Ex-Aussie spinner Yardley dies of cancer

PERTH: Former Australian bowler and influential coach Bruce Yardley died on Wednesday at the age of 71 after a long battle with cancer.

Playing at a time when the Test landscape was dominated by fast-bowlers, Yardley started out as a medium-pacer himself before switching to off-spin midway through his career and earned his Test debut for Australia at the age of 30, starting in 1978 during the split in Australian cricket amid the World Series era.

Using a distinctive long run-up better associated with pace bowling and employing his middle finger rather than his index finger to get the ball to turn, Yardley went on to take 126 wickets for Australia in 33 Test matches.

He also picked up 344 wickets in a first-class career that spanned 24 years.

He also scored 978 runs, including four Test half-centuries. One of those, off 29 balls against the West Indies in 1978, was the Australian record for 38 years as the fastest Test 50.

He was voted as the top international cricketer of the 1981-82 Australian summer, an annual award held between 1980 and 1996.

Yardley was Sri Lanka’s head coach from late 1996-98, taking over in the wake of the country’s World Cup win.

“Bruce was a significant figure in Australian cricket, contributing in many ways on and off the field,” Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts said in a statement. “As a player, it took him more than 10 years of persistence playing first class and Premier cricket to find the art of off-spin, earning him a Test debut at the age of 30.

“Off the field, Bruce had an infectious personality and was regarded as one of the best spin-bowing coaches in the world, coaching Sri Lanka and mentoring the greatest Test wicket-taker of all time, Muttiah Muralitharan.”

Yardley, who died in a hospital in Western Australia state, coached the Sri Lankan team in the late 1990s and defended Muralitharan when the Sri Lankan, who has a record 800 Test wickets, was investigated for having an illegal action in 2004.

“Very sad to hear about the passing of Bruce Yardley,” former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said on Twitter.