1977

The long, hot summer of 1976 (the driest since 1727) was reviewed with fondness despite West Indies' destruction of Tony Greig's England side 3-0 - only the "unsavoury" bouncer barrage of the Saturday evening of the third Test at Old Trafford (when West Indies' skipper Clive Lloyd famously commented that "our boys got a bit carried away") marred the season. The endless tedious pitch invasions which were part of most big games surprisingly escaped censure. Greig himself was guilty of unwise predictions when he told the BBC that "When the West Indies are down they grovel ... and I intend to make them grovel." Three West Indies legends-to-be were named among the Five Cricketers: Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Michael Holding. Lord's - "The last stranglehold" - hosted a women's international for the first time.
Editor Norman Preston
Pages 1122
Price £3.75 (soft) / (cloth)

Almanack essays

Notes by the Editor

England's welcome success in India and more, 1977