Published: Jul 31, 2013, 11:59 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 31, 2013, 11:59 AM (IST)
Bob Massie's name may not be as renowned as his Ashes team-mate Dennis Lillee, but the former Australian swing bowler has the fourth best Test match figures of all time after a record-breaking performance on debut.
He was perhaps the greatest mystery bowler of all time.
No, his stupendous feat at Lord’s in 1972 had no enigma about it. True, none of the English batsmen had a clue, but it had everything to do with prodigious swing, either way and late.
Bob Massie remains a mystery because he played only five more Test matches, failing to double the number of wickets he captured in his first Test. After the series, he played just two more. By the end of 18 months he had been dropped — not only by Australia, but also from his state side. His career was shorter than his seventies style sideburns, though no less striking.
