get the ball to rise above stump height and that it only became unpredictable on the last day. Australia had several series wins behind them and the selectors Sam Loxton, Neil Harvey and Phil Ridings picked the regulars; the batsmen Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell (despite recovering from influenza), Ian Redpath and Doug Walters, wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, fast bowler Max Walker and leg-spinner Kerry O'Keeffe. The fast bowler Dennis Lillee had demonstrated his fitness after his crippling back injury of 1973 and was brought back into the team along with the surprise choice of Jeff Thomson, an inaccurate fast bowler with a slinging, javelin throw action. His sheer pace would be the deciding factor in the series, though many pundits thought the left-arm Geoff Dymock would have been the better bet. The leg-spinner Terry Jenner was another surprise as Brisbane was not conductive to spin, but in the end the regular spinner Kerry O'Keeffe was made twelfth man and Jenner played in his stead. Wally Edwards and Ross Edwards were brought over from Western Australia. Wally was an angular opening batsman in the style of Bill Lawry and Ross had made his name by scoring 170 not out at Trent Bridge in the 1972 Ashes series. England had left their best batsman Geoff Boycott and best bowler John Snow at home, but were still able to present a professional-looking team which had lost only one of its last eleven Tests. The tour selectors Alec Bedser, Alan Smith, Mike Denness, John Edrich and Tony Greig were slightly hampered by rain-affected practice matches and a line of niggling injuries; David Lloyd was out with a broken finger, Geoff Arnold with a strained shoulder and Chris Old with an injured hand. The captain Denness had just recovered from a mystery virus, Edrich from a back injury and Dennis Amiss and Bob Willis had thrown off groin strains. However, they had beaten New South Wales and were the first MCC team to beat Queensland since the war. Boycott's replacement Brian Luckhurst was chosen to open with Amiss, followed by the batsmen Edrich, Denness, Keith Fletcher, Greig, the wicketkeeper Alan Knott, the spinner Derek Underwood and the fast bowlers Willis, Mike Hendrick and Peter Lever. Ian Chappell won the toss and elected to bat on the suspect surface. Though it is a brave captain who puts the opposition in to bat Chappell had a difficult decision