Gary Cosier

The stocky, redheaded Cosier was a middle-order batsman who often attacked the bowling when a more judicious method was the order of the day. Given an extended trial at international level over four seasons, he never really established himself as a Test batsman, although he was vice-captain of Australia for a brief period. He had two major highlights at Test level – a hundred on his Test debut at Melbourne against the West Indies in 1975–76, and a 168 against Pakistan the following season. Test bowlers were quick to exploit his technical deficiencies, in particular a very short backlift and abbreviated footwork. Cosier was all Brute Force with little finesse, but he did try to modify his technique somewhat during the 1978–79 Ashes series, when he was incongruously used as an opener.

Cosier struggled with his weight throughout his career, in part due to his back trouble – a permanent condition since birth: a vertebra is out of alignment. "I can't do any heavy physical work at all", he said in February 1977. "I can't run or do gym work."

Against England he scored 6 and took 0-24. Against Pakistan he took 3-54 and made a duck. Against Canada – the sole Australian victory – Cosier took 2-17. He was overlooked for the tour of India.

There are quite a few players like me who did really well early in their careers, but didn't consolidate later on. I guess it is like climbing the highest peak on your first climb – where do you go from there, where is the next peak? Players these days have a great support network around them to guide them through that sort of stuff.

He eventually returned to his native Melbourne where his first class career ended with two outings for Victoria in 1980–81. Cosier:

In the late 1980s he was a Victorian coach and selector. He lived in Tangier for three years and managed Abdur Rahman Bukhatir's cricket and golf interests. The North African nation boasts an eight-team national league, and proudly claims an indigenous-participation rate of 95%, and Cosier managed the national team, which is an ICC affiliate member.

Cosier was selected in the Australia squad for the 1979 World Cup.

The readmission of WSC players in 1979–80 curtailed his opportunities at state level. Cosier:

He could back his batting with slow medium-pacers that swung alarmingly when the conditions favoured him. On the 1977 tour of England he showed in an ODI at Edgbaston that he could have been well suited to the burgeoning genre of one-day cricket when he snared five for 18. However, Cosier's bowling was not really used in Tests and his first Test wicket did not come until his 13th match. He was also an excellent close-in fielder and secure slipper.

Cosier was much criticised, including by Ian Chappell in an article in Cricketer magazine in January 1977 which stated:

In a February 1977 interview, Cosier admitted "I've got doubts about my own ability. I'm not convinced I"m a test batsman yet. I've got a long way to go... At the moment I'm playing one good innings and then three bad ones. I don't know why. Maybe I need to relax myself more of perhaps it's got something to do with attitude. All I know is I'm trying to work on it... I've heard about the things they say about me outside the off stump and to an extent I go along with them... I admit I'm a bit overweight."

Cosier kept his place for the Centenary Test. He scored 10 and 4. Cosier was also selected on the 1977 Ashes.

It was incredible really. In 1977, I flew over to England with the players and that was the flight on which Rodney Marsh broke the world beer drinking record. Three-quarters of the players on that flight had signed these sensational Packer contracts and they were all as drunk as you could imagine. But the secret still didn't get out. I sat beside Hookesy on the flight over and I had been best man at his wedding and not even he breathed a word of it to me... [After I found out] I went up and talked to Hookesy he said: "Sorry mate, I didn't know whether you had signed or not." Hookesy said he had wanted to tell me, but he just couldn't.

Cosier made a slow start to the 1976–77 summer, and was lucky to keep his place in the test side against Pakistan. He also captained South Australia in a number of games. "I loved it", said Cosier. "People said it affected my batting but that's crap." Cosier said his innings of 42 against a Queensland attack led by Jeff Thomson was his best ever for South Australia.

Cosier had an excellent season with the bat in 1975–76.

He relocated to South Australia to play regular first class cricket. "I wasn't getting many runs, and one day keeper Ray Jordon told me to get across to Adelaide", he later recalled. "I thought no more of it until Ray, now a newspaper columnist, wrote a story saying I would definitely be going to South Australia". This resulted in a series of offers from Adelaide clubs which prompted Cosier to move in 1974.

Highlights of the 1974–75 summer for Cosier included 81 against Victoria.

Cosier played club cricket for Northcote where his captain was Bill Lawry. He made his first-class debut aged 18 for Victoria during the summer of 1971–72, opening with Lawry. Early sports writers sometimes compared him to Lawry. Cosier was a different style of batsman but later said "Bill's influence on me was in the way he could fight out of a situation. He was incredible the way he would bat with pain and with everything running against him."

Gary John Cosier (born 25 April 1953) is a former Australian Test cricketer who played in 18 Test matches and nine One Day Internationals between 1975 and 1979. Cosier's star shone very briefly following a sensational debut, when he became only the ninth Australian to post a century in his first Test.

Cosier was kept on for the one day series that summer. He scored a lusty late innings 28 off 14 balls which helped Australia win the 4th IDO.