1964 saw McKenzie make his second Ashes tour of England. He led the attack as Australia retained the Ashes. His 29 wickets in five Tests equalled the highest obtained for Australia in England by Clarrie Grimmett in 1930. He took 21 wickets when Australia visited India and Pakistan on the return journey to Australia. Another seven wickets in a one off Test against Pakistan in Melbourne in December established a new record for the number of Test wickets in the space of one year; from 11 December 1963 to 8 December 1964 he took 73 wickets in fifteen Tests. This surpassed Maurice Tate's 65 wickets in 1924–25. In this period, he became the youngest bowler to reach 100 wickets, at the age of 23 and 162 days, 139 days younger than A.L. Valentine. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1965, the first Western Australian born recipient.