Tony Greig obituary

The cricketer Tony Greig, who has died aged 66 after a heart attack, will be remembered for many things. There was his height (6ft 6in) and his striking blond hair; his extraordinary boldness with bat and ball; and in 1977 his "betrayal" of the England captaincy, when he helped engineer the commercial breakaway of World Series Cricket, a mighty upheaval that rocked the game. And there was his robust and excitable brand of television commentary for Channel Nine in Australia.

Born in Queenstown, South Africa, where his father, Sandy, was serving in the RAF, Greig was educated at Queen's College there, and played for Border before venturing to Britain in his late teens. He made his debut for Sussex in 1966 and in 1972 earned his first Test cap for England.

Greig attracted attention both on the cricket field and off. Although his gangling figure suggested possible limitations, he turned his dimensions to his advantage. His reach and power as a batsman were instantly obvious; his fielding could be spectacular; and as a bowler he delivered from a great height and at a fair pace, or could switch to potent off-spinners.

He brought freshness, boldness and dash into the England team from his debut at Old Trafford against Australia, top-scoring on a green-top with half-centuries in both innings, holding two catches and taking five wickets. In India that winter Greig came good at the end, making his first Test century, 148 at Bombay (Mumbai), sharing a record England fifth-wicket stand of 254 with Keith Fletcher. Greig had already won Indian hearts by lifting Gundappa Viswanath off his feet when the diminutive Indian reached his hundred at the city's Brabourne Stadium.

A year on, Greig was anything but popular in the Caribbean. In the opening Test match, in Trinidad, he threw down the stumps after the final ball of the day had been played, with Alvin Kallicharran out of his ground. Arguments raged, with the umpire's "out" decision being upheld. But overnight diplomatic manoeuvres saw the decision revoked in the interests of international harmony.

At Bridgetown, he was the first to make a century and take five or more wickets in an innings for England in the same Test, registering another hundred in the next in rain-sodden Georgetown, then inspiring the squaring of the series in the final Test with 13 wickets for 156, including Garry Sobers and Rohan Kanhai in their final Test. The versatile Greig had reverted to off-spin on a responsive Port of Spain surface.

In June 1974 he registered the 100th century to be scored in a Lord's Test match as England crushed India, and back at the ground two months later he held a memorable catch off Pakistan's Wasim Raja, leaping almost to the top of the sight screen at the Nursery End to arrest the ball with one hand.

The next challenge soon came in Australia, where the ferocious Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson were waiting. As England's suffering began in the Brisbane Test, Greig stood tall with a century, laughing at the bouncer bowlers and theatrically signalling the fours he hit off them – while team-mates begged him not to enrage them. Australia stormed to four victories before losing the sixth Test with a depleted attack. After England were thrashed in the first Test in the adjacent home Ashes series, Greig was appointed England captain.

He salvaged England's first innings in that 1975 Test at Lord's with a highly creditable 96, and when he led his team out to field, a new spirit of optimism pervaded the ground. With long strides, Greig raced on to the turf, his men skipping out after him while the spectators in front of the old Tavern croaked patriotic songs. Australia's supremacy was resisted then and for the rest of that summer. England now clearly had a captain who led from the front.

It was not to last. In the sizzling summer of 1976, Greig naively promised that his team would make the West Indians "grovel". This pre-series bravado came back to haunt him as the West Indies' batsmen, Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge to the fore, and the seemingly never-ending fusillades of bouncers, brought the visitors a 3-0 victory. At the conclusion of the series, Greig symbolically, and with a brave laugh, crawled over the sun-scorched outfield at the Oval.

That winter he led England to an emphatic 3-1 victory in India, during which he notched his eighth and final Test century, a seven-hour epic sustained in defiance of a high fever. Then came the Centenary Test match in Melbourne in March 1977. Few knew it, but a clandestine scheme to launch a rebel series of international matches for Kerry Packer's Australian television network Channel Nine was already advanced. And England's captain was a key figure. Sworn to secrecy, he recruited players and went on to lead a World XI during the two summers of World Series Cricket. After the news leaked, Greig's name was anathema not only throughout England but also among Australia's traditionalist community.

For the 1977 Ashes series he was stripped of the Test captaincy, which was handed to Mike Brearley. Greig defiantly hit 91 in the Lord's Test and 76 at Old Trafford, but in the last of his 58 Test appearances, at the Oval that August, he failed to score. In all, Greig had made 3,599 runs at 40.43, and his wickets cost 32.21; he held 87 catches, many of them spectacular.

Greig soon afterwards joined Channel Nine as a commentator, by way of reward for his efforts in establishing its control of the game in Australia. His style at the microphone was truly distinctive and, as years passed, he became something of an institution, with his morning pitch inspections the stuff of legend. How reliable would his predictions prove to be today? And at televised post-match ceremonies, what might be his next outrageous question? After all, he had asked Javed Miandad if he was now off to enjoy a few beers. Once, with Sachin Tendulkar at the crease, he assured viewers that "that is God batting".

Earlier this year, he was invited to deliver the Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture at Lord's – redemption in the eyes of cricket's establishment – and explained why he had joined World Series Cricket, saying: "I have never had any doubt that I did the right thing by my family and by cricket." He was diagnosed with lung cancer in October.

Greig is survived by his wife Vivian, and their two children, Beau and Tom; and by two children, Mark and Sam, from his first marriage, to Donna, which ended in divorce.

Anthony William Greig, cricketer and commentator, born 6 October 1946; died 29 December 2012