'Dizzy' and 'Pidge' put NZ to the sword

There are few things more enjoyable in any form of cricket than a tail-ender raising his or her bat in recognition of a batting milestone. It is the ultimate inspiration to the side’s other would-be willow wielders and the ultimate slap in the face to the more fancied batsmen that came, and failed, before them.

And so it was, on November 20^th 2004, that a rapt Gabba crowd was treated to a double dose of this most cherished of spectacles, Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath each notching half-centuries in a 114-run stand for the 11^th wicket against a Stephen Fleming-led New Zealand.

Already in a commanding position following a 216-run stand between Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist, Gillespie strode to the crease with a near 100-run lead in his back pocket and a long stay at the crease front and center in his mind.

The perennial night-watchman pushed and prodded early, offering few opportunities to an already flagging bowling attack while Shane Warne was trapped in front by Daniel Vettori and Michael Kasprowicz picked out the fine-leg fielder on the pull.

Nine wickets down and with Glenn McGrath, a man sporting a career batting average of just over seven, marking middle stump at the other end, Gillespie would have been forgiven for letting his mind wander to the new-ball duties surely just around the corner.

But that wasn’t to be the case today.

McGrath instantly looked more at ease at the crease than usual. He pulled and deflected the battered New Zealand bowlers across to the leg-side; rarely reaching the boundary but always forcing the fieldsmen to put in a concerted effort to chase the ball down.

With his less-fancied partner making all the early running, Gillespie soon found opportunities to free his arms, flashing backward of point and driving through the off-side with timing that belied his number nine position.

Before you could say ‘who’s his bat sponsor?’ the two had put on a half-century stand and the topic of discussion in the commentary box had turned from the ensuing New Zealand innings to the possibility of Ricky Ponting declaring nine wickets down.

Ponting, however, was enjoying the partnership as much, if not more, than the two batsmen in the middle, his broad smile, and the shocked expression of vice-captain Gilchrist, the instant visual accompaniment to any boundary or near dismissal.

And there were a few near dismissals.

The first chance will go down as a tough one, Gillespie flaying a full and wide Chris Martin delivery through backward point at a rate too fast for the fieldsman to get a hand on.

It only got worse for the New Zealand fieldsman from there however, Daniel Vettori flicking the bails off at the bowler’s end, before the ball arrived, to ruin what appeared a simple run-out opportunity.

Then McGrath near-middled a glance down the leg side off the bowling of Jacob Oram only for the ball to bounce out of ‘keeper Brendon McCullum’s gloves and into the Gabba turf. Batsmen and bowler exchanged wry smiles as the Brisbane crowd rose as one, their excitement palpable.

There were only cries of frustration however when the second catch of the over went down, McGrath mistiming a pull-shot to mid-wicket, the ball passing almost unhindered through the fingers of a diving Mark Richardson.

Seizing on the lives they’d been offered, both batsmen’s stroke-play grew instantly more expansive. McGrath took a particular liking to Vettori, launching the left-arm spinner over mid-wicket on numerous occasions, much to the delight of the Australian change-rooms.

In a fitting nod to his newfound batting pedigree, McGrath, the man many had dubbed as one of the worst batsman ever to wear the Baggy Green, planted his front foot down the track and heaved a back-of-a-length Vettori delivery to the vacant square leg boundary to bring up his maiden half-century.

The crowd erupted, the entire Australian side was on their feet and McGrath raised his bat to all four corners of a stadium he had spent the last decade making his own.

But wilder celebrations were just around the corner.

Having played second fiddle to the lofty swipes of the number 11 batsman, Gillespie raced through the 40s, flashing a wide delivery through the gully for four to move to 48*.

Then, all of a sudden, Gillespie had his half-century; an angled delivery finding the inside edge and racing past McCullum to the fine-leg boundary.

After acknowledging the crowd and embracing McGrath, the man affectionately known as ‘Dizzy’ fulfilled a promise to club-cricket teammates, mounting his bat like a trusty steed and riding it around the Gabba pitch to the roars of a near delirious Brisbane crowd.

Alas, three figures weren’t to be for either batsman. A confidence-fueled McGrath went for one big pull-shot too many and lobbed a simple catch to Nathan Astle at square leg to end their last-wicket vigil on 114.

The pair also performed in the field, picking up five wickets between them in New Zealand’s second dig as Australia completed a dominant innings and 156-run victory over their trans-Tasman rivals.

But regardless of the wickets, the result and the centuries that helped set it up, it’s the image of Gillespie and McGrath walking off the ground, as thrilled by their own success as anyone at the ground or watching on TV, that lingers longest in the minds of those lucky enough to witness it.