Mallett - Thommo Speaks Out: the Authorised Biography of Jeff Thomson

Ashley Malletts cricket ambition was to take 100 Test wickets, a feat he achieved in his 23rd Test, and one shared with Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Graham McKenzie. During Ian Chappells reign as Test captain, Ashley became Australias front-line spinner of the 1970s. He is regarded as Australias best-ever off-spin bowler. In his role as head coach of Spin Australia, an international spin bowling coaching program, Ashley has worked with all the top-flight spin bowlers in Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka over the past twenty years. Some of the spinners he has worked with include Australias Shane Warne, Tim May and Stuart MacGill; New Zealands Daniel Vettori, Englands Monty Panesar and Sri Lankas Ajantha Mendis. While establishing a spin bowling academy in Colombo for the Sri Lanka Cricket Board, Ashley discovered the amazing talent of Mendis, whose finger-flick leg-breaks and googlies have taken the world of cricket into a new era of spin.

This is his 27th book.

Also by Ashley Mallett

Non-fiction

Rowdy
Spin Out
100 Cricket Tips
Bradmans Band
Eleven: The Greatest Eleven of the 20th Century
Chappelli Speaks Out
The Black Lords of Summer
The Bradman of Spin
One of a Kind: The Doug Walters Story
Nugget: Man of the Century
Scarlet: Clarrie GrimmettTest Cricketer

Childrens

Don Bradman
Doug Walters
Geoff Lawson
Kim Hughes
Rodney Marsh
The Chappell Brothers
Dennis Lillee
Allan Border
John Kosmina
Mark Williams
Wayne Johnston
Robert Flower
Tim Watson
Evonne Cawley

THOMMO
SPEAKS OUT

The authorised biography of Jeff Thomson

ASHLEY MALLETT

First published in Australia in 2009

Copyright 2009 Ashley Mallett
Copyright photographs, as credited

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

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CONTENTS

Did you see that painting on my wall at home... of me hitting Fletcherin the head... You wont see too much cricket shit in my joint, but there itisa painting of Fletcher getting hit on the head...

Jeff Thomson was the fastest bowler to draw breath. Batsmen who faced Thommo on the Test stage marvelled at his frenetic pace and were eternally grateful that they managed to survive the experience.

There was a disarming quality to Thommos approach to the wicket for he jogged in, taking casual-looking short steps; his blonde hair bobbed and there was no hint of the explosive energy to come until he reached his delivery stride. His right foot moved behind his left, similar to Neil Hawke of an earlier period; his left arm shot instinctively towards the heavens; and, like a discus thrower in Ancient Greece, his delivery exuded the most exquisite natural power and grace. Thommos back foot was pointing backwards, his heel pointing somewhere in the vicinity of cover as he assumed an almost perfect side-on delivery, and he held the ball only inches from the ground before he began that extraordinary sweep of his arm to propel the ball towards the batsman.

As a nine-year-old kid I saw Frank Tyson in full flight. Talk to the oldies like Test great Neil Harvey and he will tell you that Tyson and the West Indian Wesley Hall were as fast as they get. I am certain that Tyson and Hall were mighty fast, but Thommo was simply on a higher planea Stealth fighter compared with a Sabre jet. When youre a kid all Test cricketers are veritable gods from Olympus. Fast bowlers are of hurricane pace to young eyes.

Todays fast bowlers, such as Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Shohab Aktah, consistently reach 150 kilometres per hour or better and hit 160 kph at times. Thommo was clocked at 160 kph, but that was a couple of seasons down the track from two serious shoulder operations and wear and tear at the Test bowling crease. At full tilt in the 197475 Ashes series, Thommo was operating at a consistent speed more like 170 kph. It was during that series that Thommo was at his zenith.

I played in Thommos first Test match, against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 197273, when he took 0/110 and was less than impressive on that flat Melbourne wicket, but we later learned that he played that game with a broken bone in his foot. After Thommos first Test match failure he was axed from the New South Wales side and he took some months to get himself back into top gear. Even after his broken foot had mended, Thommo was left out of the New South Wales side, but he bounced back with a vengeance, proving both his fitness and his ability to bowl faster than anyone.

By January 1974, Thommo was ready. Cricket writer Phil Wilkins watched Thommo bowl in a club match and was astounded by what he saw:

There is another speedster in Australia [other than Dennis Lillee] who has batsmen running for cover when he takes the new ball but he cannot even gain a place in the NSW Sheffield Shield team.

He is Bankstown-Canterburys Jeff Thomson, who opened the bowling for Australia in the second Test against Pakistan with Lillee last summer with Max Walker first change.

Thomson is 23, superbly built for fast bowling with a temperament to match and unless [Dave] Colley livens himself, Thomson will be back in the State side so fast that Queensland will think they have been hit by a stray cyclone on February 8.

Phil Wilkins was right. Thommo did return to the NSW side for the game against Queensland in February 1974, and they did indeed face a veritable tornado. Thommo stormed through 20.5 overs of the most explosive pace the Queenslanders had ever seen, taking 7/85, including the prized wicket of Greg Chappell, who instantly envisaged Thommo playing for Qld from that game onwards. Qld wicket-keeper John McLean said Greg didnt mince words:

Id rather have that bloke Thomson on my side than have to face him twice a year. Weve got to get him to Brisbane.

Ironically Thomsons fiery bowling for NSW prevented Qld from winning its first-ever Sheffield Shield. Greg Chappell was relatively new to the Qld captaincy and he saw in Jeff Thomson genuine firepower to help both the northern state and to become Dennis Lillees regular new-ball partner for Australia. And back in that club match of January 1974, the bullets were starting to fly.

Thomsons bowling was the fastest I have encountered since Frank Typhoon Tyson played in a game in Peterborough in Northamptonshire, former England all-rounder Barry Knight said this week.