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

[Aislabie]

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

There's five days to play with and Childish Things have in their infinite wisdom made defensive non-Zimbabwean batsmen very difficult to get out. Might as well take advantage (although Athers was on three bars of aggression up to 30, then moved down to two because Stewie was scoring fluently, then back up to three after his first boundary)

 

[ddrap14]

There's five days to play with and Childish Things have in their infinite wisdom made defensive non-Zimbabwean batsmen very difficult to get out. Might as well take advantage (although Athers was on three bars of aggression up to 30, then moved down to two because Stewie was scoring fluently, then back up to three after his first boundary)

Huh, Atherton must just be slow, kind of like the great Mark Spence (who I promise I'll link to in my thread at some point very soon). My strategy is usually to run batsmen at two bars until they reach the last letter in the meter (an approximation of 2/3 of the bar), I run them at three until the bar is full and then increase it to four. That said, my Australia team are clearly the best in the world with the possible exception of India, and this England... aren't

 

[Aislabie]

Huh, Atherton must just be slow, kind of like the great Mark Spence (who I promise I'll link to in my thread at some point very soon). My strategy is usually to run batsmen at two bars until they reach the last letter in the meter (an approximation of 2/3 of the bar), I run them at three until the bar is full and then increase it to four. That said, my Australia team are clearly the best in the world with the possible exception of India, and this England... aren't

Yeah, I don't usually go above three bars in Test matches unless I'm going all-out for declaration runs, but that's a strategy informed by usually playing as quite weak teams.

 

[Aislabie]

England (1) vs (0) India - Second Test at Lord's

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
Nayan Mongia
Sourav Ganguly
Sachin Tendulkar
Mohammad Azharuddin
Ajay Jadeja
Rahul Dravid
Anil Kumble
Javagal Srinath
Paras Mhambrey
Venkatesh Prasad

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Going into the Second Test, England went with an unchanged team from their excellent team performance at Edgbaston: all of the bowlers were fresh, with none having bowled more than 31 overs in the first Test. India, meanwhile, made some galaxy-brained changes, including the promotion of Nayan Mongia to open the innings and the inclusion of Rahul Dravid as a specialist number seven batsman. It would be the unchanged Indian bowling attack that would be under most scrutiny though, as Hick again won the toss and batted first.

Like the opening Test, the English openers set the tone by putting a high price on their wickets: although scoring was slow, Atherton and Stewart remained together until well after Lunch as they compiled another century stand. This time it was Stewart who was first to go, LBW to Prasad. This wasn't a huge loss for England though, as it brought arguably their most in-form batsman to the crease: Robin Smith was not dismissed in the first Test, and continued in a similarly untroubled vein throughout the rest of the first two rain-spotted days of the Test. Of some concern to England will be that nobody batting at number four or below managed to score more than the brace of 17s managed by Thorpe and Lewis; had it not been for the continued presence and scoring of Smith (who finished unbeaten again on 117) England would have been in all kinds of trouble. Instead, they were 295 all out; not ahead in the game, but nor exactly behind.

Although England again claimed an early wicket (Rathour, out again to Malcolm), they did not have an easy time of things in the field. Against all the odds, the Nayan Mongia experiment worked faultlessly as the promoted wicketkeeper eked out a disciplined century before finally falling to Fraser. He was also well-supported, unlike Smith in the first innings; Ganguly and Tendulkar scored 79 and 81 respectively, while Azhar and Dravid also managed to score useful 40s. On a day that had seemed tailor-made for seam bowling, it was the reinforced Indian batting that prevailed, eventually thwarted only by the spin of Tufnell who was chiefly responsible for India's collapse from 365 for five to 395 all out on the fourth morning.

The crucial task for the English batsmen was to get past the Indian mark without losing men on the way, and in this pursuit they did well: only Stewart (42) fell before England were back in credit. Atherton and Smith painstakingly built the advantage before a magnificent fifth morning spell from Javagal Srinath wrested the match back India's way: he first trapped Atherton LBW, then got the England captain to edge to slip from the sixth ball of the same over. He then kept probing and eventually coaxed a false shot from Smith to dismiss him for the first time all series - the South African born batsman's 55 taking his series tally to 307 before finally being caught and bowled. The threat of Srinath bowling India to victory - his stellar spell eventually saw him take no fewer than eight English wickets - was averted by the twin threats of a stoic partnership between Lewis and Russell, and a well-time assist from the rain.

India were left needing 187 runs from the 31 remaining overs, assuming that rain and time allowed for them all to be bowled. Credit to the Indians, they chose to go for it: the opening four overs of the innings produced 32 runs, including five fours and a six. They also produced three England wickets as Malcolm and Cork powered through the cavalier shots of the Indian top three. Although both Azhar and Tendulkar played enterprisingly from there on out, there was limited time available to them, and the game petered out into a draw.

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
=1. Michael Atherton - 5 points (+2)
=1. Robin Smith - 5 points (+3)
4. Phil Tufnell - 2 points (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

England (1) vs (0) India - Third Test at Trent Bridge

England XI
Michael Atherton
Alec Stewart
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Chris Lewis
Jack Russell
Andy Caddick
Darren Gough
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell

India XI
Vikram Rathour
Nayan Mongia
Sourav Ganguly
Sachin Tendulkar
Sanjay Manjrekar
Mohammad Azharuddin
Rahul Dravid
Anil Kumble
Javagal Srinath
Venkatesh Prasad
Venkatapathy Raju

- - -

India win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

For the third Test, each side made two changes. For England, Dominic Cork and Devon Malcolm were rested and replaced by Andy Caddick and Darren Gough. Though everyone acknowledges the huge potential of the two incoming seamers, their career statistics so far do not back that up with results. For India meanwhile, Ajay Jadeja made way for the returning Manjrekar, while Paras Mhambrey made way for a second spinner in the form of Venkatapathy Raju, a reflection of the dry nature of the Trent Bridge wicket that greeted the teams on their arrival in the Midlands.

The Indian spinners would also get final use of the wearing pitch, thanks to Azharuddin winning the toss and choosing to bat first. The Indian innings was dominated by centuries from the excellent Tendulkar and Manjrekar. For a few hours, they dominated the battle with all the English bowlers, including the outstanding Angus Fraser. Once their partnership was broken, the wickets began to tumble - right up until some unexpected batting competence from Javagal Srinath, whose 46 was even more unlikely than Rathour's 49 earlier in the innings. With their famously short batting lineup, India's 398 looked likely to be a very challenging total for England to come up against.

As they have all series, England made a slow start in overcast conditions. With Alec Stewart dismissed early, it was crucial that Atherton and Smith bat long in order to get as close to the Indian total as possible. On a rapidly disintegrating pitch, the batsmen were up against a huge challenge though. Atherton, Smith, Hick and Thorpe all batted for over two and a half hours, including Thorpe, who managed to grind out a completely unwatchable five-hour 55. England had clearly set their stall out for the draw, and nothing was a clearer sign of that than Venkatapathy Raju's 30 overs, which brought him eleven maidens and conceded only 39 runs - but crucially, there were no English wickets to fall to him. England might have conceded a 130-run first innings lead, but they batted more overs than the Indians did.

Someone should probably have told the English bowlers that they weren't meant to be bothered about winning the Test. They produced sixteen of the most startling overs of fast bowling in recent memory. From the very first ball of the innings, Vikram Rathour was clean bowled by Gough, who then swiftly added Nayan Mongia to his wickets tally. Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar then both fell to Andy Caddick before Angus Fraser entered the attack and dismissed Sanjay Manjrekar to leave Azhar and Dravid staring down the barrel of being the last recognised batsmen for a team on 29 for five. Their partnership - a mere six runs - was ended by Phil Tufnell to expose the bowlers, who did add another 27 runs before they too had been dismissed by a combination of Fraser, Tufnell and Gough: the lowest score made against England since India's 42 in 1974. An outstanding performance, and one that out of nowhere gave England a very achievable 193 to win.

That target was not an easy one on a disintegrating wicket, as was reflected by the fact that no England batsman managed to score as fast as two runs per over - including the usually aggressive Hick. Fortunately, there was absolutely no shortage of overs. The match-deciding contribution was the near four-hour unbeaten century partnership between Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe. Their disciplined play sealed an excellent 2-0 series victory for England, and yet another Bannerman Shield defence.

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. Michael Atherton - 5 points
=1. Graeme Hick - 5 points (+5)
=1. Alec Stewart - 5 points
=1. Robin Smith - 5 points
5. Angus Fraser - 3 points (+3)
=6. Phil Tufnell - 2 points
=6. Darren Gough - 2 points (+2)
8. Andy Caddick - 1 point (+1)

I feel a bit bad for the lack of fast bowlers getting Barrington Medal points, but they've generally just been doing well as a unit, but with no outstanding individual performances.

 

[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 62 all out, India, Trent Bridge 1996

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 8 for 79, Javagal Srinath, India, Lord's 1996

Best Match Bowling
for 12 for 173, Phil Tufnell vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1993
vs 12 for 152, Javagal Srinath, India, Lord's 1996

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. 323 - Mike Atherton & Alec Stewart vs India 1996
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 , 1995-96
Robin Smith - 118*
Michael Atherton - 109
Graeme Hick - 106
Graham Thorpe - 107*
Michael Atherton - 108
Graeme Hick - 113
Graham Thorpe - 114*

vs , 1996
Alec Stewart - 200
Mike Atherton - 129
Robin Smith - 117*


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

vs , 1996
none

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 (3), 1996
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 (3), 1996
Angus Fraser	537	v (3), 1989	v (3), 1996
Mike Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	v (3), 1996
Devon Malcolm	539	v (5), 1989	v (2), 1996
Alan Igglesden	540	v (6), 1989	only Test
- - - - - - - - - -	- - -	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -
Alec Stewart	542	v (1), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
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 (3), 1996
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 (3), 1996
Darren Gough	556	v (1), 1994	v (3), 1996
Dominic Cork	557	v (2), 1994	v (2), 1996
Richard Blakey	558	v (3), 1994	only Test
Glen Chapple	559	v (4), 1994-95	v (5), 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	15	7	0	5	3	v (2), 1992-93	v (3), 1996

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	46	85	7	3646	46.74	9	16	242	26	-
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	11	15	2	188	14.46	-	-	37*	2	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Glen Chapple	2	3	0	63	21.00	-	-	30	1	-
Dominic Cork	12	16	3	266	20.46	-	1	72	7	-
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	56	75	11	630	9.84	-	-	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	13	17	7	208	20.80	-	-	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	52	93	5	3441	39.10	8	18	147	74	-
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	53	84	12	1875	26.04	1	7	114*	55	-
Devon Malcolm	34	44	11	222	6.72	-	-	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	74	123	28	3202	33.71	1	18	128*	193	21
Ian Salisbury	1	1	0	21	21.00	-	-	21	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Robin Smith	73	134	14	6103	50.86	18	31	204	20	-
Alec Stewart	48	93	5	4289	48.74	13	14	200	11	-
Peter Such	11	14	6	45	5.63	-	-	14*	4	-
Graham Thorpe	13	22	5	852	50.11	3	3	114*	8	-
Phil Tufnell	57	69	15	309	5.72	-	-	36	15	-
Steve Watkin	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mark Alleyne	3	74	199	7	28.43	2.7	-	-	2/27
Mike Atherton	46	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	11	478	1317	33	39.09	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	12	442	1283	35	36.66	2.9	-	-	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	56	2298	5601	172	32.56	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	13	516	1338	30	44.60	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	52	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	53	1528	4114	117	35.16	2.7	1	-	6/70
Devon Malcolm	34	1210	3864	129	29.95	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	74	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	1	13	76	0	-	5.9	-	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith	73	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	48	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such	11	557	1614	49	32.94	2.9	2	-	8/47
Graham Thorpe	13	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	57	2717	7910	283	27.95	2.8	23	5	8/114
Steve Watkin	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56

​

Stats updated, and Phil Tufnell is rapidly approaching the Bob Willis mark

 

[Aislabie]

Pakistan Tour of England, 1996

Itinerary
25 Jul 1996 - England vs Pakistan - First Test at Lord's - England won by 56 runs
08 Aug 1996 - England vs Pakistan - Second Test at Headingley - Pakistan won by 170 runs
22 Aug 1996 - England vs Pakistan - Third Test at The Oval - Pakistan won by an innings and 47 runs

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

Coming just weeks after their crushing win over India, England saw no need to make any changes to their squad. This certainly won't be true next time out when England go to Zimbabwe and will presumably take a selection of young players with them, but for this Bannerman Shield series against one of the world's top-ranked Test team, England will be going in full-strength. It will be interesting to see how the playing XI shapes up; will Devon Malcolm come straight back into the side after his replacements did so well in his stead?

 

[Aislabie]

England vs Pakistan - First Test at Lord's

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

Pakistan XI
Aamer Sohail
Saeed Anwar
Ijaz Ahmed
Inzamam ul-Haq
Saleem Malik
Shadab Kabir
Wasim Akram
Rashid Latif
Mushtaq Ahmed
Waqar Younis
Atta ur-Rehman

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

The overwhelming question around the England team before the Test was one of whether they could make changes to a bowling attack that had just bowled India out for 62. As it turned out, yes they could: the extra pace of Devon Malcolm came back into the side in place of Andy Caddick. Though hostile, Gough and Malcolm doesn't exactly match up to Wasim and Waqar, although one can say with confidence that Angus Fraser is a more valuable bowler than Atta ur-Rehman. Quite how well England's five-man batting line-up will stand up to such a challenge remains to be seen, especially after Graeme Hick won the toss and batted.

Initially, England stood up well to the pace pairing and did so in their usual way: with a century opening partnership between Atherton and Stewart that continued most of the way until tea. However, after Mushtaq Ahmed foxed Atherton with a great googly, it did create a chink in England's armour. The only other batsman to score over 30 was Jack Russell at number seven, but all of their crease occupation lent support to the excellent Alec Stewart. Once he became the second victim of an Ahmed googly, the English batting crumbled like a crumbly thing - but we might expect that of a batting order that has Darren Gough batting at number eight. Even so, the bottom four batsmen managing only two runs between them wasn't great.

The Pakistani response rather dwarfed the English total, but at 235 for five (after three of the top five batsmen had all been dismissed by Devon Malcolm yorkers for exactly 44) that did not look especially likely to happen. Having elevated himself to number seven in the batting order though, Wasim Akram played a glorious captain's innings to register his second Test century. He was particularly ruthless on England's long-standing best bowler: Phil Tufnell was biffed repeatedly to the leg-side boundary, being taken for over a run a ball by the Pakistani skipper. Ultimately, he was the last man out trying to attack the surprisingly excellent Chris Lewis with only the run-shirking Atta ur-Rehman left to support him. Off his bat though, the tourists had recorded a 126-run first innings lead late on the third day.

The threat of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis with a brand new Dukes ball is a potent one, and it was addressed with an innovative piece of captaincy by Graeme Hick. When Atherton fell for 15 with the ball still swinging, Chris Lewis was sent out to bat at number three as an effective new ball watchman. He did his job well, combining with Stewart in a partnership of 68. His promotion also served to artificially lengthen the batting line-up a little, with Smith, Hick and Thorpe coming in at four, five and six. They may have struggled far more at three, four and five against the swinging ball. Then again, they may not have, because for the second time in the match Alec Stewart didn't. He made no mistake about his 150 the second time around. Yet another excellent Test match for the world-class Surrey and England opener.

By the time the tail had subsided again, Pakistan were looking at a target of 212 to win and only three hours in which to score them. The touring team were not shy about going for the required runs, and with 80 minutes left in the game needed only 75 more runs to win. However, this rapid progress had come at the cost of many wickets: six of them. Sohail and Ahmed fell to Gough, then Anwar and Inzamam to Fraser and Tufnell respectively. Finally, Kabir (to Malcolm) and Wasim (to Tufnell again) had left the last recognised pair of batsmen at the crease: Salim Malik (not out on a buccaneering 64 from 59 balls) and Rashid Latif. By the end of one Devon Malcolm over, Malik was gone and Mushtaq Ahmed had followed. Sometimes there's just no substitute for raw pace.

From there, Phil Tufnell finished things up by spinning out the tail-enders to secure a memorable come-from-behind win for England; although Devon Malcolm bowled the over that turned the game around, it was Alec Stewart - the only English batsman to even make a fifty - whose 302 runs in the game even made it possible.

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 - 10 points (+5)
=2. Michael Atherton - 5 points
=2. Graeme Hick - 5 points
=2. Robin Smith - 5 points
5. Phil Tufnell - 4 points (+2)
=6. Angus Fraser - 3 points
=6. Devon Malcolm - 3 points (+3)
8. Darren Gough - 2 points
=9. Andy Caddick - 1 point
=9. Chris Lewis - 1 point (+1)

 

[Ed Smith]

You seem to be proving that consistency in selection is a good thing... who knew

 

[Aislabie]

You seem to be proving that consistency in selection is a good thing... who knew

Funny you should say that, because I'm thinking of using the Zimbabwe tour pretty much as an A-team series - but in Test cricket. So squad-wise, probably something like:

Spoiler: Possible squad

Graeme Hick

Mark Butcher
John Crawley
Nasser Hussain
Nick Knight
Mark Ramprakash
Graeme Thorpe

Richard Blakey

Mark Alleyne
Robert Croft
Craig White

Andy Caddick
Dominic Cork
Darren Gough
Dean Headley
Alan Mullally
Chris Silverwood

Peter Such

Like it's not awful, and a lot of these are the players who we'll be looking towards as the likes of Smith and Fraser start to fall away - but I'm not sure whether doing it this way (no Atherton, no Stewart, no Smith, no Lewis, no Russell, no Fraser, no Tufnell) would be too drastic

 

[Ed Smith]

I say you risk it and see how it goes. Imagine the Daily Mail headline if you lose though. Ooft.

 

[Aislabie]

England (1) vs (0) Pakistan - Second Test at Headingley

England XI
Michael Atherton
Alec Stewart
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Chris Lewis
Jack Russell
Darren Gough
Andy Caddick
Phil Tufnell
Devon Malcolm

Pakistan XI
Saeed Anwar
Shadab Kabir
Ijaz Ahmed
Inzamam ul-Haq
Saleem Malik
Asif Mujtaba
Wasim Akram
Moin Khan
Mushtaq Ahmed
Waqar Younis
Atta ur-Rehman

- - -

Pakistan win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Both sides arrived at Headingley looking slightly different to Lord's: for England, Angus Fraser made way for Andy Caddick, while for Pakistan Aamer Sohail and Rashid Latif were left out and Asif Mujtaba and Moin Khan preferred. Both sides had arrived with the obligatory seam-heavy attack, but the pre-toss match report suggested that a certain amount of spin could be expected. We shall see how this affects proceedings, other than by giving an advantage to whichever team wins the toss.

That team was Pakistan, who jumped at the chance to bat first. For 18 overs, the England bowlers struggled to make any inroads as Kabir in particular looked comfortable. That all changed with the introduction of fourth seamer Chris Lewis: in his first over he clean bowled Saeed Anwar, then had Ijaz Ahmed edging behind three balls later to complete a double-wicket maiden. Hell of a way to announce oneself. This created an opening for Devon Malcolm, who bounced out the new batsman Inzamam ul-Haq moments later; Pakistan having stumbled from 70 for none to 71 for three. From such a position, the counterattacking strokeplay of Saleem Malik was just what the doctor ordered, but he could only bat at one end so it was crucial that he received good support. To that end, he ran out Kabir before Tufnell, Caddick and Gough dispatched the lower order. The tail even out-Englanded England, with the bottom four batsmen combining for only one run.

After such an inspiring bowling performance, the English batsmen needed to step up and make it count. An unusual low score from Atherton prompted Hick to reuse the new ball watchman tactic from the first Test, and Chris Lewis came out at number three. He did his job, playing out an hour and a half of fast bowling for a courageous 34 that allowed Smith and Hick to capitalise on the older ball. Their century partnership was dominated by the England captain, whose free-flowing 72 was only brought to an end by the arrival of the second new ball and the return of Waqar Younis. At this point, the risk of England folding with only a slender advantage was real, but Andy Caddick played sensibly alongside Thorpe to avert the potential crisis, even as the surprising returns of Mujtaba's left-arm spin suggested that fourth innings batting could be tricky.

The last thing England needed was a big opening partnership for Pakistan. Gough dismissed Kabir to ensure that that did not occur, but the next-worst thing did: a big second-wicket partnership between Ijaz Ahmed and Saeed Anwar. The pair added a dominant century stand, and even when Caddick removed Anwar for 66, the problem wasn't dealt with. Finding some support from Inzamam and Saleem Malik, Ijaz breezed his way to a match-turning 111. Although Gough and Caddick did wrest back some control (indeed, they ran roughshod over the Pakistani middle and lower order to claim nine wickets between them), a target of 263 under thick Yorkshire cloud is not in any way an inviting proposition.

To cut a long story short, England didn't get close. Wasim and Waqar made mincemeat of the top order, sending back Stewart (7), Lewis (1), Smith (13) and Thorpe (4) cheaply. Graeme Hick also made matters worse by running himself out for four. And remember what I said before about the Headingley pitch taking more turn than usual? Well, with the prospect of a spin-phobic English tail, Mushtaq Ahmed took full advantage. Even the momentary fun of Darren Gough smashing him for two fours and a six failed to penetrate the descending gloom on the English balcony as none of the batsmen from Hick downwards managed to survive more than Caddick's ten balls faced. Michael Atherton, who carried his bat at the other end without offering a chance, can not have been amused.

Heading to the Oval, England now absolutely cannot afford to lose if they want to retain the Bannerman Shield.

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 - 10 points
=2. Michael Atherton - 6 points (+1)
=2. Graeme Hick - 5 points
=2. Robin Smith - 5 points
=5. Phil Tufnell - 4 points
=5. Andy Caddick - 4 points (+3)
=7. Angus Fraser - 3 points
=7. Devon Malcolm - 3 points
=7. Darren Gough - 3 points (+1)
10. Chris Lewis - 1 points

 

[Aislabie]

England (1) vs (1) Pakistan - Third Test at The Oval

England XI
Michael Atherton
Alec Stewart
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Chris Lewis
Jack Russell
Darren Gough
Andy Caddick
Phil Tufnell
Devon Malcolm

Pakistan XI
Saeed Anwar
Aamer Sohail
Ijaz Ahmed
Inzamam ul-Haq
Saleem Malik
Asif Mujtaba
Wasim Akram
Moin Khan
Mushtaq Ahmed
Waqar Younis
Mohammad Akram

- - -

Pakistan win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

The saying goes that you cannot change a winning team, but someone should have told these two teams. England, despite their 170-run mauling, gave a vote of confidence to the same eleven players who'd just been bowled out for 92 - although Hick did confirm that Chris Lewis would not be sent out to bat at number three this time. Pakistan made two changes though - Kabir and Atta ur-Rehman went out of the side and made way for Aamer Sohail and Mohammad Akram. In short, Pakistan strengthened their winning team. They also won the toss and chose to bowl first under extremely heavy skies.

Although the rain restricted the first day to only three hours of play, England still found themselves decimated in that time: they finished the day at 63 for five with all of their main batsmen dismissed and none for scores of more then 10. After coming together at 35 for five, Lewis and Russell staged an admirable recovery job to steer the team to a total of 126, but that's not enough to bowl at unless something extraordinary happens.

Something extraordinary did not happen: despite a disciplined five-over spell that rewarded Lewis with one wicket for only five runs, Pakistan passed the English total with eight wickets still in hand. The main objective for England at that point became damage limitation. And as it turned out, the damage was not limited: a century for Inzamam, made alongside Aamer Sohail (85) and Saleem Malik (who made most of his 92 after Inzamam's dismissal) left England staring down the barrel of a hopeless 331-run deficit. Even the definite positive of a tireless five-wicket haul for Darren Gough in which he dismissed Ijaz, Malik, Wasim, Mushtaq and Waqar could not change the fact that England were now entirely left to play for the draw with two full days left in the match.

Such a task is Mike Atherton's natural habitat, but he fell not to the fast bowling of Wasim or Waqar, but to the weirdly effective left-arm spin of Mujtaba. This would be a pattern as the English batsmen successfully nullified the main threat, only to make errors against the spinners. The top five actually did do very well, but the routine lack of meaningful contributions from number six and below has been a big weakness in this team for a while, and at last is has shown itself to be a fatal one. Despite his admirable bowling performances, Chris Lewis may find his position in the side under threat as England seek to find a better balance in the hope of retaining the Ashes and regaining the Bannerman Shield.

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 - 10 points
2. Robin Smith - 8 points (+3)
3. Michael Atherton - 6 points
=4. Graeme Hick - 5 points
=4. Darren Gough - 5 points (+2)
=6. Phil Tufnell - 4 points
=6. Andy Caddick - 4 points
=7. Angus Fraser - 3 points
=7. Devon Malcolm - 3 points
=10. Chris Lewis - 1 point
=10. Jack Russell - 1 point (+1)

The mood around the England camp was not one of celebration, but amidst the sobriety was a moment of recognition for Alec Stewart, whose reward for another excellent season at the top of the order was to win the Barrington Medal for the second consecutive time.

 

[Ed Smith]

Well. That escalated quickly.

 

[Aislabie]

Well. That escalated quickly.

It's funny, almost as if losing 20 wickets for 218 in the middle of your Test series isn't the best strategy.

Honestly I was more or less powerless, as both innings took place almost entirely under Cricket Captain's cloudiest weather setting against Wasim and Waqar. Mushtaq then came on each time and obliterated the tailenders. It's disappointing of course, but something like this probably needed to happen to alert the selectors that sometimes having Lewis and Russell at six and seven can be a problem.

Losing eight wickets at 15.50 apiece to Asif Mujtaba was just embarrassing though, and was the biggest giveaway that we were a broken team. It improves his entire career record to 12 wickets at 35.08, rather than the four wickets at 75.75 he achieved in real life - and it's probably even worse because I'm pretty sure he took wickets against us in past series.