John Dyson (Australian cricketer)

Dyson was made NSW 12th man for a game against the touring West Indies. He then scored 159 for NSW Colts against Victorian Colts.

He was sacked as the coach of the West Indies on 13 August 2009 shortly before the team was due to play in the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.

On 21 October 2007 he was named as coach of the West Indies having previously coached Sri Lanka from 2003 to 2005. On 20 March 2009 he incorrectly called the West Indies in because of bad light after 46.2 overs over of an ODI against England. His decision to do so was based on a faulty D/L calculation because of a fall of wicket on the second ball of the 47th over, thereby causing his team to lose a match it had a good chance of winning.

Dyson was NSW's Assistant Coach to Lawson from 1995 to 1997.

He represented Australia in two masters tournaments (1995 and 1998).

In 1991, NSW captain Geoff Lawson attempted to persuade the selectors to recall Dyson but they decided against it.

The following summer was more successful, scoring 742 runs at 39.05 including 79 and 100 not out for NSW against the touring West Indians and 34 for NSW against Pakistan. He scored 112 not out against Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield at the SCG which was his nineteenth and final first-class century. Dyson's good form led to speculation he could earn a place on the tour to England for the 1989 Ashes series however he was not selected.

Dyson captained NSW for two FAI cup games at the start of the 1989–90 season but suffered a knee injury and was replaced in the side by Steve Small for the first Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in Adelaide. The selectors then preferred promising prospect Geoff Milliken and Dyson never regained his state place. He had amassed 9935 first class runs at an average of 40.

Dyson expressed a desire to regain a place in the test side when his ban was over but he struggled on his return to NSW in January 1988 making 157 runs at 19.62 from 5 games during the 1987/88 season with a highest score of 60 not out. For most of the matches he would open the batting with Mark Taylor.

Dyson participated in two "rebel tours" of South Africa in 1985-86 and 1986–87 in defiance of the international sporting boycott of the apartheid state, scoring over 1,000 runs. He played soccer as a goalkeeper in the Sutherland Shire (Cronulla RSL) and was a member of the side that won the Dallimore Competition and runners-up in the NSW Amateur Cup final. He was a team member of the Como West Junior Soccer Club (Sutherland Shire) successful 18A, 1971 Champion of Champion team, progressed to play in Sutherland and St. George Grade and was also selected in the N.S.W. U20 squad.

Tremendous domestic form saw Dyson earn a recall to the test team in November 1984 to play the West Indies. In his last three tests he made 0 and 30, 13 and 21 and 8 and 5. Dyson did score 98 and 16 for NSW against the West Indies in a tour match prior to the second test. He was dropped for Andrew Hilditch in the fourth test and never regained his spot.

During their successful Sheffield Shield campaign of 1984/85 for NSW teammate Imran Khan said that he hoped Dyson would be selected for the Ashes tour to England in the summer of 1985. However it emerged that Dyson had agreed to participate in an Australian rebel tour to South Africa. Dyson enjoyed two productive trips to South Africa. He scored 577 runs in 1985–86 at 44.38 then made 522 runs at 52.2 the following summer. He was banned from playing in Australia for two years and three years from the international team along with the other rebels.

Dyson was not selected for the Australian squad that toured Sri Lanka. Subsequently, he was not included for the 1983 World Cup in England.

Dyson toured Pakistan in 1982, playing all three tests. He started well scoring 87 and 6 then made 23 and 43 and 10 and 51.

Dyson played all five tests at home during the 1982-83 Ashes. He had scores of 52 and 12, 1 and 4, 44 and 37, 21 and 31 and 79 and 2.

In February 1981 Ian Chappell left out Dyson from Chappell's hypothetical test squad to England "because he seems to have a mental barrier about making big scores in test cricket."

Despite his relative lack of success at test level, Dyson's excellent first class form saw him picked in the Australian squad to tour England in 1981.

Dyson scored 55 in a state trial game but was overlooked by NSW in favor of Trevor Chappell. This was controversial because it was felt the selectors had bias towards World Series players. However Dyson soon forced his way back into the side and had a reasonably successful season scoring 729 runs at 42. He was rewarded in selection for the Australian squad to tour England in 1980. He played three first class games with a top score of 33 and was overlooked for the Centenary Test.

Dyson had an excellent 1980-81 summer domestically including a record first wicket partnership with Rick McCosker against WA. He was picked in the ODI side and scored 69 and 79 against New Zealand.

He returned to the test side in 1980-81 scoring 30 and 24 not out against New Zealand. In the following tests he made 28 and 25 and 13 and 16.

Dyson spent the 1978 Australian winter playing for Haslingden in the Lancashire League.

Dyson was unable to force his way back into the test team during the 1978-79 summer. He was dropped from the state side early on for a Gillette Cup game but bounced back to make 57 in a districts game.

He played 30 Test matches and 29 One Day Internationals for Australia between 1977 and 1984. He did not enjoy as much success at the international level as he did at the first class level. In first-class matches, he scored nearly 10,000 runs at an average of 40. Dyson is probably best remembered for his "catch of the century" at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1982, when he caught Sylvester Clarke in the outfield, over his head, at a 45-degree angle to the ground, running backwards.

John Dyson (born 11 June 1954) is a former international cricketer (batsman) who is now a cricket coach, most recently in charge of the West Indies.