A very nervous Ian Redpath was playing his first match for Victoria and within minutes of the start, he dropped South Australia’s Neil Dansie at slip and cut his eyebrow in the process. Victoria’s captain Bill Lawry was unimpressed: ‘Piss off and get the 12^th man out here.’

For years they opened together and formed the closest of friendships.  But Bill forever liked to tease Redders about a quick single he called at Leeds in 1968: ‘It was  a regulation one to Geoff Boycott’s left hand behind ppointt. I got in easily but Bill didn’t. He still reminds me about it today. He reckons I robbed him of a 14^th Test 100 (he was 75 at the time).’

Redders was a champion on and off the field; genial, laconic , self-effacing. It was 60 summers back when he made 97 on his unforgettable Test debut having shared a 219-run opening stand with Lawry.

I still remember the hush and the groans of disappointment at the MCG when he was bowled by the South African swing specialist Joe Partridge. It was my first ever Test. Years later he told me it didn’t bother him at the time, but rarely would a day go by when he didn’t regret not making three figures.

Bobby Davis wanted Red to play VFL footy at Geelong after his outstanding exploits in the amateurs. But he didn’t play so as not to endanger his amateur status.

Once he muscled administrator Alan Barnes against a dressing room wall after Barnes infamously said there were 500,000 others out there willing to play for Australia if the current ones didn’t want to pay.

‘Of course there are,’ he said. ‘But they wouldn’t be any bloody good.’