Bob Borsley's latest memory in this series is of some cricketing pain:
Over the decades numerous Australian cricketers have done their best to make my life a misery. Sometimes they kick me when I am down. A typical example was Adam Gilchrist in the first Test in 2001, who came in when Australia were 336 for 5 in reply to England's very modest 268 and proceeded to destroy the England bowling, ending up last out for 152 when the Australian score had reached 576. Worse than this, however, is when they kick me just as things seem to be going well. One example was Richie Benaud bowling Peter May round his legs for a duck at Old Trafford in 1961. Another was Peter Burge's 160 at Headingley in 1964. Burge was not the most notable of Australian batsmen, with a Test average of 38.16 and just four Test centuries, but on occasion he could take an attack apart and this was one such occasion. He came in when Australia were 124 for 2 in reply to England's 268. Before long, however, they were reduced to 178 for 7, thanks mainly to the spin bowling of Fred Titmus and Norman Gifford. When Australia had reached 187 and Burge 38 England took the new ball, and the situation was rapidly transformed, with Burge and Neil Hawke taking 42 runs off the first seven overs. They added 105 for the 8th wicket in 99 minutes and at the end of the second day Australia were 283 for 8 with Burge 100 not out. They finally reached 389 with Burge last man out, and Australia went on to win the match by 7 wickets. Probably some Australian will do something similar in 2009. Bastards!
Steady on, there. From match reports written at the the time:
At that stage, Burge was 38, but Trueman fed him with a generous supply of medium pace long hops and not only did Burge finish with 160, but the last three wickets put on 211 runs thanks to the help he received from Hawke and Grout. So Australia gained a valuable lead of 121 and they never looked back... Burge, whose display was reminiscent of S.J. McCabe's 232 at Trent Bridge in 1938, batted five and a quarter hours and hit twenty-four 4's. - Wisden 1965
At 187 for seven, in the 89th over, Dexter made a decision that was to start a raging controversy. He took the new ball. In the next day's newspapers the decision earned him terrible hammer... I reckoned Dexter did the right thing in claiming the new ball... Two things went wrong with the plan. Firstly Dexter could not foresee how badly Trueman was going to bowl. - Denis Compton, Test Diary 1964
Control slipped from England's grasp alarmingly fast. Burge went on to his back foot and hammered Trueman and Flavell at will. He hooked fiercely and he square cut with no less force. Trueman's first over yielded only a single. His next three added 25 to the total, and Burge slammed five fours. Flavell was hit for 15 in three overs. - E.M. Wellings, Simpson's Australians
Burge had made 160 in an innings of real magnitude... He would not play many innings of greater value. - John Clarke, The Australians in England 1964
As for Burge, he was Australia. He came in when his side was facing eclipse - there was a good chance of their facing a lead of 70 when Hawke joined him; and Australia had to bat last... He had made the day Australia's; and when his side duly won, it would be all Lombard Street to a China orange that in the fulness of time this would be known as Burge's match - Denzil Batchelor, The Test Matches of 1964
[For links to the other posts in this series, see here.]