Born 10 years either side (maybe even less) and he’s got 400+ wickets and is considered a great.
We were talking about how Boland is sort of a similar (less pronounced) story
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I could have sworn it was an ongoing thing but alas it was not - Australia played Australia A 4 times, all of them in the 1994-1995 one day series that also included England and Zimbabwe. Australia A made the finals after beating Zimbabwe twice and Australia once (out of 6 matches total) and then lost both finals to Australia.
Australia: Mark Taylor (capt), Michael Bevan, David Boon, Damien Fleming, Ian Healy, Stuart Law, Craig McDermott, Glenn McGrath, Tim May, Michael Slater, Shane Warne, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh.
Australia A: Damien Martyn (capt), Phil Emery (vice-capt), Matthew Hayden, Darren Lehmann, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Merv Hughes, Paul Reiffel, Gavin Robertson, Greg Rowell, Jo Angel, Tom Moody, Shane George, Mark Atkinson, Greg Blewett, Peter McIntyre
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I’d been looking it up earlier as well, I would have sworn blind that there were a few summer of tri- and quad-series that had the A side there.
It’s wild how stacked that A side was, although I have no recollection of Big Merv being involved at all!
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Intriguing looking at his home vs away record though. Absolute gun in home conditions
I could have sworn it was at least 3 seasons… wild how it’s clearly had a big impact on our cricket memory and it lasted a year.
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Also the peak of international team kits through this time as well. Aus, Sri Lanka and West Indies especially.
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Great reminder for next time I’m visiting the folks to see if I can dig out my old ACB cap with signatures from McGrath, Slater and Shane Lee
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There was definitely a period where it could be argued he was a better bowler (or at least in better form). Obviously not over a career. But then again, without Warne would he have been noticed as much?
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ohhh you’re talking MacGill, was meaning Boland.
Loved MacGill, agree he would’ve been a great had there been no S.K Warne
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As always there’s a podcast about it
Episode 1
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Sorry to interrupt the excellent cricket chat but just caught up on Foxtel, there is an 18 min mini TGL show, this will probably be more than enough of it for me.
Now, while not remembering much about Aus A, I have a great memory of dad taking me to the G, bay 14 (no way he was taking me as a little kid into bay 13) to see England vs the West Indies in a one dayer - was amazing being there
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We all know what they had in common….
They weren’t NSW born and bred. (Yes Bevan played for some of his career at NSW, but he’s from the ACT.)
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Am I right in saying Bevan is the only (or at least first) Canberra-born cricketer to play for Australia?
I feel like it was a lunch break trivia question at some point…
Bevan was the first.
Jason Behrendorff (T20Is and ODIs) also hails from Canberra.
Crazy to think a side with the pedigree of the Comets hasn’t been able to produce a bevy of Test players 
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I thought with the guidance of big Merv there would be a bevy of test stars
I think Big Merv’s guidance was to ensure there would be many bevvies!
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Brad Haddin played a few games for ACT as well.
Queanbeyan lad
Of course the GOAT played for the Comets as well
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