Mick Malone
Encyclopedia
Michael Francis Malone is a former Australia
n cricket
er who played in one Test
and 10 ODIs from 1977 to 1982. Malone played in only one Test
prior to joining World Series Cricket
. In English county cricket he had a period with Lancashire
. He was also an Australian rules football
full-forward and played in 104 WANFL
games for Subiaco
.
on 21 February 1975 against Victoria, in the Sheffield Shield. He took five wickets in the match getting Bob Baldry twice. In his second appearance, against New South Wales
he would take seven wickets in the match, including the wicket of test star batsman and Blues captain Doug Walters
. Western Australia would win the Sheffield Shield that year, Malone playing in the vital final two matches of the season. In his second season of Shield cricket (1975/76) Malone would take 28 wickets at an average of just 18.75, including two 5 wicket hauls. Only Australian test players Dennis Lillee
, Jeff Thomson
, Ashley Mallett
and Alan Hurst
took more wickets although Malone's average was superior to them all. The 1976/77 Sheffield Shield season was Malone's most productive. He finished as the competitions leading wicket taker with an amazing 40 wickets in just 8 matches at an average of just 16.12, with four 5 wicket innings.
In 1979 Malone would move to England to play as professional with Haslingden Cricket Club
in the Lancashire League. Dennis Lillee
had played for Haslingden in 1971. Other pros in the league at the time included Pakistani's Mudassar Nazar
(Burnley
), Nasim-ul-Ghani
(Lowerhouse
), Anwar Khan (Rishton
), Mohsin Khan
(Accrington
) and Aftab Baloch
(Todmorden
), fellow Aussie Peter Sleep
(East Lancashire
), Indians Madan Lal
(Enfield
) and Rakesh Shukla
(Colne
). The league had a reputation as being hard with many famous overseas pros having played there (including Ian Chappell
).
Malone was signed to as the second overseas player for Lancashire
alongside the great Clive Lloyd
replacing South African Paul Robinson. In two matches he would take a remarkable 18 wickets, including his career best of 7 for 88 against Nottinghamshire
at Blackpool
. He dismissed star batsmen Derek Randall
and Clive Rice
. In his second match for Lancashire, Malone would take 6 for 60 against Leicestershire
, David Gower
among his wickets.
Benefiting from his spell in England, Malone returned to Shield cricket for Western Australia for the 1979/80 season. He took 32 wickets in the expanded competition at a more modest average of 28.75, in what was a poor season for the side, they won just once, at home against whipping boys Tasmania. However his form was good enough to earn a recall to the Australia party for the tour to Pakistan.
Malone returned to Lancashire for the entire 1980 season playing 15 county championship matches. He was the county's second highest wicket-taker with 45 wickets (ave. 25.88), behind Willie Hogg
who had 50 (ave. 21.16). Lancashire finished a disappointing third bottom in the table winning only four games. Malone did face the touring Australians in a three-day match but did not take a wicket.
Malone would play just two more seasons of Shield cricket for Western Australia before retiring at the end of the 1981/82, playing just twelve more matches. The 1980/81 season yielded just 14 wickets while he took 13 in his final season. Although Western Australia did win the Shield again in 1980/81.
and his proposed World Series Cricket
for tension within the Australian side (Malone had already signed a contract), leading to the poor performances. Malone disagrees, "The press said we were a divided side," says Malone, "but that was not the case. There were 13 of the 17 players who had signed for Packer and we all knew each other and got on, Packer and non-Packer players. The reason we lost was because we were outplayed by a better side and because Geoff Boycott
was sensational." At the tail end of the tour Malone was picked for two One-Day Internationals. England won both games easily Malone taking two wickets in the first match and going wicketless in the second.
Malone had signed for World Series Cricket so was ineligible to represent Australia while the tournament ran from 1977 to 1979. After a decent season in 1979/80 he was chosen to tour Pakistan, although he did not play in any of the three tests. Malone was picked against the BCCP President's XI and Punjab Governor's XI he struggled on the slow pitches taking just one wicket and bowling few overs, as Australia relied heavlily on the spin of Ray Bright
.
He was next picked for the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup
, the official spin-off from WSC, against Pakistan and the West Indies in 1981/82. He would play eight times taking 9 wickets at an average of 27.88, he was also Australia's most economical bowler conceding just 3.13 runs per over.
. He took three wickets in the match; Clive Lloyd
, Richard Austin and Viv Richards
and scored seven runs. The match was drawn. He featured more in the limited overs matches. In the 1977/78 International Cup he took 4 wickets in 4 matches. The Country Cup tours provided Malone with more match time. In the 1977/78 Country Cup he played eight times taking 25 wickets at an average of just 20.76. His economy rate for that tour was a very impressive 2.78 runs per over. Malone took 3 for 62 in the 75 over Country Cup Final that the Australians lost to the World XI at Manuka Oval
, Canberra
.
In 1978/79 season, Malone played eight matches of the tour to New Zealand (against the World XI) taking 14 wickets (ave. 13.14), with best figures of 4 for 9 in 10 overs at Cooks Gardens, Wanganui (50 over match). Malone hoped this form would see him selected more often for the Australian XI in the lucrative Supertests and International Cup. He did play 11 matches in the International Cup taking 10 wickets. Three of those matches were in the best of four final against the West Indies. Australia lost the winner takes all series 3–1.
Malone ended World Series Cricket on the tour to the West Indies, playing in 6 limited overs matches. He took 6 wickets at an average of 27.50. The West Indies won the series 8–2. Australia lost every game that Malone played in.
full-forward and played in 104 WANFL
games for Subiaco
, including their 1973 Premiership. In 1978 Malone played his 100th game for Subiaco and also topped their goalkicking with 54.47. It was his last season of pro-footy.
Malone now runs Mick Malone Real Estate based in Doubleview, Western Australia
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played in one Test
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...
and 10 ODIs from 1977 to 1982. Malone played in only one Test
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...
prior to joining World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
. In English county cricket he had a period with Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
. He was also an Australian rules football
Australian 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...
full-forward and played in 104 WANFL
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
games for Subiaco
Subiaco Football Club
The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions, is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League . It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAFL in 1901, along with North Fremantle...
.
First-class career
Mick Malone made his first class debut for Western AustraliaWestern Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
on 21 February 1975 against Victoria, in the Sheffield Shield. He took five wickets in the match getting Bob Baldry twice. In his second appearance, against 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...
he would take seven wickets in the match, including the wicket of test star batsman and Blues captain 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:...
. Western Australia would win the Sheffield Shield that year, Malone playing in the vital final two matches of the season. In his second season of Shield cricket (1975/76) Malone would take 28 wickets at an average of just 18.75, including two 5 wicket hauls. Only Australian test players Dennis Lillee
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
, Jeff Thomson
Jeff Thomson
Jeffrey Robert Thomson is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he was one of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket and was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history...
, Ashley Mallett
Ashley Mallett
Ashley Alexander Mallett is a former Australian cricketer who played in 38 Tests and 9 One Day Internationals between 1968 and 1980...
and Alan Hurst
Alan Hurst (cricketer)
Alan George Hurst is a former Australian cricketer who played in twelve Tests and eight ODIs between 1975 and 1979...
took more wickets although Malone's average was superior to them all. The 1976/77 Sheffield Shield season was Malone's most productive. He finished as the competitions leading wicket taker with an amazing 40 wickets in just 8 matches at an average of just 16.12, with four 5 wicket innings.
In 1979 Malone would move to England to play as professional with Haslingden Cricket Club
Haslingden
Haslingden is a small town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels', though the town is in fact set on a high and windy hill. In the early 20th century Haslingden had the status of a municipal borough, but following local government...
in the Lancashire League. Dennis Lillee
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
had played for Haslingden in 1971. Other pros in the league at the time included Pakistani's Mudassar Nazar
Mudassar Nazar
Mudassar Nazar is a former Pakistani cricketer with a career in Test cricket for Pakistan and in league cricket in Pakistan and England...
(Burnley
Burnley Cricket Club
Burnley Cricket Club, based at Turf Moor in Burnley, Lancashire, is a cricket club in the Lancashire League.The club was a founder member of the Lancashire League in 1892. Its captain for the 2011 season is Steve Brunt and its professional is Imad Wasim...
), Nasim-ul-Ghani
Nasim-ul-Ghani
Nasim-ul-Ghani is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 29 Tests and one ODI from 1958 to 1973. At the time of his debut, aged 16 years, he was the world's youngest test player....
(Lowerhouse
Lowerhouse Cricket Club
Lowerhouse Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Liverpool Road in Burnley. For the 2011 season its captain is Charlie Cottam, and its professional is South African Francois Hasbroek. The club won the league for the first time in 2005, captained by...
), Anwar Khan (Rishton
Rishton Cricket Club
Rishton Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Blackburn Road in Rishton. For the 2011 season their captain is Jimmy Bibby and their professional is Cameron Delport....
), Mohsin Khan
Mohsin Khan
Mohsin Hasan Khan is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 48 Tests and 75 ODIs from 1977 to 1986 mainly as an opening batsman.-Life and Career:...
(Accrington
Accrington Cricket Club
Accrington Cricket Club are a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which play their home games at Thorneyholme Road in Accrington. For the 2011 season their captain is Jimmy Hayhurst and their professional is Ashar Zaidi....
) and Aftab Baloch
Aftab Baloch
Aftab Baloch is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in two Tests from 1969 to 1975. A right-handed middle order batsman and capable right arm offbreak bowler, Baloch is best known for being a member of the 400 club....
(Todmorden
Todmorden Cricket Club
Todmorden Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Centre Vale in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. For the 2011 season its captain is Simon Newbitt, and its professional is Qaiser Abbas. The club has won the league on five occasions and won the cup eight times...
), fellow Aussie Peter Sleep
Peter Sleep
Peter Raymond Sleep is a former Australian cricketer who played 14 Tests for Australia between 1979 and 1990...
(East Lancashire
East Lancashire Cricket Club
East Lancashire Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Alexandra Meadows in Blackburn. For the 2011 season its captain will be Mark Bolton and its professional will be Ockert Erasmus...
), Indians Madan Lal
Madan Lal
Madan Lal Udhouram Sharma is a former Indian cricketer and Indian national cricket coach. He currently coaches Delhi Giants in the Indian Cricket League...
(Enfield
Enfield Cricket Club
Enfield Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Dill Hall Lane in Accrington. For the 2011 season its captain is Adam Bracewell, and its professional is Werner Coetsee of South Africa. The club has won the league on 5 occasions and the cup on 4...
) and Rakesh Shukla
Rakesh Shukla
Rakesh Chandra Shukla is a former Indian cricketer who played in one Test in 1982.He was leg-break-googly-bowler and a decent hard-hitting batsman also. Those days all-rounders were not given the recognition unlike later years. With spin quartet of Bishan Singh Bedi, B. S. Chandrasekhar, S...
(Colne
Colne Cricket Club
Colne Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at The Horsfield in Colne. For the 2011 season their captain is Matthew Wilson, and their professional is Mansoor Amjad of Pakistan. The club has won the league on four occasions and won the cup six times,...
). The league had a reputation as being hard with many famous overseas pros having played there (including Ian Chappell
Ian Chappell
Ian Michael Chappell is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. He captained Australia between 1971 and 1975 before taking a central role in the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation...
).
Malone was signed to as the second overseas player for Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
alongside the great 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...
replacing South African Paul Robinson. In two matches he would take a remarkable 18 wickets, including his career best of 7 for 88 against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
at Blackpool
Stanley Park, Blackpool
Stanley Park is a municipal park in the town of Blackpool on the Fylde coast in the county of Lancashire, England. It is the largest park in the town, bounded by a roughly circular perimeter of 2.2 miles and covering an area of...
. He dismissed star batsmen Derek Randall
Derek Randall
Derek William Randall is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire, and Tests and ODIs for England in the late 1970s and early 1980s....
and Clive Rice
Clive Rice
Clive Edward Butler Rice is a former South African international cricketer. An all-rounder, Rice ended his first class cricket career with a batting average of 40.95 and a bowling average of 22.49....
. In his second match for Lancashire, Malone would take 6 for 60 against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
, David Gower
David Gower
David Ivon Gower OBE is a former English cricketer who became a commentator for Sky Sports. Although he eventually rose to the captaincy of the England cricket team during the 1980s, he is best known for being one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of the modern era. Gower played 117 Test...
among his wickets.
Benefiting from his spell in England, Malone returned to Shield cricket for Western Australia for the 1979/80 season. He took 32 wickets in the expanded competition at a more modest average of 28.75, in what was a poor season for the side, they won just once, at home against whipping boys Tasmania. However his form was good enough to earn a recall to the Australia party for the tour to Pakistan.
Malone returned to Lancashire for the entire 1980 season playing 15 county championship matches. He was the county's second highest wicket-taker with 45 wickets (ave. 25.88), behind Willie Hogg
Willie Hogg
William Hogg is a first class cricketer. He was born in July 1955 in Ulverston, Lancashire and played for Lancashire and Warwickshire between 1976 and 1983. A right arm fast bowler, he took 222 first class wickets in 96 appearances and picked up another 91 wickets in 88 List A one day games...
who had 50 (ave. 21.16). Lancashire finished a disappointing third bottom in the table winning only four games. Malone did face the touring Australians in a three-day match but did not take a wicket.
Malone would play just two more seasons of Shield cricket for Western Australia before retiring at the end of the 1981/82, playing just twelve more matches. The 1980/81 season yielded just 14 wickets while he took 13 in his final season. Although Western Australia did win the Shield again in 1980/81.
International career
After such a strong season Malone had to be included in the Australia touring party to England in 1977. Malone would play in his only test, the fifth, at the Kennington Oval, he had what he called his "golden moment", taking five for 63 in England’s first innings with his medium-fast high action and then scoring 46 as a tailender. The match was drawn, but Australia had lost the series 3–0. The press in Australia and England blamed the hype surrounding Kerry PackerKerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
and his proposed World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
for tension within the Australian side (Malone had already signed a contract), leading to the poor performances. Malone disagrees, "The press said we were a divided side," says Malone, "but that was not the case. There were 13 of the 17 players who had signed for Packer and we all knew each other and got on, Packer and non-Packer players. The reason we lost was because we were outplayed by a better side and because Geoff Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott OBE is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen...
was sensational." At the tail end of the tour Malone was picked for two One-Day Internationals. England won both games easily Malone taking two wickets in the first match and going wicketless in the second.
Malone had signed for World Series Cricket so was ineligible to represent Australia while the tournament ran from 1977 to 1979. After a decent season in 1979/80 he was chosen to tour Pakistan, although he did not play in any of the three tests. Malone was picked against the BCCP President's XI and Punjab Governor's XI he struggled on the slow pitches taking just one wicket and bowling few overs, as Australia relied heavlily on the spin of Ray Bright
Ray Bright
Raymond James Bright is a former Australian Test and One Day International cricketer.A left-arm orthodox spin bowler and useful lower order right-handed batsman, Bright made his first-class debut for Victoria at eighteen years of age, against New South Wales in Sydney in the 1972–1973 domestic...
.
He was next picked for the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup
World 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 ...
, the official spin-off from WSC, against Pakistan and the West Indies in 1981/82. He would play eight times taking 9 wickets at an average of 27.88, he was also Australia's most economical bowler conceding just 3.13 runs per over.
World Series Cricket
Malone was a peripheral figure in World Series Cricket, appearing in just one Supertest in 1979 against the West Indies at VFL Park, MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He took three wickets in the match; 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...
, Richard Austin and 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...
and scored seven runs. The match was drawn. He featured more in the limited overs matches. In the 1977/78 International Cup he took 4 wickets in 4 matches. The Country Cup tours provided Malone with more match time. In the 1977/78 Country Cup he played eight times taking 25 wickets at an average of just 20.76. His economy rate for that tour was a very impressive 2.78 runs per over. Malone took 3 for 62 in the 75 over Country Cup Final that the Australians lost to the World XI at Manuka Oval
Manuka Oval
Manuka Oval is a 13,550 capacity ground located in the suburb of Griffith, adjacent to Manuka, a business district of Canberra, Australia's capital....
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
In 1978/79 season, Malone played eight matches of the tour to New Zealand (against the World XI) taking 14 wickets (ave. 13.14), with best figures of 4 for 9 in 10 overs at Cooks Gardens, Wanganui (50 over match). Malone hoped this form would see him selected more often for the Australian XI in the lucrative Supertests and International Cup. He did play 11 matches in the International Cup taking 10 wickets. Three of those matches were in the best of four final against the West Indies. Australia lost the winner takes all series 3–1.
Malone ended World Series Cricket on the tour to the West Indies, playing in 6 limited overs matches. He took 6 wickets at an average of 27.50. The West Indies won the series 8–2. Australia lost every game that Malone played in.
Outside cricket
Malone retired at the end of the 1981/82 season, finishing with first-class career figures of 73 matches 260 wickets at an average of 24.77. In the Australian winter he was an 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...
full-forward and played in 104 WANFL
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
games for Subiaco
Subiaco Football Club
The Subiaco Football Club, nicknamed the Lions, is an Australian rules football club in the West Australian Football League . It was founded in 1896, and admitted to the WAFL in 1901, along with North Fremantle...
, including their 1973 Premiership. In 1978 Malone played his 100th game for Subiaco and also topped their goalkicking with 54.47. It was his last season of pro-footy.
Malone now runs Mick Malone Real Estate based in Doubleview, Western Australia
Doubleview, Western Australia
Doubleview is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling.The suburb was named Doubleview due to its views of both the Indian Ocean to the west and the Perth CBD and Darling Range to the east....
.