On This Day January 5 1971
On this day January 5, 1971: The first-ever ODI between England and Australia took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and it was completely unplanned. When England toured Australia for the 1970-71 Ashes series, there were no ODIs scheduled. The first two Tests ended in draws. Then came the New Year’s Test in Melbourne which constant disruptions from bad weather.
After heavy rain washed out the first three days of the Test match without a single ball being bowled, officials from the MCC and the Australian Board, along with two MCC officials, decided to organise a limited overs game to give fans some action. This quickly arranged 40 over match later became recognised as the first ODI.
Australian won the toss and elected to field first against Ray Illingworth’s England team. England kept losing wickets at regular intervals, but opening batter John Edrich played really well and got a score of 82 from 119 balls. The spinners were excellent with Ashley Mallett and Keith Stackpole being the pick of the bowlers for the home side with figures of 3/34 and 3/40 respectively. Fast bowler Graham McKenzie also performed well and finished with figures of 2/22. England were bowled out for 190 in the first innings.
In reply, Australia lost two early wickets in the chase before Ian Chappell scored 60 and Doug Walters who made 41 stitched a partnership of 66 runs, which helped the team chase down the total in 35 overs with five wickets spare. Illingworth was England’s best bowler with figures of 3/50. Fast bowlers Ken Shuttleworth and Basil D’Oliveira picked up the other two wickets. Despite being on the losing side, Johannesburg Edrich was declared the player of the match.
The game featured standout performances, including England’s John Edrich and Australia’s Ian Chappell which made it a very entertaining spectacles for the fans. To everyone’s surprise, 46,000 people were there in the stadium to watch the match. Following the success of this match, the ICC adopted the ODI format with 60 overs per side, leading to the inaugural Prudential World Cup in England in 1975.
