Mick Malone

Malone's Test would be his only one. At the Kennington Oval, he had what he called his "golden moment", taking five for 63 in England's first innings with his medium-fast high action and then scoring 46 as a tailender. The match was drawn, but Australia had lost the series 3–0.

Malone ended World Series Cricket on the tour to the West Indies, playing in six limited-overs matches. He took 6 wickets at an average of 27.50. The West Indies won the series 8–2. Australia lost every game that Malone played in.

Malone was picked in that season's Australian squad to play the West Indies for the third Test at Adelaide, replacing Terry Alderman, but was 12th man. He was discussed as a possibility for the 1982 tour of New Zealand. He did not tour, and announced his retirement from first-class cricket. His final game was a one-day match against Victoria, in which he took 3-19 off seven overs. Malone said "I felt I was struggling to get into the Shield team and I just thought it was time to retire. I have no qualms about my decision and I could not have finished off on a better note by getting a wicket on the last ball I bowled."

Malone would play just two more seasons of Shield cricket for Western Australia before retiring at the end of the 1981–82, playing just twelve more matches. The 1980–81 season yielded just 14 wickets, while he took 13 in his final season—although Western Australia did win the Shield again in 1980–81.

An injury meant he was unable to play for Lancashire in 1981.

Some solid domestic form saw Malone return to the Australian side for the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup, the official spin-off from WSC, against Pakistan and the West Indies in 1981–82. He replaced an injured Terry Alderman.

Malone retired at the end of the 1981–82 season, finishing with first-class career figures of 73 matches 260 wickets at an average of 24.77. In the Australian winter he was an Australian rules football full-forward and played in 104 WANFL games for Subiaco, including their 1973 Premiership. In 1978 Malone played his 100th game for Subiaco and also topped their goalkicking with 54.47. It was his last season of pro-footy.

Malone returned to Lancashire for the entire 1980 season playing 15 county championship matches. He was sponsored $50 a wicket.

Malone was a peripheral figure in World Series Cricket, appearing in just one Supertest in 1979 against the West Indies at VFL Park, Melbourne. He took three wickets in the match (Clive Lloyd, Richard Austin and Viv Richards) and scored seven runs. The match was drawn.

In 1979, Malone moved to England to play as professional with Haslingden Cricket Club in the Lancashire League. Dennis Lillee had played for Haslingden in 1971. Other pros in the league at the time included Pakistan's Mudassar Nazar (Burnley), Nasim-ul-Ghani (Lowerhouse), Anwar Khan (Rishton), Mohsin Khan (Accrington) and Aftab Baloch (Todmorden), fellow Aussie Peter Sleep (East Lancashire), Indians Madan Lal (Enfield) and Rakesh Shukla (Colne). The league had a reputation of being hard, with many famous overseas professionals having played there (including Ian Chappell). Malone took 45 wickets in the league at an average of a little over 10.

Benefiting from his spell in England, Malone returned to Shield cricket for Western Australia for the 1979–80 season. World Series cricket players were playing with non-World Series Cricket players. "I can see it being completely forgotten in a couple of months", said Malone. "I think there are some initial problems, particularly with selection, but once everyone plays against each other again in Shield competition, it'll be pretty clear who the better cricketers are.... When we are all playing together it'll be clear who should be in the side and who shouldn't be".

In the 1978–79 season, Malone played eight matches of the tour to New Zealand (against the World XI) taking 14 wickets (average 13.14), with best figures of 4 for 9 in 10 overs at Cooks Gardens, Wanganui (50-over match). Malone hoped this form would see him selected more often for the Australian XI in the lucrative Supertests and International Cup. He did play 11 matches in the International Cup taking 10 wickets. Three of those matches were in the best of four final against the West Indies. Australia lost the winner-takes-all series 3–1.

After such a strong season, Malone had to be included in the Australia touring party to England in 1977. It was felt Malone would battle for the third paceman spot with Len Pascoe and Geoff Dymock, to support Jeff Thomson and Max Walker.

He featured more in the limited-overs matches. In the 1977–78 International Cup he took four wickets in four matches.

The Country Cup tours provided Malone with more match time. In the 1977–78 Country Cup he played eight times, taking 25 wickets at an average of just 20.76. His economy rate for that tour was a very impressive 2.78 runs per over. Malone took 3 for 62 in the 75-over Country Cup Final that the Australians lost to the World XI at Manuka Oval, Canberra. He also took 5-35 in a game against the World XI in Hamilton.

The 1976–77 Sheffield Shield season was Malone's most productive. He finished as the competition's leading wicket taker with an amazing 40 wickets in just eight matches at an average of just 16.12, with four five-wicket innings. West Australia won the Shield and the Gillette Cup that season. Malone was voted the second-best Shield player of the season.

Malone made his first-class debut for Western Australia on 21 February 1975, against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield. He took five wickets in the match, getting Bob Baldry twice.

In his second season of Shield cricket (1975–76) Malone took 28 wickets at an average of just 18.75, including two five-wicket hauls. Only Australian test players Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Ashley Mallett and Alan Hurst took more wickets, although Malone's average was superior to them all.

Michael Francis Malone (born 9 October 1950) is a former Australian cricketer who played in one Test match and ten One Day Internationals between 1977 and 1982. Malone played one Test prior to joining World Series Cricket. In English county cricket he had a period with Lancashire. He was also an Australian rules football full-forward and played in 104 WANFL games for Subiaco.