Cricket In The 50/60/70/80s DVD Bundle ABC Documentary 6-Disc PAL 4 VGC

Four DVD bundle spanning 4 decades of stories of Australian cricket.

Cricket In The 50s

Discovering New Boundaries

The decade of the 1950s in Australian cricket takes us from the end of the 'Bradman Era' through to the beginning of the 'Benaud Era'. The game went through many trials and tribulations, there were issues of captaincy, losses in three consecutive 'Ashes' campaigns, allegations of 'doctored' pitches, controversy over illegal bowling actions and the advent of television coverage.

The 1950s was the decade where Australia ventured beyond its traditional boundaries, for the first time making visits to the West Indies (1955) then India & Pakistan (1956 and 1959/60). By the end of the decade, Australia had played official matches in every corner of the cricket world. In an era when players were also expected to hold down full time employment, Australia made eight overseas tours!

New heroes emerged; Harvey, Benaud, Davidson, Simpson, Sobers and Trueman would soon become household names as cricket strove to maintain its popularity as the 'King' of summer games in Australia.

Extras (1958-59 Australia v England)

1st Test Brisbane (Dec 5th - 10th 1958)

2nd Test Melbourne (Dec 31st - Jan 5th 1959)

3rd Test Sydney (Jan 9th 15th 1959)

4th Test Adelaide (Jan 30th - Feb 5th 1959)

5th Test Melbourne (Feb 13th-18th 1959)

Cricket In The 60s

Winds Of Change

The 1960s began with what has been regarded as the 'Greatest Test Series Ever Played', Australia v West Indies 1960/61, then all the drama of the 1961 Tour of England, with the 'Battle of The Ridge' and the dramatic final day at Old Trafford.

The game's most contentious issue, illegal bowling actions, reached its climax with the 'no balling' of lan Meckiff by Umpire Colin Egar in December 1963.

The 1960s saw a shift in the axis of power in world cricket. For the first time in the space of a few years, the traditional powerhouses of the game, Australia & England were both defeated by the West Indies and South Africa. The tragedy of the 'D'Oliveira Affair' and world opposition to the policy of apartheid would see South Africa banished from the world stage for nearly a quarter of a century.

Extras (1962/63 Australia v England)

1st Test Brisbane (Nov 30th - Dec 5th 1962)

2nd Test Melbourne (Dec 29th - Jan 3rd 1963)

3rd Test Sydney (Jan 11th-15th 1963)

4th Test Adelaide (Jan 25th-30th 1963)

5th Test Sydney (Feb 15th-20th 1963)

Cricket In The 70s

The Chappell Era

The 1970s turned out to be the most tumultuous period in the history of Test Cricket.

It was a period of great controversy, but it was also a period of great cricket and great players! Names such CHAPPELL, WALTERS, MARSH, LILLEE, THOMSON, SOBERS, LLOYD, RICHARDS, GREIG, SNOW, UNDERWOOD and WILLIS reflect on the cricket, the characters and the controversies that shaped the destiny of this unique game that is a national pastime.

Highlights of the Centenary Test

Australia v England 12-17 March 1977

Known as the 'Olympics of Test Cricket' this match brought together some of the best talent ever seen on a cricket field to commemorate 100 years of Test Cricket between Australia and England. Past players that attended the match included Peter Burge, Neil Harvey, Sir Leonard Hutton, Peter May, Keith Miller, Harold Larwood, Bill Voce and Bill Brown. While the Australian and English teams themselves consisted of some of the games legends such as Dennis Lillee, Derek Randall, Tony Greig and Doug Walters

Cricket In The 80s

Rookies, Rebels Renaissance

This next instalment in ABC TV's highly successful 'Cricket History Series' focuses on the turmoil that beset Australian cricket during the decade of the 1980s. Tremors of varying intensity shook Australia's national pastime to its very foundation.

The schism caused by the World Series Cricket revolution in the late '70s, the rise and dominance of world cricket by the West Indies, the simultaneous retirements of Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh followed closely by the defection of sixteen players to play cricket in isolated apartheid South Africa in return for lucrative financial inducements saw Australian cricket slump to possibly the lowest point in its once illustrious history.

The way Australian cricket coped with this adversity, slowly recovered and eventually triumphed by the end of the decade is a tribute primarily to the character and resolve of two men, Captain and premier batsman, Allan Border as well as Manager and Coach, Bob Simpson.

This DVD also features nearly an hour of bonus material not screened on television. Includes interviews with lan Chappell, Allan Border, Kim Hughes, Graham Yallop, Kerry Packer, lan Botham, Dean Jones and many more.