Wisden overview
Greg Matthews's extravagant affectations, cool lingo and dogged fighting spirit briefly made him the most hip player in the country, though rarely in the corridors of power, the Australian dressing-room or the estimation of Allan Border. Matthews was picked for Australia as a hard-working offspinner, but lacked penetration and averaged 48. Yet as a courageous if inelegant left-hand batsman he made four centuries and averaged 41. He was nothing if not a paradox. His high point was his ten-wicket Man of the Match performance in the Madras tied Test, in which he played throughout in a sweater while others nearly died of heatstroke. He holds New South Wales's appearance and wicket records, and was once proclaimed by his friend Geoff Lawson as NSW's best-ever player. Greg Baum

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