Mallett was born in Chatswood, New South Wales, and moved to Perth, Western Australia, as a child. He attended Mount Lawley High School. See more

Mallett was a member of the Western Australian squad in the 1966–67 season, but made no appearances, only being 12th man in two Sheffield Shield matches. … See more

Australia came into the Fifth and final Test of 1968 with a 1–0 series lead, so the Ashes had already been retained. Mallett made his Test debut, taking the wicket of Colin Cowdrey with his fifth ball, breaching his defences and trapping him leg before wicket. … See more

In Australia's 1969–70 tour to India, Mallett took 28 wickets and was an instrumental component of Australia's last Test series victory there for 35 years.
During a stopover in Ceylon, he took 4/63 in a drawn match against Sri Lanka, but did not have immediate … See more

Mallett had a productive Shield career, taking 391 wickets in 91 matches, second only to Clarrie Grimmett. In tandem with Jenner, he was part of a successful era in South Australian cricket, playing in three Sheffield Shield winning sides in 1968–69, 1970–71 and … See more

Quietly spoken and bookish, Mallett was ironically nicknamed "Rowdy" by his teammates. See more

Mallett, a journalist by profession had worked as a commentator, a spin bowling coach, and as a writer.
• Mallett was employed by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board and travelled there three times a year as a consultant spin coach. See more