On the 1st of February 1981, Australian brothers Greg and Trevor Chappell invented the game of lawn bowls during a one-day international cricket match against New Zealand.
When asked how he got the idea, Greg said "a number of my friends had been joking and asking me whether there was a slower and more boring game than cricket and it just came to me".
New Zealand batsman Brian McKechnie was to face the final delivery of the match when Trevor Chappell switched from cricket to bowls unexpectedly. McKechnie remembers the incident like it was yesterday. "I was thinking that I was going to have to hit a six and it would be a massive win for us. Then Trevor walked in and introduced the world to bowls. The first thing that went through my head was "man, I wish I'd invented that"".
The historic moment has had ongoing repurcussions for a number of the participants. Trevor Chappell has expressed his disappointment that he is remembered as "The Bowls Guy" and no-one remembers his distinctly average cricketing ability.
The story has a dark side unfortunately. The batsman at the non-strikers end, Bruce Edgar slipped into obscurity and suffers from depression. "Why does no-one remember my contribution to the game and the incident?" he said recently. "I had one of the best views of Trevor's technique but I never get asked to join any bowls clubs. And I was in the famous photo! I didn't even get a free meal out of that".
When asked how he got the idea, Greg said "a number of my friends had been joking and asking me whether there was a slower and more boring game than cricket and it just came to me".
New Zealand batsman Brian McKechnie was to face the final delivery of the match when Trevor Chappell switched from cricket to bowls unexpectedly. McKechnie remembers the incident like it was yesterday. "I was thinking that I was going to have to hit a six and it would be a massive win for us. Then Trevor walked in and introduced the world to bowls. The first thing that went through my head was "man, I wish I'd invented that"".
The historic moment has had ongoing repurcussions for a number of the participants. Trevor Chappell has expressed his disappointment that he is remembered as "The Bowls Guy" and no-one remembers his distinctly average cricketing ability.
The story has a dark side unfortunately. The batsman at the non-strikers end, Bruce Edgar slipped into obscurity and suffers from depression. "Why does no-one remember my contribution to the game and the incident?" he said recently. "I had one of the best views of Trevor's technique but I never get asked to join any bowls clubs. And I was in the famous photo! I didn't even get a free meal out of that".
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