The curious case of Dennis Lillee’s combat strategy with the aluminum bat

There was a time in history when traditional rules of cricket were updated every now and then as per ICC’s rules and regulations. The era of the 1970s and 80s saw ICC implementing a maximum number of rules in the game of cricket. But some of these rules failed to list down the stipulations on the type of cricketing gears a player is permitted to use in a match. As a result, some players took it to their advantage - anything that doesn’t hamper the spirit of the game or brings any form of disrepute was absolutely permissible.

Today ICC has a clear set of specifications for willows used by cricketers. Every bat needs to adhere to the permissible weight range and stipulated dimensions. Strangely, in the late 70s, ICC haven’t had any such stipulations on the type of material to be used in the manufacturing of a cricket bat.

One such incident dates back to the period of 1979 when Dennis Lillee played in his prime. Giving the much-needed depth to Australian batting line-up, the seasoned Australian all-rounder often contributed a good amount of runs with the bat. This incident went into the archives of cricket as the ‘Combat Strategy’ by Dennis Lillee when he used an aluminum bat against the touring England side in the first Test of the series at Perth on December 1979. Quite surprisingly, Australian side escaped this controversy without much criticism, unlike the underarm bowling incident which took place 14 months later in February 1981.

In the first Test of the 3 match truncated series at the WACA, Australia found themselves in deep trouble after losing some quick wickets. At the end of the first day’s play, Australia were 232 for the loss of 8 wickets. Dennis Lillee remained unbeaten on 11 after coming to bat at no. 8 and with him, Jeff Thomson stood firm ground. The drama and chaos only started next day when Dennis Lillee came back to bat the next morning. To everyone’s surprise, Dennis walked in the middle with an aluminum bat to resume his play.

When Dennis Lillee straight drove Ian Botham, the ball went towards the boundary. Lillee and Thomson contended with 3 runs, but the loud noise of metal hitting the wooden ball caught everyone’s attention. Mike Brearley, the captain of the England side went to appeal to the on-field umpires stating that the aluminum bat is doing a fair amount of damage to the cricket ball. The on-field umpires asked Dennis Lillee to change the bat.

However, Lillee challenged the order of on-field umpires and questions if any such stipulations exist in the laws. In the interim, Greg Chappel, who captained Australia, was absolutely clueless about the discussion taking place between Lillee and on-field umpires. Chappel sent Rodney Hogg the 12th man with a couple of conventional bats for Lillee. Chappel, who apart from his infamous spat with Sourav Ganguly, always managed to establish a clout over the Australian team felt it was the aluminum bat which prevented the ball from going to the boundary and felt it should be changed.

Dennis Lillee, reluctant to change the aluminum bat, was seen having a brief discussion with Rodney Hogg. While switching to the conventional bat, Dennis Lillee threw the aluminum bat 15 feet away in a fit of anger. Probably, Dennis Lillee changed the bat only after Rodney Hogg conveyed him that the orders came from Captain Greg Chappel sitting in the dressing room. After adding 7 more runs to his overnight score, Dennis Lillee was dismissed by Ian Botham. England went on to lose that match by 138 runs. No disciplinary action was taken against Lillee.

A few months later, ICC implemented a law that any kind of bat used in an international match had to be made of wood.

Now some history about the bat. This was the 2nd instance when Dennis Lillee was using an aluminum bat. Just 12 days prior to this controversy, he used an aluminum bat in a test match against the West Indies. Lillee’s long-time business partner Graham Monaghan started manufacturing aluminum cricket bats as a cheaper alternative for school children. Dennis Lillee later in his autobiography, confessed that the decision to use the aluminum bat was a pure marketing exercise to promote his business partner.