Max Walker, one of Australian sport's larger-than-life characters in his heyday as a cricketer and raconteur, has died aged 68.
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The larrikin from Hobart, Tasmania, with the famous handlebar moustache and indomitable spirit, was a hard-nosed fast bowler in 34 Tests between 1972 and 1977, taking 138 wickets at 27.47, including six five-wicket hauls, and 17 one-day internationals. He was the first Tasmanian to be picked for a Test since C.L. Badcock in 1936.
He had earlier played 93 matches in six years with the Melbourne Football Club - but cricket won his heart.
Nicknamed Tangles because of his wrong-footed action, Walker gave more than strong support to frontline quicks Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, but was also capable of leading the attack himself, as he did in the sixth Test of the 1974-75 Ashes series when he claimed 8-143.
"No captain would want for a better performer in the attack, taking into account ability, motive, a never give in approach, stamina and purpose than Max Walker," was how the ABC cricket book of Australia's tour of England in 1977 encapsulated his career.
After retiring in the aftermath of World Series Cricket, Walker would appear on the ABC, 3AK and 2UE radio commentary teams and, after a stint at Channel Seven, would join Channel Nine. A trained architect, he featured on the network's cricket commentary between 1986 and 1991 - he would be parodied by satirist Billy Birmingham in The Twelfth Man series - and also presented the nightly news sports bulletin alongside host Brian Naylor.
He later hosted the Nine's The Sunday Footy Show from 1993 until 1998, Nine's Wide World of Sports program until it ended in 1999 and became an in-demand guest speaker best known for his outrageous stories.
Walker would also become a successful author, releasing 14 books, including light-hearted contributions, The Wit of Walker, How to Kiss a Crocodile and How to Puzzle a Python.
In his 1976 autobiography Tangles written with Neill Phillipson, Walker was described as "a fascinating sportsman whose sense of perspective is reinforced by a great, native Australian humour".
Ian Johnson, the former Australian captain and secretary of the MCG, said he was an "ornament" to the game.
Johnson told the tale of a young Walker who crossed from Hobart to the Melbourne Cricket Club with a reputation as a batsman, having thumped a century as an opener for the Tasmanian Colts. He was also given the new ball and it quickly became apparent what his real strength was.
Johnson also recalled Walker's 6-15 off 16 overs in the second innings of his second Test, against Pakistan at the SCG in 1973, with the tourists needing a modest 159 runs to win.
On the following tour of the Caribbean, Walker, amid criticism of his selection, would claim a record 26 wickets at 20.73 in a series when Australia, under skipper Ian Chappell, lost spearheads Dennis Lillee and Bob Massie early to injury and illness but still prevailed 2-0.
Legendary commentator Alan McGilvray wrote: "One of the most courageous efforts I have seen in cricket came after I watched Max Walker tip-toe across the foyer of a hotel to post a latter prior to leaving for the ground to start the fourth Test at Guyana. I questioned him about his limping and he showed me the backs of his ankles and legs and they were so dreadfully bruised that he was unable to put his heels to ground. I said to him: 'You are surely not playing today?' to which came the quiet comment: 'Dennis and Bob can't, so I must'.
"At the ground he stuffed masses of foam rubber into his boots, laced them up, and simply said: 'That'll do', and then proceeded to bowl 38 overs in the first innings, 23 in the second, to take five wickets and a magnificent running catch at fine leg."
Walker would add: "The one thing I had recognised fairly early in my bowling career was that I simply didn't have the pace to be a truly fast bowler. This in turn gave me the incentive to concentrate and practice on achieving control and accuracy."
Upon his return to Australia, Walker would inform Demons coach Ian Ridley and secretary Jim Cardwell that his career in the VFL was over.
Among the highlights of his career, he would feature in the 1977 Centenary Test at the MCG, and post playing would also be known for the television commercials with the catch phrase: "Have a good weekend, Mr Walker".
Walker was always prepared to see the funny side of life - and himself - and once described in typical jest how West Indian greats Viv Richards and Joel Garner were so desperate to empty their bladders they stopped their car on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Walker would describe himself as a "two-metre tangle of not so terrifically co-ordinated arms and legs".
In How to Kiss a Crocodile, he also aptly summed up "contemporary sport" as having "so much hype, gobbledegook or just plain bulldust rammed down the throat of potential champions I really feel for them. It must be almost as difficult as being a 'sifter' in Bart Cummings' stable - sifting the chaff from the horse dung".
Walker finished his autobiography simply: "One thing is certain. Cricket has given me a great deal of pleasure and a host of happy memories. Who could ask for anything more?"
