Roy Fredericks made 169 from 145 balls at the WACA in December 1975, opening the West Indian innings against Lillee and Thomson at their fastest. He hooked the second ball of the innings, from Lillee, for six. His hundred came in 71 balls and remains, alongside Adam Gilchrist's 57-ball century at the same ground in 2006, among the fastest in WACA Test history. Lindsay Hassett, broadcasting on the ABC, called it "the greatest innings I have seen in Australia". West Indies won by an innings and 87 runs.
The 1975-76 series was the first major touring assignment for West Indies after the 1975 World Cup victory. They were widely regarded as a side of glittering individual talent but uncertain temperament. The Brisbane Test had ended in a 308-run defeat. Fredericks had made 0 and 27.
Lillee and Thomson, four-day-rested for the Perth Test, were generally regarded as the fastest opening pair in the world. Their record at Perth was overwhelming.
The series stood at 1-0 to Australia after Brisbane. Lloyd, who would lose the series 5-1, was already under pressure. Fredericks's response, opening the second innings — having made 0 in the first — was to attack from ball one. He hooked Lillee's second delivery into the western stand for six, drove Thomson on the up through cover, and reached 50 from 33 balls. The first session produced 130 for the loss of one wicket; Fredericks was 81 not out at lunch.
He continued in the afternoon, reaching his hundred from 71 balls (the fastest by a West Indian in Tests at the time). He was finally caught Marsh bowled Gilmour for 169 from 145 balls; he had hit one six and 27 fours. West Indies declared at 585. Australia, with no answer to a half-fit Holding and an inspired Roberts, were bowled out for 169 and 329; West Indies won by an innings and 87 runs.
Fredericks 0 in first innings
Hooks Lillee's second ball of second innings for six
50 from 33 balls; 81* at lunch on first day of second innings
100 from 71 balls — fastest Test hundred by a West Indian at the time
Out 169 from 145 balls (Marsh c. Gilmour b.)
West Indies 585; Australia 169 and 329
West Indies win by an innings and 87 runs
12 December 1975
Day one — Australia 329 a.o.
13 December 1975
Fredericks 169 in 145 balls; West Indies 405/3 at close
14 December 1975
West Indies 585 declared
16 December 1975
Australia 329 in second innings; West Indies win by an innings and 87 runs
“It is the greatest innings I have seen in Australia. He has played strokes against bowling that nobody plays strokes against.”
The Perth result was the only West Indian win of the tour. They lost 5-1, with Lillee and Thomson taking 27 and 29 wickets respectively. The defeat triggered the broader rethink that would, in 1976 against England, produce the four-pace strategy.
Fredericks, an unflashy career batsman, was in no other innings comparable. His 169 stood as the iconic single innings of his career and is now identified by Wisden among the fastest fifty Test hundreds of the twentieth century.
West Indies won by an innings and 87 runs. Fredericks's 169 (145 balls, hundred in 71) was at the time among the fastest Test hundreds since the war and is the central exhibit of his career.
The 169 is referenced regularly when Test cricket discusses the legitimacy of attacking opening batting in the longer format. It pre-dates the modern strike-rate-driven openers (Sehwag, Warner) by two decades; it sits in conversation with David Warner's 154 against the same opposition at the same ground in 2009 and Adam Gilchrist's 57-ball hundred against England in 2006.
Hassett's commentary line — "the greatest innings I have seen in Australia" — is what is remembered alongside the runs.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.