The Miracle Match : Chappell, Lillee, Richards and the Most Electric Moment in Australian Cricket

**One game of cricket. Five all-time greats. A battle for the ages.**Greg Chappell, Viv Richards, Jeff Thomson, Rod Marsh and Dennis Lillee – the best of the best in international cricket in the 1970s. Imagine a match that pitted them against each other; imagine The Miracle Match.In 1976, Western Australia took on Queensland in a one-day domestic at the WACA Ground – it would come to be known as The Miracle Match.The stakes were high: a chance to play in the final of Australia's one-day competition.Western Australia, the first team to bat, was out for just 77 runs. Defeat seemed a certainty, but what happened next had the crowd of 10,000 on the edges of their seats."Make 'em fight for it, be buggered ... we're going to beat these bastards!" said Western Australia's demon fast-bowler Dennis Lillee, before spearheading an attack that claimed Viv Richards and Greg Chappell for just two runs between them.Author **Ian Brayshaw**, a player in The Miracle Match, takes us through one of the most electric games in Australian cricket history and gives us a fascinating insight into the careers of some of cricket's most successful and influential players. __The Miracle Match__, a nostalgic look at international cricket in the 1970s, will enthral cricket fans young and old. One game of cricket. Five all-time greats. A battle for the ages. Greg Chappell, Viv Richards, Jeff Thomson, Rod Marsh and Dennis Lillee – the best of the best in international cricket in the 1970s. Imagine a match that pitted them against each other; imagine The Miracle Match. In 1976, Western Australia took on Queensland in a one-day domestic at the WACA Ground – it would come to be known as The Miracle Match. The stakes were high: a chance to play in the final of Australia's one-day competition. Western Australia, the first team to bat, was out for just 77 runs. Defeat seemed a certainty, but what happened next had the crowd of 10,000 on the edges of their seats. "Make 'em fight for it, be buggered ... we're going to beat these bastards!" said Western Australia's demon fast-bowler Dennis Lillee, before spearheading an attack that claimed Viv Richards and Greg Chappell for just two runs between them. Author Ian Brayshaw , a player in The Miracle Match, takes us through one of the most electric games in Australian cricket history and gives us a fascinating insight into the careers of some of cricket's most successful and influential players. The Miracle Match , a nostalgic look at international cricket in the 1970s, will enthral cricket fans young and old. Imagine five of the world's greatest players lining up for a domestic one-day game at the WACA Ground in Perth in December, 1976. Then, imagine the team that bats first being bowled out for just 77 runs. Finally, let your imagination take you through what was a devastatingly effective spell by fastbowling great Dennis Lillee leading his team to what appeared to be an unwinnable victory – having claimed Viv Richards and Greg Chappell for just two runs between them! “Make ‘em fight for it, be buggered ... we're going to beat these bastards!” – Dennis Lillee said before going out to spearhead the ‘impossible'win. Such a feat has never been repeated since in domestic first-class cricket. Years later Viv Richards'commented, “Do I remember that game? It's never far from the mind, man.”Through one electric game -unsurprisingly dubbed ‘The Miracle Match'-, which he himself took part in, author Ian Brayshaw tells the story of some of the greatest players of Australian and international cricket in the 1970s. The Miracle Match is a nostalgic look at the game in a bygone era that will touch the hearts of cricket fans young and old.