Ashley Mallett passed away at the age of 76 on 29 October after battling cancer for a long time.
Mallett represented Australia in 38 Tests, and claimed 132 wickets at an average of 29.84. Among Australian off-spinners, only Nathan Lyon (399 wickets) and Hugh Trumble (141) have more Test wickets than him. His last Test match was the Centenary Test match against England, at Lord's in 1980.
He also played nine ODIs, including the first ever ODI, where his 3-34 were the best figures of the match.
Mallett's best Test bowling figures, 8-59, came against Pakistan in 1972/73 in Adelaide, his home ground. He took 28 wickets at 19.10 in India on the historic 1969/70 tour – the last time Australia won a series there until 2004/05. During his home Ashes series in 1974/75, he scalped 17 wickets.
Mallett retired in 1976/77, but made a comeback in 1980 to feature in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. Unfortunately, it was short-lived, as was his.
The soft-spoken, mild-natured Mallett earned the ironic nickname 'Rowdy' from his teammates. After retirement, he became a successful spin bowling coach, commentator, and cricket journalist, and penned over twenty books, including the biographies of, among others, Victor Trumper, Clarrie Grimmett, and Ian Chappell; and an authoritative work on the 1868 Aborigines who toured England.