A World XI cricket team, which was a multi-national captained by Gary Sobers, toured Australia in the 1971–72 season. It replaced the proposed Test tour by South Africa which the Australian Cricket Board had cancelled in 1971.T. L. Goodman, "A World XI Team in Australia", Wisden 1973, pp. 899-911. This meant that South Africa would not tour Australia for a test series again until the 1993–94 season.
World XI played 16 matches between early November 1971 and early February 1972. There were five matches against Australia which were regarded as official test matches in Wisden however the status was later withdrawn. World XI won this series 2–1. The team also played three limited overs internationals against Australia and the remaining games were first-class fixtures against Australian invitational and state teams.
After this series, World XI would not play in Australia again until World Series Cricket in the late 1970s.
The team The World XI cricket team which played in Australia in 1971–72 Players of various nations made up the team;
PlayerDate of birthBatting styleBowling styleNation/Region Gary Sobers (c) 28 July 1936 Left handed Left-arm fast medium Zaheer Abbas 24 July 1947 Right-handed Right-arm offbreak Hylton Ackerman 28 April 1947 Left-handed Right-arm medium Intikhab Alam 28 December 1941 Right-handed Right arm leg break Bishan Bedi 25 September 1946 Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Robert Cunis 5 January 1941 Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium Farokh Engineer 25 February 1938 Right-handed Wicket-keeper Sunil Gavaskar 10 July 1949 Right-handed – Norman Gifford 30 March 1940 Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Tony Greig 6 October 1946 Right-handed Right-arm medium Richard Hutton 6 September 1942 Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium Rohan Kanhai 26 December 1935 Right-handed Right-arm medium Clive Lloyd 31 August 1944 Left-handed Right-arm medium Asif Masood 23 January 1946 Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Graeme Pollock 27 February 1944 Left-handed Leg break Peter Pollock 30 June 1941 Right-handed Right-arm fast Robert Taylor 17 July 1941 Right-handed Wicket-keeper Martin Williamson, "When People Power Sunk South Africa", Cricinfo 1 October 2005
"Test" series summary First match
Second match
Third match
Fourth match
Fifth match
Matches No.DateOpponentsFixtureVenueCityResultRef 1 5–8 November Tour match MCG Melbourne Drawn 2 12–15 November Tour match SCG Sydney Drawn 3 19–22 November Tour match The Gabba Brisbane Won by 38 runs 4 26 November–1 December 1st "Test match" The Gabba Brisbane Drawn 5 4–7 December Tour Match WACA Ground Perth Won by 72 runs 6 10–12 December 2nd "Test match" WACA Ground Perth Lost by an innings and 11 runs 12 December Fill-up match WACA Ground Perth Won by 14 runs 14 December 1st "ODI" WACA Ground Perth Won by 44 runs 7 17–18 December Tour match Adelaide Oval Adelaide Lost by an innings and 1 run 8 22–24 December Tour match NTCA Ground Launceston Won by 8 wickets 9 26–28 December Tasmania Combined XI Tour match TCA Ground Hobart Drawn 10 1–6 January 3rd "Test match" MCG Melbourne Won by 96 runs 11 8–13 January 4th "Test match" SCG Sydney Drawn 15 January 2nd "ODI" SCG Sydney Abandoned due to rain 16 January 3rd "ODI" MCG Melbourne Lost by ten wickets 16 January Fill-up match MCG Melbourne Lost by 6 runs 18–19 January Southern New South Wales Tour match Manuka Oval Canberra Drawn 22–24 January Northern New South Wales Tour match No. 1 Sports Ground Newcastle Drawn 12 28 January–1 February 5th "Test" Adelaide Oval Adelaide Won by nine wickets
References
External links World XI in Australia, Nov 1971/Feb 1972 at Cricinfo World XI in Australia 1971-72 at CricketArchive