him "one of the few class batsman in the country". He played in all six Tests on the tour as England retained the Ashes. Much was made of Yallop's susceptibility to fast bowling because of an unusual incident during the fourth Test of the 1981 tour. Skipper Kim Hughes tried to protect Yallop from Bob Willis's bowling by controlling the strike, even though Yallop had not asked him to. Commentating on the match, Richie Benaud called Hughes's actions "as curious a captaincy decision as I have ever seen". Yallop began the 1981–82 season strongly and played in the first Test against Pakistan but then suffered a back injury and did not play for Australia for the rest of the summer. He returned to the Victorian side in December and scored 647 first-class during the season but was overlooked for the Australian tour of Pakistan in 1982, the selectors preferring to take Greg Ritchie and Wayne Phillips. It was the first official overseas tour Yallop had missed since the 1977 Ashes. Career peak Yallop was reappointed as Victoria's captain for the 1982–83 season and enjoyed a golden run of form that summer. He scored three centuries, including making 246 runs against Queensland, his first double century, and made a total of 1,418 first class runs at an average of 67.52 runs per innings, beating Bill Ponsford's record for the most runs in an Australian domestic season. With the Australian middle-order batters all scoring consistently, he was, however, unable to break into the international side but did earn selection for the 1983 tour of Sri Lanka after Kim Hughes chose not to go on the tour, scoring 98 in the only Test match on the tour in a comfortable Australian victory. His form continued in the One Day International series, including making three half-centuries in the four matches on the tour, and he was chosen in Australia's squad for the 1983 Cricket World Cup in England where he performed well, making another two half-centuries, although the team did not advance beyond the group stage of the competition. Yallop's best performances as a Test cricketer came during the 1983–84 season, when Pakistan toured Australia. In the first Test he made 141, taking part in a 259 run partnership with debutant Wayne Phillips, an Australian record for any wicket against Pakistan. In a tour match against the Pakistanis he scored 220 for Victoria before