Whistlin' past the ear

This was Ian Chappell's 100th Test catch. "It was a difficult catch," he recalled, "because it came at that awkward height. I turned side-on to catch the ball away from my body so that you don't get jammed. The ball also curved away from me at the last second and I finished up catching it near the bottom of my left hand and it split the webbing between my ring and little fingers. It was one of only two injuries I received fielding in the slips, and both of them were at the bloody MCG."

Ahead of the series, Jeff Thomson took a $500 wager with a West Indian businessman about who would take more wickets - him or Andy Roberts. After the first two Tests, Thomson had taken only four. And during the Perth Test he received the news that his room-mate, Martin Bedkober, had died after a ball hit him near the heart in a grade match. But on day one at the MCG, Thomson took five wickets, including Rowe, here, for a duck. At the end of the series, Thomson had 29, Roberts 22.

On seeing a green pitch, Greg Chappell decided to put the visitors in - a brave decision, given West Indies' batting assault in the previous Test in Perth. But Thomson and Dennis Lillee gave their captain and the 85,596-strong crowd a perfect Boxing Day by taking nine wickets and dismissing West Indies for 224. Chappell made 52 in Australia's reply of 485, and, despite Clive Lloyd's second-innings century, Australia took a 2-1 series lead with an eight-wicket win. They went on to win the series 5-1.

After Ian Redpath made a century in Australia's first innings, captain Greg Chappell's decision to have him open with Alan Turner was called a "fresh idea", even though Redpath had opened in the first Test in Brisbane. But Bill O'Reilly, writing in the Age, called his hundred an "obstinately defensive innings". "Assuming the role of 'sheet anchor', Redpath overacted the part memorably," he wrote. Redpath made two more hundreds in the series, the final one of his career.

Clive Lloyd was unhappy with umpire Jack Collins, saying "he made too many errors" and "didn't know the rules". Collins also ruled Lloyd out, caught by a tumbling Greg Chappell at slip. He later recalled that decision, saying that fearing it may have been grounded, he had asked Chappell to produce the ball and was satisfied to see him pluck it from his belly. "It was the best decision I made in first-class cricket." But Collins was overlooked for the fourth Test and retired in anger.

A calypso steel band entertained the Boxing Day crowd, as did three streakers, one of whom stood to win $500 in bets and bail money for his efforts - he ran out to the field in a pair of running shoes and offered the umpire at square leg a drink from a can. But excessive drinking in the stadium was a problem in the '70s as well. "Drink more piss mate. You'll feel better that way. And don't wear a suit to the cricket - you'll get it dirty," said one drunk to a reporter from the Age.