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

[Aislabie]

West Indies (0) vs (3) England - Fifth Test at St John's

West Indies XI
Clayton Lambert
Philo Wallace
Junior Murray
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Carl Hooper
Roland Holder
David Williams
Franklyn Rose
Curtly Ambrose
Dinanath Ramnarine
Courtney Walsh

England XI
Mike Atherton
Alec Stewart
Nick Knight
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Ben Hollioake
Paul Nixon (debut)
Dominic Cork
Andy Caddick
Darren Gough
Phil Tufnell

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

With the series good and done, both teams made wholesale changes to their teams. For England, Ben Hollioake was to be given an opportunity to become familiar with the all-rounder's role at number six, batting ahead of three players making their first appearances of the series: Paul Nixon on Test debut as Jack Russell's hips are given a rest, Dominic Cork and Andy Caddick. Gough and Tufnell both retain their places from the previous game, though there had been rumours that Robert Croft might get the nod as the spinner for this Test. The West Indies meanwhile look a shadow of themselves without Brian Lara: in for him comes Junior Murray to bat at number three in lieu of anyone more specialist to do the job; in the bowling department, both Franklyn Rose and spinner Ramnaraine come into the side, while Ambrose and Walsh continue to play despite the dead rubber.

On a pitch that did not look as flat as usual at the Recreation Ground, Graeme Hick chose to get first use of a wicket that could well age quite poorly. Freed from the responsibility to fight for the series, the English batters were able to play freely - none moreso than Hick himself, who made the most of the platform laid by yet another Atherton-Stewart century stand to assemble a free-flowing innings of 135. Also impressive were Nick Knight (93) and the aforementioned openers, who made 42 (Atherton) and 61 (Stewart) respectively. The one glaring disappointment for England will be that they managed to turn an impregnable position of strength at 327 for two (and later 353 for three) into a less than stellar 383 all out. Hollioake looked as if number six might be a position or two too high for him at this stage in his career, while Nixon and the tail-enders just fell away after he was dismissed. The main benefactor of this collapse was Curtly Ambrose, who picked up three cheap scalps to turn around a spell that had hitherto been wicketless.

So how would the increasingly makeshift West Indian batting fare against the second-string English bowlers? Not especially well is the pretty obvious answer. The pace of Gough and the movement of Caddick and Cork was entirely overwhelming for all but two of the West Indian batting order: Chanderpaul (57) and Hooper (54 not out) were alone in demonstrating their Test quality. Cork gratefully accepted his maiden Test five-for, claiming the wickets of Murray (21), Chanderpaul (57), Holder (6), Williams (0) and Ramnarine (13). There really isn't much to note about this innings, although Paul Nixon will be grateful to have finished his first stint behind the stumps at this level with one catch (Philo Wallace), no drops and no byes conceded. The West Indian total was almost exactly half of England's: 192 all out, a deficit of 191.

With more than half of the Test still to go, there was plenty of time for England to bat again. And despite the increasingly difficult conditions, Graeme Hick was the star yet again: Alec Stewart (69) and Nick Knight (40) both completed the Test match with their second good contribution each, but both were left in the shade by Captain Hick's second century of the game. He rode out the often difficult conditions to make it all the way to exactly 100 not out, whereupon he immediately declared the innings closed. With him by that point was Ben Hollioake, who managed to compile a confidence-boosting 37 not out for his trouble. Ambrose and Walsh, meanwhile, will be feeling the pain of bowling dozens more overs while Hick added yet another Test century as England captain.

The England bowlers had five sessions in which to do their work, 462 runs to play with, and a worn out pitch to bowl on. It's the sort of situation bowlers dream of, regardless of who's taking strike against them. Almost every England bowler filled their boots: Andy Caddick claimed the early wickets of Philo Wallace and Carl Hooper, Darren Gough picked up Clayton Lambert and Junior Murray, while Dominic Cork added another four scalps to his match tally in the form of Holder, Williams, Rose and Ambrose. So keen was Hick to ensure that Cork picked up his second bag of five that he removed Tufnell from the attack and replaced him with himself - only for Walsh to drag a wide delivery onto his stumps for the captain's first Test wicket in years.

Regardless, it completed a four-nil drubbing that could have been entirely different if the first couple of Tests hadn't gone England's way. It really is the way that when a team makes a habit of winning it becomes very hard to stop them from doing that.

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. Graeme Hick - 8 points (+5)
=. Graham Thorpe - 8 points
3. Alec Stewart - 6 points (+1)
4. Darren Gough - 5 points
=. Ben Hollioake - 5 points
=. Jack Russell - 5 points
7. Michael Atherton - 3 points
=. Dominic Cork - 3 points (+3)
9. Nick Knight - 2 points (+2)
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points
11. Robert Croft - 1 point
=. Dean Headley - 1 point
=. Alan Mullally - 1 point

Although Graham Thorpe and Graeme Hick are tied on Barrington Medal points, it has been decided that the medal be awarded to the England captain in light of his three excellent centuries in the series.

 

[ddrap14]

Clayton Lambert
Philo Wallace
Brian Lara
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Roland Holder
Carl Hooper

Half of this is elite and half of this is 'elite'
Edit: I posted this before looking at the Windies' team for the fifth test and all I can say is that is somehow a top order that I'd expect to do worse than England did on Wednesday

 

[Aislabie]

World Test Rankings, as of 31 Mar 1998
Minumum qualification: 5 series

Rank	Team	Rating
1	England	767
2	Australia	714
3	Pakistan	625
4	South Africa	607
5	West Indies	538
6	India	393
7	Sri Lanka	344
8	New Zealand	250
9	Zimbabwe	150

*If two teams are level on points, their head-to-head against each other is taken into consideration

Spoiler: Australia

Opp.	Home	Away
	L (1-0)	D (2-2)
	W (4-0)	L (2-1)
	W (2-0)	D (1-1)
	W (2-1)	L (1-0)
	W (1-0)	W (2-1)
	W (3-0)	W (1-0)
	W (3-2)	W (2-1)
	-	-

Spoiler: England

Opp.	Home	Away
	D (2-2)	W (1-0)
	W (2-0)	W (2-1)
	W (1-0)	W (2-0)
	L (2-1)	L (1-0)
	W (1-0)	L (2-1)
	W (1-0)	W (1-0)
	W (3-1)	W (4-0)
	-	W (3-0)

Spoiler: India

Opp.	Home	Away
	W (2-1)	L (4-0)
	L (2-1)	L (2-0)
	W (1-0)	D (0-0)
	L (1-0)	D (0-0)
	W (2-1)	L (2-0)
	D (0-0)	D (0-0)
	D (1-1)	L (1-0)
	-	-

Spoiler: New Zealand

Opp.	Home	Away
	D (1-1)	L (2-0)
	L (2-0)	L (1-0)
	D (0-0)	L (1-0)
	L (1-0)	D (1-1)
	L (1-0)	L (2-1)
	W (2-0)	L (1-0)
	L (1-0)	L (1-0)
	W (2-0)	D (0-0)

Spoiler: Pakistan

Opp.	Home	Away
	W (1-0)	L (2-1)
	W (1-0)	W (2-1)
	D (0-0)	W (1-0)
	D (1-1)	W (1-0)
	L (1-0)	D (1-1)
	L (2-1)	D (0-0)
	W (3-0)	L (2-0)
	W (1-0)	W (1-0)

Spoiler: South Africa

Opp.	Home	Away
	L (2-1)	L (1-0)
	W (2-1)	L (1-0)
	W (2-0)	L (2-1)
	W (2-1)	W (1-0)
	D (1-1)	W (1-0)
	W (2-0)	W (1-0)
	-	L (1-0)
	-	W (1-0)

Spoiler: Sri Lanka

Opp.	Home	Away
	L (1-0)	L (3-0)
	L (1-0)	L (1-0)
	D (0-0)	D (0-0)
	W (1-0)	L (2-0)
	D (0-0)	W (2-1)
	L (1-0)	L (2-0)
	D (0-0)	L (1-0)
	W (2-0)	D (0-0)

Spoiler: West Indies

Opp.	Home	Away
	L (2-1)	L (3-2)
	L (4-0)	L (3-1)
	W (1-0)	D (1-1)
	W (1-0)	W (1-0)
	W (2-0)	L (3-0)
	W (1-0)	-
	W (1-0)	D (0-0)
	-	-

Spoiler: Zimbabwe

Opp.	Home	Away
	-	-
	L (3-0)	-
	D (0-0)	L (1-0)
	D (0-0)	L (2-0)
	L (1-0)	L (1-0)
	L (1-0)	-
	D (0-0)	L (2-0)
	-	-

South Africa are the Bannerman Shield holders

Spoiler: Bannerman Shield Roll of Honour

Champion Team as of 29 Jan 1975: West Indies

• Won 2-1 against India
• Won 2-1 against Pakistan
• Won 3-1 against Australia
• Won 2-0 against England
• Won 2-0 against India
• Won 3-0 against Australia
• Won 2-0 against New Zealand
• Won 5-0 against England
• Drew 1-1 against Pakistan
• Won 3-0 against India
• Drew 2-2 against England (playthrough starts here)
• Won 2-1 against Australia
• Won 1-0 against South Africa
• Won 2-0 against Pakistan
• Lost 2-1 against England

Champion Team as of 21 Apr 1994: England

• Won 1-0 against New Zealand
• Won 1-0 against South Africa
• Won 3-1 against West Indies
• Won 2-0 against India
• Lost 2-1 against Pakistan

Champion Team as of 25 Aug 1996: Pakistan

• Won 1-0 against Zimbabwe
• Drew 1-1 against New Zealand
• Lost 1-0 against South Africa

Champion Team as of 27 Oct 1997: South Africa

• Drew 1-1 against Pakistan
• Won 2-0 against Sri Lanka
• Won 5-0 against West Indies
• Won 2-0 against Zimbabwe
• South Africa vs England Test series (5 matches), 1999-00

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. Phil Tufnell - 354 wickets @ 28.14 (26 5WI, best 8/114)
3. Bob Willis - 325 wickets @ 25.20 (16 5WI, best 8/43)

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 , 1996
Alec Stewart - 149
Alec Stewart - 153
Robin Smith - 104*

vs , 1996-97
Nick Knight - 247
Graham Thorpe - 106

vs , 1996-97
Graeme Hick - 110
Craig White - 104*

vs , 1997
Graham Thorpe - 116
Graeme Hick - 126*
Graeme Hick - 172*

vs , 1997-98
Graeme Hick - 115
Graham Thorpe - 100
Alec Stewart - 159*
Michael Atherton - 107
Graeme Hick - 135
Graeme Hick - 100*


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

vs , 1996
Andy Caddick - 5 for 69
Darren Gough - 5 for 117

vs , 1996-97
Alan Mullally - 6 for 94
Andy Caddick - 7 for 53
Craig White - 7 for 63

vs , 1996-97
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 83

vs , 1997
Dean Headley - 5 for 75
Dean Headley - 5 for 49
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 92

vs , 1997-98
Ben Hollioake - 5 for 53
Ben Hollioake - 5 for 74
Robert Croft - 5 for 117
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 38
Dominic Cork - 5 for 59

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	vs (5), 1997
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	vs (4), 1997-98
Angus Fraser	537	v (3), 1989	vs (2), 1997
Mike Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	vs (5), 1997-98
Devon Malcolm	539	v (5), 1989	v (3), 1996
Alan Igglesden	540	v (6), 1989	only Test
- - - - - - - - - -	- - -	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -
Alec Stewart	542	v (1), 1989-90	vs (5), 1997-98
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	vs (5), 1997-98
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	vs (5), 1997-98
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 (3), 1996-97
Ian Salisbury	549	v (1), 1992-93	only Test
Mark Ramprakash	550	v (2), 1992-93	vs (4), 1997-98
Dermot Reeve	551	v (3), 1992-93	only Test
Andy Caddick	552	v (2), 1993	vs (5), 1997-98
Nasser Hussain	553	v (3), 1993	vs (4), 1997
Mark Ilott	554	v (4), 1993-94	only Test
Graham Thorpe	555	v (4), 1993-94	vs (5), 1997-98
Darren Gough	556	v (1), 1994	vs (5), 1997-98
Dominic Cork	557	v (2), 1994	vs (5), 1997-98
Richard Blakey	558	v (3), 1994	v (3), 1996-97
Glen Chapple	559	v (4), 1994-95	v (1), 1996-97
Richard Johnson	560	v (2), 1995	only Test
Mark Alleyne	561	v (5), 1995	v (3), 1996-97
Robert Croft	562	v (5), 1995-96	vs (3), 1997-98
Nick Knight	563	v (5), 1995-96	vs (5), 1997-98
Mark Butcher	564	v (1), 1996-97	vs (3), 1997-98
Alan Mullally	565	v (1), 1996-97	vs (4), 1997-98
John Crawley	566	v (2), 1996-97	v (3), 1996-97
Dean Headley	567	v (2), 1996-97	vs (2), 1997-98
Craig White	568	v (2), 1996-97	vs (3), 1997-98
Ben Hollioake	569	vs (3), 1997	vs (5), 1997-98
Paul Nixon	570	vs (5), 1997-98	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	34	19	0	8	7	v (2), 1992-93	vs (5), 1997-98

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mark Alleyne	4	7	2	95	19.00	-	1	56*	4	-
Mike Atherton	61	115	9	4639	43.76	10	21	242	40	-
Rob Bailey	15	28	1	815	30.19	1	2	196	15	-
Martin Bicknell	4	4	0	65	16.25	-	-	48	2	-
Richard Blakey	4	8	2	166	27.67	-	1	50*	11	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	176	7	5656	33.47	14	25	208	135	-
Mark Butcher	5	10	0	174	17.40	-	1	55	4	-
Andy Caddick	19	22	2	258	12.90	-	-	37*	3	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Glen Chapple	3	5	1	73	18.25	-	-	30	1	-
Dominic Cork	15	20	3	352	20.71	-	1	72	8	-
John Crawley	2	4	0	58	14.50	-	-	37	-	-
Robert Croft	4	4	0	115	28.75	-	1	54	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	58	79	11	643	9.46	-	-	34	9	-
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	21	28	9	291	15.32	-	-	35*	2	-
David Gower (RET)	124	215	17	8506	42.96	15	47	215	75	-
Dean Headley	11	18	5	136	10.46	-	-	24	-	-
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	19	3	332	20.75	-	1	95	4	-
Graeme Hick	71	130	10	5191	43.26	14	27	172*	101	-
Ben Hollioake	8	14	2	328	27.33	-	2	60	6	-
Nasser Hussain	9	15	1	340	24.29	-	2	68	18	-
Alan Igglesden (RET)	1	1	1	2	-	-	-	2*	1	-
Mark Ilott	1	2	2	26	-	-	-	25*	-	-
Paul Jarvis (RET)	10	15	4	189	17.18	-	-	35*	1	-
Richard Johnson	1	1	0	1	1.00	-	-	1	-	-
Nick Knight	6	11	0	643	58.45	1	3	247	7	-
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 (RET)	2	2	0	6	3.00	-	-	4	-	-
Chris Lewis (RET)	56	90	12	1973	25.29	1	7	114*	61	-
Devon Malcolm	37	50	13	233	6.30	-	-	21*	11	-
Matt Maynard	1	2	0	13	6.50	-	-	10	-	-
Alan Mullally	13	15	6	70	7.78	-	-	15	3	-
Phil Newport (RET)	2	3	0	70	23.33	-	-	36	1	-
Paul Nixon	1	1	0	15	15.00	-	-	15	2	-
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	36	3	512	15.51	-	2	66	7	-
Mark Ramprakash	18	34	2	1047	32.72	1	9	100*	1	-
Dermot Reeve (RET)	1	2	0	12	6.00	-	-	6	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	71	6	2362	36.33	4	12	175	14	-
Jack Russell	89	148	35	3798	33.61	1	21	128*	236	25
Ian Salisbury	1	1	0	21	21.00	-	-	21	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Robin Smith (RET)	82	152	17	6662	49.32	19	34	204	20	-
Alec Stewart	64	125	7	5499	46.60	16	20	200	16	-
Peter Such	12	15	7	47	5.88	-	-	14*	5	-
Graham Thorpe	30	54	9	2091	46.47	6	10	116	19	-
Phil Tufnell	73	92	17	412	5.49	-	-	36	19	-
Steve Watkin	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-
Craig White	13	22	3	660	34.74	1	4	104*	3	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mark Alleyne	4	109	307	10	30.70	2.8	-	-	2/27
Mike Atherton	61	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	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Mark Butcher	5	2	5	1	5.00	2.0	-	-	1/0
Andy Caddick	19	783	2134	67	31.85	2.7	2	-	7/53
David Capel (RET)	11	209	628	12	52.33	3.0	-	-	2/13
Glen Chapple	3	128	398	6	66.33	3.1	-	-	3/99
Dominic Cork	15	557	1582	48	32.96	2.8	1	-	5/59
John Crawley	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Robert Croft	4	140	437	12	36.42	3.1	1	-	5/117
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	58	2364	5808	176	33.00	2.5	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	21	816	2226	58	38.38	2.7	2	-	5/50
David Gower (RET)	124	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Dean Headley	11	480	1295	43	30.11	2.7	2	-	5/49
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	71	201	658	14	47.00	3.3	-	-	3/38
Ben Hollioake	8	256	770	25	30.80	3.0	2	-	5/53
Nasser Hussain	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Igglesden (RET)	1	37	146	3	48.67	3.9	-	-	2/91
Mark Ilott	1	38	127	1	127.00	3.3	-	-	1/106
Paul Jarvis (RET)	10	359	1069	26	41.12	3.0	-	-	4/50
Richard Johnson	1	44	155	0	-	3.5	-	-	-
Nick Knight	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	5	23	1	23.00	4.6	-	-	1/6
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Syd Lawrence (RET)	2	68	223	4	55.75	3.3	-	-	2/74
Chris Lewis (RET)	56	1580	4266	123	34.68	2.7	1	-	6/70
Devon Malcolm	37	1292	4195	137	30.62	3.2	6	-	7/86
Matt Maynard	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Mullally	13	478	1142	41	27.85	2.4	1	-	6/94
Phil Newport (RET)	2	92	339	9	37.66	3.7	-	-	4/87
Paul Nixon	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	625	1807	48	37.64	2.9	2	-	5/95
Mark Ramprakash	18	1	2	0	-	2.0	-	-	-
Dermot Reeve (RET)	1	14	39	0	-	2.8	-	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	1	0	0	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell	89	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	1	13	76	0	-	5.9	-	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith (RET)	82	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	64	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such	12	572	1669	50	33.38	2.9	2	-	8/47
Graham Thorpe	25	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	73	3403	9963	354	28.14	2.9	26	5	8/114
Steve Watkin	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56
Craig White	13	430	1130	43	26.28	2.6	1	-	7/63

​

Rankings, records and career stats are all updated. England are still narrowly the world's number one team, but the Australians are coming. South Africa have nabbed the Bannerman Shield off Pakistan. Phil Tufnell passes 350 career wickets.

Post automatically merged: Dec 10, 2021

Half of this is elite and half of this is 'elite'
Edit: I posted this before looking at the Windies' team for the fifth test and all I can say is that is somehow a top order that I'd expect to do worse than England did on Wednesday

Yeah; Goughy ruling Lara out with injury wasn't in the script. Junior Murray came in as keeper in real life, but given how David Williams had been performing in this series it seemed realistic that the selectors would allow him to keep his place; scarily there is also real-life precedent for Junior Murray, Test specialist batter. (I'm a bit sad not to be able to play against Lincoln Roberts though)

 

[Aislabie]

South Africa Tour of England, 1998

Itinerary
04 Jun 1998 - England vs South Africa at Edgbaston - Match drawn
18 Jun 1998 - England vs South Africa at Lord's - South Africa won by an innings and 47 runs
02 Jul 1998 - England vs South Africa at Old Trafford - England won by 10 wickets
23 Jul 1998 - England vs South Africa at at Trent Bridge - South Africa won by 246 runs
06 Aug 1998 - England vs South Africa at Headingley - South Africa won by 7 wickets

England Squad

Graeme Hick

Mike Atherton
John Crawley
Nasser Hussain
Nick Knight
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe

Paul Nixon
Jack Russell

Robert Croft
Ben Hollioake
Craig White

Andy Caddick
Dominic Cork
Darren Gough
Dean Headley
Alan Mullally

Phil Tufnell

After a tremendous tour of the West Indies, there are very few changes to the squad. Those two changes are also pretty self-explanatory: Mark Butcher (who wasn't on debut like I thought he was) and Mark Ramprakash find themselves on the outer, while Nasser Hussain - considered by the coaching staff to have excellent leadership potential - and John Crawley come back into the team, the latter of whom has been dominant in the County Championship. Robert Croft and Phil Tufnell remain the top two spinning choices despite some noticeable performances from Ashley Giles of Warwickshire, while the pace battery remains unchanged after a collectively stellar winter.

Jack Russell has also announced that this will be his final Test series, as the pain in his back and hips is becoming incapacitating.

 

[Aislabie]

England vs South Africa - First Test at Edgbaston

England XI
Mike Atherton
Alec Stewart
Nick Knight
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
John Crawley
Jack Russell
Dominic Cork
Dean Headley
Phil Tufnell
Alan Mullally

South African XI
Gary Kirsten
Gerhardus Liebenberg
Jacques Kallis
Daryll Cullinan
Hansie Cronje
Jonty Rhodes
Shaun Pollock
Mark Boucher
Lance Klusener
Allan Donald
Paul Adams

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

The team selections for the opening Test match of this series were a tale of all-rounders: South Africa's team was full of them with Kallis, Cronje, Pollock and Klusener all crammed in; England opted to omit both White and Hollioake from the team, preferring the batting form of John Crawley to bolster the team against a feared bowling attack. It will be interesting to see which of those approaches serves them better on what looks like a very flat Edgbaston wicket, of which England have first use - Graeme Hick again proving his pedigree as an excellent tosser.

Even on the very flattest pitches, Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock are a problematic proposition as an opening batter. On this particular occasion, Michael Atherton couldn't quite stand up to the challenge - clean bowled by Donald for four. Stewart (61) and Knight (36) rebuilt before lunch, although they never looked entirely comfortable and Knight fell immediately after the interval. This brought to the wicket the England captain, who has in recent years begun to assert himself as England's leading batter since Gooch: Graeme Hick. Hick offered the bowlers absolutely nothing: no loose shots, nothing catchable - only twice did the bowlers even get so much as a sniff of an LBW appeal. Even as the lower middle-order crumbled, Hick remained unruffled, and found an ally in Dominic Cork at number eight. The Derbyshire man applied himself admirably to grind out an unexpected 70, which was more than enough to see his captain past yet another England century, and his team well past 400.

Compared to Kirsten, Atherton and Stewart, Gerhardus Liebenberg doesn't strike so much as a flicker of concern in the heart of an opposition fast bowler. His was a wicket that was gratefully accepted by the pick of England's bowlers, Dean Headley. This proved to be the first of the Kent man's five wickets: he would go on to add Kallis, Kirsten, Pollock and Boucher to his haul, but all of those batters except Pollock made telling contributions. Although the headlines will no doubt be about the deep South African batting (Boucher scored 74 and Klusener 67 from numbers eight and nine respectively), they should really be about how Gary Kirsten wore down the English bowling to such an extent that England had no choice but to turn to Graeme Hick and even the slow medium pace of Graham Thorpe to offer some respite to the four-man battery. Given Crawley's meagre contribution of just 22 runs, the non-selection of a fifth bowling option may yet come to be regarded as a mistake.

After assembling a 60-run lead, Hansie Cronje opted to declare the South African innings with just over a day's play left. Unfortunately the wicket was still deader than Tutankhamun, and no amount of probing line and length was about to change that. Atherton (71 not out), Stewart (38), Knight (62) and Hick (11 not out) were all perfectly content to play the game out for a draw and indeed provided a masterclass in doing so. They played sensible, low-risk cricket until such a point as even the most cussed Klusener counter-attack couldn't hurt the home side, then promptly declared the innings. It left a few dead overs to bowl before the game was officially done, but that didn't take too long.

One Test down, four to go; the series still poised at nil-nil.

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. Graeme Hick - 3 points (+3)
2. Dean Headley - 2 points (+2)
3. Nick Knight - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

Can I also say that it is only at this point that I've realised I can do two and four Test series without any trouble - I just set the game up for a three or five Test series, but stop when I'm done. Literally a year of playing the game this way, and thousands of hours of total gameplay and I have only just had this thought.



I'm not sure I want to do this though, because I was hoping to stat-pad with some three-Test series against Bangladesh in the early 2000s

 

[Aislabie]

England (0) vs (0) South Africa - Second Test at Lord's

England XI
Mike Atherton
Alec Stewart
Nick Knight
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Craig White
Jack Russell
Dominic Cork
Dean Headley
Phil Tufnell
Alan Mullally

South African XI
Adam Bacher
Gary Kirsten
Jacques Kallis
Daryll Cullinan
Hansie Cronje
Jonty Rhodes
Shaun Pollock
Mark Boucher
Lance Klusener
Allan Donald
Paul Adams

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

After a bat-dominated first Test, each team made one change ahead of Lord's: for England, this change was to bring in Craig White as an all-round option at number six; for South Africa, this was to replace Gerhardus Liebenberg with Adam Bacher at the top of the order. After losing only nine wickets in the Test, South Africa strengthened their batting. That sure is a statement of intent to grind one's opposition into the dirt.

To make matters worse, the English batting did not respond well to South African fast bowling. The heavy London cloud helped Klusener find ample movement through the air, helping himself to an attack-leading four wickets: the most important was that of captain Graeme Hick for only 10 - the other three were England's three tail-end bowlers, for a total of 10 runs. The other six recognised batters were shared evenly between Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald, who each recorded identical figures of 22 overs, 3 maidens, 3 wickets for 44 runs. Not one Englishman managed to score a fifty. It was dire.

Even worse for England, when their bowlers got to work there was absolutely no sign of the snakepit that their batters had tried to score runs on. Instead, Adam Bacher and Gary Kirsten put together a huge 155-run opening stand: Bacher's 80 was his third-highest score in Tests, and the third time he'd come so far only to fall short of scoring that elusive Test century. Kirsten made no such error, even after the miniature collapse of three for 21 that had followed Bacher's dismissal. He fought his way to a vital 131 before finally being trapped LBW by Dean Headley - England's second and final wicket by a fast bowler in this Test. Despite already being well behind in the game, England fell still further: as South Africa's lead approached 200 and captain Cronje continued confidently compiling runs, Hick decided that enough was enough. He turned to spin at both ends - his own, and that of Tufnell. Hick even managed to pick up three handy wickets before the visitors reached the 500 mark - at which point, Cronje called them in. Two declarations in as many Tests.

With half of the Test match still remaining, all England could do was get their heads down and bat, and hope it could be enough. England's go-to man in such situations, the usually stoic Michael Atherton, fell to the wiles of Allan Donald for the third time in four innings. Indeed, the only contribution of note in the team's second innings came from Nick Knight: the tall left-hander has really begun to look at home as a Test player, and he compiled an excellent second Test century against bowling none of his teammates could handle. Stewart's 32, Thorpe's 31 and Hick's 28 were the nearest that anybody else could get to matching Knight's standards, and that was absolutely not near enough to avoid a soul-crushing innings defeat for the home side at the Home of Cricket.

Graeme Hick's England have recovered from starts like this before, but quite how they will go about doing so against such a dominant team remains to be seen.

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. Nick Knight - 4 points (+3)
=. Dean Headley - 4 points (+2)
3. Graeme Hick - 3 points
4. Alec Stewart - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

England (0) vs (1) South Africa - Third Test at Old Trafford

England XI
Mike Atherton
Alec Stewart
Nick Knight
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
John Crawley
Jack Russell
Robert Croft
Andy Caddick
Darren Gough
Dean Headley

South African XI
Gary Kirsten
Gerhardus Liebenberg
Jacques Kallis
Daryll Cullinan
Hansie Cronje
Jonty Rhodes
Lance Klusener
Mark Boucher
Allan Donald
Paul Adams
Makhaya Ntini

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bowl

- - -

With England reeling from the dismal result of the second Test, it seemed vitally important that South Africa keep up the pressure to quash any thoughts of the home side staging a comeback in the series. In that quest, they made a couple of changes: Adam Bacher, despite his excellent efforts in the second Test, missed out again while the injured Shaun Pollock was replaced by the pacy Makhaya Ntini. Lance Klusener looks likely to benefit from that too as he is promoted to number seven. For England though, the changes were many and necessary: the dishevelled bowling attack was almost entirely replaced, with only Dean Headley retaining his place from the Second Test. Better, in the eyes of the English selectors, to pick players who are fresh and unscarred by that experience.

After winning the toss, Graeme Hick looked upwards rather than downwards and his conclusions were clear: under thick Manchester cloud, he asked South Africa to bat first. The cloud was so thick in fact that rain forced the players into taking regular breaks from the cricket, but when they were on the field it was the recalled Gough who made an early statement by dismissing the in-form Kirsten for a tortuous 15-ball duck. Liebenberg (LBW to Headley for 9) and Cullinan (bowled by Gough for 5) would follow him before the players took an early tea break with England firmly in the driving seat. The impressive Jacques Kallis attempted to wrest back momentum, but found himself thwarted by Gough, caught behind after making 60 of South Africa's 94 runs to that point. Had it not been for the fight and determination shown by the South African captain, England would have been able to count themselves as firm favourites in the match. Instead, Cronje's excellent unbeaten 117 was the cornerstone to a substantial recovery: by the time Darren Gough took his fourth and England's tenth wicket, the tourists had recovered to a respectable 286.

The clouds hadn't cleared over Old Trafford though, and in that time Allan Donald in particular made the ball talk - his swing, pace and bounce were too much for Michael Atherton, and he edged to the slips as a result. Worse was to follow as Alec Stewart was prised out by first-change Lance Klusener for 25: another first innings deficit in this Test could put paid to England's series ambitions. Again though, Warwickshire's Nick Knight stood up to be counted at an all-important point in the game. The left-hander had a torrid time of things early in his innings, playing and missing time after time and even finding the boundary with a perilous edge past his leg stump. But when the sun broke through the cloud, he made those early struggles count and began to find the boundary with a succession of classy drives and pulls. As he so often does for his county team, he made it all the way to three figures yet again in what really is becoming a breakout series for him. The only other English batter to go past 30 was another left-hander, but Graeme Thorpe too went big once he'd got himself in: the Surrey man scored slightly more slowly to record a century of his own. As a result of these two contibutions, the home side managed to earn a 100-run lead that they would most certainly want to convert into an easy run-chase.

There was no pair for Gary Kirsten, but that didn't stop him from being dismissed early. This time it was Dean Headley who dismissed him for only 13. This was part of a fiery opening spell in which the grandson of George picked up the first three wickets to fall - Liebenberg (10) and Cullinan (9) also among his victims. When Caddick added the wicket of Cronje and Headley returned for the final over of the day to remove Rhodes, England still led by 20 runs with only five more opposition wickets to take. The biggest delay to their progress was not the South African batting, but the English rain that delayed the start of play until it was absolutely done. Once it passed, Headley and Caddick couldn't find the rhythm that had been available to them earlier in the innings, and a great deal of responsibility fell the way of Darren Gough. He responded to it admirably, taking four of the remaining five wickets, saving one tail-ender for Headley to complete his match haul of ten.

The resulting target of 132 was not expected to pose much of a challenge to England with an entire day in which to score it, and so it proved: for the first time in the series, both Atherton and Stewart looked completely comfortable and the pair used 47 of the overs available to them to complete the chase without losing a wicket, just prior to the scheduled tea interval. With the series all square at 1-1, who knows that the last two matches have in store.

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. Dean Headley - 9 points (+5)
2. Nick Knight - 7 points (+3)
3. Graeme Hick - 3 points
4. Darren Gough - 2 points (+2)
5. Alec Stewart - 1 point
=. Graham Thorpe - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

England (1) vs (1) South Africa - Fourth Test at Trent Bridge

England XI
Mike Atherton
Alec Stewart
Nick Knight
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Nasser Hussain
Jack Russell
Robert Croft
Darren Gough
Dean Headley
Phil Tufnell

South African XI
Gary Kirsten
Gerhardus Liebenberg
Jacques Kallis
Daryll Cullinan
Hansie Cronje
Jonty Rhodes
Shaun Pollock
Mark Boucher
Steve Elworthy
Allan Donald
Paul Adams

- - -

South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first

- - -

So dry was the Trent Bridge pitch when the two teams arrived on the eve of the game that the home side sent for an extra spinner: Phil Tufnell came back into the side alongside Glamorgan's Robert Croft. For South Africa Steve Elworthy replaced Makhaya Ntini in a selection decision with absolutely no racial undertones whatsoever. Lance Klusener also missed out to make way for a fit-again Shaun Pollock. Clearly, neither team wanted last use of this wicket and it was Hansie Cronje who won the toss and chose to bat first.

Gerhardus Liebenberg, who continues to be bafflingly picked ahead of Adam Bacher, fell before his team could reach double figures as per usual. Of course, that created the usual problem for England of reuniting the Kirsten-Kallis partnership. On this occasion, that pairing contributed a mere 52 runs - a failure by their high standards. This South African team bats very deep though, and today's heroes were to be found at numbers six and seven. Jonty Rhodes made a highly proactive 79, and Pollock made a slightly more sedate 82. Between them, they lifted South Africa from ignominy to the respectability of 337.

England's top order also failed. At 98 for four, only Michael Atherton was still standing strong out of the top five, his characteristically stoic style taking him to a half-century. He found some similarly stubborn company in Nasser Hussain, who hung around for two difficult hours against some top quality fast bowling. It was only 32 runs, but it did suggest the fighting spirit for which he is so highly regarded. It also put enough overs in the legs of the bowlers that Jack Russell and Robert Croft could make 40-odd each in an 80-run partnership that was reminiscent of the South African lower order.

In South Africa's second innings, something very concerning happened: Liebenberg was one half of a century opening partnership. He fell just short of his half-century as one half of a two-wicket over for Phil Tufnell, but it was a huge improvement. It also meant that by the time their first wicket fell, South Africa were already 175 runs ahead. Things just went from bad to worse at that point as Kallis (83), Rhodes (81) and Pollock (61 not out) hammered additional nails into the English coffin, biffing their way to an unassailable 430-run lead before Cronje declared the innings.

England were not getting 430 runs on the fifth day, but they might have hoped to at least survive. They did not. Allan Donald was simply too good - he claimed five of the first six English wickets to fall (Stewart, Knight, Hick, Thorpe and Hussain) before letting everyone else have a go. Ultimately though, you don't win very many Test matches when your team's highest scorer makes 51.

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. Dean Headley - 9 points
2. Nick Knight - 7 points
3. Michael Atherton - 3 points (+3)
=. Graeme Hick - 3 points
5. Darren Gough - 2 points
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points (+2)
7. Robert Croft - 1 point (+1)
=. Alec Stewart - 1 point
=. Graham Thorpe - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

England (1) vs (2) South Africa - Fifth Test at The Oval

England XI
Mike Atherton
Alec Stewart
Nick Knight
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Craig White
Ben Hollioake
Jack Russell
Darren Gough
Dean Headley
Phil Tufnell

South African XI
Gary Kirsten
Gerhardus Liebenberg
Jacques Kallis
Daryll Cullinan
Hansie Cronje
Jonty Rhodes
Brian McMillan
Shaun Pollock
Mark Boucher
Allan Donald
Makhaya Ntini

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

South Africa are quite good at cricket aren't they. It is probably this realisation that has led to the much more chaotic selection policy this series, which sees yet another change in personnel at England's problematic number six spot. This time, it is Craig White who comes back into the side, as England's management roll the dice and pick both of their star all-rounders in an attempt to combat South Africa's star all-rounders.

Unfortunately, the usual pattern continued for the English batters: none of them was able to do very well against the South African pace battery. The first innings collapse that followed the excellent Atherton-Stewart opening partnership was absolutely awful: the home side collapsed from 107 for none to 244 all out, and only Graham Thorpe (stranded on 36 not out) and Phil Tufnell (who actually got into line and hung around for a 40-run last wicket stand) could really hold his head up after such a collapse. The rest of them were an absolute shambles.

In reply, the South African batters had no such trouble. Headlined by a superb unbeaten 197 from Daryll Cullinan, they put most of the English bowlers through an utterly dispiriting two days of play in the field. Cullinan was robbed of a chance for maiden Test double-century by the British weather: nearly six hours of play were lost to rain, the last and longest of those delays coming when Cullinan was on 197. Cronje chose to declare during the rain interval, rather than sending his batters back out to face another over or so while Cullinan reached his milestone. This was criticised heavily in the media, but would ultimately prove to be very significant in the course of the game.

The dogged defence of Michael Atherton underpinned the England team's shaky rearguard as they attempted to take as much time out of the game as they possibly could. Hick and Thorpe each made decent 30s, but the biggest contribution towards salvaging a draw came from Craig White: the England number six ground out a superb unbeaten 71 - even though he ultimately ran out of partners ten overs before the scheduled close of play, he did manage to force South Africa to bat again.

South Africa needed eight of those overs (and three of their wickets) to stumble over the finishing line and secure a 3-1 series victory away from home. This really does mark the end of an era for England: they are truly beatable again, and will have to come to terms with this without the retiring legend Jack Russell.

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. Dean Headley - 10 points (+1)
2. Nick Knight - 7 points
3. Michael Atherton - 6 points (+3)
4. Graeme Hick - 3 points
5. Darren Gough - 2 points
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points
=. Craig White - 2 points (+2)
8. Robert Croft - 1 point
=. Alec Stewart - 1 point
=. Graham Thorpe - 1 point

Jack Russell retires from Test cricket as an England legend.

94 Test matches
3,954 runs @ 32.68 (1 century, best 128*)
243 catches and 27 stumpings

He has been a fantastic servant to the England team; the post-Russell era could be a difficult one for the England team.

 

[Aislabie]

Sri Lanka Tour of England, 1998

Itinerary
27 Aug 1998 - England vs Sri Lanka - Only Test at The Oval - England won by 3 wickets

England Squad

Nick Knight

John Crawley
Graeme Hick
Nasser Hussain
Mal Loye
Graham Thorpe

Paul Nixon

Andrew Flintoff
Ben Hollioake
Craig White

Angus Fraser
Alan Mullally

Phil Tufnell

The Test summer isn't quite done yet though. Hot on the heels of that exhausting five-match series comes a one-off Test against an improving Sri Lankan team. The England management is, however, choosing to rest some of its key players ahead of the winter's all-important Ashes series. As a result, the squad is much changed, with debuts looking likely for Andrew Flintoff, the Lancashire all-rounder, and Mal Loye, the Northants triple-centurion. There is also a captaincy audition for Nick Knight: the Warwickshire man has jumped to the head of the queue for who might replace Graeme Hick as England captain: the Zimbabwean-born batsman has already announced that this winter's Ashes will be his last as captain. He is still in the squad, although it is not certain yet whether he will make the playing XI. Finally, it looks like there will also be an unofficial farewell match for Angus Fraser, as the 33-year-old Middlesex and England stalwart has now slipped behind the likes of Dean Headley in the pecking order.

 

[Aislabie]

England vs Sri Lanka - Only Test at The Oval

England XI
Mal Loye (debut)
Nick Knight
Nasser Hussain
Graeme Hick
John Crawley
Craig White
Andrew Flintoff (debut)
Ben Hollioake
Paul Nixon
Angus Fraser
Alan Mullally

Sri Lankan XI
Sanath Jayasuriya
Marvan Atapattu
Mahela Jayawardene
Aravinda de Silva
Arjuna Ranatunga
Hashan Tillakaratne
Romesh Kaluwithurana
Kumar Dharmasena
Suresh Perera
Pramodya Wickramarasinghe
Muttiah Muralitharan

- - -

Sri Lanka win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Both teams arrived at The Oval to find an extremely flat wicket: clearly, the powers that be wanted to get a full five days of cricket (and therefore gate receipts) out of the fixture. There were also rumours that Muttiah Muralitharan would be devastating on anything but the flattest possible wicket (and possibly even still then), and 52 wickets at nineteen apiece in the calendar year so far certainly suggest that he is the world's best spin bowler. On England's part, this was seen as an opportunity to look to the future, with Test debuts for the exciting Mal Loye and Andrew Flintoff, the latter as part of a trio of exciting young all-rounders who would not normally play together. Nick Knight also made his captaincy debut, with full-time captain Graeme Hick as his deputy to bounce ideas off of.

Things did not start ideally for him, as he lost the toss and his team were sent out to field first while Sri Lanka's long batting line-up got the opportunity to make first use of this absolute road. Pretty much everybody cashed in to some extent: Jayasuriya (97), Jayawardene (92), de Silva (105), Ranatunga (64) and Tillakaratne (68) all played their part in the English bowlers having to toil well into the second day. The final total of 531 was very imposing, but would have been still more if not for a masterclass from Alan Mullally. Across the 32 overs he bowled, he took six wickets (Atapattu, Ranatunga, Tillakaratne, Dharmasena, Perera and Murali) at a cost of only 70 runs - both England's most incisive and economical bowler. Though some pundits argued that perhaps Mullally could have bowled more, he was already England's most-used bowler, and Knight did not want to bowl him into the ground ahead of an Ashes series.

The England reply fell somewhat short of the mammoth total, but Graeme Hick's commanding 133 spoke of his quality as an England batsman. He led the way in attempting to neutralise Murali; where all the other Sri Lankan bowlers were taken for around three runs per over, the approach to Murali's threat was to play him strokelessly and to wear him out. He eventually managed only two wickets from 61 overs, effectively earning wickets for whomever was bowling at the other end. For a while, it looked like England might struggle to make the unusually large follow-on target, but a stellar eighth wicket partnership between Hollioake (54) and Nixon (50) saw them all the way up to an eventual total of 469 - certainly competitive with five sessions of play left in the game.

It was therefore crucial that England go on the attack in their second bowling innings; Mullally and Fraser did just that by reducing Sri Lanka to 27 for three. The scalp of Marvan Atapattu will be Fraser's last in Test cricket unless he returns to the Test squad, but what an important wicket it was, setting England's bowlers down the path of attacking the stumps. In the end, five Sri Lankans would fall either bowled or LBW before Ranatunga made an unexpected declaration half an hour before lunch on day five. Many captains have rued early declarations against an England team which almost always go for the win. Both Mullally and White may also have been aggrieved that they couldn't pursue their fifth wicket in the innings, although Mullally's fourth did make it ten in total for the game for the first time in his Test career.

With batting all the way down to number nine (a rare thing for England), it was absolutely possible to attack the tricky target of 274. Conditions weren't too challenging, and the Sri Lankans would still be relying a lot on Murali if they wanted to bowl England out and take the win (which they must if they're declaring). Loye and Knight are both accomplished one-day players, and they played like this was a tall run chase in an ODI, despite the Test match field settings - and they did so with great success. Both Sri Lankan opening bowlers were pummelled for over six runs per over as Loye (92 off 106) and new captain Knight (64 off 62) found the boundary 30 times between them. Their 150-run demolition of Sri Lanka left England as the absolute favourites to take the win.

Even as Murali started taking wickets, there was suddenly plenty of margin for error. Both Hussain (32 off 32, with two sixes) and Crawley (29 off 30) played selflessly to edge closer to the target, and with just a few overs left in the day's play, Craig White punched the winning boundary past extra cover.

This thrilling win, while not as historic as if it had decided an Ashes series or something, but it is significant: England go into the Ashes with an extra Test win under their belts, and a few young players (and one young captain) have all got valuable experience under their belts for when Atherton, Stewart and co choose to move on.

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. Dean Headley - 10 points
2. Nick Knight - 9 points (+2)
3. Michael Atherton - 6 points
=. Graeme Hick - 6 points (+3)
5. Alan Mullally - 5 points (+5)
6. Craig White - 3 points (+1)
7. Darren Gough - 2 points
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points
8. Robert Croft - 1 point
=. Alec Stewart - 1 point
=. Graham Thorpe - 1 point

Despite being rested from the last game of the summer, Dean Headley takes home the Barrington Medal thanks to an excellent series against South Africa in which he managed to take 26 wickets at 24 apiece, including three five-wicket hauls. It seems likely that he, Mullally and Darren Gough will be the first-choice pace attack at the Gabba.

 

[Aislabie]

World Test Rankings, as of 31 Mar 1998
Minumum qualification: 5 series

Rank	Team	Rating
1	Australia	714
2	England	700
3	South Africa	679
4	Pakistan	625
5	West Indies	538
6	India	393
7	Sri Lanka	344
8	New Zealand	250
9	Zimbabwe	150

*If two teams are level on points, their head-to-head against each other is taken into consideration

Spoiler: Australia

Opp.	Home	Away
	L (1-0)	D (2-2)
	W (4-0)	L (2-1)
	W (2-0)	D (1-1)
	W (2-1)	L (1-0)
	W (1-0)	W (2-1)
	W (3-0)	W (1-0)
	W (3-2)	W (2-1)
	-	-

Spoiler: England

Opp.	Home	Away
	D (2-2)	W (1-0)
	W (2-0)	W (2-1)
	W (1-0)	W (2-0)
	L (2-1)	L (1-0)
	L (3-1)	L (2-1)
	W (1-0)	W (1-0)
	W (3-1)	W (4-0)
	-	W (3-0)

Spoiler: India

Opp.	Home	Away
	W (2-1)	L (4-0)
	L (2-1)	L (2-0)
	W (1-0)	D (0-0)
	L (1-0)	D (0-0)
	W (2-1)	L (2-0)
	D (0-0)	D (0-0)
	D (1-1)	L (1-0)
	-	-

Spoiler: New Zealand

Opp.	Home	Away
	D (1-1)	L (2-0)
	L (2-0)	L (1-0)
	D (0-0)	L (1-0)
	L (1-0)	D (1-1)
	L (1-0)	L (2-1)
	W (2-0)	L (1-0)
	L (1-0)	L (1-0)
	W (2-0)	D (0-0)

Spoiler: Pakistan

Opp.	Home	Away
	W (1-0)	L (2-1)
	W (1-0)	W (2-1)
	D (0-0)	W (1-0)
	D (1-1)	W (1-0)
	L (1-0)	D (1-1)
	L (2-1)	D (0-0)
	W (3-0)	L (2-0)
	W (1-0)	W (1-0)

Spoiler: South Africa

Opp.	Home	Away
	L (2-1)	L (1-0)
	W (2-1)	W (3-1)
	W (2-0)	L (2-1)
	W (2-1)	W (1-0)
	D (1-1)	W (1-0)
	W (2-0)	W (1-0)
	-	L (1-0)
	-	W (1-0)

Spoiler: Sri Lanka

Opp.	Home	Away
	L (1-0)	L (3-0)
	L (1-0)	L (1-0)
	D (0-0)	D (0-0)
	W (1-0)	L (2-0)
	D (0-0)	W (2-1)
	L (1-0)	L (2-0)
	D (0-0)	L (1-0)
	W (2-0)	D (0-0)

Spoiler: West Indies

Opp.	Home	Away
	L (2-1)	L (3-2)
	L (4-0)	L (3-1)
	W (1-0)	D (1-1)
	W (1-0)	W (1-0)
	W (2-0)	L (3-0)
	W (1-0)	-
	W (1-0)	D (0-0)
	-	-

Spoiler: Zimbabwe

Opp.	Home	Away
	-	-
	L (3-0)	-
	D (0-0)	L (1-0)
	D (0-0)	L (2-0)
	L (1-0)	L (1-0)
	L (1-0)	-
	D (0-0)	L (2-0)
	-	-

South Africa are the Bannerman Shield holders

Spoiler: Bannerman Shield Roll of Honour

Champion Team as of 29 Jan 1975: West Indies

• Won 2-1 against India
• Won 2-1 against Pakistan
• Won 3-1 against Australia
• Won 2-0 against England
• Won 2-0 against India
• Won 3-0 against Australia
• Won 2-0 against New Zealand
• Won 5-0 against England
• Drew 1-1 against Pakistan
• Won 3-0 against India
• Drew 2-2 against England (playthrough starts here)
• Won 2-1 against Australia
• Won 1-0 against South Africa
• Won 2-0 against Pakistan
• Lost 2-1 against England

Champion Team as of 21 Apr 1994: England

• Won 1-0 against New Zealand
• Won 1-0 against South Africa
• Won 3-1 against West Indies
• Won 2-0 against India
• Lost 2-1 against Pakistan

Champion Team as of 25 Aug 1996: Pakistan

• Won 1-0 against Zimbabwe
• Drew 1-1 against New Zealand
• Lost 1-0 against South Africa

Champion Team as of 27 Oct 1997: South Africa

• Drew 1-1 against Pakistan
• Won 2-0 against Sri Lanka
• Won 5-0 against West Indies
• Won 2-0 against Zimbabwe
• South Africa vs England Test series (5 matches), 1999-00

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. Phil Tufnell - 366 wickets @ 28.94 (26 5WI, best 8/114)
3. Bob Willis - 325 wickets @ 25.20 (16 5WI, best 8/43)

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 , 1996
Alec Stewart - 149
Alec Stewart - 153
Robin Smith - 104*

vs , 1996-97
Nick Knight - 247
Graham Thorpe - 106

vs , 1996-97
Graeme Hick - 110
Craig White - 104*

vs , 1997
Graham Thorpe - 116
Graeme Hick - 126*
Graeme Hick - 172*

vs , 1997-98
Graeme Hick - 115
Graham Thorpe - 100
Alec Stewart - 159*
Michael Atherton - 107
Graeme Hick - 135
Graeme Hick - 100*

vs , 1998
Graeme Hick - 132
Nick Knight - 119
Nick Knight - 115
Graeme Thorpe - 111

vs , 1998
Graeme Hick - 133


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

vs , 1996
Andy Caddick - 5 for 69
Darren Gough - 5 for 117

vs , 1996-97
Alan Mullally - 6 for 94
Andy Caddick - 7 for 53
Craig White - 7 for 63

vs , 1996-97
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 83

vs , 1997
Dean Headley - 5 for 75
Dean Headley - 5 for 49
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 92

vs , 1997-98
Ben Hollioake - 5 for 53
Ben Hollioake - 5 for 74
Robert Croft - 5 for 117
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 38
Dominic Cork - 5 for 59

vs , 1998
Dean Headley - 5 for 112
Dean Headley - 5 for 106
Dean Headley - 5 for 119

vs , 1998
Alan Mullally - 6 for 70

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	vs (5), 1997
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), 1998
Angus Fraser	537	v (3), 1989	vs ,1998
Mike Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	v (5), 1998
Devon Malcolm	539	v (5), 1989	v (3), 1996
Alan Igglesden	540	v (6), 1989	only Test
- - - - - - - - - -	- - -	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -
Alec Stewart	542	v (1), 1989-90	v (5), 1998
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	v (5), 1998
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	vs ,1998
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 (3), 1996-97
Ian Salisbury	549	v (1), 1992-93	only Test
Mark Ramprakash	550	v (2), 1992-93	vs (4), 1997-98
Dermot Reeve	551	v (3), 1992-93	only Test
Andy Caddick	552	v (2), 1993	v (3), 1998
Nasser Hussain	553	v (3), 1993	vs ,1998
Mark Ilott	554	v (4), 1993-94	only Test
Graham Thorpe	555	v (4), 1993-94	v (5), 1998
Darren Gough	556	v (1), 1994	v (5), 1998
Dominic Cork	557	v (2), 1994	v (2), 1998
Richard Blakey	558	v (3), 1994	v (3), 1996-97
Glen Chapple	559	v (4), 1994-95	v (1), 1996-97
Richard Johnson	560	v (2), 1995	only Test
Mark Alleyne	561	v (5), 1995	v (3), 1996-97
Robert Croft	562	v (5), 1995-96	v (4), 1998
Nick Knight	563	v (5), 1995-96	vs ,1998
Mark Butcher	564	v (1), 1996-97	vs (3), 1997-98
Alan Mullally	565	v (1), 1996-97	vs ,1998
John Crawley	566	v (2), 1996-97	vs ,1998
Dean Headley	567	v (2), 1996-97	v (5), 1998
Craig White	568	v (2), 1996-97	vs ,1998
Ben Hollioake	569	vs (3), 1997	vs ,1998
Paul Nixon	570	vs (5), 1997-98	vs ,1998
Andrew Flintoff	571	vs ,1998	only Test
Mal Loye	572	vs ,1998	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	38	20	0	8	10	v (2), 1992-93	v (5), 1998
Nick Knight	1	1	0	0	0	vs ,1998	only Test

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mark Alleyne	4	7	2	95	19.00	-	1	56*	4	-
Michael Atherton	66	125	11	4978	43.67	10	25	242	41	-
Rob Bailey	15	28	1	815	30.19	1	2	196	15	-
Martin Bicknell	4	4	0	65	16.25	-	-	48	2	-
Richard Blakey	4	8	2	166	27.67	-	1	50*	11	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	176	7	5656	33.47	14	25	208	135	-
Mark Butcher	5	10	0	174	17.40	-	1	55	4	-
Andy Caddick	20	23	3	274	13.70	-	-	37*	3	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Glen Chapple	3	5	1	73	18.25	-	-	30	1	-
Dominic Cork	17	23	5	445	24.72	-	2	72	8	-
John Crawley	5	8	0	209	26.13	-	1	61	1	-
Robert Croft	6	7	0	199	28.43	-	1	54	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	-
Andrew Flintoff	1	2	0	20	10.00	-	-	17	1	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	60	12	600	12.50	-	-	42*	13	-
Angus Fraser	59	80	11	677	9.81	-	-	34	10	-
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	24	33	10	342	14.87	-	-	35*	2	-
David Gower (RET)	124	215	17	8506	42.96	15	47	215	75	-
Dean Headley	16	26	6	181	9.05	-	-	24	2	-
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	19	3	332	20.75	-	1	95	4	-
Graeme Hick	77	141	11	5609	43.14	16	27	172*	113	-
Ben Hollioake	9	16	2	328	23.43	-	2	60	8	-
Nasser Hussain	11	19	1	471	26.17	-	2	68	20	-
Alan Igglesden (RET)	1	1	1	2	-	-	-	2*	1	-
Mark Ilott	1	2	2	26	-	-	-	25*	-	-
Paul Jarvis (RET)	10	15	4	189	17.18	-	-	35*	1	-
Richard Johnson	1	1	0	1	1.00	-	-	1	-	-
Nick Knight	12	22	0	1155	52.50	3	5	247	14	-
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 (RET)	2	2	0	6	3.00	-	-	4	-	-
Chris Lewis (RET)	56	90	12	1973	25.29	1	7	114*	61	-
Mal Loye	1	2	0	95	47.50	-	1	92	-	-
Devon Malcolm	37	50	13	233	6.30	-	-	21*	11	-
Matt Maynard	1	2	0	13	6.50	-	-	10	-	-
Alan Mullally	16	19	8	86	7.82	-	-	15	3	-
Phil Newport (RET)	2	3	0	70	23.33	-	-	36	1	-
Paul Nixon	2	3	1	71	35.50	-	1	50	3	-
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	36	3	512	15.51	-	2	66	7	-
Mark Ramprakash	18	34	2	1047	32.72	1	9	100*	1	-
Dermot Reeve (RET)	1	2	0	12	6.00	-	-	6	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	71	6	2362	36.33	4	12	175	14	-
Jack Russell (RET)	94	156	35	3954	32.68	1	21	128*	243	27
Ian Salisbury	1	1	0	21	21.00	-	-	21	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Robin Smith (RET)	82	152	17	6662	49.32	19	34	204	20	-
Alec Stewart	69	135	8	5880	46.30	16	23	200	17	-
Peter Such	12	15	7	47	5.88	-	-	14*	5	-
Graham Thorpe	35	62	10	2371	45.59	7	10	116	20	-
Phil Tufnell	77	99	18	489	6.04	-	-	36	20	-
Steve Watkin	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-
Craig White	16	28	5	805	35.00	1	5	104*	4	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mark Alleyne	4	109	307	10	30.70	2.8	-	-	2/27
Michael Atherton	66	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	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Mark Butcher	5	2	5	1	5.00	2.0	-	-	1/0
Andy Caddick	20	816	2254	69	32.66	2.8	2	-	7/53
David Capel (RET)	11	209	628	12	52.33	3.0	-	-	2/13
Glen Chapple	3	128	398	6	66.33	3.1	-	-	3/99
Dominic Cork	17	616	1780	49	36.33	2.9	1	-	5/59
John Crawley	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Robert Croft	6	210	664	15	44.27	3.2	1	-	5/117
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	-	-	-
Andrew Flintoff	1	33	104	1	104.00	3.2	-	-	1/80
Neil Foster (RET)	39	1451	3902	115	33.93	2.7	5	1	8/107
Angus Fraser	59	2400	5929	177	33.49	2.5	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	24	959	2591	70	37.01	2.7	2	-	5/50
David Gower (RET)	124	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Dean Headley	16	704	1940	69	28.11	2.8	5	1	5/49
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	77	248	858	18	47.67	3.4	-	-	3/38
Ben Hollioake	10	315	972	28	34.71	3.1	2	-	5/53
Nasser Hussain	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Igglesden (RET)	1	37	146	3	48.67	3.9	-	-	2/91
Mark Ilott	1	38	127	1	127.00	3.3	-	-	1/106
Paul Jarvis (RET)	10	359	1069	26	41.12	3.0	-	-	4/50
Richard Johnson	1	44	155	0	-	3.5	-	-	-
Nick Knight	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	5	23	1	23.00	4.6	-	-	1/6
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Syd Lawrence (RET)	2	68	223	4	55.75	3.3	-	-	2/74
Chris Lewis (RET)	56	1580	4266	123	34.68	2.7	1	-	6/70
Mal Loye	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Devon Malcolm	37	1292	4195	137	30.62	3.2	6	-	7/86
Matt Maynard	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Mullally	16	602	1441	53	27.19	2.4	2	1	6/70
Phil Newport (RET)	2	92	339	9	37.66	3.7	-	-	4/87
Paul Nixon	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	625	1807	48	37.64	2.9	2	-	5/95
Mark Ramprakash	18	1	2	0	-	2.0	-	-	-
Dermot Reeve (RET)	1	14	39	0	-	2.8	-	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	1	0	0	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell (RET)	94	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	1	13	76	0	-	5.9	-	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith (RET)	82	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	69	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such	12	572	1669	50	33.38	2.9	2	-	8/47
Graham Thorpe	35	12	36	0	-	3.0	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	77	3599	10593	366	28.94	2.9	26	5	8/114
Steve Watkin	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56
Craig White	16	518	1423	49	29.04	2.7	1	-	7/63

​

It's the end of an era - we're no longer the number one Test team in the world.

An inauspicious debut for Flintoff as well, but at least if gives him a taste of Test cricket at this stage in his career

 

[Chris2020]

Enjoying reading this. KUTGW

 

[Aislabie]

England Tour of Australia, 1998-99

Itinerary
20 Nov 1998 - Australia vs England - First Test at The 'Gabba - Match drawn
28 Nov 1998 - Australia vs England - Second Test at The WACA - Match drawn
11 Dec 1998 - Australia vs England - Third Test at Adelaide Oval - Match drawn
26 Dec 1998 - Australia vs England - Fourth Test at The MCG - England won by 2 runs
02 Jan 1998 - Australia vs England - Fifth Test at The SCG - Match drawn

England Squad

Graeme Hick

Michael Atherton
John Crawley
Nick Knight
Mal Loye
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe

Paul Nixon

Andrew Flintoff
Ben Hollioake
Graeme Swann
Craig White

Andy Caddick
Kevin Dean
Darren Gough
Dean Headley
Alan Mullally

Phil Tufnell

The English squad for the all-important away Ashes series contains a lot of young faces, including two players who have been called up for their first-ever Test series off the back of very impressive county cricket seasons. Derbyshire's 23-year-old left-armer Kevin Dean took 71 County Championship wickets at 20.92 apiece, taking a wicket every 37 balls, while Northants' 19-year-old Graeme Swann has got the nod as the squad's second spinner after a season which yielded 548 runs at 34.25 and 22 wickets at 30.27 apiece: if he plays, he will be the youngest England debutant since Brian Close - even younger than Ben Hollioake was last year. England have also opted to name only one specialist wicket-keeper in this series' squad; Alec Stewart and John Crawley have both been deemed to have sufficient keeping skill to do the job if called upon. We have quite the Ashes series to look forward to.