Graham Yallop

Yallop made his first class debut for Victoria in December 1972, making 55 and 21 against NSW, whose attack included five players who had or would play test cricket (Jeff Thomson, Gary Gilmour, John Gleeson, Doug Walters and John Watkins); Yallop's runs were crucial helping Victoria win by two wickets.[4]

His next first class game, also against NSW, saw him score only 15 and 5.[5] Then there was 19 and 58 against Western Australia; Yallop's second fifty was the top score in Victoria's second innings, in a game WA won by three wickets.[6]

"A lot of the time I was 12th man, so that's in the team but it's not in the team," he recalled. "Yes and no, you're disappointed, but I knew I was young. Twenty years of age, you're still learning the game. […] You’ve just got to get up there through results."[1]

In 1973 Yallop played for Walsall in the Birmingham League. He also played some games for the Marylebone Cricket Club.

Yallop did not play first class cricket during the 1973–74 season. However he was back in the Victorian side over the 1974–75 summer. He played in the Gillette Cup, scoring 2[7] then he made 32 and 48 against Western Australia (a low scoring game which Victoria won by 3 wickets),[8] 34 and 30 against the touring English side (Tony Greig dismissed him twice),[9] 21 and 0 against New South Wales,[10] and 0 against Queensland.[11]

Yallop's season improved with score of 56 and 77 against New South Wales,[12] 23 and 57 against South Australia,[13] and 11 and 38 against WA[14] before making his debut first class century (100 not out) against South Australia, whose attack included two test spinners, Terry Jenner and Ashley Mallett.[15] Yallop ended the season with 5 and 4 against Queensland.[16] He had made 538 first class runs that summer at 38.28.

In 1975 Yallop played league cricket in England and scored more than 3,000 runs for North Birmingham Club.

Yallop begun the 1975–76 season slowly. He made 38 in a Gillette Cup game[17] then failed against Queensland,[18] made only 20 and 8 against the 1975–76 West Indians[19] and 21 and 6 against WA.[20]

Things turned around with 79 and 62 against South Australia, his second innings easily the top score and bringing Victoria within 7 runs of victory.[21] Then he made 108 and 95 against NSW.[22]

These scores earned him selection in the Australian side to play the West Indies in the fourth test at the SCG. He was picked to replace Rick McCosker who had made 20 runs in six innings.[23] "Its a great thrill and I'm determined to make the most of my chance", said Yallop at the time.[24] He also called it "the biggest surprise of my life... it never crossed my mind I was in the running."[25]

Yallop later wrote in his (ghosted) memoirs that:

The dropping of McCosker angered Ian Chappell and his teammates and I copped the brunt of it. I may have been an unassuming guy at the time, but I was rudely awakened to the facts of life at test level – thanks, or rather no thanks to Chappell and the rest of the team. I was not exactly welcomed with open arms into the team. In fact, I was lucky to discover my locker in the Australian dressing rooms. To top it off, Chappell figured that if I was selected to replace McCosker, that's exactly what I would do... at Number 3. I suppose you could say it was an honour to bat ahead of Ian and Greg Chappell in a test. But I have no doubts that certain members of that team wanted me to fail and therefore prove that the selectors had erred. Normally, a new batsman could expect to be cradled into the side and be 'hidden' down the order until he gets the feel of the test atmosphere. There was no such deal for me. I was thrown into the deep end, to sink or swim, and that will live in my memory forever. While I am captain of a team, no batsman will be given the shoddy treatment I received on my test debut.[26]

Yallop made 16 and 16 not out in his debut, a game Australia comfortably won by 7 wickets.[27][28] His next first game was a Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in which Yallop scored 17.[29]

Yallop was kept in the Australian side for the 5th test at Adelaide which proved a happier experience for him; he made 47 and 43, taking part in century partnerships in each innings (one with Ian Redpath the other with Alan Turner). Australia won the game by 190 runs.[30][31]

Rick McCosker returned to the side for the sixth test at the MCG, batting at number three, but Yallop kept his place – batting down the order at number six he made 57 in the first innings and did not bat in the second, with Australia winning by 165 runs.[32][33]

Yallop had averaged 44 for three tests. He ended the summer with scores of 24 and 7 against NSW,[34] and 77 and 13 against South Australia.[35] He made 524 runs for Victoria at an average of 47.63, their best performing batsman.

Yallop had a strong chance to consolidate his spot in the Australian team in 1976–77, especially as Ian Redpath and Ian Chappell had retired. Chapell wrote at the start of the summer that he felt the batsman "had a head start" over his rivals "with a couple of steady Test performances last year, but he still has a lot of work ahead and will have to spread his run scoring around Australian grounds a little more consistently than in the past."[36]

However Yallop started the summer slowly: he made 10 and 19 against Queensland,[37] and 16 and 1 against NSW.[38] Doug Walters was back from injury and took Yallop's spot in the Australian batting line up (Ian Davis was opener).

Yallop's form did get better: 61 against South Australia,[39] 100 against Tasmania[40] 1 and 134 against WA[41] 57 against South Australia,[42] 67 against Queensland,[43] and 6 against NSW.[44] However, by the time Yallop regained form Kim Hughes had become the established batsman in "reserve" - it was Hughes who was selected on the 1977 tour of New Zealand. In January 1977 Ian Chappell selected a hypothetical Ashes tour squad for Cricketer magazine that excluded Yallop. Chappell wrote about the Victorian:

I don't feel he's made enough runs off the Melbourne ground to prove he has the goods. I wasn't very impressed when he decided to pull out of Victoria's game against WA in Perth this season. If I was Yallop, on the verge of the test side being announced, I would have played even with a broken arm. And I still maintain that Yallop was picked prematurely for Australia.[45]

At the end of the summer David Hookes and Craig Serjeant emerged as exciting propsects. The batsmen ultimately selected on the 1977 Ashes tour were Chappell, McCosker, Cosier, Walters, Hookes, Hughes and Serjeant. Yallop had scored 472 first class runs at 47.20.

Yallop's chances at resuming his test career increased during the 1977 when it was revealed that a large number of Australian players had signed to play World Series Cricket for Kerry Packer. Ian Chappell was in charge of selecting the World Series Cricket players and he overlooked Yallop in favour of Martin Kent, Bruce Laird and Rob Langer (Kim Hughes and Gary Cosier were also overlooked; Craig Serjeant was offered a WSC contract but turned it down).

Bob Simpson came out of retirement to captain Australia over the 1977-78 summer. Many felt Yallop would be recalled to the national side: his three tests against the West Indies made him one of the more internationally experienced batsmen available for selection; India were touring, and Yallop was renowned as one of the country's best players of spin; in addition, he took over captaincy of the Victorian side from Richie Robinson, who had signed with WSC.

However Yallop started the summer patchily, making 35 and 14 against Queensland,[46] 61 and 9 against India,[47] and 1 against Tasmania.[48] He was overlooked for the first test in favour of Paul Hibbert, Gary Cosier, David Ogilvie, Craig Sergeant, Peter Toohey and Kim Hughes (who ultimately played as 12th man).

Yallop made 105 and 114 against NSW[49] but was not picked in the Australian side for the next three tests. Hibbert was dropped after only one test but was replaced by John Dyson, a specialist opener. Cosier missed a test through injury and was replaced by Hughes.

Yallop made 35 and 48 against South Australia,[50] 79 against NSW,[51] 53 and 30 against WA.[52] In one day games he made 9.[53]

After the fourth test the series stood at 2-2. The selectors decided to simultaneously announce a team for the 5th test and the squad to tour the West Indies. Ogilvie, Serjeant and Hughes were dropped from the test team and replaced by Graeme Wood, Rick Darling and Graham Yallop; Yallop was also appointed vice captain (Serjeant had previously performed that role).[54] Yallop later recalled, "“I would’ve liked to have played earlier on in that tour against India, but again I made more runs towards Christmas rather than the start of the year, so consequently I didn't get selected. And therefore, you have to wait your turn.”[1]

In the 5th test Yallop hit 121 in the first innings, his first Test century; he made 24 in the second, helping Australia win the match and the series.[55][56] He made 729 first class runs that summer at 56.07.

Yallop's first game in the West Indies was against Leeward Islands, where he made 24 and 28.[57]

He only made 12 in the first one-day international[58] but showed good form against Trinidad making 66 and 44 not out.[59]

Yallop played at number three in the first test making 2 and 81 (more than double the next top score in the innings); Australia lost by an innings.[60] In the second test, at Bridgetown, Yallop scored 47 in the first innings but only 14 in the second, as Australia fell to another defeat.[61]

Yallop scored 118 in a tour game against Guyana in Georgetown but was retired hurt after a bouncer from Colin Croft fractured his jaw.[62][63] This meant he missed the third test, which Australia ended up winning, in part because the West Indies decided not to pick their players who had signed with WSC.[64]

Yallop returned to the Australian side for the second ODI, making 7.[65] In the fourth test he made 75 in the first innings, which was Australia's top score - he made 18 in the second, again Australia's top score, as the batting collapsed and the West Indies won.[66]

Yallop's good form with the bat continued with 5 and 58 in a tour game against Jamaica.[67] In the last test he scored 57 and 23 not out.[68]

Yallop's series total was 317 test runs at 45.29, one of Australia's best performers on tour.

At the beginning of the 1978–79 series, Australian Cricket Board (ACB) decided that the veteran incumbent Bobby Simpson could not be guaranteed the captaincy for the season.[69] Simpson decided to retire and Australia needed a new captain against the visiting English side. Yallop was considered a front-runner due to his batting success in the West Indies and captaincy experience with Victoria.

Yallop began the season poorly against Qld, making 6 and 12[70] and made only 10 for Victoria against England.[71] However he made 115 against WA.[72]

Yallop was selected as captain for Australia's first test, the side also including Wood, Cosier, Peter Toohey, Kim Hughes, Tom Laughlin, John MacLean, Rodney Hogg, Jim Higgs, Alan Hurst, Bruce Yardley. Yallop had more captaincy experience than the other batsman, though not as much as MacLean (who would be playing in his first test and was appointed vice-captain).[73] According to Christian Ryan, "Most observers suspected John Inverarity, wily and versatile, would have been a more astute choice" than Yallop. "So it proved."[74] However the selectors did not have faith in Inverarity's ability at test level.

Yallop won man of the match for 45 in a Gillette Cup game, the quarter final where Victoria defeated NSW by five wickets.[75] (The later made 59 in the same competition.[76])

The unprepared and unsupported Yallop made a naïve prediction before the series when he said that his team would win 6–0. Yallop was "bewildered" when his "flippant" prediction was reported straight-faced by the media and taken seriously by the English players.

In the first test, Australia won the toss and Yallop elected to bat. He scored 7 in Australia's first innings total of 116; England were dismissed for 286. Australia were 3–49 in the second innings when Yallop (102) and Kim Hughes (129) took Australia to 3-219 - but once Yallop was dismissed the other batsmen were unable to follow up and Australia were all out for 339. England scored the 170 runs needed for the loss of only three wickets.[77][78]

Yallop made 100 and 48 against NSW in a Sheffield Shield game.[79] In the second test, Yallop won the toss and sent England into bat; they scored 309 and Australia responded with 190 (Yallop 3). England made 208 in their second innings and Australia were dimissed for 161 (Yallop 3), losing by 166 runs.[80]

The third test was at the MCG. Yallop won this third toss in a row and decided to bat. Australia made 258, with Yallop's 41 being the second highest score. England were dismissed for 143, and Australia's second innings of 167 (Yallop 16) proved adequate when England were bowled out for 179, giving Australia a win by 103 runs. It would be Yallop's only test victory as captain.[81]

In the 4th test England won the toss, decided to bat, and were dismissed for 152. Australia responded with 296 (Yallop 44) and were in an excellent position to win the match. However England made 346 in their second innings, Australia collapsed for 111 (Yallop 1) and England won the game by 93 runs.[82] Yallop played a Shield game against WA making 1 and 43.[83] "I found Graham Yallop very easy to get along with,” recalled Maclean. “If it it'd been two-all after Sydney, and the side had gone on, Yallop might be viewed quite differently.”[1]

In the 5th test Yallop won the toss and elected to bowl. England made 169 (being 5–27 at one stage). Australia scored 164 in reply (Yallop 0). England 360 in their second innings (at one time being 6-132) and Australia were dismissed for 169 (Yallop 36), losing by 205 runs.[84] and 121 and 17 in the last.[85]

In the one day internationals that summer Yallop made 31,[86] and 25.[87]

For the 6th test at the SCG, Yallop won the toss and elected to bat. Australia were dismissed for 198 of which Yallop scored 121; the next highest score was 16. Yallop later said this was his greatest test innings.[88] England made 308 for their first innings; Australia collapsed for 141 (Yallop 17) and England won by nine wickets. Yallop elected to open the bowling in England's second innings with the old ball.[89] Yallop won the man of the match award but Australia had lost the series 5–1.[90] He was Australia's highest run scorer with 391 runs at 32.58.

In his account of the 1978–79 Ashes series, The Ashes Retained, England captain Mike Brearley reported that the English players nicknamed Yallop "Banzai" because of his tendency to adopt suicidally attacking fields at all times, when on occasion a more defensive approach may have prevented the England team's free scoring.[91]

In March 1978 Yallop led the team in a Test against Pakistan. He won the toss and decided to field; Pakistan were dismissed for 196. Australia collapsed for 168 (Yallop 25) and Pakistan put on 353 for the second innings. Australia fought back and were 3-305 (Yallop 8), when they collapsed again to be all out for 310, losing by 71 runs.[92]

Yallop injured his calf muscle in a club match, leading Richmond to victory in a district semi final (Yallop scored 90 not out). This forced him out of the second (and last) Test in the series; he was replaced by Jeff Moss as batsman and Kim Hughes as captain.[93] Australia finally reversed their losing streak in that game under Hughes. This prompted the selectors to drop Yallop as captain in favour of Hughes permanently when Yallop returned from injury.[94]

"“I was happy that I'd done it, and had the experience of captaining at the top level," he later said. "But I was not unhappy about not doing it.”[1]

At the end of the summer, a book came out under Yallop's name about his season's experiences, entitled Lambs To The Slaughter. On page one he commented that:

I should be bitter, but I am not. Disappointed, yes, because after so many heartbreaks this was a rather ruthless end. I was the fall guy, the player who carried the ACB flag all summer against all the odds. I had to cop it sweet then, and I had to cop my dismissal the same way... We were lambs to the slaughter anyway. Besides or own cricketing shortcomings, we were forced o play on wickets that suited the Englishmen and were alien to us; we copped the bad end of umpiring decisions to a damning degree throughout the Ashes series and we were crucified by media in many quarters from beginning to end. All this, combined with the talented opposition which was expected to whitewash us anyway, was just too much. The hurt that remains is that I tried so hard, and so did the young, raw team that took on so much despite all the ods. My name is now eternally entrenched in the cords books as the man who led this country to that ignominious hiding against England.[95]

There were chapter headings such as "Sacked", "The First Killing", "Skinned Alive", and "Slaughtered".[74] However the book was written by a ghost writer and it turned out that Yallop did not read it prior to publication. He later took legal action to stop sections of the book being published, but this was withdrawn.[96]

Yallop kept his place in the team after losing the captaincy, playing in the 1979 World Cup and all 6 tests in the tour of India in late 1979, the last tests before the WSC reunification. However Andrew Hilditch was chosen as vice captain.

Yallop had a poor World Cup with scores of 10,[97] 37[98] and 13.[99]

Yallop had a decent tour of India. He was the most experienced Australian batsman in a squad that also included Hughes, Alan Border, Dav Whatmore, Wood, Hilditch, and Rick Darling.

He made 83 in the first game against North Zone[100] and 56 against South Zone, both times batting at number five.

Yallop also batted at five for the first test, but only made 18 and 2, while both Hughes and Border scored centuries.[101] In the second test he scored 12 and 6. Both games ended in a draw.[102]

In a tour game against Central Zone, Yallop was promoted to number three for the first innings and made 21, then was opener in the second innings, scoring 40 not out.[103] In the third test Yallop went back to number five, top scoring in Australia's first innings with 89; however he only made 15 in the second innings as Australia collapsed and lost the game.[104] In the f4th test, Yallop made 21 and 25, helping secure a draw.[105]

Yallop played as wicketkeeper and opener in a tour game against East Zone, making 81 and 21 in a game Australia lost by five wickets.[106] Ki Hughes kept on Yallop as opener in the fifth test - the batsman responded with a first innings of 167, his highest test score to date (he only made 4 in the second innings).[107][108] He was kept as opener for the sixth and last test, making 60 (Australia's top score) and 4.[109]

Yallop, with 423 test runs at 38, was Australia's best performing batsman on the trip after Alan Border and Kim Hughes. He had scored 729 first class runs at 48.60.[110]

Yallop played in a tour game against the BCCP President's XI, making 46 in the first innings.[120] He regained his place in the test team, playing as opener alongside Bruce Laird. He 12 and 16, with Australia losing by 7 wickets.[121][122]

Yallop kept his place in the second test. Batting down the order at number five he made 172, his highest first class score to date (taking part in a 217 run partnership with Greg Chappell); the game ended in a draw.[123] In the third test, Yallop made 3 and 34 in the third.[124] His 237 test rus at 47.4 was Australia's third highest after Greg Chappell and Alan Border.

Yallop kept his spot in the Australian squad to tour England in 1980 for the second Centenary test.

He made 45 in a tour game against Hampshire,[125] followed by 0 and 1 against Surrey,[126] 26 against Lancashire,[127] and 13 and 21 against Nottinghamshire.[128] Yallop was kept in the side to play the one test on that tour, the Centenary Test at Lords but he only made 2.[129]

He made 0 in the first ODI[130] and 52 in the second.[131]

While on tour Yallop resigned as captain of Victoria. "I am resigning because I would like to continue to play for Australia as long as I possibly can, and I want to put all my efforts into playing cricket for Australia",' he said in a statement in August 1980. "I feel I couldn't justify being Victorian captain and giving the wholehearted effort required, while still giving my best efforts."[132]

Yallop was not picked for Australia over the 1980–81 summer. He began the domestic season slowly and did not find form until the middle of the summer, losing his spot to Doug Walters who was experience a resurgence in form.[133]

Yallop scored 33 and 40 against West Australia,[134] 7 against Queensland,[135] 59 and 51 against New Zealand),[136] 7 and 5 against WA,[137] 13 against South Australia,[138] and 10 and 25 against NSW.[139]

Eventually his form turned around: he made 121 and 2 against Tasmania,[140] 52 and 70 against NSW,[141] 0 and 64 against India,[142] 28 and 21 against Queensland[143] and 122 and 66 against South Australia.[144] In domestic one day games Yallop made 1,[145] 22,[146] and 3.[147]

In February 1981 Ian Chappell included Yallop in his Ashes squad saying he was "the best middle order batsman outside the test team" but that he "needs to learn that a bit of pain has to be suffered to consistently succeed in test cricket."[148]

Yallop ended the summer with 796 first class runs at 44.22, which earned him selection on the 1981 tour of England (Walters was omitted despite an excellent summer). Greg Chappell elected to not tour. A report called Yallop "one of the few class batsman in the country, albeit with an unhappy knack of failing when most selectorial eyes are on him."[149]

Yallop played Sri Lanka in a first class match on the way to England, scoring 25 and 13.[150] He made 2[151] and 46[152] in one day games.

In England, Yallop began the tour slowly, like most Australian batsmen. He scored 9 against Hampshire,[153] 49 not out against Somerset,[154] 0 against Glamorgan,[155] and 16 and 52 not out against Middlesex.[156]

Yallop was Australia's most consistent batsman in the 3-match ODI series, with scores of 52,[157] 63[158] and 48.[159]

Yallop was picked to play in the first test. He made only 13 and 6, batting at number three, but Australia won by 4 wickets.[160]

He made 45 in a tour match against Kent[161] then only 1 and 3 in the second test, which ended in a draw.[162] In a tour game against Northamptonshire Yallop made only 16.[163]

Yallop kept his spot in the side for the third test, which became one of the most famous cricket matches in history. Yallop scored 58 in Australia's first innings total of 401; England were dismissed for 174 and were 7–135 in the second innings when Ian Botham inspired a comeback to take England to 356, setting Australia 129 to win. Australia were 1-56 before collapsing to be all out for 111, Yallop scoring 0.[164]

In the fourth test, England were dismissed for 189. Australia made 258 in response (Yallop 30). England scored 219 in their second innings, setting Australia 140 to win. Yallop came to the wicket at 3-29, and helped take the score to 3-87, making 30. His dismissal helped trigger a collapse and Australia were dismissed for 121.[165] It was during this game that Kim Hughes notorious tried to protect Yallop from facing the fast bowling of Bob Wllis.[1]

Yallop made 49 and 59 against Essex.[166] In the fourth test England made 231 and Australia replied with 130 (Yallop 0). England's second innings of 404 set Australia 505 to win. Yallop came out to bat at 2-24. He scored 114 runs, reading his century off only 116 balls, but Australia were all out for 402.[167]

Yallop made 13 against Sussex[168] and 26 and 35 in the last test.[169] Although it had been a patchy tour for Yallop, he was Australia's highest scoring batsman in the tests after Border, with 316 runs at 26.33, although only the fourth highest run scorer in all games, with 624 runs at 32.84.

Much was made of Yallop's susceptibility to fast bowling because of an unusual incident on the 1981 tour of England. Skipper Kim Hughes shepherded him from Bob Willis's bowling, even though Yallop never asked him to. Commentating on the match, Richie Benaud called Hughes's actions "as curious a captaincy decision as I have ever seen".[74]

Yallop began the 1981–82 season strongly: 82 and 31 against Queensland,[170] 46 and 3 against Tasmania, 36 and 68 against the touring Pakistan side.[171]

He was kept in the Australia side for the first test against Pakistan making 20 and 38, in a game Australia comfortably won.[172]

However Yallop then injured his back and did not play for Australia for the rest of the summer.[173]

He returned to the Victorian side in December making 24 and 10,[174] 19 and 9,[175] 55 and 7,[176] 111 and 20[177] and 14 and 54.[178]

In one day state games he made 17,[179] 28,[180] and 13.[181]

Yallop made 647 first class runs that summer at 38.05, and was overlooked for the Australian tour of Pakistan in 1982, the selectors preferring to take Greg Ritchie and Wayne Phillips. It was the first official overseas tour Yallop had missed since the 1977 Ashes.

Yallop was reappointed captain for the 1982–83 season. He had a golden run of form that summer, but was unable to break into the Australian side (the middle order consisted of Chappell, Border, Hughes and David Hookes, who were all consistently scoring runs). Yallop made 28 and 151 against South Australia[182] (a game famous for David Hookes' lightning fast century), 84 and 58 against WA,[183] 8 and 47 against Tasmania,[184] 20 and 73,[185] 69 and 24 against England,[186] 38 and 33 against New Zealand,[187] 15 and 38 against New South Wales,[188] 23 and 13 against Tasmania,[189] 69 against WA,[190] 109 and 86 against NSW,[191] 18 and 168 against South Australia,[192] and 246 against Queensland.[193]

In domestic one day games he made 21,[194] 21,[195] 7,[196] and 12.[197]

Yallop had scored 1,418 first class runs that summer at 67.52, beating Bill Ponsford's record for the most runs in a season. This earned him selection on the 1983 tour of Sri Lanka.[198]

Kim Hughes did not tour Sri Lanka, opening up a spot in the batting line up. Yallop made 43 and 30 in a tour game[199] and was picked in the solo test on the tour. Yallop made 98 in a game comfortably won by Australia.[200]

In the ODIs he made 39,[201][202] 59,[203] 51[204] and 60 not out.[205]

Victoria offered David Hookes the state captaincy, which annoyed Yallop, who considered an offer to move to Tasmania. However Hookes decided to stay in South Australia.

Yallop was picked in the Australia squad to contest the 1983 ODI World Cup. He was one of Australia's most consistent batsmen, scoring 2,[206] 29,[207] 66 not out against India,[208] 20,[209] 52 not out[210] and 18.[211]

Yallop's peak as a test player came during the 1983–84 season, when Pakistan toured Australia. Yallop began the summer with 77 and 23 against NSW[212] and 91 in a one-day state game.[213]

He was picked in the first test side over David Hookes. Yallop, batting at three, made 141, taking part in a 259 run partnership with Wayne Phillips.[214] He made 113 and 145 for Victoria against WA,[215] then scored 33 in the second test.[216]

In a Victoria-Pakistan tour game, Yallop made 220.[217] In the third test he made 68 and 14.[218]

The 4th test at the MCG saw Yallop hit 268, his highest first class score to date.[219] A contemporary report said "that Yallop should be the celebrity of the Australian team demonstrates again cricket's delightful uncertainty." It quoted Arthur Morris who called him "a beautiful player of spin and medium pace" and Lindsay Hassett who said "I can't think of any player who has been treated worse."[220]

He would only play two more tests.

A knock of 30 in the 5th test[221] brought Yallop's series tally to 554 runs at an average of 92.33, comfortably the best result of any Australian batsman.[222] He had scored 1132 first class runs that summer at 113.20.

Yallop was picked on the 1983–84 tour of the West Indies. However he was injured while fielding during the sole ODI he played for Australia (where he made 13 batting at number ten).[223][224] This meant he missed the tour, being replaced by Dean Jones.[225]

Yallop toured India with the Australians in 1984 playing in a five-match ODI series. He made 22,[226] 32[227] and 42.[228]

Yallop worked on his knee through 1984.[229] Yallop scored only 0 and 2 in a Victoria-Queensland Sheffield Shield game[230] and 14 in a state one day game.[231] 6[232]

He was picked in the first test against the touring West Indian side. Yallop scored 2 and 1, with Australia losing by an innings and 112 runs.[233] He had a leg injury ad a knee operation which took him out of a lot of the season.

He returned to first class cricket in January doing poorly against Queensland (21 and 0)[234] and South Australia (34 and 1).[235] He then made 58 and 125 against NSW[236] leading to him being discussed as a prospect for the 1985 Ashes.[237][238] He made 51 and 22 against Tasmania[239] and 147 and 8 against Victoria.[240] He made 41 in a one-day game for Victoria against England.[241]

Yallop ended the summer with 472 first class runs at 36.3 and was overlooked for the side to tour England in 1985.

In May 1985 it was revealed Yallop had signed as a member of the rebel Australian team which ended up being led by Kim Hughes. Yallop was to be Hughes' vice captain.[242]

"A number of us were given the word that the selectors didn't see us as having any future as Test players," said Yallop. "We were told – quietly, of course – that our futures weren't exactly rosy. So when the approach came, we were interested."[243]

Along with the other tourists, Yallop was banned for two years from Australian first class cricket, and three years from official international cricket.

Yallop's first summer in South Africa was not successful. He began well with tour game scores of 35 and 62,[244] then his form fell away: 6,[245] 7,[246] and 26.[247]

In the first "test" Yallop made 51 and 24.[248] After 15 and 20 in a tour game[249] he made 20 and 6 in another test.[250] He scored 272 first class runs that summer at 27.20.

Captain Kim Hughes publicly criticised Yallop's contribution over the tour, saying "Yallop's unavailability has cost us dearly on tour. Had Yallop been fit and in the right frame of mind ... you've got to want to play. As vice-captain you've got a huge responsibility. People such as [Mick] Taylor, who had no reputations, have made one for themselves, while Yallop, who had all the reputation, has not really done anything."[251]

Yallop resigned from the Australian vice captaincy for the second summer and performed a lot better. His first class scores were 31,[252] 45,[253] 96,[254] 34 and 15,[255] 182,[256] 4.[257]

He made 36 and 26 in a test,[258] then 14 and 69 against Northern Transvaal, his last first class game.[259] He made 552 first class runs at 61.33.

After two seasons in South Africa, Yallop returned to the relative obscurity of district cricket in Melbourne, playing for the South Melbourne and Ringwood clubs. He never played first class cricket again.

The majority of the rebel tourists were embraced by their old states but not the Victorians (Mick Taylor, Rod Hogg and Yallop). Yallop says they were "shunned by the Victorian Cricket Association... We knew the VCA wouldn't pick us. It was disappointing, we could've given a lot to the game at that stage; we weren't that old. But we were certainly shunned by the association."[243]

Yallop later said he had "mixed emotions" about the rebel tours. "Knowing now what it was like there, there were certain things they kept from us, certain things we weren't meant to see but did. But hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Certainly we enjoyed it while we were there. But reflecting on it, there's mixed emotions. Disappointing thing, politics."[243]