Dennis Keith Lillee, the former bowling magician of Australian cricket team was born on 18 July, 1949 in Subiaco, Western Australia and was known for his fiery temperament, ‘never-say-die’ attitude and popularity with the fans. Lillee was an extremely quick bowler and by the time of his retirement from international cricket in 1984 he had become the then world record holder for most Test wickets showing 355 batsmen the way back to pavilion.

Lillee made his debut in the first-class cricket at the age of 20 in 1970 and impressed with his raw pace. His Test debut happened in the sixth Ashes Test at Adelaide. Lillee was selected as Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year for 1973.

In the England tour in 1975 at the inaugural World Cup he captured eight wickets in five matches, including 5/34 against Pakistan at Leeds. He along with Jeff Thomson maintained a powerful and fiery bowling pair that caused panic in the opposite side. Lillee took 37 wickets in six Tests against New Zealand in 1980-81 and was the leading bowler in the World Series Cup for the second successive season.

Bowling as a first-change, Lillee had an uneventful tour of New Zealand in March and April 1982 before suffering a serious knee injury in the first Ashes Test at the WACA Ground in November of the same year. This forced him to miss the rest of the series and Australia’s 2–1 victory, which reclaimed the Ashes. Returning to the team for the latter stages of the World Series Cup, Lillee was no longer an automatic choice to take the new ball. Nevertheless, his 11 wickets in six ODIs helped Australia win the tournament with a victory over New Zealand in the final.

Throughout his Australian career Lillee was also famous for his partnership with wicketkeeper Rod Marsh. The scorecard entry ‘c Marsh b Lillee’ appeared 95 times in Tests, a partnership record between wicketkeeper and bowler still unbroken.

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The Melbourne Cricket Ground, shortly and popularly known as MCG is one of the largest Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park in inner Melbourne. This is the home to the Melbourne Cricket Club and holds the world record for the highest light towers at any sporting venue. The MCG is located within walking distance of the city centre. The commutation to this stadium is very easy with the presence of Richmond and Jolimont train stations.

The MCG is remembered mainly

as the centrepiece stadium of the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The open-air stadium is also one of the world’s most famous cricket venues. The locals usually refer the MCG, often as “The G”, has also hosted other major events, including International Rules between the Australian Football League and Gaelic Athletic Association, international Rugby union, State of Origin rugby league, FIFA World Cup qualifiers and International Friendly matches. It is also famous in Victoria as the “Spiritual Home of Australian Sport”. The MCG also found berth in the 7 wonders of the sporting world.

The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) selected the current MCG site in 1853. The first grandstand at the MCG was built in 1854. More stands came up in the early 20th Century. Australia’s first full colour video scoreboard came up in MCG in 1982. The light towers were installed in 1985 making it perfect for night matches. Cricket match was played in this venue for the first time on 30 September 1854. The first Test cricket match took place in 1877. MCG also has a record of sensational events happening during the matches. One among them happened in 1954-55 England tour when big cracks appeared in the pitch during a very hot Saturday’s play. The first One Day International match was took place in this ground on 5 January 1971, between Australia and England in which Australia won the 40-over match by 5 wickets.

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