High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The 1974-75 Ashes series consisted of six cricket Test matches, each of five days with six hours play each day and eight ball overs. It formed part of the MCC tour of Australia in 1974-75 and the matches outside the Tests were played in the name of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Ian Chappell's Australians won the series 4-1 and "brutally and unceremoniously wrenched the Ashes" from Mike Denness's England team. Chappell's team was labelled the "Ugly Australians" thanks to his hard-nosed captaincy, intimidatory fast bowling and constant sledging as "Rod Marsh and his captain Ian Chappell would vie with each other in profanity." The 1974-75 Australians are remembered as one of the toughest teams in cricket history and in particular for the hostile fast bowling of Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee. Wisden reported that "never in the 98 years of Test cricket have batsmen been so grievously bruised and battered by ferocious, hostile, short-pitched balls." Lillee had injured his back in 1973, and now returned to Test cricket with 25 wickets (23.94), but the real surprise was Thomson whose javelin throw bowling action generated exceptional pace and rearing bouncers that gave him 33 wickets (17.93). They received generous support from the fast-medium bowler Max Walker - 23 wickets (29.73) and the off-spinner Ashley Mallett - 17 wickets (19.94) - and Australia won four of the first five Tests. Greg Chappell had already established himself as a world class batsman and cemented his reputation with 608 runs (55.27) and a record 14 catches. The opener Ian Redpath spent over 32 hours at the crease for his 472 runs (42.90) and Doug Walters became the first batsman to make an Ashes century in a single session since Don Bradman. The Australian fielding was exceptional as "almost everything that left the ground was caught and...had a swallow flown within reach of the Australian fieldsmen...it would have done do at its own risk. Denness's form deserted him for most of the tour and he became the first captain to drop himself from a Test match. The England batsmen were battered and bruised to such an extent that in one game a local player was used to make up an XI. The 41 year old Colin Cowdrey was sent to reinforce the team on his record sixth tour of Australia and opened the England innings in the Second Test at Perth a few days after his arrival and without any match practice. The first day of the Third Test at Melbourne was held on Boxing Day in an Ashes series for the first time, now a cricketing tradition. It weas Australia's first series victory over England for ten years and the experiance proved popular as 777,563 spectators came through the gates and paid nearly a million Australian dollars for the privilege. Ironically, England won the One Day International and with Lillee and Thomson unable to bowl in the Sixth Test Denness made 188 - the highest score by an England captain in Australia - and his team won by an innings.