Playthrough - England in the 1990s... and beyond

[ddrap14]

The reserve wicket-keeper will have to be Stewart.

You pick a reserve keeper?

 

[Aislabie]

You pick a reserve keeper?

I usually try to have one in the squad in case Russell gets Allan Donalded

Happily, Stewart is rated as a keeper in-game so he can take the gloves for the rest of the Test should that occur, but I don't really want to be picking him as a keeper as that is something from England past that I fundamentally disagree with

 

[ddrap14]

I usually try to have one in the squad in case Russell gets Allan Donalded

Happily, Stewart is rated as a keeper in-game so he can take the gloves for the rest of the Test should that occur, but I don't really want to be picking him as a keeper as that is something from England past that I fundamentally disagree with

I never actually pick two keepers. Maybe that's because my best one after Billy Payne is a 37yo Cam Bancroft

 

[Aislabie]

South Africa vs England - First Test at Centurion

South Africa XI
Gary Kirsten
Andrew Hudson
Hansie Cronje
Daryll Cullinan
Jonty Rhodes
Brian McMillan
Dave Richardson
Shaun Pollock
Craig Matthews
Allan Donald
Brett Schultz

England XI
Michael Atherton
Alec Stewart
Mark Ramprakash
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Jack Russell
Mark Alleyne
Dominic Cork
Phillip DeFreitas
Phil Tufnell
Devon Malcolm

- - -

South Africa win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

For the first Test of the post-Gooch era, there's no question that England look decidedly beatable for the first time in a while. Despite his prolific Middlesex form and recent maiden century, it seems somewhat unlikely that Mark Ramprakash will be the new Gooch, and despite being retained after a stunning debut, Mark Alleyne does not necessarily seem a long-term Test option either. If and when he looses his place in the side, it will be interesting to see whether England turn to another all-rounder or a batsman. As for South Africa, they look even stronger than when they last visited England, and boast the five-man seam attack of nightmares. A lot would depend upon the England bowlers not leaving their batsmen too much to do.

Devon Malcolm took that responsibility to heart, bending his back to take the wicket of Andrew Hudson in the first over of the Test. He would drift in and out of the bowling attack over the course of the day, well-managed by Graeme Hick to avoid him having to bowl spells longer than about five overs. And every time he came back into the attack, he picked up a wicket - as well as Hudson, he ended the innings of Cronje, McMillan, Rhodes, Richardson and Matthews for yet another five-wicket haul. He found particularly good support from Phil Tufnell, and particularly mediocre support from Alleyne - the control of his debut was gone, and the Gloucestershire man returned one wicket for 54 from the thirteen overs he was trusted with. All the same, 304 all out was an effort the English bowlers could look upon with pride.

The English batsmen set about their task well, despite their Goochlessness. Alec Stewart set a commanding tone by making 52 out of an 84-run opening partnership, and Graeme Hick would later score similar runs at a similar tempo with a very nice 69. However, the real star was the obdurate Atherton: unyieldingly dull, his 72 took him over a day of batting, but that day of batting will have played a large part in tiring out the South African fast men. Allan Donald, for example, took five for 106, but it took him 38 overs of toil to do it. The notoriously fragile Schultz bowled almost as much. One hopes that this will serve England just as well as the 51-run lead they earned in the process.

By this point in the game, the wicket was starting to show its age with some up-and-down bounce that was beautifully utilised by the metronomic Cork. He, along with Phil Tufnell's left-arm spin, posed a huge challenge to the South African batsmen. Most struggled, but not Daryl Cullinan. The right-hander played confidently and patiently, waiting for the seamers to drop short and for the spinners to drift onto his pads. Whenever either of those things occurred, he punished them to the leg-side boundary. His eventual downfall for 89, caught in the deep by Devon Malcolm from the spin of Tufnell, came as he tried to cut loose with only Donald and Schultz left to partner him. Thanks to Cullinan, South Africa had a potentially defensible 172 on the board.

It's a good job England have a fourth-innings specialist: Alec Stewart has been the architect of many an England run-chase, and with 72 well-crafted runs he did it again in Centurion. His innings included one of the most remarkable shots in recent Test history, when he flat-batted Allan Donald clean over long-off for six. That might not be in Stewart's best long-term interests (it did prompt a bouncer barrage) but it thrilled the spectators. For everyone else, batting was very difficult: the next-best contributions were a three-hour 36 from Ramprakash and an equally tortured 19 from Atherton. Fittingly for a run-chase where South Africa had already leaked 18 extras, the winning contribution came from another four byes, described by Jonathan Agnew as "dreadful".

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

I'm also adding a Player of the Season award in the style of the Allan Border Medal - the Barrington Medal.

Spoiler: Points system

Drawn or lost match
Best player - 3 points
2nd best player - 2 points
3rd best player - 1 point

Won match
Best player - 5 points
2nd best player - 3 points
3rd best player - 2 points
4th best player - 1 point

Standings
1. Alec Stewart - 5 points (+5)
2. Phil Tufnell - 3 points (+3)
3. Devon Malcolm - 2 points (+2)
4. Dominic Cork - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

South Africa (0) vs (1) England - Second Test at Wanderers

South Africa XI
Gary Kirsten
Andrew Hudson
Hansie Cronje
Daryll Cullinan
Jonty Rhodes
Brian McMillan
Dave Richardson
Shaun Pollock
Clive Eksteen
Meyrick Pringle
Allan Donald

England XI
Michael Atherton
Alec Stewart
Mark Ramprakash
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Jack Russell
Mark Alleyne
Dominic Cork
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell
Devon Malcolm

- - -

South Africa win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

After a hard-fought first Test, both teams made only deckchair-shuffling changes to their bowling attacks. For England, coming into the second Test with a 1-0 advantage, that came in the form of a rest for Phillip DeFreitas; for South Africa, Meyrick Pringle came in for Brett Schultz while Clive Eksteen offers an additional spin option. The batting, meanwhile, remains unchanged because rotating batsmen isn't really a thing. Even Robin Smith, who comes into this Test on the back of a pair, can rest assured that his place in the side is safe for the foreseeable future.

Losing the toss and having to bowl first again wasn't an ideal start, but the return of Angus Fraser meant the return of glorious new ball spells like 10 overs, five maidens, one for six. He and Dominic Cork (who claimed the usual early wicket of Hudson) both impressed, but so did Alleyne, who nabbed both Hansie Cronje and Daryll Cullinan in the space of a few overs. But that was about as good as things would get for England. Supported by well-made contributions from McMillan and Richardson, Natal's Jonty Rhodes made a maiden first-class double-century at a rate of nearly four runs per over to propel the home side to a potentially series-levelling score of 547. The English bowler who was most punished in the making of that score was Devon Malcolm, who finished up with a demoralising none for 122.

It must be in situations like this where England really do consider the fact that they might be a batsman short. How else does one explain that Robin Smith (118 not out) and Alec Stewart (87) can put on a batting display of such excellence, and yet England still fall 70 runs short of avoiding the follow-on. Apart from those two, it was bad. Atherton (17) and Russell (16) were the only two others to reach double figures, and the last eight wickets fell for 70, almost entirely at the hands of Donald and Pringle. Of course, there is only so much to be done against top-class fast bowling, but one must consider that this England team is not properly balanced without the cheat code that is Gooch at the top of the order.

The English batsmen's task while following on was to bat for five sessions on what was still not a bad pitch. Not that that was enough to tame Donald: he claimed Stewart, Smith and Alleyne as part of a match-winning spell of fast bowling. Even some spirited resistance from Dominic Cork and the tailenders was not enough to stop England crashing to an innings defeat. Indeed, if the expressions among the coaching staff on the balcony were anything to go by, there may well be several changes in order for the next Test at Kingsmead. Ramprakash may just have done enough to save his place as England look to reinforce that department.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

I'm also adding a Player of the Season award in the style of the Allan Border Medal - the Barrington Medal.

Spoiler: Points system

Drawn or lost match
Best player - 3 points
2nd best player - 2 points
3rd best player - 1 point

Won match
Best player - 5 points
2nd best player - 3 points
3rd best player - 2 points
4th best player - 1 point

Standings
1. Alec Stewart - 6 points (+1)
=2. Robin Smith - 3 points (+3)
=2. Phil Tufnell - 3 points
=4. Angus Fraser - 2 points (+2)
=4. Devon Malcolm - 2 points
5. Dominic Cork - 1 point

 

[ddrap14]

five-man seam attack of nightmares

Brett Schultz

I think that can be edited to four man seam attack of nightmares

 

[Aislabie]

I think that can be edited to four man seam attack of nightmares

Yeah, I'm relieved that he missed the rest of the series irl

 

[Aislabie]

South Africa (1) vs (1) England - Third Test at Kingsmead

South Africa XI
Gary Kirsten
Andrew Hudson
Hansie Cronje
Daryll Cullinan
Jonty Rhodes
Jacques Kallis
Brian McMillan
Dave Richardson
Shaun Pollock
Craig Matthews
Allan Donald

England XI
Michael Atherton
Alec Stewart
Mark Ramprakash
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Jack Russell
Chris Lewis
Dominic Cork
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell

- - -

South Africa win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Spooked by their double-collapse in the second Test, England came to Kingsmead with some reinforced batting, Graham Thorpe making his return to the side in place of Mark Alleyne. Devon Malcolm was also rested, with Chris Lewis preferred to Phillip DeFreitas or Andy Caddick as his replacement, possibly on account of his batting abilities. The result was an England team that must have really wanted to win the toss and bat first, especially as the South Africans had also chosen to reinforce their batting with the selection of debutant Jacques Kallis. So naturally, Cronje won his third straight toss and opted to bat.

With captain Hick not used to managing a four-man attack, it was his bowlers who were made to toil - in particular Dominic Cork, whose tireless efforts hauled him through nearly 40 expensive overs. That England had to bowl until almost the end of the second day owed a great deal to the batting of Rhodes and the debutant Kallis, whose near-200 run partnership was then compounded by the fact that South Africa have managed to squeeze in proper batsmen all the way down to Shaun Pollock at number nine. Sort of a reverse England, really. But yeah, this Kallis kid looks like he's about to have a stellar Test career.

The entire English batting lineup didn't exceed Kallis's individual score until they'd lost the wickets of Atherton, Stewart, Ramprakash, Hick, Smith, Thorpe and Russell. It was just a complete gulf in class between the likes of Pollock, Donald and Matthews with ball in hand, and the likes of the aforementioned Ramprakash, Hick and co trying to repel them. Quite obviously, England were made to follow on for the second time in succession, as is wont to happen when none of your batsmen manage to pass 50.

Armed with the sort of freedom that comes from being 305 runs behind after the first innings, the English batsmen went out and just tried to express themselves with the bat. This approach worked better for some than others, but there were some stunning cameos from the likes of Stewart (43), Ramprakash (33) and Hick (63) that served as a reminder of the complete lack of demons in the pitch. However, the most remarkable performances came from Jack Russell and Dominic Cork: still comfortably behind the score needed to make South Africa bat again, the pair set about doing exactly that. They added a century partnership, with each going on to make strong contributions in the 70s. Cork was the more aggressive of the two, but both impressed with their technical skill and mental fortitude. Though neither could go on and reach three figures, it did give England the dignity of having some runs to bowl at in the last innings.

Ultimately, a target of under 100 wasn't much of a challenge for South Africa, and it even gave the opportunity for Hudson to finally score some runs.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

I'm also adding a Player of the Season award in the style of the Allan Border Medal - the Barrington Medal.

Spoiler: Points system

Drawn or lost match
Best player - 3 points
2nd best player - 2 points
3rd best player - 1 point

Won match
Best player - 5 points
2nd best player - 3 points
3rd best player - 2 points
4th best player - 1 point

Standings
1. Alec Stewart - 6 points
2. Dominic Cork - 4 points (+3)
=3. Robin Smith - 3 points
=3. Phil Tufnell - 3 points
=5. Angus Fraser - 2 points
=5. Devon Malcolm - 2 points
=5. Jack Russell - 2 points (+2)
8. Graeme Hick - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

South Africa (2) vs (1) England - Fourth Test at Port Elizabeth

South Africa XI
Gary Kirsten
Andrew Hudson
Hansie Cronje
Daryll Cullinan
Jonty Rhodes
Jacques Kallis
Dave Richardson
Shaun Pollock
Craig Matthews
Allan Donald
Paul Adams

England XI
Michael Atherton
Alec Stewart
Mark Ramprakash
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Jack Russell
Dominic Cork
Andy Caddick
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell

- - -

South Africa win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

After back-to-back hidings, England desperately need to get themselves back on track to stay in the series. To do so, they've made only one change: Andy Caddick in for Chris Lewis to strengthen their bowling attack. South Africa, meanwhile, have brought in a the bizarre spin of Paul Adams in place of Brian McMillan (in real life it was Kallis but I can't drop him after that) to add yet another bowling option that the English might struggle to make sense of. This means that Cork will have played four straight Tests in this series, but he's basically undroppable at present.

Of course, Hansie won the toss and batted again, but Andy Caddick immediately provided some hostility that had been missing since Devon Malcolm had bowled so well in the first Test. He claimed the wickets of Kirsten, Cronje, Kallis and Pollock on the way to a place-affirming four-wicket haul that headlined England's efforts on the opening day. Also in the wickets were Tufnell and Fraser, with the latter getting rid of Hudson, then coming back later to dispense with both Donald and Adams to bowl South Africa out at the very end of the first day's play. That they only managed 245 runs in that time offered a glimmer of hope for England as they try to keep their winning streak of Test series alive.

The response of the England batsmen was to set their stall out to bat once, and to bat long. Michael Atherton personified this as he produced another ten-hour epic to grind out his seventh and most boring Test century (109). Recognising the need for England to accelerate when he arrived at the crease, Graeme Hick set about compiling a captain's innings: he found boundaries all around the ground as he set about compiling a chanceless seventh Test century of his own, and one that will quieten the murmurings about his own batting at Test level. Ultimately, it took a sterling yorker from Donald to dismiss the England captain, and to bring Graham Thorpe to the crease. Perhaps most impressively though was that Thorpe went out and did exactly the same thing: he too made a century full of positivity and proactivity, making this the first time that three England batsmen have scored centuries in the same Test innings since 1986.

When Hick declared the England innings on 459, it was the move of someone whose priority was pushing for the win. The trouble was that the pitch seemed only to be getting flatter; even 66 overs combined of Fraser and Tufnell could only yield four wickets for England, with the rest of the bowlers suffering a similar lack of success. Ultimately, South Africa held on quite comfortably for the draw, bringing to an end England's incredible streak of series victories. Happily, this is not a Bannerman Shield series though, as England's challengers for that particular mantle will have to defeat them on home soil.

Join us for the fifth Test, where England will try for one last time to square the series.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

I'm also adding a Player of the Season award in the style of the Allan Border Medal - the Barrington Medal.

Spoiler: Points system

Drawn or lost match
Best player - 3 points
2nd best player - 2 points
3rd best player - 1 point

Won match
Best player - 5 points
2nd best player - 3 points
3rd best player - 2 points
4th best player - 1 point

Standings
1. Alec Stewart - 6 points
2. Dominic Cork - 4 points
=3. Graeme Hick - 3 points (+2)
=3. Robin Smith - 3 points
=3. Phil Tufnell - 3 points
=6. Michael Atherton - 2 points (+2)
=6. Angus Fraser - 2 points
=6. Devon Malcolm - 2 points
=6. Jack Russell - 2 points
=6. Graham Thorpe - 2 points (+2)
* After the Fourth Test, the decision was made to share the points equally between England's three centurions.

 

[Aislabie]

South Africa (2) vs (1) England - Fifth Test at Port Elizabeth

South Africa XI
Gary Kirsten
Andrew Hudson
Hansie Cronje
Daryll Cullinan
Jonty Rhodes
Jacques Kallis
Brian McMillan
Dave Richardson
Shaun Pollock
Allan Donald
Paul Adams

England XI
Michael Atherton
Alec Stewart
Nick Knight (debut)
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Jack Russell
Robert Croft (debut)
Darren Gough
Andy Caddick
Angus Fraser

- - -

South Africa win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

With the series gone, England chose to make a couple of changes, bringing Darren Gough back into the side for the first time since he had a horror run of wicketless Tests last year. They also handed out two debuts, to Nick Knight (in place of Mark Ramprakash) and to Robert Croft (in place of Phil Tufnell, who has struggled for impact). These changes mean that all eighteen players have played at least once in the series, which is rarely the sign of a team high on confidence. The South Africans brought back Brian McMillan, choosing to rest Craig Matthews again; how Allan Donald might appreciate such treatment.

Five tosses, five wins, and five times Hansie Cronje has opted to bat first. Not for the first time this series, the South African top order rather imploded: Caddick took the wickets of both Hudson and Kirsten in the first three overs of the Test, before Angus Fraser chipped in with the equally impactful wickets of Cronje and Cullinan. The big strength for South Africa is their middle order though, and aided by the lack of a fourth seamer to take some of the load, they were able to feast on loose balls from Croft (making his debut in possibly the world's hardest place to bowl spin) and Caddick (got quite tired). Indeed, the only bowler to consistently offer the batsmen nothing in terms of scoring opportunities was Fraser, and he was justly rewarded with a total of six wickets in the innings. Just reward for a bowler who often watches his bowling partner take wickets he has earned.

The English batting response was just groundhog day from the last Test. Yet again, Mike Atherton set his stall out for a very long time, and yet again he was rewarded with an admirably boring century. He again got limited support from his top-order colleagues, until Graeme Hick came in to play a proper captain's innings. Hick again played commandingly on his way to another century, before falling to a strapping South African seamer. He was replaced by Graham Thorpe - this time, Thorpe found runs harder to come by but he still made over a hundred of them - reaching the milestone and, for the second time in two weeks, the same trio of England batsmen had scored centuries in the same Test innings. Hick declared again with England's tally comfortably over 400, in an effort to chase victory.

Yet again though, the pitch remained good for batting. This time, Cullinan was able to cash in with a century as the England bowlers just couldn't find breakthroughs as easily as they did on the first day. Gough and Croft took two wickets each, but with Caddick and Fraser unable to reprise their wicket-taking heroics from the first innings, the Test quickly slipped from England's grasp. Cronje did offer a theoretically possible run-chase to England on the fifth day, but over 200 runs from the 34 overs left in the game was not a realistic ask against these South African bowlers, so Atherton and Stewart instead played out the overs without undue risks.

All of which meant that, despite the Atherton-Hick-Thorpe batting trio twice delivering batting heroics, England's insipidness the rest of the time meant that they were the deserved losing side by a margin of two Tests to one. This was, however, their first series loss since the Pakistan series of 1992.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

I'm also adding a Player of the Season award in the style of the Allan Border Medal - the Barrington Medal.

Spoiler: Points system

Drawn or lost match
Best player - 3 points
2nd best player - 2 points
3rd best player - 1 point

Won match
Best player - 5 points
2nd best player - 3 points
3rd best player - 2 points
4th best player - 1 point

Standings
1. Alec Stewart - 6 points
=2. Angus Fraser - 5 points (+3)
=2. Graeme Hick - 5 points (+2)
4. Dominic Cork - 4 points
=5. Robin Smith - 3 points
=5. Graham Thorpe - 3 points (+1)
=5. Phil Tufnell - 3 points
=8. Michael Atherton - 2 points
=8. Devon Malcolm - 2 points
=8. Jack Russell - 2 points

And bizarrely, Alec Stewart went home as the winner of the Barrington Medal for the tour, despite being largely disappointing. He did not pass 50 in any of his last six innings of the series, but benefited considerably from being the leading player in the lone Test match that England were able to win. Probably the most inglorious Medal winner to date, even if he did finish the series with an average in the 40s.

 

[Aislabie]

Records

Highest Innings Score
for 589 for 6 dec vs South Africa, Headingley 1994
vs 571 all out, Australia, Adelaide Oval 1991

Lowest Innings Score
for 74 all out vs Australia, The WACA 1995
vs 83 all out, West Indies, Queens Park Oval 1994

Highest Innings
for 294, Graham Gooch vs West Indies, The Oval 1991
vs 239*, Brian Lara, West Indies, Kensington Oval 1994

Best Innings Bowling
for 8 for 47, Peter Such vs India, Calcutta 1993
vs 7 for 66, Wasim Akram, Pakistan, Headingley 1992

Best Match Bowling
for 12 for 173, Phil Tufnell vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1993
vs 11 for 137, Wasim Akram, Pakistan, Headingley 1992

All-Time Record for Most Runs in a Series
1016 - Graham Gooch vs West Indies, 1991

Tied Test Match
Australia vs England , The WACA 1995

Partnerships
1. 202 - Graham Gooch & Alec Stewart vs West Indies 1995
2. 262 - Graham Gooch & Mike Atherton vs New Zealand 1994
3. 325 - Graham Gooch & Robin Smith vs West Indies 1991
4. 247 - Robin Smith & Graeme Hick vs Pakistan 1992
5. 176 - Graeme Hick & Jack Russell vs West Indies 1991
6. 137 - Mike Atherton & Chris Lewis vs South Africa 1994
7. 174 - Chris Lewis & Phillip DeFreitas vs Australia 1993
8. 110 - Jack Russell & Dominic Cork vs South Africa 1995
9. 95 - Robin Smith & Dominic Cork vs Australia 1995
10. 61 - Graham Thorpe & Peter Such vs West Indies 1994

Most Test Runs for England
1. Graham Gooch - 11,242 runs @ 48.04 (28 centuries, best 294)
2. David Gower - 8,506 runs @ 42.96 (15 centuries, best 215)
3. Geoffrey Boycott - 8,114 runs @ 47.72 (22 centuries, best 246*)

Most Test Wickets for England
1. Ian Botham - 400 wickets @ 28.13 (27 5WI, best 8/34)
2. Bob Willis - 325 wickets @ 25.20 (16 5WI, best 8/43)
3. Fred Trueman - 307 wickets @ 21.57 (17 5WI, best 8/31)

Honours Board

vs , 1989-90
Graham Gooch - 112
Robin Smith - 101
Robin Smith - 112
Graham Gooch - 100

vs , 1990
Graham Gooch - 127
Rob Bailey - 196

vs , 1990
none

vs , 1990-91
Robin Smith - 110
Graham Gooch - 170

vs , 1991
Robin Smith - 127
Graham Gooch - 175*
Graeme Hick - 108*
Graham Gooch - 165
Graham Gooch - 294
Robin Smith - 145

vs , 1991
Alec Stewart - 166
Graeme Hick - 100

vs , 1991-92
Alec Stewart - 126*
Graham Gooch - 124
Graeme Hick - 107

vs , 1992
Graham Gooch - 103
Robin Smith - 132
Graeme Hick - 147
Graham Gooch - 150*

vs , 1992-93
Graham Gooch - 132
Alec Stewart - 151*
Mike Atherton - 147
Robin Smith - 137

vs , 1992-93
Alec Stewart - 137
Robin Smith - 102*

vs , 1993
Alec Stewart - 132
Alec Stewart - 111
Graham Gooch - 139
Chris Lewis - 114*

vs , 1993-94
Graham Gooch - 143
Alec Stewart - 156
Graham Gooch - 167
Mike Atherton - 127
Graham Thorpe - 111

vs , 1994
Mike Atherton - 117
Alec Stewart - 132
Mike Atherton - 105
Robin Smith - 191

vs , 1994
Graham Gooch - 241
Graham Gooch - 175
Mike Atherton - 242
Graeme Hick - 101
Graeme Hick - 131

vs , 1994-95
Robin Smith - 106
Alec Stewart - 159
Robin Smith - 134
Alec Stewart - 115
Mike Atherton - 157*
Robin Smith - 100
Graham Gooch - 205
Robin Smith - 204

vs , 1995
Alec Stewart - 162
Graham Gooch - 117
Graham Gooch - 135
Robin Smith - 129*
Alec Stewart - 115
Graham Gooch - 159
Mark Ramprakash - 100*

vs , 1996
Robin Smith - 118*
Michael Atherton - 109
Graeme Hick - 106
Graham Thorpe - 107*
Michael Atherton - 108
Graeme Hick - 113
Graham Thorpe - 114*


vs , 1989-90
Angus Fraser - 5 for 47
Gladstone Small - 5 for 72
Chris Lewis - 6 for 70

vs , 1990
none

vs , 1990
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 116
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 72

vs , 1990-91
Angus Fraser - 5 for 116
Devon Malcolm - 6 for 75

vs , 1991
Steve Watkin - 5 for 56
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 138
Devon Malcolm - 5 for 47
Angus Fraser - 5 for 86

vs , 1991
none

vs , 1991-92
Angus Fraser - 5 for 51
Phil Tufnell - 7 for 57

vs , 1992
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 100
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 31
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 45

vs , 1992-93
Phil Tufnell - 8 for 114
Peter Such - 8 for 47
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 72
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 167
Phil Tufnell - 7 for 171

vs , 1992-93
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 102
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 71

vs , 1993
Phil Tufnell - 7 for 105
Phillip DeFreitas - 5 for 19
Phillip DeFreitas - 5 for 62

vs , 1993-94
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 141
Peter Such - 6 for 119
Angus Fraser - 5 for 21
Phillip DeFreitas - 5 for 98

vs , 1994
Darren Gough - 5 for 50
Phillip DeFreitas - Hattrick
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 71

vs , 1994
Phil Tufnell - 7 for 124
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 117

vs , 1994-95
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 79
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 122
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 96

vs , 1995
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 97
Devon Malcolm - 7 for 86
Devon Malcolm - 5 for 68
Devon Malcolm - 5 for 46

vs , 1995-96
Devon Malcolm - 6 for 76
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 79
Angus Fraser - 6 for 68

Career Statistics
Includes all players who debuted before 1990 and played from that date onwards either in real life or in this universe.

Cap Numbers

Player	#	Debut	Last Test
Graham Gooch	461	v (1), 1975	v (5), 1995
Ian Botham	474	v (3), 1977	v (3), 1990
Mike Gatting	477	v (3), 1977-78	v (2), 1992-93
David Gower	479	v (1), 1978	v (2), 1991
John Emburey	480	v (3), 1978	v (4), 1989
Wayne Larkins	484	v (3), 1979-80	v (1), 1990
Allan Lamb	494	v (1), 1982	v (4), 1989-90
Derek Pringle	495	v (1), 1982	v (6), 1989
Eddie Hemmings	497	v (1), 1982	v (5), 1989-90
Neil Foster	502	v (3), 1983	v (1), 1992
Tim Robinson	511	v (1), 1984	v (5), 1991
Gladstone Small	521	v (2), 1986	v , 1991
Phillip DeFreitas	522	v (1), 1986-87	v (1), 1995-96
Neil Fairbrother	525	v (1), 1987	v (3), 1987-88
David Capel	526	v (3), 1987	v (6), 1989
Paul Jarvis	527	v (1), 1987-88	v (5), 1992
Robin Smith	530	v (4), 1988	v (5), 1995-96
Rob Bailey	531	v (5), 1988	v (4), 1991
Matt Maynard	532	v (5), 1988	only Test
Syd Lawrence	534	v , 1988	v , 1991
Phil Newport	535	v , 1988	v (1), 1989
Jack Russell	536	v , 1988	v (5), 1995-96
Angus Fraser	537	v (3), 1989	v (5), 1995-96
Mike Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	v (5), 1995-96
Devon Malcolm	539	v (5), 1989	v (2), 1995-96
Alan Igglesden	540	v (6), 1989	only Test
- - - - - - - - - -	- - -	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -
Alec Stewart	542	v (1), 1989-90	v (5), 1995-96
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	v (4), 1995-96
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1995-96
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	v (5), 1995-96
Martin Bicknell	546	v (3), 1990	v (4), 1991-92
Steve Watkin	547	v (1), 1991	v (2), 1991
Peter Such	548	v (3), 1991	v (4), 1994-95
Ian Salisbury	549	v (1), 1992-93	only Test
Mark Ramprakash	550	v (2), 1992-93	v (4), 1995-96
Dermot Reeve	551	v (3), 1992-93	only Test
Andy Caddick	552	v (2), 1993	v (5), 1995-96
Nasser Hussain	553	v (3), 1993	v (3), 1994
Mark Ilott	554	v (4), 1993-94	only Test
Graham Thorpe	555	v (4), 1993-94	v (5), 1995-96
Darren Gough	556	v (1), 1994	v (5), 1995-96
Dominic Cork	557	v (2), 1994	v (4), 1995-96
Richard Blakey	558	v (3), 1994	only Test
Glen Chapple	559	debut	v (4), 1994-95
Richard Johnson	560	v (2), 1995	only Test
Mark Alleyne	561	v (5), 1995	v (2), 1995-96
Robert Croft	562	v (5), 1995-96	only Test
Nick Knight	563	v (5), 1995-96	only Test

Captains

Player	Mat	W	T	D	L	First	Last
Graham Gooch	55	22	1	16	16	v (5), 1988	v (5), 1994-95
Graeme Hick	12	5	0	4	3	v (2), 1992-93	v (5), 1995-96

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mark Alleyne	3	5	2	82	27.33	-	1	56*	4	-
Mike Atherton	43	79	7	3288	45.66	8	14	242	20	-
Rob Bailey	15	28	1	815	30.19	1	2	196	15	-
Martin Bicknell	4	4	0	65	16.25	-	-	48	2	-
Richard Blakey	1	2	0	58	29.00	-	-	29	1	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	176	7	5656	33.47	14	25	208	135	-
Andy Caddick	10	14	2	166	13.83	-	-	37*	-	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Glen Chapple	2	3	0	63	21.00	-	-	30	1	-
Dominic Cork	10	13	3	251	25.10	-	1	72	6	-
Robert Croft	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phillip DeFreitas	36	56	6	786	15.72	-	1	82	7	-
John Emburey (RET)	60	89	18	1540	21.49	-	8	75	33	-
Neil Fairbrother	4	4	0	5	1.25	-	-	3	3	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	60	12	600	12.50	-	-	42*	13	-
Angus Fraser	53	71	11	602	10.03	-	-	34	8	-
Mike Gatting (RET)	70	121	14	4037	37.73	9	19	207	53	-
Graham Gooch (RET)	131	244	10	11242	48.04	28	60	294	147	-
Darren Gough	12	16	6	187	18.70	-	-	35*	-	-
David Gower (RET)	124	215	17	8506	42.96	15	47	215	75	-
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	19	3	332	20.75	-	1	95	4	-
Graeme Hick	49	87	5	3268	39.85	8	17	147	70	-
Nasser Hussain	4	7	0	124	17.71	-	-	33	8	-
Alan Igglesden	1	1	1	2	-	-	-	2*	1	-
Mark Ilott	1	2	2	26	-	-	-	25*	-	-
Paul Jarvis	10	15	4	189	17.18	-	-	35*	1	-
Richard Johnson	1	1	0	1	1.00	-	-	1	-	-
Nick Knight	1	1	0	18	18.00	-	-	18	2	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	105	9	3224	33.58	9	12	137*	53	-
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	19	0	348	18.31	-	-	43	5	-
Syd Lawrence	2	2	0	6	3.00	-	-	4	-	-
Chris Lewis	50	80	11	1820	26.38	1	7	114*	50	-
Devon Malcolm	32	41	11	215	7.17	-	-	21*	11	-
Matt Maynard	1	2	0	13	6.50	-	-	10	-	-
Phil Newport	2	3	0	70	23.33	-	-	36	1	-
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	36	3	512	15.51	-	2	66	7	-
Mark Ramprakash	15	28	2	862	33.15	1	7	100*	-	-
Dermot Reeve	1	2	0	12	6.00	-	-	6	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	71	6	2362	36.33	4	12	175	14	-
Jack Russell	71	119	28	3159	34.71	1	18	128*	188	20
Ian Salisbury	1	1	0	21	21.00	-	-	21	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Robin Smith	70	128	11	5736	49.02	17	29	204	20	-
Alec Stewart	45	87	5	3946	48.12	12	14	166	11	-
Peter Such	11	14	6	45	5.63	-	-	14*	4	-
Graham Thorpe	10	16	3	718	55.23	3	1	114*	4	-
Phil Tufnell	54	65	15	274	5.48	-	-	36	14	-
Steve Watkin	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mark Alleyne	74	199	7	28.43	2.7	-	-	2/27
Mike Atherton	43	144	500	13	38.46	3.9	-	-	3/32
Rob Bailey	15	43	175	2	87.50	4.1	-	-	1/0
Martin Bicknell	4	191	469	11	42.63	2.5	-	-	3/72
Richard Blakey	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Andy Caddick	10	438	1216	28	43.43	2.8	-	-	4/71
David Capel (RET)	11	209	628	12	52.33	3.0	-	-	2/13
Glen Chapple	2	85	276	5	55.20	3.2	-	-	3/99
Dominic Cork	10	386	1073	29	37.00	2.8	-	-	4/138
Robert Croft	1	36	144	2	72.00	4.0	-	-	2/74
Phillip DeFreitas	36	1324	3530	104	33.94	2.7	4	1	5/19
John Emburey (RET)	60	2371	5105	138	36.99	2.1	6	-	7/78
Neil Fairbrother	4	2	9	0	-	4.5	-	-	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	1451	3902	115	33.93	2.7	5	1	8/107
Angus Fraser	53	2190	5319	160	33.24	2.4	5	-	6/68
Mike Gatting (RET)	70	125	317	4	79.25	2.5	-	-	1/14
Graham Gooch (RET)	131	306	740	17	43.53	2.4	-	-	2/12
Darren Gough	12	477	1228	23	47.23	2.6	1	-	5/50
David Gower (RET)	124	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	49	191	626	13	48.15	3.3	-	-	3/38
Nasser Hussain	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Igglesden	1	37	146	3	48.67	3.9	-	-	2/91
Mark Ilott	1	38	127	1	127.00	3.3	-	-	1/106
Paul Jarvis	10	359	1069	26	41.12	3.0	-	-	4/50
Richard Johnson	1	44	155	0	-	3.5	-	-	-
Nick Knight	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	5	23	1	23.00	4.6	-	-	1/6
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Syd Lawrence	2	68	223	4	55.75	3.3	-	-	2/74
Chris Lewis	50	1464	3907	111	35.19	2.7	1	-	6/70
Devon Malcolm	32	1165	3720	123	30.24	3.2	6	-	7/86
Matt Maynard	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Newport	2	92	339	9	37.66	3.7	-	-	4/87
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	625	1807	48	37.64	2.9	2	-	5/95
Mark Ramprakash	15	1	2	0	-	2.0	-	-	-
Dermot Reeve	1	14	39	0	-	2.8	-	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	1	0	0	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell	71	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	1	13	76	0	-	5.9	-	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith	70	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	45	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such	11	557	1614	49	32.94	2.9	2	-	8/47
Graham Thorpe	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	54	2634	7663	269	28.49	2.8	23	5	8/114
Steve Watkin	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56

​

Stats and records have been updated. I'm trying to be pretty careful with Malcolm's workload (generally trying to give him the third Test off in a five-Test series, also trying to play him more as part of a five-man attack) but he probably should have played more than 32 Tests by this point. And he will do if the new generation don't start to get their act together.

Also, we're hanging onto our number one ranking for the time being but South Africa are rather hot on our tails. And India should be okay, but Pakistan might be a real threat to our hold on the Bannerman Shield

 

[blockerdave]

To an extent, yes - although things are always going to be a bit easier when you've got a GOAT-rated Graham Gooch in your ranks. I'm not exaggerating either - in the 58 Tests I've played with him, he's scored 6,518 runs at 61.49 with 20 centuries and a best of 294. Gooch was good in real life, but not that good.

It's also definitely worth noting that England has the double benefit of my usually more rational selection policy, and players pretty much just not experiencing long-term injuries or anything (unless I do the research to find out when those occur). Because this is a universe where I'm God Emperor of English cricket, central contracts and a reduced county schedule would both have come in in the early 1990s, even though that's not realistic to the actual timeline we're familiar with.

And finally, I've also put in thousands of hours on Cricket Captain games, so if there are exploits and ways of getting the best out of your players, I'm probably more likely to find them than most.

That said, it's about to get considerably harder with no Gooch at the top of the order. I'll probably be looking at batting something like Atherton, Stewart, Ramprakash, Smith, Hick to start with - and Smith probably doesn't have too much longer until he retires to focus on his business interests and alcoholism (in real life, that happened in 96 - here, his career is going rather better so he might hold out until 97). The five-bowler strategy really will start to bite me soon.

TBF, Gooch's post 1990 figures were absurd.

Gooch had a 15-year test career 1975-89 where he played 73 matches, scored 4,724 runs at 36.9 with 8 tons/29 50s. Reasonable numbers, and he obviously had class and played in a tough era, but nothing to put him in the "great" sphere. Given the "Gooch lbw b Alderman" torment of the 1989 Ashes, if it hadn't been for the 89/90 Rebel tour (which removed Gatting from contention as captain, and Broad, Robinson & Athey from contention as openers) it's highly possible Gooch might not have played again. He often chose not to tour, and his commitment and reliability were questioned.

But of course he got the captaincy, and from then to his retirement in 95 (though he stopped being captain in 93) he played 45 matches and scored 4,176 runs at 51.55 with12 hundreds and 17 50s. His 333 and 151* might never have happened if there hadn't been a rebel tour.

 

[Aislabie]

It's been a little bit of a while, but let's get back on the road with this:

India Tour of England, 1996

Itinerary
06 Jun 1996 - England vs India - First Test at Edgbaston - England won by 274 runs
20 Jun 1996 - England vs India - Second Test at Lord's - Match drawn
04 Jul 1996 - England vs India - Third Test at Trent Bridge - England won by 7 wickets

England Squad

Graeme Hick

Mike Atherton
Nick Knight
Mark Ramprakash
Robin Smith
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe

Jack Russell

Mark Alleyne
Chris Lewis

Andy Caddick
Dominic Cork
Phillip DeFreitas
Angus Fraser
Darren Gough
Devon Malcolm
Alan Mullally

Phil Tufnell

This was quite a tricky selection with the seam attack not really performing, but ultimately I decided to stick with the same core of players, and brought in Alan Mullally as a potential left-arm debutant in place of Robert Croft. There are several players here who are holding onto a place in the squad by the skin of their teeth: Mark Ramprakash, Andy Caddick and Darren Gough all desperately need to perform if they want to go on the stat-padding tour of Zimbabwe this winter. It's really rather annoying, but we're going to give these guys the chance to perform in home conditions.

 

[Aislabie]

England vs India - First Test at Edgbaston

England XI
Michael Atherton
Alec Stewart
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Chris Lewis
Jack Russell
Dominic Cork
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell
Devon Malcolm

India XI
Vikram Rathour
Ajay Jadeja
Sanjay Manjrekar
Sachin Tendulkar
Mohammad Azharuddin
Nayan Mongia
Sunil Joshi
Anil Kumble
Javagal Srinath
Paras Mhambrey
Venkatesh Prasad

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

For the first Test of the summer, England chose to return to their five-bowler strategy to face an Indian team that had adopted the same approach. This had created a clash of the diplodocuses: two teams with tails that, on a bad day at least, began with the fall of the fifth wicket. With the ball, England chose Devon Malcolm over Darren Gough when it came to express pace, while there was no room yet for the debut of left-armer Alan Mullally. Regardless, the bowlers will hope to spend the first day or more with their feet up thanks to the news that captain Hick won the toss and chose, like any good Grace-fearing captain, to bat first.

The established opening pair of Atherton and Stewart took guard under thick Birmingham cloud, and against a more stringent seam attack this would have been a horrible proposition. As it was, Paras Mhambrey's outstanding eight-over opening spell gave up only seven runs as Mike Atherton scratched his way to a painful two-hour 20 before falling to the rapid leg-breaks of Kumble. However, this wicket opened the floodgates for a patented England batting collapse. The only partner who stuck around with Robin Smith for any length of time was, against all odds, Phil Tufnell: the Middlesex man hung around for two-hour 25 as Robin Smith's impressive rearguard headed towards three figures. Unfortunately for Smith, both Tufnell and number eleven Devon Malcolm both lost their wickets before Smith could register his eighteenth Test century.

In reply, the England seamers were looking aggressively for wickets and found them almost immediately: Dominic Cork removed both Punjab's Vikram Rathour and the more established Sanjay Manjrekar in the opening few overs to put England back into a position of relative parity. Excellent spells from change bowler Chris Lewis (two for 36) and Phil Tufnell (three for 74) kept the Indians' powerful middle order in check, but the much worried-about long tail ended up being the difference between a near-100 run England lead and reality: Mongia, Joshi, Kumble and Srinath all fought their way past 20 against good bowling to help India to a marginal first-innings lead before two Malcolm thunderbolts did for numbers 10 and 11.

After safely negotiating the four overs before the close of the second day's play, Atherton and Stewart had the responsibility for building what would need to be a match-winning lead for England. As one would expect, Stewart was the aggressor in this task: by the time he reached his 13th Test century (an excellent, near-chanceless innings studded with fourteen boundaries), Atherton had limped to a boundaryless 38 not out. Crucially though, the Lancashire man was still at the crease, meaning that England led by 134 with all ten wickets still in hand. When Atherton did reach his half-century by punching a Kumble full-toss into the outfield for one, it was met with the most muted of applause. It was the kind of innings Geoffrey Boycott used to get dropped for, but it was fulfilling a useful role for his team. The elusive Atherton boundary did at least come before the elusive Indian wicket, with the former arriving in the 98th over and the latter not falling until the 147th. By that point, Atherton had accelerated and scored a century of his own: 129 out of a record 323-run opening stand.

England did eventually declare, setting India a sporting target of 386 to win from seven hours of batting. That target looked incredibly distant an hour later when the Indians returned to the pavilion at 43 for four with their entire top four dismissed and that diplodocus tail exposed. Malcolm had struck first by removing Rathour before Cork dismissed Manjrekar, then Fraser induced both Tendulkar and Jadeja to edge behind to Jack Russell. Of such high quality was the English fast bowling that Phil Tufnell, so often a fourth-innings star, did not even get to bowl at a top-five batsman. Instead, his job was merely to dispose of the tail-enders, which was not a huge challenge on a day five wicket.

And thus, as the umpire raised his finger to adjudge Mhambrey LBW to a Chris Lewis yorker, England secured a comprehensive 274-run victory to kickstart their summer of Test cricket, though picking just four Barrington Medal candidates was an enormous challenge.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

I'm also adding a Player of the Season award in the style of the Allan Border Medal - the Barrington Medal.

Spoiler: Points system

Drawn or lost match
Best player - 3 points
2nd best player - 2 points
3rd best player - 1 point

Won match
Best player - 5 points
2nd best player - 3 points
3rd best player - 2 points
4th best player - 1 point

Standings
1. Alec Stewart - 5 points (+5)
2. Michael Atherton - 3 points (+3)
3. Robin Smith - 2 points (+2)
4. Phil Tufnell - 1 point (+1)
* After the Fourth Test, the decision was made to share the points equally between England's three centurions.

 

[ddrap14]

The elusive Atherton boundary did at least come before the elusive Indian wicket, with the former arriving in the 98th over

And I thought that my Australia team, who average about 2.8rpo, were slow