McKenzie was particularly noted for his muscular physique (hence his nickname) and ability to take wickets on good batting tracks.
He made his debut in the Second Test at Lord's, where his 5/37 (including the last three wickets in 12 balls) wrapped up the England innings to give Australia a 5-wicket victory.
His father, Eric McKenzie, was an opening batsman who played once for Western Australia, against the touring South African cricket team in 1931–32.
His uncle, Douglas McKenzie, was a batsman who represented Western Australia on several occasions, scoring 88 in his last game against Lindsay Hassett's Services team in 1945–46.
His efforts were rewarded when the state selectors handed him a debut for the penultimate match of the Sheffield Shield season against Victoria in Melbourne.
At season's end, his captain Ken Meuleman advised McKenzie to concentrate on his fast bowling.
He did not bowl in the first innings but took 4/41 in the second to seal a 94 run win, prompting West Indies captain Frank Worrell to predict a bright future.
[1] Further strong performances during the Shield season saw him selected at age 19 for the 1961 Ashes tour under Richie Benaud.
Following an injury to Benaud, Australia replaced him with a third seamer, allowing McKenzie to make his debut in the Second Test at Lord's during the "Battle of the Ridge".
He held his end for 32 runs while Davidson's powerful hitting saw 98 added for Australia's highest tenth wicket partnership on English soil.
This is regarded as a notable achievement,[6] and as of August 2014 only 23 bowlers have taken at least 20 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.
[8] He toured South Africa in 1966–67 and in 1967–68 was dropped for the final two Tests after taking his only ten wicket match haul against India.
McKenzie joined Leicestershire, captained until 1968 by the Western Australian skipper and former England Test stalwart Tony Lock.
Another 21 wickets (21.00) came on the Indian tour of 1968–69, but when the Australian team proceeded to South Africa his form slumped (1/333 in four Tests) and they were whitewashed.
The Adelaide Oval was notoriously flat, but McKenzie was an expert on getting batsmen out on dull wickets and used the humid atmosphere and fresh pitch to bowl Bob Barber for a duck and have John Edrich caught by the ever-reliable Simpson at slip.
He toured South Africa in 1966–67 and in 1967–68 was dropped for the final two Tests after taking his only ten wicket match haul against India.
This was speculated to be due to fears that his dominance over the Indian batsmen was diminishing public interest in the series.
McKenzie joined Leicestershire, captained until 1968 by the Western Australian skipper and former England Test stalwart Tony Lock.
[2] Another 21 wickets (21.00) came on the Indian tour of 1968–69, but when the Australian team proceeded to South Africa his form slumped (1/333 in four Tests) and they were whitewashed.
After that, he moved his family to South Africa to play in domestic Limited Overs cricket, before returning to Western Australia.