Mike Whitney 7 for 89 vs West Indies at Adelaide Oval 1989

Mike Whitney 7 for 89 vs West Indies at Adelaide Oval 1989

Left-arm medium fast bowler Mike Whitney was beloved among Australian and New South Wales cricket fans for both his sense of humor and whole-hearted approach to the sport. Mike Whitney made his Test debut in 1981, when Australian selectors included him surprisingly for the tour of England. He made his Test debut in the 5^th Test match of the series at Manchester.

In 1989, in the first inning of the 5^th Test Match at Adelaide Oval between Australia and West Indies, the left arm medium fast bowler bowled a superb spell of 7 for 89. There were some drop catches as well, but it didn’t hurt him too much.

He took the wickets of Gordon Greenidge, Richie Richardson, Carl Hooper, Vivian Richards, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, and Courtney Walsh. In the 2^nd innings, he captured, the wicket of Desmond Haynes and Richie Richardson (2 for 60). So, his overall match figures were 9 for 149. Although the match was drawn, however, it would remain a nice spell in the record books of the 1989 season.

Mike Whitney played almost all of his test matches in the late 1980s and early ’90s. Unluckily, Whitey could only be able to play 12 Tests over his long career with 39 wickets @ 33.97, with the best of 7 for 27, including 5 wickets in an innings two times. Let’s watch his spell.