Born Perth WA
24 June 1941
A superb physical specimen (hence his nickname “Garth” after the comic strip character), Graham McKenzie was one of the most respected fast bowlers in the world from 1961 to 1971. Chosen as a raw 19-year-old to tour England with Richie Benaud’s 1961 team, he celebrated his 20th birthday during his debut Test, the second at Lord’s, with figures of 5-37 in the second innings and making his mark immediately as a pace bowler.
McKenzie went on to become Western Australia’s first regular Test representative and retire with 246 wickets from 60 Tests, in the main carrying the Australian attack on his broad shoulders.
That left him just two wickets short of Richie Benaud’s Australian record. He was almost certainly robbed of that distinction by the decision of the Australian selectors to rest him from the last two matches of the four-Test series against India IN 1967-68 after he had claimed no fewer than 13 wickets in the first two.
In typically modest fashion, McKenzie accepted the selectors’ decision just as he readily came to terms with the many changes that went to ground in the slips cordon off his bowling, which seemed to come on to the bat and the fieldsmen with pace off the wicket.
A superbly-proportioned athlete, he had an easy approach to the wicket with a muscular side-on explosion in the delivery stride.
The quickest Australian to reach 100 Test wickets (three years and 165 days), he took five wickets in an innings 16 times and 10 wickets in a Test three times. His best Test figures were 8-71 against the West Indies in 1968-69. Experience in England with three Australian touring teams coupled with several seasons in County cricket with Leicestershire enable McKenzie to develop a fine repertoire of deliveries with sharp movement off the pitch a feature.