SCG may refer to:

SCG (country), a union of Serbia and Montenegro

SCG International Risk, a private military contractor and security firm

Self-Changing Gears, a British company

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Socialist Campaign Group, a left-wing grouping of UK Labour Party MPs

Southern Connecticut Gas Company

''Summa contra Gentiles'', a Christian studies book

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cs:SCG de:SCG et:SCG eo:SCG fr:SCG it:SCG (disambigua) ja:SCG sl:SCG sv:Lista över nationalitetsmärken för motorfordon#S

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
playername	Michael Bevan
country	Australia
fullname	Michael Gwyl Bevan
nickname	Bevo
living	true
dayofbirth	8
monthofbirth	5
yearofbirth	1970
placeofbirth	Belconnen, Australian Capital Territory
countryofbirth	Australia
heightm	1.80
batting	Left-hand
bowling	Slow left-arm chinaman
role	All-rounder
international	true
testdebutdate	28 September
testdebutyear	1994
testdebutagainst	Pakistan
testcap	360
lasttestdate	2 January
lasttestyear	1998
lasttestagainst	South Africa
odidebutdate	14 April
odidebutyear	1994
odidebutagainst	Sri Lanka
odicap	116
lastodidate	29 February
lastodiyear	2004
lastodiagainst	Sri Lanka
odishirt	12
club1	South Australia
year1	1989–1990
club2	New South Wales
year2	1990–2004
club3	Yorkshire
year3	1995–1996
club4	Sussex
year4	1998–2000
club5	Leicestershire
year5	2002
club6	Tasmania
year6	2004–2006
club7	Kent
year7	2004
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	18
runs1	785
bat avg1	29.07
100s/50s1	0/6
top score1	91
deliveries1	1,285
wickets1	29
bowl avg1	24.24
fivefor1	1
tenfor1	1
best bowling1	6/82
catches/stumpings1	8/–
column2	ODIs
matches2	232
runs2	6,912
bat avg2	53.58
100s/50s2	6/46
top score2	108*
deliveries2	1,966
wickets2	36
bowl avg2	45.97
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	3/36
catches/stumpings2	69/–
column3	FC
matches3	237
runs3	19,147
bat avg3	57.32
100s/50s3	68/81
top score3	216
deliveries3	8,769
wickets3	119
bowl avg3	44.89
fivefor3	1
tenfor3	1
best bowling3	6/82
catches/stumpings3	122/–
column4	List A
matches4	427
runs4	15,103
bat avg4	57.86
100s/50s4	13/116
top score4	157*
deliveries4	3,546
wickets4	93
bowl avg4	33.27
fivefor4	1
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	5/29
catches/stumpings4	128/–
date	6 March
year	2008
source	http://content-www.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/4144.html cricinfo.com }}

Michael Gwyl Bevan (born 8 May 1970, Belconnen, Australian Capital Territory) is a former Australian left-handed cricket batsman and a slow left arm chinaman bowler. He played 232 ODI matches for Australia, and was a part of the 1999 and 2003 teams that won the World Cup.

He holds the world record One Day International batting average for retired players of 53.58. In List A cricket as a whole, Bevan has an average of over 58, the highest of any player to have scored 10,000 runs in List A games (second is Dean Jones, on 46.93). Although Bevan played most of his domestic career for the New South Wales Blues, he moved to the Tasmanian Tigers for the 2004–05 season, where he continued his successes up until his retirement in January 2007. He has also played for South Australia and in England for Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Sussex.

ODI career

Bevan made his One Day International debut for Australia in the 1994 Austral-Asia Cup at Sharjah and by the 1995–96 season he became a regular in the side.

Bevan is one of only two players with 30 ODI innings or more to maintain a batting average above 50. Critics have claimed this was an inflated average due to a high level of not outs (67 in 232 ODI's), a result of batting in the lower-middle order. However, Bevan's best performance was as a number four. Of the players to have played 30 or more ODI innings, he is one of only three (with Kevin Pietersen and Michael Hussey) whose batting average never dropped below 40. This, coupled with the high price he put on his wicket, resulted in many not-out innings.

Nonetheless, he proved a reliable anchor at the bottom of the middle order, and he would often patiently guide Australia to victory following a rare top-order collapse – leading to him being nicknamed "The Finisher". One of his most famous "anchor" innings was in the New Years Day One Day International at the Sydney Cricket Ground against the West Indies in 1996. With the Australians at one stage 6/38 chasing 173, his unbeaten 150-minute 78 got the Australians over the line with a four on the last ball of the innings. By the end of his ODI career, Bevan was known as the "Pyjama Picasso".

2003 Cricket World Cup

Bevan previously appeared for Australia in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, where Australia lost the final to Sri Lanka, and the victorious 1999 Cricket World Cup side.

Bevan entered the 2003 World Cup injured. He played his first game in the group stage against India. He didn't bat until the fifth group game against Namibia and he registered a rusty 17 before being caught and bowled by Louis Burger. In the final group game against England, he came in with Australia struggling at 48–4. He then was joined by Andy Bichel at 135–8 with 70 runs still required to win. Bevan finished on 74 not out and Bichel 34 not out as Australia managed to win in the final over. An unbeaten group stage was followed by an unbeaten Super Six stage. He made 56 against New Zealand helping Australia recover from 84–7 again batting with Bichel to help Australia win. His last knock was an unfortunate golden duck in the semi-final against Sri Lanka and he was not required to bat in the final which Australia won.

Test career

Despite his ODI success, Bevan's Test career was not nearly as successful. Thought to be susceptible to short-pitched deliveries, he never really succeeded in the longer form of the game, with an average of only 29. It must be noted that his problems with short pitched bowling are more myth than reality – he continued to perform consistently in ODIs, despite a rule change which allowed short pitch bowling in ODIs. He also scored heavily in domestic first-class cricket for New South Wales during this time averaging almost 60 with the bat. He performed well during his limited time as a bowler in Test matches, with his bowling style of unorthodox left-arm chinaman spin, including taking ten wickets in a Test match against the West Indies touring side in 1996.

The major teams he has played for are: South Australia, New South Wales, Yorkshire, Sussex, Leicestershire and of course Australia. He finished his career playing for Tasmania, where in the 2004/05 season, he scored a Sheffield Shield record for number of runs scored in a season. Despite this form, he was dismissed for Australian selection due to his age.

Retirement

On 17 January 2007, due to injuries Bevan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. "It got to the stage where injuries and pain were holding back my motivation, and it got to the stage where I was finding it hard to get up for matches and that was probably a pretty clear indication that it was time to move on," Bevan said. Apart from coaching the Chennai Superstars in the Indian Cricket League, Bevan now participates in the Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series for Australia. On January, 2011, Bevan was announced the coach for Indian Premier League team Kings XI Punjab.

Personal life

He married his English wife Tracy in 1994.

Statistics

References

External links

Cricinfo: ODI Career Highest Batting Averages

AussieProfiles.com: Michael Bevan

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Australia One Day International cricketers Category:Australia Test cricketers Category:Kent cricketers Category:Leicestershire cricketers Category:New South Wales cricketers Category:People from the Australian Capital Territory Category:South Australia cricketers Category:Sussex cricketers Category:Tasmania cricketers Category:Yorkshire cricketers Category:Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Category:Cricket coaches Category:Indian Cricket League coaches Category:Burgher people Category:Australian cricketers

bn:মাইকেল বেভান fr:Michael Bevan hi:माइकल बेवन mr:मायकेल बेव्हन

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
country	India
fullname	Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman
nickname	Very Very Special
living	true
dayofbirth	1
monthofbirth	11
yearofbirth	1974
placeofbirth	Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
countryofbirth	India
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right-arm off spin
international	true
testdebutdate	20 November
testdebutyear	1996
testdebutagainst	South Africa
testcap	209
lasttestdate	18 August
lasttestyear	2011
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	9 April
odidebutyear	1998
odidebutagainst	Zimbabwe
odicap	112
lastodidate	3 December
lastodiyear	2006
lastodiagainst	South Africa
club1	Hyderabad
year1	1992 – present
club2	Lancashire
year2	2007, 2009
clubnumber2	5, 26
club4	Deccan Chargers
year4	2008–2010
club5	Kochi Tuskers Kerala
year5	2011
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	127
runs1	8328
bat avg1	46.27
100s/50s1	16/54
top score1	281
deliveries1	324
wickets1	2
bowl avg1	63.00
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	1/2
catches/stumpings1	127/–
column2	ODI
matches2	86
runs2	2,338
bat avg2	30.76
100s/50s2	6/10
top score2	131
deliveries2	42
wickets2	0
bowl avg2	–
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	0/5
catches/stumpings2	39/–
column3	FC
matches3	255
runs3	18,951
bat avg3	52.35
100s/50s3	53/94
top score3	353
deliveries3	1,835
wickets3	22
bowl avg3	34.27
fivefor3	0
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	3/11
catches/stumpings3	266/1
column4	LA
matches4	173
runs4	5,078
bat avg4	34.54
100s/50s4	9/28
top score4	131
deliveries4	698
wickets4	8
bowl avg4	68.50
fivefor4	0
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	2/42
catches/stumpings4	74/–
date	11 July
year	2011
source	http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-india-2011/content/player/30750.html espncricinfo }}

Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman () (born 1 November 1974, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India), sometimes shortened to Venkatsai Laxman but generally known as V.V.S. Laxman, is an Indian cricketer. Laxman represents Hyderabad in domestic cricket and has played for Lancashire in English county cricket. Laxman is the great grand nephew of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India. He was the captain of the Deccan Chargers team in the Indian Premier League in its first year before being replaced by Adam Gilchrist for the next year. In 2011, Laxman was awarded with Padma Shri award, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India.

Laxman bats right-handed and occasionally bowls off-spin. He is noted for his superb timing and the ability to hit against the spin, reminiscent of his role model Mohammed Azharuddin. Laxman is particularly noted for the skilful use of his supple wrists, which allow him to flick the ball to various places, but usually through the leg side. This also helps in his catching, and he typically fields in the slips or in a bat pad position.

Laxman is noted most for his batting against Australia, in both tests and one day internationals. As of February 2010, he has scored 6 out of his 16 test hundreds, and 4 out of his 6 ODI hundreds against Australia. He has two double-centuries in tests, both of them against Australia: his personal best of 281 at Kolkata in 2000–01, and 200* at Feroz Shah Kotla in 2008–09.

Personal life

Laxman's parents, father Shantaram and mother Satyabhama, are doctors. Laxman studied at Little Flower High School, Hyderabad. He then enrolled as a medical student but chose cricket over a career in medicine. He married G. R. Sailaja from Guntur, who is a post-graduate in computer applications, on 16 February 2004.

Style

Laxman is known for his "wristy, willowy and sinuous" style, one which is technically fluid at its best.

Career

Laxman made his Test debut in 1996, scoring a fifty against South Africa at Ahmedabad. However, he was unable to cement his place in a star-studded Indian middle order. Instead, he was asked to open the innings, starting in South Africa in 1997. Laxman intermittently continued in this role for nearly three years, but without any consistent success. In January 2000, he made 167 against Australia at Sydney, a rare high point for India in an otherwise disastrous tour. Despite this success against an attack containing both Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, Laxman apparently decided that he would return to domestic cricket, rather than continue playing as opener, a role which he believed did not suit him. As a result, Laxman was out of the Test team for nearly a year. He was recalled in late 2000, and also found a spot in the side for the home series against Australia in 2001. Laxman is a slow runner between wickets and he is one of the few players who have played 100 Tests but have never played in the Cricket World Cup.

Australia's tour of India

Laxman's career changed dramatically in the home series against Australia. In the first Test at Mumbai, Laxman made 20 and 12, as the entire Indian batting line-up, with the exception of Sachin Tendulkar, capitulated, leading to a 10-wicket defeat. This was Australia's 16th consecutive Test win and extended their own world record. In the next Test, however, Laxman shot to fame with an extraordinary Test innings of 281 in the second innings (following on) against Australia at Eden Gardens, when under tremendous pressure and with Australia looking set for a crushing 17th win in a row, he broke Sunil Gavaskar's long standing Indian Test record score of 236*. This remained the highest ever by an Indian until it was eclipsed by Virender Sehwag's triple ton against Pakistan in Multan in March 2004. The innings also contributed to a record partnership of 376 with Rahul Dravid who made 180 and together they survived the whole 4th day. Laxman's performance was of enormous consequence: India had been on the brink of an innings defeat but went on to win the Test and the series, denying Steve Waugh conquest of the "final frontier". This was only the third time in the history of cricket that a team had managed to win a Test after being forced to follow on. It has become one of the most celebrated tales of Indian cricket, and the innings is ranked the sixth best Test innings ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. At the time, the pitch was taking significant turn, and to negate Laxman's free scoring, Australian leg spinner Shane Warne pitched his deliveries into the footmarks outside leg stump. However, such was Laxman's play that he consistently drove the ball through long on for boundaries against the spin, something that is considered to be technically dangerous. When Warne attempted to stop Laxman from scoring by defensively stationing most of the fielders on the leg side (leg theory) and bowling outside leg stump, Laxman proceeded to skip down the pitch and drive Warne inside-out through the vacant off side, hitting through the line of a substantially turning ball. Warne later admitted that he was clueless as to how to stop Laxman.

Laxman then cemented his place both in the Test and one day teams for a few years. He has continued to perform well against Australia, especially during India's tour of Australia in 2003–04, in which he hit three ODI and two Test centuries. One of his centuries, his 148 in the second Test at Adelaide, came in a triple century partnership with Dravid. India won the Test, which was their first Test victory in Australia in two decades. His innings 178 at Sydney also came in a triple century partnership, on this occasion with Sachin Tendulkar. For this reason, Ian Chappell described him as ''Very Very Special Laxman''.

Decline of form

However, Laxman's form was on the decline since the series against Australia. Beginning with the series in Pakistan in 2004, Laxman had only Test centuries to his credit, with one coming against a weak Zimbabwe side. He struggled against his favourite opponents Australia in the home series in October–November 2004, although his 69 in the final Test at Mumbai helped India record a consolation victory. Laxman was dropped after scoring a duck in the first Test against England at Mumbai in March 2006. He regained his place for the tour of the West Indies in place of the injured Tendulkar, and made a hundred in the third Test. In ODI cricket, Laxman was left out persistently since Greg Chappell took over as coach in mid-2005, mainly on account of his slow ground fielding and running between the wickets; Laxman is a highly-regarded close-catching fielder in stationary positions but in ODIs, these positions are generally disused except for the opening phases of the match, and players otherwise have to patrol substantial spaces and retrieve balls. Another reason was a perception that his batting is too one paced for ODI cricket and that he lacks the ability to score at a high rate as required when the batting team has the momentum, or in the closing stages of the innings. This was despite his superb form in Australia and Pakistan in early 2004, when he made four centuries in 14 games, including three in a week in the VB Series in Australia.

Return to form

In December 2005, Laxman helped India to victory against Sri Lanka with a fine century. In June 2006, Laxman again rescued India from a difficult position against the West Indies with a gritty century. In November 2006, he was selected in the test squad for India's tour of South Africa. In the first test in Johannesburg Laxman scored 73 in the second innings to help India claim a historic 123 run win. In the 2007 tour of England Laxman produced three good innings, two of which were half-centuries and a vital 39 that helped India draw the first test at Lords. He passed the 5000 run landmark in the first day of the final test.

After the tests he joined Lancashire as their overseas player in place of Brad Hodge. He played in five games of the county championship and showed glimpses of his sublime batting. In their final County Championship game of 2007, against Surrey at the Oval, Laxman scored a century in the second innings which Lancashire were chasing 489 to win. They just missed out by 25 runs and subsequently lost the Championship to Sussex. His performance for Lancashire was good with 380 runs scored in 5 matches at an average of 54.28 with 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries

In India's home series against Pakistan in 2007, V.V.S. Laxman once again showed his importance to the team with a disciplined batting performance in the 1st Test. He then followed that innings of 72 in the first test with 112 in the second test. This ensured his place on the tour of Australia which would be his 3rd to that country.

Laxman's good form was continued in the 2007/08 series against Australia with him scoring 109 against Australia on the second day of the controversial Sydney Test to put India back into the contest. It was his 12th hundred in Test matches, and his 5th against Australia. It was also his third consecutive century at SCG, giving him an average well above 90 at the venue. He followed this up with a gritty knock in Perth, assisted by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and RP Singh, which set India up to record a historic and unexpected victory at a ground on which previously no Asian team had won.

Laxman was supposed to replace Adam Voges for Nottinghamshire but this move was vetoed by the BCCI due to the fact that there are players from the rival Indian Cricket League playing for Nottinghamshire. Laxman also reached 6000 runs in the Sri Lankan series in August 2008.

During the Third Test against Australia at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi in November 2008, Laxman scored an unbeaten 200 in the first innings with characteristic use of his wrists and flicks through the leg side. In the same innings, Gautam Gambhir scored 206, Laxman and Gambhir becoming the first pair of batsmen to score double-centuries in the same innings for India, and the first to do so against Australia. He made an unbeaten 59 in the second innings and was named man of the match.

In 2009, Laxman continues to be in top form. He had scored 76 and 124 in the 2nd Test at Napier in New Zealand. In 2010, in a Test match against South Africa held in Kolkata, he scored 143 in a record stand for the seventh wicket with MS Dhoni. He passed 7000 Test runs during the innings. The test was eventually won by India in the last 10 minutes of the match, which helped India draw the series and remain the world Number 1 team.

Laxman helped India to level the series with Sri Lanka in August 2010 when he hit 103 not out in the run-chase, resulting in a five-wicket win in the Third Test. He was awarded the Man of the Match.

In October, he once again turned around another match that appeared headed for a comfortable Australian victory, in the First Test in Mohali. Laxman was suffering with a back problem and needed Suresh Raina as his runner, and the Indians had collapsed to 124/8 in pursuit of 216. He and paceman Ishant Sharma put on 81 to take the score to 205 before Sharma fell. Last man Pragyan Ojha then managed to survive as the hosts completed a one-wicket win. Laxman ended on 73 not out. He also helped India recover from 15/5 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 2010 and the match was drawn. Once again he helped India to a historic win at Durban. India were struggling at 94–5 when he and M.S. Dhoni put on a little partnership. He played intensely with the tail to help India get a lead of 302. He was awarded the Man of the Match for his match-winning 96.

Quotes

Brett Lee repeats the words of wisdom of his former captain, Steve Waugh.

International centuries

Test Centuries

! Symbol	! Meaning
*	He remained not out.
Test	The number of the Test matches played in that series.
Pos.
Inn.
H/A	Whether the venue was at home (India) or away.
Lost	The match was lost by India.
Won	The match was won by India.
Draw

1 281 130 154* 104* 148 178 140 104 100 112* 109 200* 124* 143* 103*

No. !! Score !! Against !!Pos.!!Inn.!! Test !! Venue !! H/A !! Date !! Result
	|	167		1	3	3rd	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Away		Lost
	2	|		3	3	2nd	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	Home		Won
	3	|		6	1	4th	Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua and Barbuda>St John's	Away		Draw
	4	|		6	3	3rd	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	Home		Draw
	5	|		6	2	2nd	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali	Home		Draw
	6	|		6	2	2nd	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	Away		Won
	7	|		5	1	4th	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Away		Draw
	8	|		4	2	1st	Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo	Away		Won
	9	|		3	1	3rd	Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad	Home		Won
	10	|		3	2	3rd	Warner Park Sporting Complex>Warner Park, St Kitts	Away		Draw
	11	|		6	1	2nd	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	Home		Draw
	12	|		3	2	2nd	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Away		>
	13	|		5	1	3rd	Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	Home		Draw
	14	|		5	3	2nd	McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand>Napier	Away		Draw
	15	|		5	2	2nd	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	Home		Won
	16	|		5	4	3rd	Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo	Away		Won

Laxman has scored a Test century against every team except for Bangladesh and England.

ODI Centuries

! Symbol	! Meaning
*	He remained not out.
Pos.
Inn.
H/A/N	Whether the venue was at home (India), away (opposition's home) or neutral.
S/R
Lost	The match was lost by India.
Won	The match was won by India.

1 102 103* 106* 131 107

No. !! Score !! Against !! Pos. !! Inn. !! S/R !! Venue !! H/A/N !! Date !! Result
	|	101		3	1	94.39	Fatorda Stadium>Nehru Stadium, Margao	Home			Lost
	2	|		3	1	76.11	Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior	Home			Won
	3	|		3	1	91.15	Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane	Away			Won
	4	|		3	1	81.53	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	Away			Lost
	5	|		3	1	94.92	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	Neutral			Won
	6	|		3	1	102.88	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	Away			Won

References

External links

Cricinfo Player Profile: V V S Laxman

Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:Hyderabad cricketers Category:South Zone cricketers Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:Lancashire cricketers Category:Telugu people Category:People from Hyderabad, India Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Category:Deccan cricketers Category:Otago cricketers Category:Kochi cricketers Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri

bn:ভিভিএস লক্ষ্মণ ml:വി.വി.എസ്. ലക്ഷ്മൺ mr:व्ही.व्ही.एस. लक्ष्मण ta:வங்கிபுரப்பு வெங்கட சாய் லட்சுமண் te:వి.వి.యెస్.లక్ష్మణ్

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Honorific-prefix	The Honourable
Name	Bob Hawke
Honorific-suffix	AC, GCL
Order	23rd Prime Minister of AustraliaElections: 1983, 1984, 1987, 1990
Term start	11 March 1983
Term end	20 December 1991
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-general	Ninian StephenBill Hayden
Deputy	Lionel Bowen (1983–1990)Paul Keating (1990–1991)Brian Howe (1991)
Predecessor	Malcolm Fraser
Successor	Paul Keating
Order2	Leader of the Opposition
Term start2	3 February 1983
Term end2	11 March 1983
Predecessor2	Bill Hayden
Successor2	Andrew Peacock
Order3	Treasurer of Australia
Term start3	3 June 1991
Term end3	4 June 1991
Predecessor3	Paul Keating
Successor3	John Kerin
Constituency mp4	Wills
Parliament4	Australian
Term start4	18 October 1980
Term end4	20 February 1992
Predecessor4	Gordon Bryant
Successor4	Phil Cleary
Birthname	Robert James Lee Hawke
Birth date	December 09, 1929
Birth place	Bordertown, South Australia
Party	Australian Labor Party
Occupation	Trade unionist
Alma mater	University of Western AustraliaUniversity College, Oxford
Spouse	Hazel Hawke (1956–1995)Blanche d'Alpuget (since 1995)
Children	Three + one died in infancy
Residence	Point Piper, New South Wales }}

Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL (born 9 December 1929) was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia and longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister.

After a decade as president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, he entered politics at the 1980 federal election and became Prime Minister within three years. He became by far the longest-serving and most electorally successful Labor Prime Minister, achieving the rare feat of winning four consecutive federal elections after coming to power at the 1983 federal election. He is Australia's third longest-serving Prime Minister.

Early life and education

Hawke was born in Bordertown, a small town in South Australia near the Victorian border. His father Clem was a Congregationalist minister; his uncle, Albert Hawke, was Labor Premier of Western Australia between 1953 and 1959 and was a close friend of Labor Prime Minister John Curtin, who was in many ways Bob Hawke's role model. Hawke's mother, Ellie, had an almost messianic belief in her son's destiny and this contributed to his supreme self-confidence throughout his career. Both his parents were of Cornish origins and he himself has stated that his background is Cornish. This led the Cornish writer and historian A.L. Rowse to write "Bob Hawke's characteristics are as Cornish as Australian. I know them well: the aggressive individualism, the egoism, the touchiness, the liability to resentment, even a touch of vindictiveness." While attending the 1952 World Christian Youth Conference, held in Kottayam in southern India, Hawke was struck by "this enormous sense of irrelevance of religion to the needs of the people" and abandoned his Christian beliefs. By the time he entered politics he was a self-described agnostic. Hawke told Andrew Denton in 2008 that his father's Christian faith continued to influence his outlook however: "[My father] said if you believe in the fatherhood of God you must necessarily believe in the brotherhood of man, it follows necessarily and even though I left the church and was not religious, that truth remained with me."

Hawke was raised in Perth and attended Perth Modern School and completed undergraduate degrees in Law and Arts (Economics) at the University of Western Australia. At age 15, he boasted that he would one day become Prime Minister of Australia. He joined the Labor Party in 1947, and successfully applied for a Rhodes Scholarship at the end of 1952. In 1953, Hawke went to the University of Oxford to commence a Bachelor of Arts at University College. He soon found he was covering much the same ground as his Bachelor's degree from Perth, and switched to a Bachelor of Letters, with a thesis on wage-fixing in Australia. The thesis was successfully presented in January 1956.

His academic achievements were complemented by setting a new world speed record for beer drinking: he downed 2 1/2 pints - equivalent to a yard of ale - from a sconce pot in eleven seconds as part of a college penalty. In his memoirs, Hawke suggested that this single feat may have contributed to his political success more than any other, by endearing him to a voting population with a strong beer culture.

In March 1956, Hawke married Hazel Masterson, at Trinity Church, Perth, Western Australia. In the same year, Hawke accepted a scholarship to undertake doctoral studies in the area of arbitration law in the law department of the Australian National University (ANU), Canberra. Soon after arrival at ANU, Hawke became the students' representative on the University Council.

In 1957, Hawke was recommended to the ACTU president Albert Monk for the position of ACTU research officer to replace Harold Souter, who had become ACTU secretary. The recommendation was made by Hawke's mentor at ANU, H.P. Brown, who for a number of years had assisted the ACTU in national wage cases. Hawke decided to abandon his doctoral studies and accept the offer. The Hawke family moved to Melbourne.

Trade union leader

Not long after Hawke began work at the ACTU, he became responsible for the presentation of its annual case for higher wages to the national wages tribunal, the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. He was first appointed as the ACTU advocate in 1959. The 1958 case, under advocate R.L Eggleston, had yielded only a five-shilling increase. The 1959 case found for a fifteen-shilling increase, and was regarded as a personal triumph for Hawke. He went on to attain such success and prominence in his role as ACTU advocate, that in 1969 he was encouraged to run for ACTU President, despite the fact that he had never held elected office in a trade union.

He was elected to the presidency of the ACTU in 1969 on a modernising platform, by a narrow margin (399 to 350) and with the support of the left of the union movement, including some associated with the Communist Party.

Hawke declared publicly that "socialist is not a word I would use to describe myself" and his approach to government was pragmatic. He concerned himself with making improvements to workers' lives from within the traditional institutions of government, rather than to any ideological theory. He opposed the Vietnam war, but was a strong supporter of the US-Australian alliance, and also an emotional supporter of Israel. It was his commitment to the cause of Jewish Refuseniks that led to a planned assassination attempt by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and its Australian operative Munif Mohammed Abou Rish.

In industrial matters, Hawke continued to demonstrate a preference for and considerable skill at negotiation, and was generally liked and respected by employers as well as the unions he advocated for. As early as 1972 speculation began that he would soon enter Parliament and become Labor leader. But while his career continued successfully, his heavy use of alcohol and his notorious womanising placed considerable strains on his family life.

In 1973 Hawke became Federal President of the Labor Party. When the Gough Whitlam government was controversially dismissed by the Governor-General in 1975 and the government defeated at the ensuing election, Whitlam initially offered the Labor leadership to Hawke, although it was not within Whitlam's power to decide who would succeed him. Hawke decided not to enter Parliament at that time, a decision he soon regretted. He was, however, influential in averting national strike action. The strain of this period took its toll, and in 1979 he suffered a physical collapse.

This shock led Hawke to make a sustained and ultimately successful effort to conquer his alcoholism – John Curtin was his inspiration in this as in other things. He was helped in this by his relationship with the writer Blanche d'Alpuget, who in 1982 published an admiring biography of Hawke. His popularity with the public was unaffected, and polling suggested that he was a far more popular politician than either Bill Hayden, the Labor leader since 1977, or the incumbent Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.

Parliamentarian

Hawke initially attempted to enter parliament at the 1963 federal election in the seat of Corio and achieved a 3.1 percent swing against the national trend, but fell short. Later, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the Melbourne seat of Wills at the 1980 election held on 18 October. Immediately upon his entry into Parliament, Hawke was appointed to the Opposition front bench, taking his place as Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, Employment and Youth. With the opinion polls indicating that Hawke was 'a certain election winner', Hayden called a leadership ballot for 16 July 1982. Although Hayden defeated the ambitious Hawke, his five vote victory over the former President of the ACTU was not large enough to dispel doubts in caucus that he could lead the ALP to victory at the next election, due sometime in the forthcoming year.

Hayden's leadership was further questioned when Labor performed poorly in a December 1982 by-election for the Victorian seat of Flinders, following the resignation of the former Liberal minister, Sir Phillip Lynch. Labor needed a swing of 5.5% to win the seat, but only achieved 3%. This convinced many doubters within caucus that only Hawke could guarantee a Labor victory at the upcoming election. Labor party power-brokers such as Graham Richardson and Barrie Unsworth now lined up behind Hawke. More significantly, Hayden's staunch friend and political ally, Labor senate Leader John Button, eventually became convinced that Hawke's chances of victory were greater than Hayden's. Button's influence was crucial in encouraging Hayden's decision to resign less than two months after Labor's lacklustre performance in Flinders. Hawke's leadership ambitions were realised when Hayden announced his resignation as Labor leader on the morning of 3 February 1983, at a meeting of the shadow ministry in Brisbane. Hawke was named interim leader. He believed he'd caught Labor before it could replace Hayden, and was surprised to find out Hayden had resigned mere hours before the writs were dropped. Hawke was formally elected Hayden's successor five days later. Twenty five days later, Labor won power on a 24-seat swing, ending seven years of conservative rule.

Prime Minister 1983–91

The inaugural days of the Hawke government were distinctly different from those of the Whitlam era. Rather than immediately initiating extensive reform programmes, Hawke announced that Fraser's pre-election concealment of the budget deficit meant that many of Labor's election commitments would have to be deferred. Hawke managed to persuade the Labor caucus to divide the ministry into two tiers, with only the most important ministers attending regular cabinet meetings. Caucus still selected the full ministry, but allowed Hawke to select which ministers would comprise the 13-strong inner cabinet. This was to avoid what Hawke viewed as the unwieldy nature of the 27-member Whitlam cabinet. The caucus under Hawke also exhibited a much more formalised system of parliamentary factions, which significantly altered the dynamics of caucus operations.

Hawke used his great authority to carry out a substantial set of policy changes. Accounts from ministers indicate that while Hawke was not usually the driving force for economic reform (that impetus coming from the Treasurer Paul Keating and Industry Minister John Button), he took the role of reaching consensus and providing political guidance on what was electorally feasible and how best to sell it to the public, at which he was highly successful. Hawke proved to be very popular with the Australian electorate and continues to hold the highest historical ACNielsen approval rating.

Keating and Hawke provided a study in contrasts. Hawke was a Rhodes Scholar; Keating left high school early. Hawke's enthusiasms were cigars, horse racing and all forms of sport; Keating preferred classical architecture, Mahler symphonies, and collecting English Regency and French Empire antiques. Hawke was consensus-driven; Keating revelled in aggressive debate. Hawke was a lapsed Protestant; Keating was a practising Catholic. Despite their differences, the two formed an effective political partnership.

According to political commentator Paul Kelly, 'the most influential economic decisions of the 1980s were the floating of the Australian Dollar and the deregulation of the financial system'. Although the Fraser government had played a part in the process of financial deregulation by commissioning the Campbell reportpublished in 1981opposition from Fraser himself, the National Party and Treasury Secretary John Stone stalled the deregulation process. When the Hawke-Keating Government implemented a comprehensive program of financial deregulation and reform, it 'transformed economics and politics in Australia'. The Australian economy became significantly more integrated with the global economy. Both Hawke and Keating have claimed the credit for being the driving force behind the Australian Dollar float.

Among other reforms, the Hawke Government dismantled the tariff system, privatised state sector industries, ended subsidisation of loss-making industries, and sold off the state-owned Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The tax system was reformed, with the introduction of fringe benefits tax and a capital gains tax – a reform strongly opposed by the Liberal Party at the time, but not reversed when they returned to office. Partially offsetting these imposts upon the business communitythe 'main loser' from the 1985 Tax Summit, according to Paul Kellywas the introduction of full dividend imputation, a reform insisted upon by Keating.

Hawke benefited greatly from the disarray into which the Liberal opposition fell after the resignation of Fraser. The Liberals were divided between supporters of the dour socially conservative John Howard and the urbane Andrew Peacock. The arch-conservative Premier of Queensland, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, also helped Hawke with his "Joh for Canberra" campaign in 1987, which proved highly damaging for the conservatives. Exploiting these divisions, Hawke led the Labor Party to comfortable election victories in 1984 and 1987.

Hawke's Prime Ministership saw considerable friction between himself and the grassroots of the Labor Party, who were unhappy at what they viewed as Hawke's iconoclasm and willingness to cooperate with business interests. All Labor Prime Ministers have at times engendered the hostility of the organisational wing of the party, but none more so than Hawke, who expressed his willingness to cull Labor's "sacred cows". The Socialist Left faction, as well as prominent Labor figure Barry Jones, offered severe criticism of a number of government decisions. He has also received criticism for his 'confrontationalist style' in siding with the airlines in the 1989 Australian pilots' strike.

In spite of the criticisms levelled against the Hawke Government, it succeeded in enacting a wide range of social reforms during its time in office. Deflecting arguments that the Hawke Government had failed as a reform government, Neville Wran, John Dawkins, Bill Hayden, and Paul Keating made a number of speeches during the Eighties arguing that the Hawke Government had been a recognisably reformist Labor government, drawing attention to Hawke’s achievements as prime minister during his first four or five years in office. Apart from the reintroduction of Medibank (under the name Medicare), these included a doubling of child care places, the introduction of occupational superannuation, a boost in school retention rates, a focus on young people’s job skills, a doubling of subsidised home care services, the elimination of poverty traps in the welfare system, a 50% increase in public housing funds, an increase in the real value of the old-age pension, the development of a new youth support program, the re-introduction of six-monthly indexation of single adult unemployment benefits, and significant improvements in social security provisions. As pointed out by John Dawkins, the proportion of total government outlays allocated to families, the sick, single parents, widows, the handicapped, and veterans had been higher under the Hawke Government than under the Whitlam Government.

A notable success for which the government's response is given considerable credit was Australia's public health campaign about AIDS. In the later years of the Hawke government, Aboriginal affairs saw considerable attention, with an investigation of the idea of a treaty between Aborigines and the government, though this idea was overtaken by events, notably including the Mabo court decision.

The Hawke government also made some notable environmental decisions. In its first months in office it stopped the construction of the Franklin Dam, on the Franklin River in Tasmania, responding to a groundswell of protest about the issue. In 1990, a looming tight election saw a tough political operator, Graham Richardson, appointed Environment Minister, whose task it was to attract second-preference votes from the Australian Democrats and other environmental parties. Richardson claimed this as a major factor in the government's narrow re-election in 1990, Hawke's last triumph.

Richardson felt that the importance of his contribution to Labor's victory would automatically entitle him to the ministerial portfolio of his choiceTransport and Communications. He was shocked, however, at what he perceived as Hawke's ingratitude in allocating him Social Security instead. He vowedin a telephone conversation with Peter Barron, He immediately transferred his allegiance to Keating and subsequently claimed credit for playing a vital role in Keating's campaign for the leadership as a numbers man.

Decline and fall

The late 1980s recession and high interest rates saw the government in considerable electoral trouble. Although Keating was the main architect of the government's economic policies, he took advantage of Hawke's declining popularity to plan a leadership challenge. In 1988 Hawke had responded to pressure from Keating to step down by making a secret agreement (the so-called "Kirribilli agreement" or "Kirribilli accord") to resign in favour of Keating some time after winning the 1990 election. After Keating made a speech to the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery that Hawke considered disloyal, Hawke indicated to Keating that he would renege on the agreement.

In June 1991 Keating responded by resigning from Cabinet and challenging for the Labor Party leadership. Hawke defeated Keating's leadership challenge, but he was clearly a wounded leader. Hawke had himself sworn in as Treasurer for one day while he decided between the rival claims of Ralph Willis and John Kerin for the job, eventually choosing Kerin, who proved to be unequal to the job.

Hawke's leadership was further damaged as a consequence of the new Liberal leader, Dr John Hewson, releasing Fightback!, a detailed proposal for sweeping economic change, including a goods and services tax and deep cuts to government spending and personal income tax, in November 1991. Hawke's response to this challenge was judged to be ineffective, and a rattled Labor Party turned to Keating. At a second challenge, on 20 December 1991, Keating defeated Hawke in a party-room ballot, 56 votes to 51. Hawke resigned from Parliament on 20 February 1992, sparking the 1992 Wills by-election, which was won by independent Phil Cleary from a record field of 22 candidates.

Hawke apparently had few regrets, although his bitterness towards Keating surfaced in his memoirs. Hawke now claims to have buried his differences and considers Keating a friend.

In July 1990, Hawke had outstripped Malcolm Fraser to become Australia's second-longest serving Prime Minister. This record has since been overtaken by John Howard. Hawke remains the Australian Labor Party's longest-serving Prime Minister.

It is also said by a former Tony Blair staffer that UK Labour and Blair learnt from the Hawke government in the 1980s on how to govern when they took power in the UK.

Life after politics

After politics, Hawke entered the business world with considerable success. Hazel Hawke, who for the sake of the Labor cause had put up with the open secret of his relationship with his biographer Blanche d'Alpuget while he was Prime Minister, divorced him, and shortly afterwards he married d'Alpuget. He had little to do with the Labor Party during Keating's leadership. In fact he often criticised the Keating Government publicly. After the election of the Howard Liberal government in 1996 he became a close supporter of Opposition Leader Kim Beazley.

In the run up to the 2007 election, Hawke (at the age of 78) made a considerable personal effort to support the Australian Labor Party's campaign, making speeches at a large number of campaign office openings across Australia. As well as campaigning against WorkChoices, Hawke also attacked John Howard's record as Treasurer, stating "it was the judgement of every economist and international financial institution that it was the restructuring reforms undertaken by my government with the full cooperation of the trade union movement which created the strength of the Australian economy today".

In 2009, Hawke helped establish the Centre for Muslim and Non-Muslim Understanding at the University of South Australia. Interfaith dialogue is an important issue for Hawke, who told the ''Adelaide Review'' that he is "convinced that one of the great potential dangers confronting the world is the lack of understanding in regard to the Muslim world. Fanatics have misrepresented what Islam is. They give a false impression of the essential nature of Islam."

Honours

Hawke was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1979.

In late 2008, he was made Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu, the highest Papua New Guinean honour available to non-Papua New Guinean citizens, entitling him to be referred to as "Chief". In a letter to Bob Hawke, Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare informed him that he was being honoured for his "support for Papua New Guinea [...] from the time you assisted in the development of our trade union movement, and basic workplace conditions, to the strong support you gave us during your term as Prime Minister of Australia".

In August 2009 Bob Hawke became just the third person to be awarded life membership of the Australian Labor Party.

Bob Hawke has received the following honours from academic institutions:

Honorary Fellow – University College, Oxford

Honorary Doctor of Letters – University of Western Australia

Honorary Doctor of Civil Law – Oxford University

Honorary Doctor of Humanities – Rikkyo University

other honorary doctoral degrees from Nanjing University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of New South Wales, and the University of South Australia

The University of South Australia named the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library in his honour.

Television film

A television film titled ''Hawke'' detailing his political career aired on the Ten Network in Australia on 18 July 2010, with Richard Roxburgh playing the title character. Rachael Blake and Felix Williamson portrayed Hazel Hawke and Paul Keating respectively. Patrick Brammall starred as then Deputy Prime Minister Kim Beazley.

See also

First Hawke Ministry

Second Hawke Ministry

Third Hawke Ministry

Fourth Hawke Ministry

The Accord

References

Bibliography

Blewett, Neal (2000), 'Robert James Lee Hawke,' in Michelle Grattan (ed.), ''Australian Prime Ministers'', New Holland, Sydney, New South Wales, pages 380-407. ISBN 1-86436-756-3

External links

Hawke Swoops into Power – Time 14/3/1983

Robert Hawke – Australia's Prime Ministers / National Archives of Australia

Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre

Video of Hawke campaigning for McKew in Bennellong in late 2007

Video of Hawke campaigning for an Australian republic

Video of Norman Gunston, Gough Whitlam, Bill Hayden and Bob Hawke at 'The Dismissal'

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Stewart Rhodes (born 1 December 1986 in Orange, New South Wales is a classy left hand batting all rounder New Zealand cricketer who plays for the Wellington Firebirds in the Plunket Shield and the New Zealand one-day competition.

References

Category:1986 births Category:New Zealand cricketers Category:Wellington cricketers Category:Living people