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Test Match Odds – Thirty-five years ago at Headingley, Bob Willis captained England to a stunning victory at the Ashes – the culmination of a golden five-year spell for him

Rod Marsh is sent off as he tries to tackle Willis on the final day at Headingley © Getty Images

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The 1981 Ashes was the culmination of a five-year period during which Bob Willis pioneered fast bowling in England. At his best, Willis was one of the best players in the world.

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From the start of the 1977 Ashes to the end of the 1981 Ashes, Willis took 149 wickets in 39 Tests at an average of 23.46.

In the previous seven years, since he made his debut as a replacement for the injured Alan Ward on Ray Illingworth’s Ashes tour in 1970-71, he had managed just 78 at 28.35 from 24 Tests.

That all changed in 1977, during the Test century, when England captain Tony brought in Gregg Willis for a late spell. Australia put up a decent total in their second innings and Greig needed someone to get through the lower order before the Aussies were out of sight. Unfortunately, when Greg brought in his first player, Willis wasn’t quite up to the task.

“After the game, Tony gave me a great role and I’ve been perfect for the job ever since,” says Willis. “I started a regimen of slow long runs and after that the injuries mostly disappeared. Since then my bowling has become much more controlled. I had the opportunity to take the second new ball at a quarter to seven in the evening and manage the performance.”

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The following year, Willis toured England to Pakistan and New Zealand, where he played what he described as some of the most boring cricket he had ever seen.

“I sent in Ian Botham to quicken the pace of the innings. For convenience, he took Geoffrey out [interrupts]. Did I ask him to leave the captaincy? Yes, I think I did.”

Mudasir Nisar’s hundred in the first Test at Lahore was the slowest in Test cricket [Mudasir scored 114 off 449 balls in 591 minutes]. John Wright batted at similar pace to make 55 in Wellington, but at least he was on First ball of the match I scored and Wright bowled one and keeper Bob Taylor took it before second slip, the umpire said.

“Mike Brearley had his arm broken by Sikander Bakht in the provincial game in Pakistan and Geoffrey Boycott took over for him, it was an interesting experience.

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“In the second Test, in Christchurch, we just couldn’t get the next one on. We led by about 180 one day and one session, should have scored 100 to 120 runs in that session and then declared and got the whole day to sit on them .

Brian Rose, who was in poor form throughout the innings, went on strike and failed to clear the ball outside the boundary. Ewan Chatfield removed Derek Randall back without warning, which many of us did not like. I was vice-captain and sent in Ian Botham to speed up the innings. Fittingly, he brought Jeffrey out. Did I ask him to leave the captain? Yes, I think I did.

“Trying to get Jeffrey to announce was a very difficult task. But he eventually did, and then Ian and I flew out of New Zealand about three hours later. We didn’t have a very good team for this tour. We have lost world class cricketers. If it hadn’t been for Packer, some of them wouldn’t have played.” The players never played Test cricket.”

Willis, 21, goes to Australia to replace the injured Alan Ward on the 1970-71 Ashes tour © PA Photos

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In the next three years, Willis was at the peak of his development as an England striker. He missed only two Tests, in 1980 against the West Indies, and a missed Test century against Australia because he bowled too many no-balls. In his early years as an international bowler, Willis spent as much time on the physiotherapy table as he did on the field.

Willis says his golden period as a world-class fast bowler ended with the 1981 Ashes and the Headingley Test. What happened in that match has become part of cricket folklore. England followed suit and lost seven wickets for 135 in their second innings. Botham, who was dismissed as captain ahead of the Test, scored an impressive 149. Then, supported by Graham Daly and Chris Auld, he gave England a 129-run lead.

Then, with Australia poised to go two runs up in the series, Willis took 8 for 43 to bundle Australia out for 111 and see England home by 18 runs.

Willis took eight wickets in the first two Tests, which was good. However, England lost the first match and drew the second. Mike Brearley was returning to captain Headingley’s Test team. At the time, England had a tendency to switch sides when they were losing some matches, so Bob Woolmer was dropped to accommodate Brearley. Seamstress Chris Auld replaced John Embury. The third and final change was Mike Hendrick for Willis.

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“I almost dropped out, yeah,” Willis recalled. “I caught the flu during the Lord’s test. So I didn’t play in Warwickshire’s next match against Surrey at The Oval, the county’s only round of matches before the Headingley Test.

“I think if we had lost that game it would have been the end for me and probably a lot of other players in that side.”

The next morning the phone rang and Alec Bedser said: “Sorry Bob, you didn’t get selected at Leeds.” Mike Brierley wants everyone to be 100% fit. I said to Alec that the only reason I’m not playing for Warwickshire is so I can get over the flu and be ready for England and he said, ‘Can I play cricket to confirm my fitness?’ And I ended up playing in the Second XI one-day in Birmingham.

Alec called Donald Carr’s brother, who was secretary in Derbyshire, to intercept a letter inviting Mike Hendrick to play for England. I convinced Alec that I was ready to play. That’s how close I came to not playing in that match.

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“After the Lord’s test, we all felt very sorry for Ian, who we thought had a very hard time. He missed the home Test series against the West Indies and then a failed Test century at Lord’s before going to the West Indies for another defeat, a difficult period. We were all great friends with him, so there was a lot of sympathy, and of course the tabloids were seriously behind us.

“Mike Brierley was a very unifying force and didn’t tolerate any nonsense. It turned out to be an incredible game.”

What was it like in the dressing room when Botham and Daley were crushing it?

“Well, it was fun. We have lost all hope. We left the hotel on Monday morning thinking the game might be over and our career might be over.”

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“It was almost comic entertainment. We didn’t think the score would change. Ian’s innings was not as good as the Old Trafford century later in the series. He was very lucky.”

“There was an indifferent captain, Kim Hughes. If he had brought [left] Ray Bright on, Ian might have hit a few sixes, but he would have ended up in the air pretty soon. But Hughes kept going with the swimmers, which they disappeared from all parts . Ian’s first 50 rounds were mostly fat rims and logos. But after that it was really exciting.”

Kim Hughes loses his hat trying to clear a short ball from Willis at Headingley © PA Photos

When odds of 500-1 hit the big screen, was anyone in the England dressing room tempted to flinch?

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“I think Bob Taylor was trying to invest a little bit in England. I don’t remember who asked to bet, but they didn’t. I think Godfrey Evans was an adviser to Ladbrokes. Like us, I see 5000-1 Odds for Hull to win the Premier League. After Leicester’s win at those odds this year, I don’t think 500-1 odds have appeared in a cricket match since.”

“At lunchtime. They got to 52 for 1 and then we picked up three wickets just before lunch. That’s when the balance of power changed. We had nothing to lose. Some of us were doing Test work. I think if we lost that match, that would be the end for me and probably many others on this side. There would be a mass exodus and that would be it.”

“Yes, it did worry me. But it was a bit like these days, swing was king, especially at Headingley, and Mike wanted Botham and Dilley to try and change

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