Cricket in Scotland Hamilton and Gregor MacGregor, who represented Scotland at rugby as well as England at cricket. Another notable Scottish cricketer was Brian Hardie, who was a major contributor to the successful Essex side of the 70's and 80's. One of the most successful Scottish spinners, and a respected journalist, was Ian Peebles, who was one of the cricketers of the year in 1931 alongside Donald Bradman. R. C. Robertson-Glasgow played for Oxford University and Somerset and later became a prominent cricket writer and correspondent. The South African-born former England captain Tony Greig also qualified to play for England due to his
Ian Botham Geoffrey Boycott. England went into the match with a 1–0 series lead having won the second Test after the first had been drawn. The series was played against the background of the so-called "Packer Affair" which resulted in the establishment of World Series Cricket in the next Australian season. Because of Tony Greig's involvement, he had been stripped of the England captaincy but remained in the team under new captain Mike Brearley. England had three all-rounders at Trent Bridge with Greig, Geoff Miller and Botham all playing. Australian captain Greg Chappell won the toss and decided to bat first. Australia