Michael Francis Malone (born 9 October 1950) is a former Australian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played in one Test match and ten

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

s between 1977 and 1982. Malone played one

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

prior to joining

World Series Cricket World Series Cricket (WSC) was a commercial professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 which was organised by Kerry Packer and his Australian television network, Nine Network. WSC ran in commercial competition to established ...

. In English county cricket he had a period with

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. He was also an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

full-forward and played in 104 WANFL games for Subiaco.

First-class career

1974–75: Debut for Western Australia

Malone made his first-class debut for

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

on 21 February 1975, against Victoria in the

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...

. He took five wickets in the match, getting Bob Baldry twice. In his second appearance, against

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

he took seven wickets in the match, including that of Test star batsman and Blues captain

Doug Walters Kevin Douglas Walters (born 21 December 1945) is a former Australian cricketer. He was known as an attacking batsman, a useful part-time bowler, and also as a typical ocker. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up ...

. Western Australia won the Sheffield Shield that year, Malone playing in the vital final two matches of the season.

1975–76

In his second season of Shield cricket (1975–76) Malone took 28 wickets at an average of just 18.75, including two five-wicket hauls. Only Australian test players Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson,

Ashley Mallett Ashley Alexander Mallett (13 July 1945 – 29 October 2021) was an Australian cricketer who played in 38 Tests and 9 One Day Internationals between 1968 and 1980. Until Nathan Lyon, he was Australia's most successful off spin bowler since Worl ...

and Alan Hurst took more wickets, although Malone's average was superior to them all. He won man of the match in a Gillette Cup game where he took 2-37 and scored 33 in an 88-run partnership with John Inverarity that helped WA in the game.

1976–77

The 1976–77 Sheffield Shield season was Malone's most productive. He finished as the competition's leading wicket taker with an amazing 40 wickets in just eight matches at an average of just 16.12, with four five-wicket innings. West Australia won the Shield and the Gillette Cup that season. Malone was voted the second-best Shield player of the season. In a Shield game against Victoria, Malone took part in a 41-run partnership with Dennis Lillee that helped WA to a narrow in. He won another man of a match game for the Gilette Cup final, when his innings of 47 not out (batting at nine), including a 51-run partnership with Craig Serjeant, took WA to a victory with five balls to go. "It was a superb performance", said captain Rod Marsh. "Above and beyond the call of duty.He's done that for us to win three games against Victoria, once in the Gillette Cup last year, in a recent Shield match and now". He later took 6–33 against Victoria in a Shield game.

1977 Ashes

After such a strong season, Malone had to be included in the Australia touring party to England in 1977. It was felt Malone would battle for the third paceman spot with Len Pascoe and Geoff Dymock, to support Jeff Thomson and

Max Walker Maxwell Henry Norman Walker (12 September 1948 – 28 September 2016) was an Australian sportsman who played both cricket and Australian rules football at high levels. After six years of balancing first-class cricket in summer, professional fo ...

. Malone took a wicket with his first ball in England, a one-day game. News broke early in the tour that most of the Australian squad had signed to play

including Malone. At the beginning of the tour, Malone was picked for two One-Day Internationals. England won both games easily, Malone taking two wickets in the first match and going wicketless in the second. In the Tests, the selectors preferred Pascoe as the third paceman. Pascoe bowled well but fell injured for the fifth Test, and Malone took his place. Malone's Test would be his only one. At the

Kennington Oval Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

, he had what he called his "golden moment", taking five for 63 in England's first innings with his medium-fast high action and then scoring 46 as a tailender. The match was drawn, but Australia had lost the series 3–0. The press in Australia and England blamed the hype surrounding

Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...

and his proposed

for tension within the Australian side (Malone had already signed a contract), leading to the poor performances. Malone disagrees, "The press said we were a divided side", says Malone, "but that was not the case. There were 13 of the 17 players who had signed for Packer and we all knew each other and got on, Packer and non-Packer players. The reason we lost was because we were outplayed by a better side and because Geoff Boycott was sensational."

1977–78 and 1978–79: World Series Cricket

Malone was a peripheral figure in World Series Cricket, appearing in just one Supertest in 1979 against the West Indies at

VFL Park Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) is an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. The first venue to be designed and built specifically for Australian Rules football, for most of its history, its pur ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. He took three wickets in the match (

Clive Lloyd Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd (born 31 August 1944) is a Guyanese- British former cricketer and captain of the West Indies cricket team. Lloyd is widely regarded as one of the greatest captains of all time. As a boy he went to Chatham High School in ...

, Richard Austin and

Viv Richards Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is a retired Antiguan cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Usually batting at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...

) and scored seven runs. The match was drawn. He featured more in the limited-overs matches. In the 1977–78 International Cup he took four wickets in four matches. The Country Cup tours provided Malone with more match time. In the 1977–78 Country Cup he played eight times, taking 25 wickets at an average of just 20.76. His economy rate for that tour was a very impressive 2.78 runs per over. Malone took 3 for 62 in the 75-over Country Cup Final that the Australians lost to the World XI at

Manuka Oval Manuka Oval is a sporting venue in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is located in Griffith, Australian Capital Territory, Griffith, in the area of that suburb known as Manuka, Australian Capital Territory, Manuka. Manuka Oval has a seating ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. He also took 5–35 in a game against the World XI in Hamilton. In the 1978–79 season, Malone played eight matches of the tour to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

(against the World XI) taking 14 wickets (average 13.14), with best figures of 4 for 9 in 10 overs at Cooks Gardens,

Wanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest nav ...

(50-over match). Malone hoped this form would see him selected more often for the Australian XI in the lucrative Supertests and International Cup. He did play 11 matches in the International Cup taking 10 wickets. Three of those matches were in the best of four final against the West Indies. Australia lost the winner-takes-all series 3–1. Malone ended World Series Cricket on the tour to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, playing in six limited-overs matches. He took 6 wickets at an average of 27.50. The West Indies won the series 8–2. Australia lost every game that Malone played in. Malone later said some players from his club Scarborough "didn't support me" about World Series Cricket. "I couldn't understand that". But Malone said "I've got no regrets whatsoever in any way regarding joining World Series Cricket. Not one single regret... the security in World Series Cricket was magnificent".

1979: Lancashire

In 1979, Malone moved to England to play as professional with

Haslingden Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town (including Helmshore) had a population of 15,9 ...

Cricket Club in the Lancashire League. Dennis Lillee had played for Haslingden in 1971. Other pros in the league at the time included Pakistan's Mudassar Nazar (

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

), Nasim-ul-Ghani ( Lowerhouse), Anwar Khan (

Rishton Rishton is a town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, about west of Clayton-le-Moors and north east of Blackburn. It was an urban district from about 1894 to 1974. The population at the census of 2011 was 6,625. History It ...

), Mohsin Khan (

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

) and Aftab Baloch (

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax. In 2011, it had a popul ...

), fellow Aussie Peter Sleep ( East Lancashire), Indians Madan Lal ( Enfield) and Rakesh Shukla (

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...

). The league had a reputation of being hard, with many famous overseas professionals having played there (including

Ian Chappell Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. Known as "Chappelli", he is considered as one of the greatest captains the game has seen.

). Malone took 45 wickets in the league at an average of a little over 10. Malone was signed as the second overseas player for

alongside the great Clive Lloyd, replacing South African Paul Robinson. In two matches he took a remarkable 18 wickets, including a career best 7-for-88 against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. He dismissed star batsmen Derek Randall and

Clive Rice Clive Edward Butler Rice (23 July 1949 – 28 July 2015) was a South African international cricketer. An all-rounder, Rice ended his First Class cricket career with a batting average of 40.95 and a bowling average of 22.49. He captained Notti ...

. In his second match for Lancashire, Malone took 6 for 60 against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

David Gower David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 T ...

among his wickets.

1979–80: Return to establishment cricket and touring Pakistan

Benefiting from his spell in England, Malone returned to Shield cricket for Western Australia for the 1979–80 season. World Series cricket players were playing with non-World Series Cricket players. "I can see it being completely forgotten in a couple of months", said Malone. "I think there are some initial problems, particularly with selection, but once everyone plays against each other again in Shield competition, it'll be pretty clear who the better cricketers are.... When we are all playing together it'll be clear who should be in the side and who shouldn't be". He took 32 wickets in the expanded competition at a more modest average of 28.75, in what was a poor season for the side; they won just once, at home against whipping-boys

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. However his form was good enough to earn a recall to the Australia party for the tour to Pakistan. He did not play in any of the three tests. Malone was picked against the BCCP President's XI and Punjab Governor's XI he struggled on the slow pitches taking just one wicket and bowling few overs, as Australia relied heavily on the spin of Ray Bright.

1980: Return to Lancashire

Malone returned to Lancashire for the entire 1980 season playing 15 county championship matches. He was sponsored $50 a wicket. He was the county's second-highest wicket-taker with 45 wickets (average 25.88), behind Willie Hogg who had 50 (average 21.16). Lancashire finished a disappointing third-bottom in the table, winning only four games. Malone did face the touring Australians in a three-day match, but did not take a wicket.

1980–81

Malone would play just two more seasons of Shield cricket for Western Australia before retiring at the end of the 1981–82, playing just twelve more matches. The 1980–81 season yielded just 14 wickets, while he took 13 in his final season—although Western Australia did win the Shield again in 1980–81. He took 2-18 off 10 overs in the McDonald's Cup semi-final. An injury meant he was unable to play for Lancashire in 1981.

1981–82: Return to Australian side

Some solid domestic form saw Malone return to the Australian side for the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup, the official spin-off from WSC, against

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and the

in 1981–82. He replaced an injured

Terry Alderman Terence Michael Alderman (born 12 June 1956) is a former Australian international cricketer who played primarily as a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He began his first-class cricket career during the 1974–75 season with Western Australia in t ...

. He had a superb comeback game taking 2-9 off ten overs. He kept his spot in subsequent games. He would play eight times taking 9 wickets at an average of 27.88, he was also Australia's most economical bowler conceding just 3.13 runs per over. Malone was picked in that season's Australian squad to play the

for the third Test at

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, replacing

, but was 12th man. He was discussed as a possibility for the 1982 tour of New Zealand. He did not tour, and announced his retirement from first-class cricket. His final game was a one-day match against Victoria, in which he took 3-19 off seven overs. Malone said "I felt I was struggling to get into the Shield team and I just thought it was time to retire. I have no qualms about my decision and I could not have finished off on a better note by getting a wicket on the last ball I bowled."

Outside cricket

Malone retired at the end of the 1981–82 season, finishing with first-class career figures of 73 matches 260 wickets at an average of 24.77. In the Australian winter he was an

full-forward and played in 104 WANFL games for Subiaco, including their 1973 Premiership. In 1978 Malone played his 100th game for Subiaco and also topped their goalkicking with 54.47. It was his last season of pro-footy. Malone now runs Mick Malone Real Estate based in Doubleview, Western Australia.

References

External links

* *
Article at The Age which mentions his football career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, Mick 1950 births Living people Australia One Day International cricketers Australia Test cricketers Western Australia cricketers Lancashire cricketers Australian expatriate cricketers in England World Series Cricket players Subiaco Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Australian cricketers Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut Cricketers from Perth, Western Australia Minor Counties cricketers 20th-century Australian sportsmen