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

[Aislabie]

Zimbabwe Tour of England, 2003

Itinerary
22 May 2003 - England vs Zimbabwe - First Test at Lord's
05 Jun 2003 - England vs Zimbabwe - Second Test at Chester-le-Street

England Squad

Nasser Hussain

Mark Butcher
Robert Key
Owais Shah
Andrew Strauss
Jim Troughton
Michael Vaughan

James Foster

Rikki Clarke
Andrew Flintoff

Kabir Ali
Jimmy Anderson
Steve Harmison
Matthew Hoggard
Simon Jones
James Kirtley
Ryan Sidebottom

Ashley Giles

With the certain knowledge of a desperately weak Zimbabwean team arriving on English shores, the ECB has stuck to their policy of trialling a vast selection of promising young players against less vaunted May tourists. On this occasion, eight debutants have been included in the 18-man Test squad. This does not include Paul Collingwood: after a very prolific winter for the ODI squad, Collingwood sustained a shoulder dislocation early in the season and was rendered unavailable. His place in the squad has been taken by Jim Troughton, who impressed everyone in his first full season with Kent and last winter with the ECB National Academy. Most of the Test squad's incumbent batters players have chosen to continue playing in the County Championship.

The captaincy has been entrusted to long-time ODI captain Nasser Hussain, who only recently returned to the Test match squad. It remains to be seen whether this is a long-term appointment for him, or if it is specifically for this series.

 

[Aislabie]

England vs Zimbabwe - First Test at Lord's

English XI
Mark Butcher
Michael Vaughan
Robert Key (debut)
Nasser Hussain
Andrew Flintoff
James Foster
Ashley Giles
Ryan Sidebottom
Steve Harmison (debut)
Matthew Hoggard
Jimmy Anderson

Zimbabwean XI
Dion Ebrahim
Mark Vermeulen
Stuart Carlisle
Grant Flower
Tatenda Taibu
Sean Ervine
Heath Streak
Andy Blignaut
Travis Friend
Ray Price
Douglas Hondo

- - -

England won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

For this least anticipated of Test matches, England fielded two debutants: Robert Key and Steve Harmison. Andrew Flintoff was listed at number five in the batting order, with no fewer than five specialist bowlers (including Ashley Giles) slated to come in below him. Clearly, the England management want to get a good look at their bowling stocks. However, after winning his first ever Test match toss, Nasser Hussain gave first use of the pitch to the English batters.

The brand new opening pair of Butcher and Vaughan started well, mounting a stand of 84 before Vaughan was trapped LBW by Ray Price. At least Butcher made his 50 before getting out, the first of two Douglas Hondo wickets in consecutive overs (the other being debutant Rob Key). In the context of the game, a lot rested on the shoulders of Nasser Hussain, but he made no mistake, and plundered an assured third Test century with support from Giles and Sidebottom at the non-striker's end. However, he surprised everybody by declaring the innings once the England total had passed 300.

With so few runs to work with, the English bowlers really had to be on their game, and they performed excellently as a unit. Most impressive was Jimmy Anderson, who claimed the wickets of Ebrahim, Vermeulen, Ervine and Friend. At the other end of the spectrum, Steve Harmison made something of a misstep on his debut in the Test arena, struggling to find his line and length, and as a result failing to take a wicket in the first innings. In the grand scheme of things though, that didn't matter: Zimbabwe were all out for 162.

At their second attempt, Butcher and Vaughan each went one better: Butcher completed a century, and Vaughan a half-century as the Zimbabwean bowlers struggled for impact. Vaughan lost his off stump to Heath Streak, which brought Robert Key to the crease. The Kent man played in much more assured fashion this time around, and had breezed to a classy 22 by the time Butcher reached his century. To everyone's surprise, Hussain declared again and set Zimbabwe a theoretically achievable 350 to win.

Of course, it was not a realistic target: the English bowlers again shared the wickets out amongst themselves, but Harmison again failed to find his maiden first-class wicket. It remains to be seen whether this will be held against him, but one must hope that such a talented bowler at least gets the second Test to prove himself. Speaking after the game, Hussain explained his declarations: "We knew we only had so long before the rain came, and we wanted to give everyone in the team the best possible chance of pushing for a Test match win before that happened."

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

I've also included 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. Mark Butcher - 5 points (+5)
2. Nasser Hussain - 3 points (+3)
3. Jimmy Anderson - 2 points (+2)
4. Matthew Hoggard - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

England (1) vs (0) Zimbabwe - Second Test at Chester-le-Street

English XI
Mark Butcher
Andrew Strauss (debut)
Robert Key
Nasser Hussain
Owais Shah (debut)
James Foster
Ashley Giles
Kabir Ali (debut)
James Kirtley (debut)
Simon Jones
Steve Harmison

Zimbabwean XI
Dion Ebrahim
Mark Vermeulen
Stuart Carlisle
Grant Flower
Tatenda Taibu
Sean Ervine
Heath Streak
Andy Blignaut
Travis Friend
Ray Price
Douglas Hondo

- - -

Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

In the second Test, an unchanged Zimbabwe faced a much changed England: no fewer than four debutants took their places in the team, with Strauss, Shah, Ali and Kirtley taking the places of Vaughan, Flintoff, Sidebottom and Anderson. Troughton and Clarke will both have to wait for their first chances at Test cricket. This time, captain Nasser Hussain lost the toss and England were sent out into the field.

Finally, Steve Harmison got his Test wicket: an absolute thunderbolt ripping through Mark Vermeulen and toppling his middle stump at Harmison's very first attempt. However, the limelight would be stolen somewhat by debutant Kabir Ali, who took an eye-catching two for 26, and Ashley Giles who was given a nice long spell and was able to take four for 34. No Zimbabwean batter scored more than Stuart Carlisle's 37, making it three straight innings without a half-century from any touring batter.

Once again, Mark Butcher impressed with the bat: he made 74, his third straight 50+ score, while Robert Key also added a maiden Test fifty from number three. At number four, Hussain played another captain's innings: he made another unbeaten century, this time 106 from 239 deliveries. And his support came from Ashley Giles, who nudged and punched his way to a maiden Test half-century of his own. Once the Warwickshire man had reached that landmark, Hussain declared the innings once again to get his bowlers back out there.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, England already had enough runs: the bowlers once again shared the wickets around, and on this occasion the best figures belonged to Simon Jones (three for 27) and Giles again (four for 22). By this point, one really got the sense that the Zimbabwean batters had internalised their poor form and started to believe it, which was a real shame as some players, in particular Tatenda Taibu, have shown real glimpses of talent this series. Glimpses, but no returns.

It will certainly be interesting to see whether Hussain retains the captaincy against South Africa later this summer; one certainly hopes that he will.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

I've also included 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. Nasser Hussain - 6 points (+3)
2. Mark Butcher - 5 points
=. Ashley Giles - 5 points (+5)
4. Jimmy Anderson - 2 points
=. Simon Jones - 2 points (+2)
6. Kabir Ali - 1 point (+1)
=. Matthew Hoggard - 1 point