August 12, 1981 – When Mike Whitney got a surprise call up for the Ashes

Australian pacer Mike Whitney featured in the 1981 Ashes series in England less than a year after his debut in first-class cricket. It was the time when the likes of Dennis Lillee, Terry Alderman, Rodney Hogg and Geoff Lawson were ruling the Australian pace attack. His journey to the Australian Test playing XI at that time was a combination of his fortune and his raw pace with which he impressed one and all.

Whitney made his FC debut in the 1980/81 season for his state team New South Wales and took 11 wickets in four matches. He then turned up for England to play for Fleetwood in the Northern Lancashire League in 1981. The left-arm pacer soon realized the difficulties of the cold in England and a life with little income of £65 a week. The gods of fortune turned his way when he ended up in the trail game in Bristol.

Getting rich

The Australian did well in the trials conducted by Gloucestershire as they were finding a replacement for injured Mike Procter. The county secretary Tom Brown met Whitney and made a proposal to sign him up. Brown promised to pay Whitney £700 for each three-day game and £300 for each one-day game. He would also get a car and also his airfare to return home. The next moment Whitney asked for a pen to sign the contract and in return got £1000 in cash from Brown.

He made his debut for Gloucestershire and bagged a 4-wicket haul in the 2nd innings. Later he recorded figures of 2/9 bowling eight overs in the John Player League game against Surrey that included five maidens. The One-Day fixture was televised and he bowled a fiery spell and the Australian skipper Kim Hughes, as well as the selectors, watched it. The fifth Test of the six-match series was set to begin on 13th August in Manchester after the hosts took a 2-1 lead in the series.

A debut out of nowhere

However, a day before the match, Whitney was a part of his team’s home fixture against Hampshire. The 22-year-old received a call during the Gloucester’s innings. It was from Fred Bennett, the Australian team manager, to report at Old Trafford for the Test match starting the next day. Whitney at first thought it was a prank but moments later, the phone rang again. Bennett insisted that the pacer get into the car immediately and also informed him that he was released from his Gloucs contract.

A surprised Whitney reached Grand Hotel in Manchester thinking he will be the 12th man or just a part of the squad. He met the skipper Hughes in Bennett’s room where he was told that he will be part of the match that starts tomorrow. Rodney Hogg and Geoff Lawson were injured and the Aussies were short of a pacer. It took Whitney some time to realize what was happening and before he could get a grip of the situation, the uncapped player was sharing a room with Dennis Lillee, who an inspiration to many.

Gloucestershire replaced Whitney with Pakistan player Sadiq Mohammad. The left-arm pacer received his Test cap next day and took two wickets apiece in both the innings. However, Australia lost the game by a 103-run margin and also lost the series. He featured in the drawn Test at The Oval where he took only one wicket across both innings. His didn’t feature in a Test match for the next six years as he had to make way for the senior pacers once they returned.

For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.