Ashley Mallett, one of Australia’s greatest spin bowlers, has died at the age of 76 in Adelaide after fighting cancer.

In 38 Test matches between 1968 and 1980, Mallett took 132 wickets at 29.84, first under the captaincy of Bill Lawry, then Ian and Greg Chappell. He also played nine ODIs.

He was picked for the 1968 Ashes tour on the back of a splendid debut season for South Australia in 1967-68, when he took 30 wickets at 23.80 in just six matches.

His Test debut came in the fifth match of that series at The Oval, where he took five wickets for the match, including the scalps of Colin Cowdrey (twice), Basil D’Oliveria and John Edrich.

Known for his teasing finger spin, Mallett extracted a lot of bounce from his high arm action, coupled with his height. The quiet and gangling bowler, who also earned praise for excellent gully fielding, was ironically nicknamed ‘Rowdy’ by his teammates.

Mallett’s 8/59 against Pakistan in 1972 was the eighth-best bowling performance by an Australian in a Test innings.

Mallett rocketed to fame during his second overseas tour for Australia as Lawry’s team secured a 3-1 series victory over India in 1969-70. During that series, Mallett snared 28 wickets at an average of 19.10, including a match haul of 10 wickets in the fifth and final Test. He also played at Eden Gardens and took four wickets in the match. India lost the Calcutta Test by 10 wickets.

Mallett is behind only Nathan Lyon (399 wickets) and Hugh Trumble (141) as Australia’s most successful Test off spinners.