Walters Doug - One of a kind: the Doug Walters story

Ashley Malletts cricket ambition was to take 100 Test wickets, a feat he achieved in his 23rd Test for Australia. Generally regarded as the best off-spinner and gully fieldsman Australia has produced, Ashley runs Spin Australia, an international spin bowling coaching program. As consultant spin bowling coach to the Sri Lankan Cricket Board, Ashley has established a Spin Bowling Academy in Colombo, coaching the nations coaches on the art of spin and guiding the nations best spinners from the Under-13s to the Test squad. The author of 24 books, Ashley is working on a new biography, the story of Jeff Thomson, arguably the fastest bowler to draw breath.

One of a Kind the
DOUG
WALTERS
Story

Also by Ashley Mallett

Rowdy

Spin Out

100 Cricket Tips

Master Sportsman Series

Cricket: Don Bradman, Doug Walters, The Chappells, Geoff Lawson,

Kim Hughes, Dennis Lillee, Rod Marsh, Allan Border

Soccer: John Kosmina

Tennis: Evonne Cawley

Australian Rules Football: Mark Williams, Wayne Johnston, Robert Flower,

Tim Watson

Trumper: The Illustrated Biography

Clarrie Grimmett: The Bradman of Spin

Bradmans Band

Eleven: The Greatest Eleven of the 20th Century

The Black Lords of Summer

Chappelli Speaks Out

ASHLEY MALLETT

First published in 2008

Copyright Ashley Mallett 2008

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.

Allen & Unwin

83 Alexander Street

Crows Nest NSW 2065

Australia

National Library of Australia

Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Mallett, Ashley, 1945

One of a kind : the Doug Walters story / author, Ashley Mallett.

ISBN: 978 1 74175 029 4 (pbk.)

Subjects: Walters, Doug, 1945--Anecdotes. Cricket--Australia--Anecdotes.

Cricket--Australia--History. Cricket players--Australia--Anecdotes. Cricket

players--Australia--Biography. Cricket players--Australia--History.

796.358092294

Set in 13/16 pt Centaur MT by Bookhouse, Sydney

Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

My thanks to the following: Eddie Barlow, Dr Donald Beard, Richie Benaud, Fred Bennett, Big Sid, Allan Border, Brendan Bracewell, John Bracewell, Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Ron Brierley, Kevin Crazy Cantwell, Bruce Carter, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Mike Coward, Sir Roden Cutler, Alan Davidson, Ed Devereaux, Ross Edwards, Stephen Fry, Lance Gibbs, Trevor Gill, Neil Harvey, David Hookes, Ray Illingworth, John Inverarity, Terry Jenner, Ray Johnston, Thomas Keneally, Dennis Lillee, Alan McGilvray, Rod Marsh, Keith Miller, Clayton Murzello, Norman ONeill, Kerry Packer, Len Pascoe, Wayne Prior, Viv Richards, Ray Robinson, Paul Sheahan, Norman Tasker and Jeff Thomson.

A special thank you to Caroline Walters for copying myriad articles from the stacks of cuttings about Doug which May Walters and Caroline had collected for him; to Dougs mum, May, for her words on Dougs early years; and to Freddie (Doug himself) who was ever the fine host during our taping sessions at his home in Sydney, in Colombo and at his favourite watering hole, the Great Northern Hotel, Chatswood.

My thanks, too, to my wife and editing consultant, Christine.

Len Pascoe directed me towards country and western songster Ian Quinn who included his song A Legend Like Doug in his latest album, River or the Road (Ringbark Records). Thanks to Ian Quinn and Anita Ree for allowing me to use the lyrics in this book. I even grabbed the title of the song as my heading for Chapter one.

Deceased

I have always said I would hate to tour in an Australian side that didnt include Doug Walters. That wasnt just because of his match-winning batting, his almost freakish ability to take a wicket when a dangerous partnership was building or his brilliant all-round fielding. Dougs impish humour and ability to keep a team loose with his dressing-room pranks contributed greatly to team spirit, morale and having an enjoyable time. And if you want someone to write about the off-field side of Walters character, theres noone better qualified than his one-time team-mate Ashley Rowdy Mallett, who was often on the receiving end when the Dungog Dasher was devising his antics... like the occasion in Durban at the Old Kingsmead ground in 1970.

We were taking a pounding from a strong South African side after an extremely draining three-month tour of India, but that hadnt dulled Walters ultra-active brain. It was an old dressing-room with wooden floors, wire-fronted lockers and bench seats that lifted up so you could store extra cricket gear. Mallett insisted on walking around in his cricket socks despite the fact that it was easier to score a splinter from the floor than runs against the South African attack. Seizing his opportunity, Walters regularly tossed his cigarette butts in Malletts path and each time the clumsy off-spinner had to do a military two-step to avoid treading on the fag end of a lighted Rothmans filter.

Eventually Mallett, in taking an elaborate side-step, stumbled backwards, his legs hitting the bench seat and causing him to sit down with a thud. Normally this wouldnt have been a problem, as he was right in front of his own locker, but Rowdy wasnt the tidiest cricketer and hed left his boots on the bench with the sprigs upturned. His backside no sooner landed on the spikes than Mallett was leaping into the air as though he was trying to catch a lofted Eddie Barlow cut shot. Unfortunately, his second landing was right on one of Walters strategically placed butts, which caused him to leap backwards again, this time setting him down perfectly on the sprigs of the other upturned boot.