10/249 in the match) and the match was the Second Tied Test
Tied Test
Tied Test refers to a rare result in Test cricket. Only two ties have occurred in the 2,000 Tests played since 1877. The first was in 1960 and the second in 1986...
in cricket history. It was the second and last time that he would take five wickets in a Test innings and the only time that he took ten wickets in a Test match
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...
. Dean Jones
Dean Jones (cricketer)
Dean Mervyn Jones AM is a retired Australian cricketer, and is presently a coach. He also worked as a media commentator.-Career:...
(210) was 'man of the match', but to applease local opinion so was Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
(119). Greg Matthews was later made 'all-rounder of the match'. The Second Test began with three days rain and Matthews did not bat or bowl. The Third Test was a draw, Matthews taking 4/158 to dismiss Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
, Srikkanth
Krishnamachari Srikkanth
Krishnamachari Srikkanth is a former captain of the Indian cricket team and the current chairman of the selection committee...
, Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket analyst. He is commonly known as "Jimmy". He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. His brother Surinder Amarnath was a Test player...
and Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin also known as Azhar, is an Indian politician and former cricketer. He was an accomplished batsman and captained the Indian cricket team for much of the 1990s, until his involvement in a match-fixing scandal forced him into retirement...
in India's only innings. He took 14 wickets (29.07) and made 91 runs (45.50) in the series, his most successful with the ball.
Australia vs England 1986-87
When, at the start of the following season, Australia found themselves in trouble against England in the Brisbane Test, there was an extraordinary display of faith in his ability: up in the Press-box at The Gabba the assembed army of journalists, almost to a man, uttered statesments of relief when they saw Matthews emerging from the pavillion at number seven. He was the man to stop the rot they felt. He duly made fifty and by dogged batting and a good deal of talking managed to stave off a second defeat in the next game at PerthWACA GroundThe WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
. But gradually his outer ebullience became crushed by inner doubts and by the end of the summer he was being viewed by some disillusioned scribes as just another player in a country which had temporarily lost its grip on international cricket
- Christopher Martin-Jenkins
Christopher Martin-JenkinsChristopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins MBE, also known as CMJ , is a cricket journalist and Past President of the MCC. He is also a commentator for Test Match Special on BBC Radio....
Matthews returned to Australia as with improved all-rounder credentials and the Test team's first choice spinner. Despite high hopes of regaining The Ashes
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 an England team that "can't bat, can't bowl and can't field" Australia found itself in trouble again. 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...
won the toss at The Gabba and put England in to bat and watched them make 456. Greg Matthews was the most senior of bowlers, and had played as many Tests (17) as the others combined; Bruce Reid
Bruce Reid
Bruce Anthony Reid is an Australian cricketer and bowling coach of the Indian national cricket team on their 2003-04 tour to Australia....
(8), Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
(8), Merv Hughes
Merv Hughes
Mervyn Gregory Hughes is a former Australian cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler, he represented Australia between 1985 and 1994 in 53 Test matches, taking 212 wickets. He played 33 One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat trick in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA in...
(1) and Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
Christopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
(0). Still, he made a gritty 56 not out in the first innings, but Australia could not avoid the follow-on and lost by 7 wickets. In the Second Test at the WACA
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
England made 592/7 declared and Matthews batted for 190 minutes for his 45 and 14 not out to see out the draw. The Third Test at Adelaide finally saw Australia on top, but Border declared their innings on 514/5 with Matthews on 73 not out and Waugh on 79 not out after complaining about their slow scoring rate. In any case England had no trouble drawing the match on a slow, flat wicket, though Matthews did bowl the England captain Mike Gatting
Mike Gatting
Michael "Mike" William Gatting OBE is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test matches between 1986 and 1988...
for a first ball duck. The Fourth Test at Melbourne
Melbourne 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...
was a debacle as the Australian batsmen threw their wickets away to Ian Botham
Ian Botham
Sir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
(5/41) and Gladstone Small
Gladstone Small
Gladstone Cleophas Small is an English former cricketer, who played in seventeen Tests and fifty three ODIs for England....
(5/48) and losing inside three days. Although he had made 217 runs (53.75) Matthews had taken only two wickets (147.50) and could hardly justify his place in the bowling line up. With The Ashes
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...
out of reach the selectors dropped David Boon
David Boon
David Clarence Boon MBE , nicknamed Boony, is a former Australian cricketer whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1995...
, Greg Matthews and Craig McDermott
Craig McDermott
Craig John McDermott is a former Australian cricketer. He is currently the bowling coach for the Australian cricket team....
for the Fifth Test, which was won thanks to the debutant spinner Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (cricketer)
For other people named Peter Taylor, see Peter Taylor.Peter Laurence Taylor is a former Australian cricketer who played in 13 Tests and 83 ODIs from 1987 to 1992....
.
Out of the Test Team 1986-1990
He wasn't fitting in with the team. On many occasions he had breakfast alone, and he wasn't one to spend more time at a bar with the boys when there was a disco on hand. The "minor" things were causing a rift - his eating habits, his hair-style, his choice of clothes, or whatever, seemed to be an extra reason why he wasn't one of the boys.
- Rod Nicolson, Melbourne Herald
Matthews would remain out of favour with the Australian Test selectors for four years. Despite his 10 wicket hall in the Tied Test
Tied Test
Tied Test refers to a rare result in Test cricket. Only two ties have occurred in the 2,000 Tests played since 1877. The first was in 1960 and the second in 1986...
his bowling was not of Test standard and his batting average 36.82 was not enough to keep him in the team by itself when David Boon
David Boon
David Clarence Boon MBE , nicknamed Boony, is a former Australian cricketer whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1995...
, 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...
, Dean Jones
Dean Jones (cricketer)
Dean Mervyn Jones AM is a retired Australian cricketer, and is presently a coach. He also worked as a media commentator.-Career:...
and Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
were occupying the middle order. He did play One Day Internationals until the Sharjah Cup
1996 Pepsi Sharjah Cup
The 1996 Pepsi Sharjah Cup was a triangular ODI cricket competition held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates from April 12 to 19, 1996. It featured the national cricket teams of South Africa, Pakistan and India. Its official sponsor was Pepsi...
in 1986-87, where he had an off-field argument over a barbecued steak and was fined $1,000
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
by Ian McDonald and Bobby Simpson
Bobby Simpson
Roberta "Bobby" Marshall is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Nicolle Dickson. She was introduced in the pilot episode by executive producer Alan Bateman. Nearly four hundred actresses auditioned to play Bobby, with Dickson taking the role...
. Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
thought he "was being punished largely for previous infractions and perceived attitude problems...and straight away you could sense that a couple of guys felt their careers might be over". Bobby Simpson
Bobby Simpson
Roberta "Bobby" Marshall is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Nicolle Dickson. She was introduced in the pilot episode by executive producer Alan Bateman. Nearly four hundred actresses auditioned to play Bobby, with Dickson taking the role...
was Matthews' personal manager and the Australian coach and though he had been supportive in his early career, but now wanted a more disciplined team and Matthews did not fit in.
Australia vs England 1990-91
He was always excellent for the shock-value element, but also a guy who could play better than he probably ever realised and who record as an all-rounder for NSWNew South Wales BluesThe New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
is unrivalled.
- Steve Waugh
Steve WaughStephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
.
Matthews continued to play well for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
and was recalled for the First Test against England at Brisbane in 1990-91. Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (cricketer)
For other people named Peter Taylor, see Peter Taylor.Peter Laurence Taylor is a former Australian cricketer who played in 13 Tests and 83 ODIs from 1987 to 1992....
had not proved to be a long term success and Matthews was the only Australian spinner in the side, apart from 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...
. He made 35 batting at number seven and took 1/30, but Australia won by eight wickets and he kept his place. He took 3/40 in the Second Test at Melbourne
Melbourne 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...
and 2/26 at in the Third Test 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...
, where he also hit 128 with 17 boundaries to lift Australia from 292/5 to 512/9. In the Fourth Test at Adelaide he made 65 and 34 not out and 60 not out at Perth
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
in the Fifth. Australia won the series 3-0 and Matthews made 353 runs (70.60), his best Test series with the bat, though he only took 7 wickets (60.28).
Later Test Career
Back in the team Matthews was selected for the tour of the West Indies on 1990-91, but did little and was dropped after the Second Test. Missing out on the 1991-92 home series he was picked again for the tour of Sri LankaSri 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...
and here he did better. In the First Test at Colombo
Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
The Sinhalese Sports Club is one of the most famous cricket grounds in Sri Lanka. It is theheadquarters of Sri Lanka Cricket, the controlling body of cricket in Sri Lanka. The Ground often cited as the Lord's of Sri Lanka, hosting most domestic finals and one of preeminent international cricket...
he was Man of the Match as he made 6 and 64, took 3/93 and 4/76 and caught Ranjith Madurasinghe
Ranjith Madurasinghe
Ranjith Madurusinghe is a Sri Lankan cricketer. An old boy of Maliyadeva College and highly rated in domestic circles, he failed to make an impact at international level in his limited opportunities. With his tall build, Madurusinghe could gain bounce when delivering his well-flighted offspin...
off Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
to give Australia a 16 run win. He followed this up with 55, 51, 57 and 96 to draw the two following Tests and Australia won the series. He was kept for the First Test against the West Indies at The Gabba in 1992-93, but again failed and was dropped. Recalled for the Third Test 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...
he made 79, but was hit for 2/169 as Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
made 277 in the tourists 606. With Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
in the side Australia no longer needed Matthews as a spinner, he could not get a place on his batting alone and he never played for Australia again.
Later career
In September 1997 Matthews became the New South WalesNew South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
representative of the Australian Cricketers' Association
Australian Cricketers' Association
The Australian Cricketers’ Association is an organisation that represents the professional first-class cricketers of Australia, both past and present. It is not a formally registered Trade Union, but an Incorporated Association...
, which had been formed in August on the 1997 tour of England. Matthews currently plays in the Sydney Grade Cricket
Sydney Grade Cricket
Sydney Grade Cricket is a cricket competition played in Sydney, Australia. The competition began in 1893 when a number of clubs, which had been playing for many years on an ad hoc basis, voted to create a formal competition structure....
competition for the University of Sydney team and had a bowling average of 11.04 for the 2008 season. On 24 January 2009, he bowled Australia opener Phil Jaques
Phil Jaques
Philip Anthony Jaques is an Australian cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman who has played first-class cricket for New South Wales, Northamptonshire, Yorkshire and Worcestershire, as well as international cricket for Australia...
for 5 with his first ball when Sydney University was playing Sutherland. In 2009 he co-hosted SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
televisions coverage of The Ashes
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...
series along side former Test players Stuart MacGill
Stuart MacGill
Stuart Charles Glyndwr MacGill is a former right-arm leg spin bowler of the Australian cricket team, with a domestic career at Western Australia, New South Wales, Nottinghamshire, Devon and Somerset...
and Damien Martyn
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn is a former Australian cricketer. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player in 1999–2000 and a regular Test player in 2001 until his retirement in late 2006...
.
Advertising
Greg Matthews was seen as a very saleable commodity in 1985-86. With the Australian cricket coach Bobby SimpsonBobby Simpson
Roberta "Bobby" Marshall is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Nicolle Dickson. She was introduced in the pilot episode by executive producer Alan Bateman. Nearly four hundred actresses auditioned to play Bobby, with Dickson taking the role...
as his manager he soon became a wealthy man, endorsing a whole range or products, until he and Simpson fell out. He later set up cricket coaching clinics with Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
and Brad McNamara
Brad McNamara
Bradley Edward McNamara is an Australian cricketer who has played first-class cricket for New South Wales and also List A cricket once for the Middlesex Cricket Board versus Cumberland at Southgate in 1999....
in 1991-92. However, the distraction of having agents and pushing products unsettled his career, and he was "not so good that he can succeed in high company with giving his game everything he has". Matthews was involved in a high-profile "yeah, yeah" promotion for a hair regrowth company, Advanced Hair Studio, as have cricketers 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...
, Martin Crowe
Martin Crowe
Martin David Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1985, and was credited as one of the "best young batsmen in the world". Crowe represented New Zealand from the early 1980s until his retirement in 1996 as a right-handed batsman...
and Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
.