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

[Aislabie]

West Indies (1) vs (1) England - Fifth Test at Antigua Recreation Ground

West Indies XI
Phil Simmons
Stuart Williams
Brian Lara
Jimmy Adams
Keith Arthurton
Shiv Chanderpaul
Junior Murray
Winston Benjamin
Curtly Ambrose
Kenny Benjamin
Courtney Walsh

England XI
Graham Gooch
Alec Stewart
Michael Atherton
Graeme Hick
Mark Ramprakash
Graham Thorpe
Jack Russell
Phillip DeFreitas
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell
Peter Such

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Quite unhelpfully for the West Indies ahead of a series decider, both Desmond Haynes and Richie Richardson sustained injuries at Barbados, which meant the return of Phil Simmons and the debut of Stuart Williams. For England, a dismal debut for Ilott seems likely to have curtailed his career after just one match - he is replaced by a second spinner in the form of Such. Robin Smith has also been dropped for the first time in his Test career; instead, Michael Atherton returns to the team to bat at number three. As for the conditions, it's the Antigua Recreation Ground.

Yet again, Gooch won the toss and batted first. Although the openers couldn't add to their impressive collections of Test centuries, one man who could was returning number three Michael Atherton. The Lancastrian made a wonderfully controlled 127, overcoming an objectively excellent fast bowling attack to register his second Test century. His main partner in crime was Graeme Hick, who was excellent as usual but fell short of three figures yet again - this time on 81. After that, wickets started to fall - a brief partnership between Atherton and Thorpe notwithstanding. By the time last-man Peter Such arrived at the wicket, Thorpe had reached an excellent half-century but looked likely to be stranded. He... wasn't. Instead, he raced to a superb maiden Test century, dragging his team past 400 in the process.

After losing all their momentum to a last-wicket stand of 61, the West Indies needed to get back into a rhythm. The early loss of Simmons was not promising (though nor was it surprising), but a partnership of high quality between Williams and Lara soon put them back on course. A fine debut innings of 97 fell just short of a century for Williams, but Lara had no such trouble. His century meant that he had scored 393 runs between dismissals. The man to end that streak - Tufnell - had done a long time between wickets himself, and will have been grateful for the breakthrough. Their nemesis finally gone, England set about chasing parity in the game; it still seemed a long way off until a highly unexpected triple-wicket maiden from Angus Fraser changed the game entirely. In ten hectic minutes, the West Indies lost their last five wickets for nine runs in the space of only 12 balls, and DeFreitas finished with another five-for.

A lead of seventeen isn't much to work with, but some aggressive batting from England meant that it grew rapidly. Gooch and Stewart both scored half-centuries in a partnership that came at five runs per over, helping England to start the final day 189 runs ahead. When exactly would they declare? How much was Gooch willing to risk in order to chase the Wisden Trophy that had been in West Indian possession since 1973? The question was somewhat taken out of his hands by a flurry of English wickets, although the fact that he will have instructed batsman after batsman to go out and play their shots is an answer in and of itself.

With a target of 284 to win, and 75 overs in which to do it, everyone present was expecting a thriller. And they were absolutely right to. Aggressive contributions from Simmons, Williams and Chanderpaul, pitted against important wickets from Fraser and Tufnell, helped the West Indies to reach tea 173 for five - with 111 more runs to win, the classic cliché of all results being on the table very much applied. Junior Murray, who had hitherto had a very quiet Test series, set his sights on one result in particular: a West Indian win. His aggressive 88 carried the West Indies almost all the way to the line: with six overs left, the West Indies needed just 14 more runs. England needed three wickets. The draw was still somewhat possible.

DeFreitas (bowling to Murray) - • • • W • • - The crucial wicket of Murray came from the worst ball of the over. Short and wide and top-edged to Angus Fraser.

Such (bowling to Ambrose - 15 to win from 30) - 1 • • • • • - A very tidy over from the off-spinner.

DeFreitas (bowling to Ambrose - 14 to win from 24) - • • • • • W - Full, straight, and reverse swinging into the left-hander! A plumb LBW and a huge moment for England.

Fraser (bowling to Benjamin - 18 balls left to draw) - • • • • • • - An immaculate maiden, well defended by Kenny Benjamin.

DeFreitas (bowling to Walsh - 12 balls left to draw) - 4 • • • W - OUT! Caught by Gooch diving full-stretch to his left in the slips! What a way to win back the Wisden Trophy.

West Indies 1 - 2 England. What a series.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Phillip DeFreitas - 8 points (+5)
2. Angus Fraser - 7 points (+2)
3. Graham Gooch - 6 points
4. Alec Stewart - 4 points
=5. Michael Atherton - 3 points (+3)
=5. Mark Ramprakash - 3 points
=5. Peter Such - 3 points
=8. Graeme Hick - 2 points
=8. Phil Tufnell - 2 points
=10. Chris Lewis - 1 point
=10. Graham Thorpe - 1 point (+1)

And I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but it looks like Phillip DeFreitas has won another Barrington Medal. In fairness to him, 20 wickets at 26.50 is a very solid return for the series, but Gooch's 571 runs @ 57.10 would seem more deserving. It goes to show that cricket isn't just about your numbers, it's about when and how you earn those numbers, because without DeFreitas' bowling at important times in the Third and Fifth Tests, England couldn't have got near winning that series.

 

[Aislabie]

Records

Highest Innings Score
for 571 for 5 dec. vs West Indies, The Oval 1991
vs 571 all out, Australia, Adelaide Oval 1991

Lowest Innings Score
for 122 all out vs New Zealand, Edgbaston 1990
vs 83 all out, West Indies, Queens Park Oval 1994

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

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

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

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

Partnerships
1. 190 - Graham Gooch & Tim Robinson vs Australia 1991
2. 192 - Alec Stewart & Mike Atherton vs Sri Lanka 1993
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. 133 - Graham Thorpe & Jack Russell vs West Indies 1994
7. 174 - Chris Lewis & Phillip DeFreitas vs Australia 1993
8. 54 - Chris Lewis & Andy Caddick vs Australia 1993
9. 69 - Gladstone Small & Angus Fraser vs Australia 1990
10. 61 - Graham Thorpe & Peter Such vs West Indies 1994

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 , 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

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), 1993-94
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 (5), 1993-94
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 (4), 1993-94
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), 1993-94
Angus Fraser	537	v (3), 1989	v (5), 1993-94
Mike Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	v (5), 1993-94
Devon Malcolm	539	v (5), 1989	v (1), 1993-94
Alan Igglesden	540	v (6), 1989	only Test
- - - - - - - - - -	- - -	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -
Alec Stewart	542	v (1), 1989-90	v (5), 1993-94
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	v (5), 1993-94
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1993-94
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	v (5), 1993-94
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 (5), 1993-94
Ian Salisbury	549	v (1), 1992-93	only Test
Mark Ramprakash	550	v (2), 1992-93	v (5), 1993-94
Dermot Reeve	551	v (3), 1992-93	only Test
Andy Caddick	552	v (2), 1993	v (3), 1993-94
Nasser Hussain	553	v (3), 1993	v (5), 1993
Mark Ilott	554	v (4), 1993-94	only Test
Graham Thorpe	555	v (4), 1993-94	v (5), 1993-94

Captains

Player	Mat	W	D	L	First	Last
Graham Gooch	45	19	10	16	v (5), 1988	v (5), 1993-94
Graeme Hick	1	1	0	0	v (2), 1992-93	only Test

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mike Atherton	25	47	3	1727	39.25	2	10	147	10	-
Rob Bailey	15	28	1	815	30.19	1	2	196	15	-
Martin Bicknell	4	4	0	65	16.25	-	-	48	2	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	176	7	5656	33.47	14	25	208	135	-
Andy Caddick	7	12	2	164	16.40	-	-	37*	-	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Phillip DeFreitas	24	38	3	609	17.40	-	1	82	6	-
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	40	57	8	503	10.27	-	-	34	7	-
Mike Gatting	70	121	14	4037	37.73	9	19	207	53	-
Graham Gooch	116	215	8	9323	45.04	22	52	294	132	-
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	28	51	4	2055	43.72	4	13	147	48	-
Nasser Hussain	2	3	0	34	11.33	-	-	33	3	-
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	-
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	35	55	8	1219	25.94	1	3	114*	30	-
Devon Malcolm	25	35	9	174	6.69	-	-	14*	6	-
Matt Maynard	1	2	0	13	6.50	-	-	10	-	-
Phil Newport	2	3	0	70	23.33	-	-	36	1	-
Derek Pringle	21	36	3	512	15.51	-	2	66	7	-
Mark Ramprakash	8	15	1	488	34.86	-	5	76*	-	-
Dermot Reeve	1	2	0	12	6.00	-	-	6	-	-
Tim Robinson	41	71	6	2362	36.33	4	12	175	14	-
Jack Russell	51	87	17	2299	32.84	1	13	128*	141	10
Ian Salisbury	1	1	0	21	21.00	-	-	21	-	-
Gladstone Small	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Robin Smith	51	95	8	3992	45.88	10	22	145	16	-
Alec Stewart	24	47	3	2143	48.70	7	6	166	6	-
Peter Such	10	13	5	45	5.63	-	-	14*	4	-
Graham Thorpe	2	4	0	275	68.75	1	1	2	-
Phil Tufnell	31	45	10	158	4.51	-	-	36	8	-
Steve Watkin	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mike Atherton	25	73	305	9	33.89	4.2	-	-	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
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Andy Caddick	7	278	743	18	41.28	2.7	-	-	4/71
David Capel	11	209	628	12	52.33	3.0	-	-	2/13
Phillip DeFreitas	24	857	2414	69	34.99	2.8	4	1	5/19
John Emburey	60	2371	5105	138	36.99	2.1	6	-	7/78
Neil Fairbrother	4	2	9	0	-	4.5	-	-	-
Neil Foster	39	1451	3902	115	33.93	2.7	5	1	8/107
Angus Fraser	40	1645	4025	120	33.54	2.4	4	-	5/21
Mike Gatting	70	125	317	4	79.25	2.5	-	-	1/14
Graham Gooch	116	306	740	17	43.53	2.4	-	-	2/12
David Gower (RET)	124	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Eddie Hemmings	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	28	61	229	6	38.17	3.8	-	-	3/38
Nasser Hussain	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
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	35	1017	2769	75	36.92	2.7	1	-	6/70
Devon Malcolm	25	879	2846	87	32.71	3.2	2	-	6/75
Matt Maynard	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Newport	2	92	339	9	37.66	3.7	-	-	4/87
Derek Pringle	21	625	1807	48	37.64	2.9	2	-	5/95
Mark Ramprakash	8	1	2	0	-	2.0	-	-	-
Dermot Reeve	1	14	39	0	-	2.8	-	-	-
Tim Robinson	41	1	0	0	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell	51	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	1	13	76	0	-	5.9	-	-	-
Gladstone Small	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith	51	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	24	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such	10	486	1442	48	30.04	3.0	2	-	8/47
Graham Thorpe	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	36	1651	4844	177	27.37	2.9	15	5	8/114
Steve Watkin	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56

​

Records and stats are updated again.

Honestly, now I've slept on it I can barely believe we burgled that series. Almost nobody actually had a good series - especially with the ball. Tufnell averaged over 50, Caddick averaged over 60, and Mark Ilott happened. We really turned up at the big moments, but apart from that we were dreadful

 

[Aislabie]

Okay, so I'm also tempted to keep track of Test rankings (of a sort) in this thread, with a note on how my results playing as England change them. If I do, this is what those rankings will look like.

World Test Rankings
Minumum qualification: 5 series

Rank	Team	Rating
1	West Indies	750
2	Pakistan	708
3	England	667
4	South Africa	600
5	India	467
6	Australia	417
7	New Zealand	231
8	Sri Lanka	208
-	Zimbabwe	125

Spoiler: Australia

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

Spoiler: England

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

Spoiler: India

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

Spoiler: New Zealand

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

Spoiler: Pakistan

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

Spoiler: South Africa

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

Spoiler: Sri Lanka

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

Spoiler: West Indies

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

Spoiler: Zimbabwe

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

Oh, also, our Test series win over the West Indies was the first time they'd lost since New Zealand beat them in 1979-80. Pretty remarkable.

It would also make us the new Bannerman Shield holders

 

[Aislabie]

New Zealand tour of England, 1994

Itinerary
02 Jun 94 - England vs New Zealand - First Test at Trent Bridge - Match drawn
16 Jun 94 - England vs New Zealand - Second Test at Lord's - England won by 4 wickets
30 Jun 94 - England vs New Zealand - Third Test at Old Trafford - Match drawn

England Squad

Graham Gooch

Mike Atherton
Graeme Hick
Nasser Hussain
Robin Smith
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe

Richard Blakey
Jack Russell

Chris Lewis

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

Peter Such
Phil Tufnell

The first tour of the 1994 summer will see a Ken Rutherford-led New Zealand team arrive on English shores with a very limited team. As for England, they've got an almost unchanged squad, and why wouldn't they: an excellent victory against the West Indies in the West Indies - something no other team has done for pretty much as long as any of the squad has been playing Test cricket - was not a performance after which the coaching staff would be inspire to drop many of their players. Indeed, only two would get the chop: Mark Ramprakash, who doesn't currently make a full-strength England team, and Mark Ilott, who probably won't make a full-strength England team ever again. In their place come Nasser Hussain, who will hopefully be given a chance to atone for a ropey start to Test cricket with an opportunity against the Kiwis, and Darren Gough, who is a brash young tyro from Up North.

The development of this increasingly strong attack is no doubt being helped by the increasingly common practice of keeping those players in the England squad out of the county game for the duration of tours, a practice brought into the English game at the turn of the 1990s. It also seems that this particular England squad may be trialling something it is not familiar with: a rotation policy. It is as yet unclear whether that will include rotation of the captaincy: Gooch has said that the absolute latest he intends to remain in the team is the end of the upcoming Ashes, but that he will step aside if it is what is best for the team. If he does that, then they'll be needing a new captain, with Hick and Stewart looking like the frontrunners.

 

[TerryAlderman]

This thread is a great (and nostalgic) read. Stat packed too! I'm thinking of a 70's equivalent.....but I just know that I don't have this kind of dedication......or patience.

 

[Aislabie]

England vs New Zealand - First Test at Trent Bridge

England XI
Graham Gooch
Alec Stewart
Michael Atherton
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Jack Russell
Chris Lewis
Phillip DeFreitas
Andy Caddick
Darren Gough (debut)
Phil Tufnell

New Zealand XI
Bryan Young
Blair Hartland
Ken Rutherford
Martin Crowe
Stephen Fleming
Shane Thomson
Adam Parore
Gavin Larsen
Matthew Hart
Dion Nash
Heath Davis

- - -

New Zealand win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Despite speculation that England might field a somewhat weakened team against the touring New Zealanders, the side that took to the field at Trent Bridge was more or less full strength. There were a couple of changes to the pace department, with Andy Caddick and Darren Gough forming an exciting young fast bowling duo - the latter on Test debut. New Zealand meanwhile continue for some reason to pick Blair Hartland, something I find too funny to actually continue analysing the rest of the side which seems kinda "meh". Heath Davis might offer some extra pace though.

On the first day though, it Hartland and the rest of the Kiwi top order who more or less did their jobs. The ungainly opener nudged and edged his way to a half-century before finally being dismissed by Phil Tufnell, and captain Ken Rutherford made a brave 87 to continue his streak of scoring runs against England but not really against anyone else. He would be dismissed by the Kiwi-raised Caddick. However, England's comeback to a position of strength with New Zealand at 226 for five was entirely thanks to Phillip DeFreitas, who found his rhythm to take three for 38 on the opening day. One must assume that the Kiwis rested better overnight though, because they came back and rebuilt their innings. A classy 98 from Stephen Fleming underpinned a comeback that took the touring side past the 400 mark, made more painful by a stubborn 44 from Nash at number ten.

Alec Stewart's first-over dismissal did not start the innings as England would have wanted it to carry on, but Gooch and Atherton's aggressive partnership seized back the momentum; they added 167 in roughly three hours of batting, with Atherton recording his third and most impressive Test century. A few more contributions from the middle order would have been nice - Chris Lewis was the only other man to pass 30, and his 39 was not exactly telling. Indeed, the biggest problem for the English batsmen was the left-arm spin of Matthew Hart, taking a disciplined five for 82 despite limited support from his bowling colleagues.

A first-innings lead of just under a hundred was an excellent platform for the Kiwis to work from, and a surprisingly assured 78 from Bryan Young carried New Zealand almost 250 ahead before the second wicket fell. England needed someone, ideally one of their fast men, to seize control of the situation, and that someone was the debutant Gough. He bent his back and ran through the Kiwi middle order on his way to five for 50; support from the spin of Tufnell ensured that England were faced with a target that was at least theoretically achievable, even if chasing 363 definitely was not part of the plan four days prior.

The strategy quickly became obvious: to have one batsman trying to score quickly, and the other preserving their wicket. Graham Gooch did excellently, flaying a dominant 84 before falling LBW to Matthew Hart. Graeme Hick then took on the role of aggressor, getting as far as 40 before he too fell leg before wicket. At that point, there was a decision to be made, and England decided to regroup with Atherton and Thorpe prioritising crease occupation over run-scoring. England had shut up shop, and made it almost to the close without any drama. Until, that is, they lost six for 27 in a handful of overs. With Gough and Tufnell at the crease and 40 minutes left in the day, England were having a Normal One.

But then, something miraculous happened: the tail-enders batted pretty well. Gough, on debut, looked like he was still going for the win: he thumped six boundaries on the way to a weirdly chanceless 35 not out. Tufnell meanwhile batted like his usual self, except without the usual emphasis on getting out. Until the very last ball of the day. Slightly back of a length and towards his body from Gavin Larsen, Tufnell panicked. He fended it towards the packed slip cordon and...


It went down!

England escaped with a draw that looked like it had slipped away.

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. Mike Atherton - 3 points (+3)
2. Graham Gooch - 2 points (+2)
3. Darren Gough - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

This thread is a great (and nostalgic) read. Stat packed too! I'm thinking of a 70's equivalent.....but I just know that I don't have this kind of dedication......or patience.

If you're interested in doing so, I'd say go for it. I found this series really therapeutic to do while I had more deadlines than time in the day, and now that I don't have that it's really nice to pick it back up like an old friend

 

[Aislabie]

England (0) vs (0) New Zealand - Second Test at Lord's

England XI
Graham Gooch
Alec Stewart
Michael Atherton
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Nasser Hussain
Jack Russell
Phillip DeFreitas
Dominic Cork (debut)
Darren Gough
Phil Tufnell

New Zealand XI
Bryan Young
Blair Pocock
Ken Rutherford
Martin Crowe
Stephen Fleming
Shane Thomson
Adam Parore
Matthew Hart
Dion Nash
Chris Pringle
Michael Owens

- - -

New Zealand win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

There were changes on both sides for the Second Test, including an England debut for Dominic Cork that had seemed to be on the cards for several months before actually happening here at Lord's. Chris Lewis also found himself left out, with Nasser Hussain preferred in the hope that he can become more familiar with playing at Test level. For New Zealand, half of the bowling attack was changed as Chris Pringle and Michael Owens come in for Heath Davis and Gavin Larsen because clearly the Kiwis needed a little bit more right-arm fast-medium in their side. Blair Hartland has also been dropped at last, but replaced with another Blair.

Gooch again lost the toss though, and Rutherford again chose for the Kiwis to have first and best batting use of the wicket. On the opening morning, DeFreitas was the pick of the bowlers with nine probing overs, while Cork's maiden Test wicket of Rutherford came from the best delivery of the session. However, all of this just served as a platform for Phil Tufnell to bowl his best spell in several matches: bowling scarcely a poor ball, his first 14 overs conceded only 22 runs, runs more than counterbalanced by the three Kiwi wickets he took for his troubles: the three big wickets of Young, Crowe and Fleming. This left a lot of responsibility in the hands of Adam Parore, but his organised batting looked to be entirely up to the task. With support from both Thomson and Hart, he progressed to 83 and helped New Zealand towards 300. His innings was finally ended by an excellent DeFreitas inswinger that clean bowled him, bringing in Chris Pringle. Pringle was faced with the exact same delivery first up, and he too was unable to get bat on it. And so, the hat-trick ball against Michael Owens. Full. Straight. Hitting the pad... AND THE STUMPS. Phillip DeFreitas has a Test hat-trick, and New Zealand are 296 all out.

In reply, the English batsmen looked comfortable: both Gooch and Stewart scoring serenely until the former was the first to go with the score on 85. Little was he to know that nobody else to come in the batting order would be able to better his 38. Plenty got in, with the scorecard covered in batsmen who scored between 22 and 31, but none went on to make an important contribution. Hussain looked fairly comfortable for his 31, but again - it should have been more. New Zealand escaped with a first-innings lead of 38, and Dion Nash escaped with six first-innings wickets. There were rumblings of "not taking this series seriously" from TV pundits, and that batting performance was not England's best defence.

Yet again, England were banking on a rescue from their bowling attack, and Darren Gough gave it everything: his first twelve overs yielded one wicket for only fourteen runs. However, that wasn't enough to overcome the efforts of Pocock (55), Crowe (54) and Thomson (61): to do that it took a five-for-five collapse at the hands of Tufnell and the debutant Dominic Cork. While the English bowlers were excellent, they still can't win this Test on their own. They have however given their batsmen a chance of winning it: a target of 304 to win, and seven hours of batting in which to do it.

As it turned out, England did not need seven hours. A spellbinding 196-run opening partnership between Atherton and fourth innings specialist Alec Stewart saw England almost all the way to the winning line within a couple of sessions of cricket. Even a classic England collapse couldn't derail things: losing five wickets for 40 matters considerably less when you've got nine wickets left and only 50 to get. Ultimately, Russell nudged the winning runs, but Stewart and Atherton were the heroes: Atherton in particular continued what has been a real coming of age series, also notable for his slightly increased scoring rate. On this occasion, he hit sixteen fours and his first ever Test match six, thumped over mid-wicket from the bowling of Thomson.

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. Mike Atherton - 6 points (+3)
2. Alec Stewart - 5 points (+5)
=3. Graham Gooch - 2 points
=3. Phil Tufnell - 2 points (+2)
=5. Phillip DeFreitas - 1 point (+1)
=5. Darren Gough - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

England (1) vs (0) New Zealand - Third Test at Old Trafford

England XI
Alec Stewart
Michael Atherton
Nasser Hussain
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Chris Lewis
Richard Blakey (debut)
Phillip DeFreitas
Darren Gough
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell

New Zealand XI
Bryan Young
Blair Pocock
Ken Rutherford
Stephen Fleming
Martin Crowe
Shane Thomson
Adam Parore
Matthew Hart
Dion Nash
Chris Pringle
Michael Owens

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

England, emboldened by their win in the Second Test, decided to rest/rotate some of their players ahead of the South African series. Gooch rested himself, allowing Hick to gain some captaincy experience, while Robin Smith, Chris Lewis and Angus Fraser returned to the side in place of him, Thorpe, and Cork. Richard Blakey was also given a chance to play Test cricket with Russell - who had played the last 53 straight Test matches - complaining of some back pain. New Zealand, by comparison, made only one change: the recall of Greatbatch to the troublesome opening pair.

The English batting was not aggressive, perhaps reflecting the fact that it was full of players playing for their place, but it was still more impressive than it had been in any first innings all series. This was despite only one batsman making fifty: Robin Smith constructed an absolute monument, his over ten-hour 191 making a clear statement that he should never have been moved from his favoured number four position. He found good support from Atherton (43), Lewis (33), Blakey (29) and - improbably - Tufnell (29 not out). It was also comfortably Tufnell's longest and best innings in his Test career.

Angus Fraser then backed it up with a sublime new ball spell of nine overs, four maidens, one for nine. Incredibly, his second spell was even better: a burst of seven overs, one maiden, two for seven just before lunch on the fourth day. England did have other bowlers, but none were as worth watching as a top-of-his game Fraser. And nor, really was the batting. Much like England, the New Zealanders couldn't quite find their timing on a sluggish Old Trafford wicket. One thing it wasn't doing though was turning, as Tufnell bowled another average-denting spell with no wickets to show for it. Chris Lewis kept toiling away with ball in hand and ended up with four good wickets to add to his collection,

Once the Kiwis had declared, England's batsmen again sacrificed their averages in the quest to push for a win: Hick told them they had 20 overs to bat, and he was true to his word - pulling his batsmen back to the pavilion after a frenetic passage of play that yielded 154 runs. The hope must have been for Gough or somebody to run through the Kiwi batting like the Queen's Park Oval Test in the winter, but it never looked likely. Eventually the two captains shook hands on a draw.

After the game, Hick told Test Match Special that he had ".... enjoyed the opportunity to captain England but didn't like the way rotation was implemented this series. There was too much change, too often; it's important to give young players opportunities, but it serves everyone badly if those opportunities come in an unsettled side." It's a lesson that rings true, and one which it seems fortunate that England have been able to learn in a series where they so clearly had the better players (but still nearly lost anyway).

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. Mike Atherton - 6 points
2. Alec Stewart - 5 points
3. Robin Smith - 3 points (+3)
=4. Graham Gooch - 2 points
=4. Angus Fraser - 2 points (+2)
=4. Phil Tufnell - 2 points
=7. Phillip DeFreitas - 1 point
=7. Darren Gough - 1 point
=7. Chris Lewis - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

Records

Highest Innings Score
for 571 for 5 dec. vs West Indies, The Oval 1991
vs 571 all out, Australia, Adelaide Oval 1991

Lowest Innings Score
for 122 all out vs New Zealand, Edgbaston 1990
vs 83 all out, West Indies, Queens Park Oval 1994

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

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

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

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

Partnerships
1. 190 - Graham Gooch & Tim Robinson vs Australia 1991
2. 196 - Alec Stewart & 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. 133 - Graham Thorpe & Jack Russell vs West Indies 1994
7. 174 - Chris Lewis & Phillip DeFreitas vs Australia 1993
8. 54 - Chris Lewis & Andy Caddick vs Australia 1993
9. 69 - Gladstone Small & Angus Fraser vs Australia 1990
10. 61 - Graham Thorpe & Peter Such vs West Indies 1994

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 , 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

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 (2), 1994
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 (3), 1994
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), 1994
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 (2), 1994
Angus Fraser	537	v (3), 1989	v (3), 1994
Mike Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	v (3), 1994
Devon Malcolm	539	v (5), 1989	v (1), 1993-94
Alan Igglesden	540	v (6), 1989	only Test
- - - - - - - - - -	- - -	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -
Alec Stewart	542	v (1), 1989-90	v (3), 1994
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	v (3), 1994
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1994
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	v (3), 1994
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 (5), 1993-94
Ian Salisbury	549	v (1), 1992-93	only Test
Mark Ramprakash	550	v (2), 1992-93	v (5), 1993-94
Dermot Reeve	551	v (3), 1992-93	only Test
Andy Caddick	552	v (2), 1993	v (1), 1994
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 (2), 1994
Darren Gough	556	v (1), 1994	v (3), 1994
Dominic Cork	557	v (2), 1994	only Test
Richard Blakey	558	v (3), 1994	only Test

Captains

Player	Mat	W	D	L	First	Last
Graham Gooch	47	20	11	16	v (5), 1988	v (2), 1994
Graeme Hick	2	1	1	0	v (2), 1992-93	v (3), 1994

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mike Atherton	28	53	3	2123	42.46	4	11	147	11	-
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	8	14	2	166	13.83	-	-	37*	-	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Dominic Cork	1	1	0	22	22.00	-	-	22	-	-
Phillip DeFreitas	27	44	4	674	16.85	-	1	82	6	-
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	41	58	8	506	10.12	-	-	34	7	-
Mike Gatting	70	121	14	4037	37.73	9	19	207	53	-
Graham Gooch	118	219	8	9555	45.28	22	54	294	134	-
Darren Gough	3	5	3	57	28.50	-	-	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	31	57	4	2145	40.47	4	13	147	50	-
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	-
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	37	59	8	1307	25.63	1	3	114*	30	-
Devon Malcolm	25	35	9	174	6.69	-	-	14*	6	-
Matt Maynard	1	2	0	13	6.50	-	-	10	-	-
Phil Newport	2	3	0	70	23.33	-	-	36	1	-
Derek Pringle	21	36	3	512	15.51	-	2	66	7	-
Mark Ramprakash	8	15	1	488	34.86	-	5	76*	-	-
Dermot Reeve	1	2	0	12	6.00	-	-	6	-	-
Tim Robinson	41	71	6	2362	36.33	4	12	175	14	-
Jack Russell	53	91	19	2352	32.67	1	13	128*	148	11
Ian Salisbury	1	1	0	21	21.00	-	-	21	-	-
Gladstone Small	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Robin Smith	52	97	8	4208	47.28	11	22	145	16	-
Alec Stewart	27	53	3	2355	47.10	8	7	166	10	-
Peter Such	10	13	5	45	5.63	-	-	14*	4	-
Graham Thorpe	4	8	0	375	46.87	1	1	3	-
Phil Tufnell	34	49	12	205	5.54	-	-	36	8	-
Steve Watkin	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mike Atherton	28	94	396	10	39.60	4.2	-	-	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	8	329	875	21	41.67	2.7	-	-	4/71
David Capel	11	209	628	12	52.33	3.0	-	-	2/13
Dominic Cork	1	52	147	4	36.75	2.8	-	-	3/80
Phillip DeFreitas	27	982	2748	77	35.69	2.8	4	1	5/19
John Emburey	60	2371	5105	138	36.99	2.1	6	-	7/78
Neil Fairbrother	4	2	9	0	-	4.5	-	-	-
Neil Foster	39	1451	3902	115	33.93	2.7	5	1	8/107
Angus Fraser	41	1688	4102	123	33.35	2.4	4	-	5/21
Mike Gatting	70	125	317	4	79.25	2.5	-	-	1/14
Graham Gooch	118	306	740	17	43.53	2.4	-	-	2/12
Darren Gough	3	138	316	11	28.73	2.3	1	-	5/50
David Gower (RET)	124	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Eddie Hemmings	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	31	61	229	6	38.17	3.8	-	-	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
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	37	1097	3000	81	37.04	2.7	1	-	6/70
Devon Malcolm	25	879	2846	87	32.71	3.2	2	-	6/75
Matt Maynard	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Newport	2	92	339	9	37.66	3.7	-	-	4/87
Derek Pringle	21	625	1807	48	37.64	2.9	2	-	5/95
Mark Ramprakash	8	1	2	0	-	2.0	-	-	-
Dermot Reeve	1	14	39	0	-	2.8	-	-	-
Tim Robinson	41	1	0	0	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell	53	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	1	13	76	0	-	5.9	-	-	-
Gladstone Small	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith	52	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	27	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such	10	486	1442	48	30.04	3.0	2	-	8/47
Graham Thorpe	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	39	1822	5233	190	27.54	2.9	16	5	8/114
Steve Watkin	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56

​

Stats and records updated - not much to report after that Kiwi series, except that Tufnell still managed to average 27 despite an absolute stinker in the third Test

 

[TerryAlderman]

Are you playing on the PC version or console? My version is on the PSP.....haven't played it in ages but just might dust it off.

 

[Aislabie]

Are you playing on the PC version or console? My version is on the PSP.....haven't played it in ages but just might dust it off.

I'm playing the PC version; my first experience of the series was CC 2002 on the PS1 though, back when I was much smaller than I am now!

 

[Aislabie]

South Africa tour of England, 1994

Itinerary
21 Jul 94 - England vs South Africa - First Test at Lord's - Match drawn
04 Aug 94 - England vs South Africa - Second Test at Headingley - Match drawn
18 Aug 94 - England vs South Africa - Third Test at The Oval - England won by 3 wickets

England Squad

Graham Gooch

Mike Atherton
Graeme Hick
Mark Ramprakash
Robin Smith
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe

Richard Blakey
Jack Russell

Chris Lewis
Craig White

Dominic Cork
Phillip DeFreitas
Angus Fraser
Darren Gough
Devon Malcolm

Peter Such
Phil Tufnell

There were never going to be many changes in the middle of a Test summer, and England made only two to their Test squad. The first saw them get shot of Nasser Hussain for at least the near future, replacing him with a recalled Mark Ramprakash in a reserve batsman's slot. The other move made by the selectors was to drop Andy Caddick, whose stock has fallen considerably since he burst onto the scene in the Ashes last year. He was replaced not by a specialist bowler but by an uncapped batting all-rounder in Craig White; he saw off stiff competition from the promising duo of Alleyne and Wells largely by belting a hundred and taking a five-for against Essex a month or so ago. He's still very raw though, and is probably more with the squad for experience than anything more involved

 

[Aislabie]

England vs South Africa - First Test at Lord's

England XI
Graham Gooch
Alec Stewart
Michael Atherton
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Jack Russell
Chris Lewis
Phillip DeFreitas
Darren Gough
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell

South Africa XI
Andrew Hudson
Gary Kirsten
Hansie Cronje
Kepler Wessels
Peter Kirsten
Jonty Rhodes
Brian McMillan
David Richardson
Craig Matthews
Fanie de Villiers
Allan Donald

- - -

South Africa win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

A return to full strength was in order for England, especially after the near-failed experiment with rotation in the New Zealand series. Indeed, every English player from Gooch to Russell to Gough to Tufnell would have to be on top form in order that they could stand up to a side as talented and determined as the touring South Africans. Of particular note was their pace battery, led by the young Afrikaaner duo of Fanie de Villiers and Allan Donald. How might a duo of Fraser and Gough match up against them?

It was the English duo who would get the opportunity to lay down a marker after Kepler Wessels won the toss and chose to bat; neither Fraser nor Gough, nor anyone else could take a wicket in the morning session. That isn't to say there wasn't excellent bowling - Lewis, DeFreitas and Tufnell all strangled the run supply admirably to build up the pressure over the break in play. When proceedings resumed, it was Tufnell who took the important wickets of both opening batsmen to bring two new batsmen to the crease with the score still below a hundred. Indeed, Tufnell was on absolute top form again: he claimed an astonishing first-day five-for that turned to seven on the second morning. For once, an opposing team took the England batting approach: starts for all, match-defining contributions for none.

England, by comparison, were able to count upon a match-defining contribution. It came from the chief purveyor of "daddy hundreds" himself, Graham Gooch: ably supported by an excellent 77 from Atherton, then an equally good 81 from Smith, the captain cruised to a commanding 241 before finally being dismissed on the fourth morning. Commentators expected England to declare straight away, but Gooch will have appreciated the recovery time afforded by an extra few overs of tail-end slogging from Darren Gough. One does wonder, however, whether affording cheap wickets to the South African bowlers was the right strategic option with England already 180 ahead.

Regardless, the English bowlers set about trying to win the Test match: an early wicket from Phillip DeFreitas set the right tone, but the likes of Kirsten and Wessels do not give their wickets away without a fight. Indeed, nobody in the South African top eight batted for fewer than a hundred balls with the exception of Hudson, which made every single wicket valuable. Perhaps too vulnerable: England did not get the chance to bat again until the final session of the game, by which time a target of over a run a ball seemed well beyond the home side's reach.

In their quest to chase down an exceedingly difficult target, England almost managed to lose an unlosable Test match. Once the dynamic Gooch had lost his wicket, the English batsmen crumbled while trying to go at an unfeasible run-rate. A horrendous snap of five wickets lost in ten balls (Hick, Lewis, DeFreitas, Gough, Fraser) left Tufnell and Russell in a hole where they had seven balls to survive - not many, but also not something their predecessors had managed. Thankfully from an English point of view, Russell took responsibility and saw the side home, but good grief. Not the sort of average-protecting antics we might have expected.

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. Mike Atherton - 6 points
=2. Graham Gooch - 5 points (+3)
=2. Alec Stewart - 5 points
4. Phil Tufnell - 4 points (+2)
5. Robin Smith - 3 points
=6. Angus Fraser - 2 points
=6. Chris Lewis - 2 points (+2)
=8. Phillip DeFreitas - 1 point
=8. Darren Gough - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

England (0) vs (0) South Africa - Second Test at Headingley

England XI
Graham Gooch
Alec Stewart
Michael Atherton
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Jack Russell
Chris Lewis
Phillip DeFreitas
Darren Gough
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell

South Africa XI
Andrew Hudson
Gary Kirsten
Hansie Cronje
Kepler Wessels
Peter Kirsten
Jonty Rhodes
Brian McMillan
David Richardson
Craig Matthews
Fanie de Villiers
Allan Donald

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

There was little to report ahead of the Second Test: after a match that could so easily have gone either way before ultimately going neither way, both sides retained confidence that they were putting out their respective best elevens. At the toss, both captains admitted that they would be looking to bat before the match referee had even produced a coin: unusually for Headingley, the pitch looked suspiciously like the M621.

By the end of the first day, a draw was all but certain: England had made slow progress, but lost only a single wicket: that of Stewart for 35. The South African bowlers were good and disciplined, but the conditions just weren't offering any help for them to make that count. By the time that the second wicket fell (that of Gooch for 175), even the local seagulls seemed to have lost interest in the chips being sold from the present burger vans. As the third day progressed, Atherton and Lewis tried to push on a bit and make England's advantage count; their 137-run partnership proving to be the final nail in the coffin for the South African bowlers. Finally, after toiling for half the match in bright sunshine and conceding almost 600 runs, Graham Gooch called his batsmen in and let them rest.

Upon seeing that the fourth morning dawned dull and cloudy, the South Africans must have been wondering what they had done to anger the cricket gods. As the pitch started also to take a bit of turn, the cricket being played bore no resemblance to that which had gone before. For the first time, the bowlers were on top - despite a combative 72 from Cronje. By tea, England had reduced the tourists to 229 for seven, and the follow-on was a matter of when, and not if. The only problem with that assertion: a near five-hour vigil from Dave Richardson meant that "when" would turn out to be just after lunch on the final day, despite outstanding bowling performances from both Tufnell (six wickets) and Chris Lewis (three).

Ten wickets in sixty overs of cricket was the task ahead for England, something they'd not been able to achieve since Sabina Park in the winter. Standing in their way, eleven South Africans with absolutely no reason to take the slightest risk. The gamble from Gooch to open with spinners at both ends (although Mike Atherton's leg-spin lasted for only a single over) brought no reward. Indeed, despite some excellence from the English bowler sometimes a game is just a draw and there's nothing much you can do about it. But it's not every day that Angus Fraser can return figures of 13 overs, seven maidens, one for seven.

But it's still 0-0 going into the final Test.

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. Mike Atherton - 9 points (+3)
2. Graham Gooch - 7 points (+2)
=3. Alec Stewart - 5 points
=3. Phil Tufnell - 5 points (+1)
5. Robin Smith - 3 points
=6. Angus Fraser - 2 points
=6. Chris Lewis - 2 points
=8. Phillip DeFreitas - 1 point
=8. Darren Gough - 1 point