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

:saf: South Africa (1) vs (1) England :eng: - Third Test at Durban

South African XI
:saf: :bat: Gary Kirsten
:saf: :bat: Herschelle Gibbs
:saf: :ar: Jacques Kallis
:saf: :bat: Daryl Cullinan
:saf: :bat: Hansie Cronje :c:
:saf: :ar: Lance Klusener
:saf: :ar: Shaun Pollock
:saf: :wk: Mark Boucher
:saf: :bwl: Allan Donald
:saf: :bwl: Paul Adams
:saf: :bwl: Nantie Hayward

English XI
:eng: :bat: Michael Atherton
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart :c:
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain
:eng: :ar: Craig White
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :ar: Dominic Cork
:eng: :bwl: Julian Thompson (debut)
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell

- - -

South Africa win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

With the series now level at 1-1, the South Africans arrived in Durban with a huge desire to get back in front at the first opportunity. With this in mind, they brought back Paul Adams to have an extra bowling option in the team, at the expense of Jonty Rhodes' batting. On the other hand, England brought in South African-born Julian Thompson after Andy Caddick had struggled to find his length in the first two Test matches. The floppy-haired fast man will be wanting to make a big impression playing for his adopted country. Another storyline in the English ranks is that Phil Tufnell enters the Test match on 399 career wickets, just one behind Ian Botham's all-time England record. There is every chance that he will overtake Botham in this game and become the leading Englishman and fourth-highest all-time wicket-taker in Tests.

South Africa won the toss and batted again, and got off to a strong start with Kirsten's stoic 90 providing the backbone around which the likes of Kallis (62) and Klusener could play more aggressively. Either side of the tea interval, Tufnell claimed wickets #400 and 401: first by getting Cullinan to edge to Hussain at slip, then by drifting one into Cronje to have him caught at bat-pad. Tufnell's celebrations after each wicket were emotional and heartfelt, befitting the magnitude of an achievement that cements him as possibly England's greatest ever Test bowler. On the second morning, an England bowler had the opposite experience: Julian Thompson celebrating his first-ever Test wicket, that of the aggressive Lance Klusener. He would later add the tail-end scalps of Adams and Hayward to his tally to end the innings on 368.

In reply, England were very measured against the high pace of the South Africans. There were important contributions from Nick Knight at number three and Nasser Hussain at number five - this 70 marking Hussain's highest Test score so far in his 13-match career. Craig White and Paul Nixon (again) built upon their platform with scores of 46 and 57 not out respectively, but the crowning moment of the English first innings was undoubtedly the unexpected debut 50 made by Thompson. Playing against the best bowlers he had ever faced and surviving numerous appeals for LBW and caught behind, he reached his half-century with an unforgettable awkward poke through gully for four against the legendary Allan Donald. Thanks to this team performance, England trailed by only two runs at the halfway point in the game.

The South African second innings was precarious at one point as Alan Mullally tore through the top order, but partnerships between Gibbs and Cronje, then Cronje and Pollock were enough to ensure that yet another excellent spell of left-arm seam bowling was a virtuoso effort rather than being part of a bigger burst of English momentum. Half an hour into day five of the game and a comfortable 335 runs in front, Cronje declared the innings to try to push for his team's second victory of the series.

Despite their best efforts though, the pitch was still a good one for batting on. Not only did Knight, Thorpe and Hussain successfully absorb all the pressure South Africa could throw at them, but Knight even turned it into a superb century: his fourth overall, and third against South Africa. Given that the other one came against Zimbabwe, the Warwickshire left-hander must really like batting against sub-Saharan white dudes.

His efforts were more than enough to secure the draw and ensure that England don't lose their last Test in the 1990s.

1652962709845.png

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

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. Alan Mullally - 8 points (+2)
2. Graham Thorpe - 6 points
3. Paul Nixon - 4 points
4. Nick Knight - 3 points (+3)
5. Dominic Cork - 1 point
=. Dr Julian Thompson - 1 point (+1)
 
:saf: South Africa (1) vs (1) England :eng: - Fourth Test at Cape Town

South African XI
:saf: :bat: Gary Kirsten
:saf: :bat: Herschelle Gibbs
:saf: :ar: Jacques Kallis
:saf: :bat: Daryl Cullinan
:saf: :bat: Hansie Cronje :c:
:saf: :bat: Jonty Rhodes
:saf: :ar: Lance Klusener
:saf: :ar: Shaun Pollock
:saf: :wk: Mark Boucher
:saf: :bwl: Allan Donald
:saf: :bwl: Paul Adams

English XI
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart :c:
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
:eng: :bat: John Crawley
:eng: :ar: Craig White
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :bwl: Julian Thompson
:eng: :bwl: Andy Caddick
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

As both teams prepare to play their first game of the new millennium, there are changes to both teams. For the home side, Jonty Rhodes comes back in to strengthen the already-formidable batting, while England have made two changes - one forced, the other less so. Firstly, Michael Atherton misses out after complaining of (more than usual) back soreness, and cedes his place to John Crawley. This also sees a little bit of rejigging as Knight will open with Hussain at three and Crawley at five. In the bowling department, Caddick returns with his captain's backing, asserting that the Kiwi-born pacer was "rested, not dropped". Stewart's comments came after winning the toss and opting to bat first on a flat-looking pitch.

Yet again though, the flatness of the pitch was not enough on its own to stop the English batters from struggling against this excellent South African seam attack. In this case, it was particularly the accuracy of Pollock and Kallis that left the English batters unable to avoid eventually playing rashly in response to pressure. Usually these rash shots settled in the hands of the exceedingly busy Daryl Cullinan at second slip. The only English batter to pass 40 was the combative Craig White, whose unfussy unbeaten 63 was chiefly responsible for England so much as passing 200 in the face of such relentless quick bowling.

Where the name of the game this series has so often been restraint, South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs had a quite different idea. By lunch on the second day, he had thumped eleven fours and a six while racing to 67 not out from only 69 balls. His punishment was meted out on Caddick in particular, the recalled bowler leaking 50 runs from his first ten overs. Thompson would break the opening stand by clean-bowling Kirsten, but this did little to slow down Gibbs, whose century was brought up with only 145 total runs on the board. It fell to England's leading seamer Mullally to get rid of him, after which some semblance of sanity resumed. England's two best bowlers, Tufnell and Mullally, were all that stood between South Africa and an insurmountable lead, but they bowled out of their skins to keep the total under 400. It still dwarfed England's, but it could have been far worse.

All that effort was for nought though, as only two Englishmen made double figures in the second innings. Crawley's fluent 70 and Thorpe's futilely unbeaten 62 were not just the only contributions of note, they were the only contributions. The rest of the batting order were powerless against Donald, Pollock and Kallis, who shared all ten wickets between them. Four players (Hussain, Nixon, Mullally and Tufnell) were dismissed for ducks, facing only seven balls between them. It was humiliating stuff, and South Africa made no mistake with their measly target of 25 runs to win. Herschelle Gibbs put the final flourish on the drubbing by scoring 20 of those runs from only nine balls.

1652964009154.png

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

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. Alan Mullally - 9 points (+1)
2. Graham Thorpe - 8 points (+2)
3. Paul Nixon - 4 points
4. Nick Knight - 3 points
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points (+2)
6. Dominic Cork - 1 point
=. Dr Julian Thompson - 1 point
 
:saf: South Africa (2) vs (1) England :eng: - Fifth Test at Centurion

South African XI
:saf: :bat: Gary Kirsten
:saf: :bat: Herschelle Gibbs
:saf: :ar: Jacques Kallis
:saf: :bat: Daryl Cullinan
:saf: :bat: Hansie Cronje :c:
:saf: :ar: Pieter Strydom
:saf: :ar: Lance Klusener
:saf: :ar: Shaun Pollock
:saf: :wk: Mark Boucher
:saf: :bwl: Paul Adams
:saf: :bwl: Nantie Hayward

English XI
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart :c:
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight
:eng: :bat: John Crawley
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
:eng: :bat: Graeme Hick
:eng: :ar: Craig White
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell

- - -

South Africa win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Given South Africa's position of strength in the series, it was no surprise to see that the curators had prepared the flattest possible playing surface for the Test match. What was more surprising was that the home team had called up Pieter Strydom and Nantie Hayward in place of Jonty Rhodes and Allan Donald in a game that was surely very important for them to not lose - even with the Bannerman Shield already successfully defended. England also made changes - Graeme Hick recalled to replace the struggling Hussain, Ben Hollioake in for Andy Caddick, and the fit-again Alex Tudor brought back in place of the no-longer-fit Julian Thompson. Hick comes in not to bat at his previous number four slot, but at number five - four seems to now be in the possession of Graham Thorpe for the foreseeable future.

Yet again, England's efforts with the new ball were little short of stunning. Alan Mullally, refusing to be cowed by an astonishing workload in this series, roared in to claim the early wickets of both Gibbs and Kirsten, while Tudor followed up by removing Kallis and Hollioake by getting Cronje caught-and-bowled. Even as the South Africans (Cullinan mostly) scored quite quickly, there was no doubting who was on top in the match. All the better then when Tufnell managed to deceive Cullinan to take the fifth wicket to fall - the total still on only 99. Alas, England would run into the overlong South African batting order yet again: an eighth-wicket century stand between Pollock and Boucher rescued the home side from abject ignominy and instead pushed them up past 250.

Alec Stewart certainly couldn't have picked a better time to play his first captain's innings of the series: he stood firm at the top of the order to assemble an innings of the highest quality. There is no doubting that the absence of his tormentor Donald made this an easier task, but you still have to make those runs. Tragically for him, he was again just one run short of the milestone - out on 99 for the second time in a year. Further down the order, Craig White put in yet another excellent performance to be last man out for 81, although the supporting contributions of Knight (52) and Tudor (40) shouldn't be forgotten for they were crucial in England assembling a 126-run first innings lead.

Undeniably behind in the game, the South African batters faced a tough task and it was imperative that they survive Alan Mullally's opening spell. Crucially, they did so - the only wicket to fall before England turned to spin being that of the cavalier Gibbs, caught out on the boundary trying to hit Alex Tudor for six. A batting order with the likes of Kirsten, Kallis, Cullinan and Pollock in it rarely fails twice, and so it proved here: though there weren't any centurions in Centurion, all four of those players provided valuable 50+ contributions to an eventual total of 387. For England, Tudor bounced back from his earlier treatment at the hands of Gibbs to take a career-best four wickets that may go some way towards him establishing himself as a core member of a bowling attack that is currently in transition.

In situations like this chase of 262, England almost always go for the win. With Atherton out injured, the scoring rate wasn't likely to be a problem. Instead, it was wickets: despite the efforts of Stewart (43), Knight (25 off 27) and White (30), the wickets just fell too quickly. When Tudor joined Thorpe at the crease with an hour of play left, the task was clearly to block out for the draw and not to leave it up to Mullally and Tufnell. To their utmost credit, the two Surrey men did their jobs perfectly and England escaped with a draw - although they still lost the series 2-1.

1652965995591.png

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

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. Graham Thorpe - 10 points (+2)
2. Alan Mullally - 9 points
3. Paul Nixon - 4 points
=. Phil Tufnell - 4 points (+1)
4. Nick Knight - 3 points
=. Alec Stewart - 3 points (+3)
6. Dominic Cork - 1 point
=. Dr Julian Thompson - 1 point

1652966086035.png

It will be of little consolation to Graham Thorpe to win the Barrington Medal despite not scoring a century all series. He was a consistent contributor to almost every English innings with no fewer than six half-centuries to his name. He narrowly edged out Alan Mullally to claim the honour.
 
Aislabie said:
World Test Rankings, as of 31 Mar 1999
Minumum qualification: 5 series

RankTeamRating
1:saf: South Africa767
2:aus: Australia733
3:eng: England667
4:pak: Pakistan500 *
5:wi: West Indies500 *
6:sri: Sri Lanka438
7:ind: India375
8:nzf: New Zealand344
9:zim: Zimbabwe115
*If two teams are level on points, their head-to-head against each other is taken into consideration

Opp.HomeAway
:eng:L (1-0)D (2-2)
:ind:W (3-0)L (2-1)
:nzf:W (2-0)W (3-0)
:pak:W (2-1)W (1-0)
:saf:W (1-0)W (2-1)
:sri:W (3-0)L (1-0)
:wi:W (3-2)D (2-2)
:zim:-W (1-0)
Opp.HomeAway
:aus:D (2-2)W (1-0)
:ind:W (2-0)W (2-1)
:nzf:D (2-2)W (2-0)
:pak:L (2-1)L (1-0)
:saf:L (3-1)L (2-1)
:sri:W (1-0)W (1-0)
:wi:W (3-1)W (4-0)
:zim:-W (3-0)
Opp.HomeAway
:aus:W (2-1)L (3-0)
:eng:L (2-1)L (2-0)
:nzf:W (1-0)L (1-0)
:pak:L (1-0)D (0-0)
:saf:L (2-0)L (2-0)
:sri:D (0-0)D (0-0)
:wi:D (1-1)L (1-0)
:zim:W (1-0)W (1-0)
Opp.HomeAway
:aus:L (3-0)L (2-0)
:eng:L (2-0)D (2-2)
:ind:W (1-0)L (1-0)
:pak:L (1-0)D (1-1)
:saf:L (1-0)L (2-1)
:sri:W (2-0)L (1-0)
:wi:W (2-0)L (1-0)
:zim:W (2-0)D (0-0)
Opp.HomeAway
:aus:L (1-0)L (2-1)
:eng:W (1-0)W (2-1)
:ind:D (0-0)W (1-0)
:nzf:D (1-1)W (1-0)
:saf:L (1-0)D (1-1)
:sri:L (3-0)D (0-0)
:wi:W (3-0)L (2-0)
:zim:L (1-0)W (1-0)
Opp.HomeAway
:aus:L (2-1)L (1-0)
:eng:W (2-1)W (3-1)
:ind:W (2-0)W (2-0)
:nzf:W (2-1)W (1-0)
:pak:D (1-1)W (1-0)
:sri:W (2-0)W (1-0)
:wi:W (4-0)L (1-0)
:zim:-W (1-0)
Opp.HomeAway
:aus:W (1-0)L (3-0)
:eng:L (1-0)L (1-0)
:ind:D (0-0)D (0-0)
:nzf:W (1-0)L (2-0)
:pak:D (0-0)W (3-0)
:saf:L (1-0)L (2-0)
:wi:D (0-0)L (1-0)
:zim:W (2-0)W (1-0)
Opp.HomeAway
:aus:D (2-2)L (3-2)
:eng:L (4-0)L (3-1)
:ind:W (1-0)D (1-1)
:nzf:W (1-0)L (2-0)
:pak:W (2-0)L (3-0)
:saf:W (1-0)L (4-0)
:sri:W (1-0)D (0-0)
:zim:W (2-0)-
Opp.HomeAway
:aus:L (1-0)-
:eng:L (3-0)-
:ind:L (1-0)L (1-0)
:nzf:D (0-0)L (2-0)
:pak:L (1-0)W (1-0)
:saf:L (1-0)-
:sri:L (1-0)L (2-0)
:wi:-L (2-0)

South Africa are the Bannerman Shield holders (until March 2002)

Champion Team as of 29 Jan 1975: :wi: West Indies
Champion Team as of 21 Apr 1994: :eng: England
Champion Team as of 25 Aug 1996: :pak: Pakistan
Champion Team as of 27 Oct 1997: :saf: South Africa
Champion team as of 12 Mar 2002: :aus: Australia
  • Australia vs England (5 Tests), 2002-03
Click to expand...
Aislabie said:
Records

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

Lowest Innings Score
for :eng: 74 all out vs Australia, The WACA 1995
vs :eng: 62 all out, India, Trent Bridge 1996

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

Best Innings Bowling
for :eng: 8 for 47, Peter Such vs India, Calcutta 1993
vs :eng: 8 for 79, Javagal Srinath, India, Lord's 1996

Best Match Bowling
for :eng: 12 for 173, Phil Tufnell vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1993
vs :eng: 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
:aus: Australia vs England :eng:, The WACA 1995

Partnerships
1. 323 - Mike Atherton & Alec Stewart vs India :ind: 1996
2. 262 - Graham Gooch & Mike Atherton vs New Zealand :saf: 1994
3. 325 - Graham Gooch & Robin Smith vs West Indies :wi: 1991
4. 247 - Robin Smith & Graeme Hick vs Pakistan :pak: 1992
5. 176 - Graeme Hick & Jack Russell vs West Indies :wi: 1991
6. 137 - Mike Atherton & Chris Lewis vs South Africa :saf: 1994
7. 174 - Chris Lewis & Phillip DeFreitas vs Australia :aus: 1993
8. 110 - Jack Russell & Dominic Cork vs South Africa :saf: 1995
9. 95 - Robin Smith & Dominic Cork vs Australia :aus: 1995
10. 61 - Graham Thorpe & Peter Such vs West Indies :wi: 1994

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

Most Test Wickets for England
1. :eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell - 417 wickets @ 29.37 (27 5WI, best 8/114)
2. :eng: :ar: Ian Botham - 400 wickets @ 28.13 (27 5WI, best 8/34)
3. :eng: :bwl: Bob Willis - 325 wickets @ 25.20 (16 5WI, best 8/43)

Honours Board
:bat:
:wi: vs :eng:, 1989-90
Graham Gooch - 112
Robin Smith - 101
Robin Smith - 112
Graham Gooch - 100

:eng: vs :nzf:, 1990
Graham Gooch - 127
Rob Bailey - 196

:eng: vs :ind:, 1990
none

:aus: vs :eng:, 1990-91
Robin Smith - 110
Graham Gooch - 170

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

:eng: vs :sri:, 1991
Alec Stewart - 166
Graeme Hick - 100

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

:aus: vs :eng:, 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

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

:saf: vs :eng:, 1995-96
Robin Smith - 118*
Michael Atherton - 109
Graeme Hick - 106
Graham Thorpe - 107*
Michael Atherton - 108
Graeme Hick - 113
Graham Thorpe - 114*

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

:eng: vs :pak:, 1996
Alec Stewart - 149
Alec Stewart - 153
Robin Smith - 104*

:zim: vs :eng:, 1996-97
Nick Knight - 247
Graham Thorpe - 106

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

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

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

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

:eng: vs :sri:, 1998
Graeme Hick - 133

:aus: vs :eng:, 1998-99
Alec Stewart - 131
Graham Thorpe - 104
Alec Stewart - 202*

:eng: vs :nzf:, 1999
Michael Atherton - 119

:saf: vs :eng:, 1999-00
Nick Knight - 109*

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

:eng: vs :nzf:, 1990
none

:eng: vs :ind:, 1990
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 116
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 72

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

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

:eng: vs :sri:, 1991
none

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

:eng: vs :pak:, 1992
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 100
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 31
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 45

:ind: vs :eng:, 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

:sri: vs :eng:, 1992-93
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 102
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 71

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

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

:eng: vs :nzf:, 1994
Darren Gough - 5 for 50
Phillip DeFreitas - Hat-trick
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 71

:eng: vs :saf:, 1994
Phil Tufnell - 7 for 124
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 117

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

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

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

:eng: vs :ind:, 1996
none

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

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

:nzf: vs :eng:, 1996-97
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 83

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

:wi: vs :eng:, 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

:eng: vs :saf:, 1998
Dean Headley - 5 for 112
Dean Headley - 5 for 106
Dean Headley - 5 for 119

:eng: vs :sri:, 1998
Alan Mullally - 6 for 70

:aus: vs :eng:, 1998-99
Alan Mullally - 6 for 84
Dean Headley - 7 for 55
Alan Mullally - 5 for 76
Dean Headley - 7 for 47

:eng: vs :nzf:, 1999
Dean Headley - 5 for 62
Andy Caddick - 7 for 26

:saf: vs :eng:, 1999-00
Alan Mullally - Hat-trick
Alan Mullally - 6 for 88
Alan Mullally - 6 for 90
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 114
Click to expand...
Aislabie said:
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#DebutLast Test
:eng: :bat: Graham Gooch461:eng: v :aus: (1), 1975:eng: v :wi: (5), 1995
:eng: :ar: Ian Botham474:eng: v :aus: (3), 1977:eng: v :ind: (3), 1990
:eng: :bat: Mike Gatting477:pak: v :eng: (3), 1977-78:ind: v :eng: (2), 1992-93
:eng: :bat: David Gower479:eng: v :pak: (1), 1978:eng: v :wi: (2), 1991
:eng: :ar: John Emburey480:eng: v :nzf: (3), 1978:eng: v :aus: (4), 1989
:eng: :bat: Wayne Larkins484:aus: v :eng: (3), 1979-80:eng: v :ind: (1), 1990
:eng: :bat: Allan Lamb494:eng: v :ind: (1), 1982:wi: v :eng: (4), 1989-90
:eng: :ar: Derek Pringle495:eng: v :ind: (1), 1982:eng: v :aus: (6), 1989
:eng: :bwl: Eddie Hemmings497:eng: v :pak: (1), 1982:wi: v :eng: (5), 1989-90
:eng: :bwl: Neil Foster502:eng: v :nzf: (3), 1983:eng: v :pak: (1), 1992
:eng: :bat: Tim Robinson511:ind: v :eng: (1), 1984:eng: v :wi: (5), 1991
:eng: :bwl: Gladstone Small521:eng: v :nzf: (2), 1986:eng: v :sri:, 1991
:eng: :ar: Phillip DeFreitas522:aus: v :eng: (1), 1986-87:saf: v :eng: (1), 1995-96
:eng: :bat: Neil Fairbrother525:eng: v :pak: (1), 1987:nzf: v :eng: (3), 1987-88
:eng: :ar: David Capel526:eng: v :pak: (3), 1987:eng: v :aus: (6), 1989
:eng: :bwl: Paul Jarvis527:nzf: v :eng: (1), 1987-88:eng: v :pak: (5), 1992
:eng: :bat: Robin Smith530:eng: v :wi: (4), 1988:eng: vs :aus: (5), 1997
:eng: :bat: Rob Bailey531:eng: v :wi: (5), 1988:eng: v :wi: (4), 1991
:eng: :bat: Matt Maynard532:eng: v :wi: (5), 1988only Test
:eng: :bwl: Syd Lawrence534:eng: v :sri:, 1988:eng: v :sri:, 1991
:eng: :bwl: Phil Newport535:eng: v :sri:, 1988:eng: v :aus: (1), 1989
:eng: :wk: Jack Russell536:eng: v :sri:, 1988:eng: v :saf: (5), 1998
:eng: :bwl: Angus Fraser537:eng: v :aus: (3), 1989:eng: vs :sri:,1998
:eng: :bat: Mike Atherton538:eng: v :aus: (5), 1989:saf: vs :eng: (3), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Devon Malcolm539:eng: v :aus: (5), 1989:eng: v :pak: (3), 1996
:eng: :bwl: Alan Igglesden540:eng: v :aus: (6), 1989only Test
- - - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart542:wi: v :eng: (1), 1989-90:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell543:wi: v :eng: (1), 1989-90:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :ar: Chris Lewis544:wi: v :eng: (4), 1989-90:eng: v :pak: (3), 1996
:eng: :bat: Graeme Hick545:wi: v :eng: (5), 1989-90:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Martin Bicknell546:eng: v :ind: (3), 1990:nzf: v :eng: (4), 1991-92
:eng: :bwl: Steve Watkin547:eng: v :wi: (1), 1991:eng: v :wi: (2), 1991
:eng: :bwl: Peter Such548:eng: v :wi: (3), 1991:zim: v :eng: (3), 1996-97
:eng: :bwl: Ian Salisbury549:ind: v :eng: (1), 1992-93only Test
:eng: :bat: Mark Ramprakash550:ind: v :eng: (2), 1992-93:wi: vs :eng: (4), 1997-98
:eng: :ar: Dermot Reeve551:ind: v :eng: (3), 1992-93only Test
:eng: :bwl: Andy Caddick552:eng: v :aus: (2), 1993:saf: vs :eng: (4), 1999-00
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain553:eng: v :aus: (3), 1993:saf: vs :eng: (4), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Mark Ilott554:wi: v :eng: (4), 1993-94only Test
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe555:wi: v :eng: (4), 1993-94:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Darren Gough556:eng: v :nzf: (1), 1994:eng: vs :nzf: (4), 1999
:eng: :ar: Dominic Cork557:eng: v :nzf: (2), 1994:saf: vs :eng: (3), 1999-00
:eng: :wk: Richard Blakey558:eng: v :nzf: (3), 1994:zim: v :eng: (3), 1996-97
:eng: :ar: Glen Chapple559:aus: v :eng: (4), 1994-95:zim: v :eng: (1), 1996-97
:eng: :bwl: Richard Johnson560:eng: v :wi: (2), 1995only Test
:eng: :ar: Mark Alleyne561:eng: v :wi: (5), 1995:zim: v :eng: (3), 1996-97
:eng: :ar: Robert Croft562:saf: v :eng: (5), 1995-96:eng: v :saf: (4), 1998
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight563:saf: v :eng: (5), 1995-96:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bat: Mark Butcher564:zim: v :eng: (1), 1996-97:wi: vs :eng: (3), 1997-98
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally565:zim: v :eng: (1), 1996-97:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bat: John Crawley566:zim: v :eng: (2), 1996-97:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Dean Headley567:zim: v :eng: (2), 1996-97:eng: vs :nzf: (3), 1999
:eng: :ar: Craig White568:zim: v :eng: (2), 1996-97:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake569:eng: vs :aus: (3), 1997:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon570:wi: vs :eng: (5), 1997-98:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff571:eng: vs :sri:,1998:eng: vs :nzf: (2), 1999
:eng: :bat: Mal Loye572:eng: vs :sri:,1998:eng: vs :nzf: (3), 1999
:eng: :ar: Graeme Swann573:aus: vs :eng: (5),1998-99:eng: vs :nzf: (3), 1999
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor574:eng: vs :nzf: (3), 1999:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Dr Julian Thompson575:saf: vs :eng: (3), 1999-00:saf: vs :eng: (4), 1999-00

Captains
PlayerMatWTDLFirstLast
:eng: :bat: Graham Gooch552211616:eng: v :wi: (5), 1988:aus: v :eng: (5), 1994-95
:eng: :bat: Graeme Hick432101210:ind: v :eng: (2), 1992-93:aus: vs :eng: (5),1998-99
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight11000:eng: vs :sri:,1998only Test
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart93024:eng: vs :nzf: (1), 1999:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00

Batting & Fielding
PlayerMatInnNORunsAvg100s50sBestCtSt
:eng: :ar: Mark Alleyne4729519.00-156*4-
:eng: :bat: Michael Atherton :slvo:7814911562340.75112824251-
:eng: :bat: Rob Bailey1528181530.191219615-
:eng: :bwl: Martin Bicknell4406516.25--482-
:eng: :wk: Richard Blakey48216627.67-150*11-
:eng: :ar: Ian Botham (RET)1081767565633.471425208135-
:eng: :bat: Mark Butcher510017417.40-1554-
:eng: :bwl: Andy Caddick2632438213.64--37*3-
:eng: :ar: David Capel (RET)1118029316.27-2984-
:eng: :ar: Glen Chapple3517318.25--301-
:eng: :ar: Dominic Cork1926649624.80-2728-
:eng: :bat: John Crawley712034028.33-2703-
:eng: :ar: Robert Croft67019928.43-1541-
:eng: :ar: Phillip DeFreitas :slvo::slvo:3656678615.72-1827-
:eng: :ar: John Emburey (RET)608918154021.49-87533-
:eng: :bat: Neil Fairbrother44051.25--33-
:eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff36113827.60-1893-
:eng: :bwl: Neil Foster (RET)39601260012.50--42*13-
:eng: :bwl: Angus Fraser5980116779.81--3410-
:eng: :bat: Mike Gatting (RET)7012114403737.7391920753-
:eng: :bat: Graham Gooch :slvo::slvo::slvo: (RET)131244101124248.042860294147-
:eng: :bwl: Darren Gough28391240214.89--35*4-
:eng: :bat: David Gower (RET)12421517850642.96154721575-
:eng: :bwl: Dean Headley (RET) :slvo::slvo:233792508.93--245-
:eng: :bwl: Eddie Hemmings (RET)1319333220.75-1954-
:eng: :bat: Graeme Hick :slvo:8716111598839.921629172*133-
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake1220239421.89-26012-
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain1425159224.67-37028-
:eng: :bwl: Alan Igglesden (RET)1112---2*1-
:eng: :bwl: Mark Ilott12226---25*--
:eng: :bwl: Paul Jarvis (RET)1015418917.18--35*1-
:eng: :bwl: Richard Johnson11011.00--1--
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight26501207942.4341224734-
:eng: :bat: Allan Lamb (RET)601059322433.58912137*53-
:eng: :bat: Wayne Larkins (RET)1019034818.31--435-
:eng: :bwl: Syd Lawrence (RET)22063.00--4--
:eng: :ar: Chris Lewis (RET)569012197325.2917114*61-
:eng: :bat: Mal Loye24010125.25-1921-
:eng: :bwl: Devon Malcolm3750132336.30--21*11-
:eng: :bat: Matt Maynard120136.50--10--
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally2836131797.79--223-
:eng: :bwl: Phil Newport (RET)2307023.33--361-
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon1627475232.70-584452
:eng: :ar: Derek Pringle (RET)2136351215.51-2667-
:eng: :bat: Mark Ramprakash18342104732.7219100*1-
:eng: :ar: Dermot Reeve (RET)120126.00--6--
:eng: :bat: Tim Robinson (RET) :slvo:41716236236.3341217514-
:eng: :wk: Jack Russell (RET)9415635395432.68121128*24327
:eng: :bwl: Ian Salisbury1102121.00--21--
:eng: :bwl: Gladstone Small (RET)2026738220.10-2592-
:eng: :bat: Robin Smith :slvo::slvo: (RET)8215217666249.32193420420-
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart :slvo::slvo:831638708945.741829202*18-
:eng: :bwl: Peter Such12157475.88--14*5-
:eng: :ar: Graeme Swann2305919.67--493-
:eng: :bwl: Dr Julian Thompson (RET)2305919.67-150--
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe :slvo::slvo:499014348045.7981911623-
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor46112324.60--402-
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell :slvo::slvo:90116235616.03--3627-
:eng: :bwl: Steve Watkin2405513.75--27--
:eng: :ar: Craig White :slvo::slvo:305613162637.81111104*4-

Bowling
PlayerMatOvrRunsWktsAvgEcon5WI10WMBest
:eng: :ar: Mark Alleyne41093071030.702.8--2/27
:eng: :bat: Michael Atherton :slvo:781445001338.463.9--3/32
:eng: :bat: Rob Bailey1543175287.504.1--1/0
:eng: :bwl: Martin Bicknell41914691142.632.5--3/72
:eng: :wk: Richard Blakey4--------
:eng: :ar: Ian Botham (RET)10837791122340028.133.02748/34
:eng: :bat: Mark Butcher52515.002.0--1/0
:eng: :bwl: Andy Caddick26105329519132.432.8317/26
:eng: :ar: David Capel (RET)112096281252.333.0--2/13
:eng: :ar: Glen Chapple3128398666.333.1--3/99
:eng: :ar: Dominic Cork1969620385437.742.91-5/59
:eng: :bat: John Crawley7--------
:eng: :ar: Robert Croft62106641544.273.21-5/117
:eng: :ar: Phillip DeFreitas :slvo::slvo:361324353010433.942.7415/19
:eng: :ar: John Emburey (RET)602371510513836.992.16-7/78
:eng: :bat: Neil Fairbrother4290-4.5---
:eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff3101295473.752.9--3/78
:eng: :bwl: Neil Foster (RET)391451390211533.932.7518/107
:eng: :bwl: Angus Fraser592400592917733.492.55-6/68
:eng: :bat: Mike Gatting (RET)70125317479.252.5--1/14
:eng: :bat: Graham Gooch :slvo::slvo::slvo: (RET)1313067401743.532.4--2/12
:eng: :bwl: Darren Gough28111130368037.952.72-5/50
:eng: :bat: David Gower (RET)124620120.003.3--1/1
:eng: :bwl: Dean Headley (RET) :slvo::slvo:231054283410526.992.7817/47
:eng: :bwl: Eddie Hemmings (RET)1351314543146.902.8--4/90
:eng: :bat: Graeme Hick :slvo:872659501950.003.8--3/38
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake1238611913435.033.12-5/53
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain14--------
:eng: :bwl: Alan Igglesden (RET)137146348.673.9--2/91
:eng: :bwl: Mark Ilott1381271127.003.3--1/106
:eng: :bwl: Paul Jarvis (RET)1035910692641.123.0--4/50
:eng: :bwl: Richard Johnson1441550-3.5---
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight26--------
:eng: :bat: Allan Lamb (RET)60523123.004.6--1/6
:eng: :bat: Wayne Larkins (RET)10--------
:eng: :bwl: Syd Lawrence (RET)268223455.753.3--2/74
:eng: :ar: Chris Lewis (RET)561580426612334.682.71-6/70
:eng: :bat: Mal Loye2--------
:eng: :bwl: Devon Malcolm371292419513730.623.26-7/86
:eng: :bat: Matt Maynard1--------
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally281059284411325.172.7616/70
:eng: :bwl: Phil Newport (RET)292339937.663.7--4/87
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon16--------
:eng: :ar: Derek Pringle (RET)2162518074837.642.92-5/95
:eng: :bat: Mark Ramprakash18120-2.0---
:eng: :ar: Dermot Reeve (RET)114390-2.8---
:eng: :bat: Tim Robinson (RET) :slvo:41100-0.0---
:eng: :wk: Jack Russell (RET)94--------
:eng: :bwl: Ian Salisbury113760-5.9---
:eng: :bwl: Gladstone Small (RET)2078419806033.002.53-5/48
:eng: :bat: Robin Smith :slvo::slvo: (RET)82--------
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart :slvo::slvo:83--------
:eng: :bwl: Peter Such1257216695033.382.92-8/47
:eng: :ar: Graeme Swann258169628.172.9--3/88
:eng: :bwl: Dr Julian Thompson (RET)246196449.004.2--3/91
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe :slvo::slvo:491236136.003.0--1/0
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor41164571432.643.9--4/96
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell :slvo::slvo:9041711225041729.372.92758/114
:eng: :bwl: Steve Watkin264223544.603.51-5/56
:eng: :ar: Craig White :slvo::slvo:3086225106936.382.91-7/63

​
Click to expand...
And here is the rankings, records and stats update!

We have finished the 1990s - what a time to be alive. I'll be moving onto the 2000s soon, starting with the delicious series against Zimbabwe in which most of our fringe players will get a run-out.
 
Team of the Decade - A Cricket On 4 Special

To celebrate a historic decade of English Test cricket, Channel 4 has gathered a jury of some of the finest cricketing minds to select the English Test team of the decade. The jury will comprise Richie Benaud, Mark Nicholas, Simon Hughes, Dermot Reeve and Ian Bishop, all of whom you will be able to hear commentating on the coming summer of Test cricket.
1653045296573.png 1653045300707.png 1653045303689.png 1653045306048.png 1653045308712.png
Where possible, the players selected will be those who have received the most votes across the whole panel; where this is not possible, Richie Benaud will get the casting vote as our chief selector. All statistics refer only to Test matches played in the 1990s, until the end of the 1999-00 Test series in South Africa.

1. :eng: :bat: Graham Gooch (Cap 461)
Debut: :eng: v :aus: (1), 1975
Last Test: :eng: v :wi: (5), 1995
58 matches in the 1990s

:bat: 6,518 runs @ 61.49 (20 centuries, best 294)
:c: 21 wins, 16 draws, 15 losses and one tie from 53 matches
:tick: Votes received: 5/5

IB: "Graham Gooch was the one batter who was feared by the West Indies team in the early 1990s. His 1991 Test series was the greatest by any opening batsman who has ever played the game, even though he was up against so many great fast bowlers that I couldn't even get in the team. He also captained more England Test matches than anyone else, and was a real steadying influence after the chaos of the 1980s."

2. :eng: :bat: Alec Stewart (Cap 542)
Debut: :wi: v :eng: (1), 1989-90
Last Test: :saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
83 matches in the 1990s

:bat: 7,089 runs @ 45.74 (18 centuries, best 202*)
:tick: Votes received: 5/5

SH: "When Alec Stewart is at the crease, you always know that England are still a strong chance to win no matter what the match situation. He's just done it so many times, especially in the fourth innings. Without him, England would never have got the reputation of being the best run-chasers in world cricket. His recent stint as England captain has been difficult, and you get the sense that he prefers to be in the ranks and to focus solely on his own batting."

3. :eng: :bat: Robin Smith (Cap 530)
Debut: :eng: v :wi: (4), 1988
Last Test: :eng: vs :aus: (5), 1997
74 matches in the 1990s

:bat: 5964 runs @ 49.29 (16 centuries, best 204)
:tick: Votes received: 4/5

MN: "Robin Smith was an incredibly charismatic batsman for England. One of the very few players ever to genuinely enjoy genuinely fast and hostile bowling, Smith had the patience to see off difficult periods at number three or four, but was at his best when he had the chance to make the most of a strong platform and send England high into the ascendancy. For most of his career, his average stayed on the right side of 50, only to drop down to 49 at the very end as the pressures of being a Test number three took their toll."

4. :eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe (Cap 555)
Debut: :wi: v :eng: (4), 1993-94
Last Test: :saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
49 matches in the 1990s

:bat: 3480 runs @ 45.79 (8 centuries, best 116)
:tick: Votes received: 4/5

DR: "Graham Thorpe has really become England's crisis man in recent years. No matter what the situation, you know he's almost always a banker to contribute 60 or more to the cause. He hasn't made a huge score in an England shirt yet, but with his recent promotion to number four one you think it's got to be only a matter of time before he does. People often forget that he made his debut in the same match as Mark Ilott, but that's probably because Ilott was forgettable."

5. :eng: :bat: Graeme Hick :c: (Cap 545)
Debut: :wi: v :eng: (5), 1989-90
Last Test: :saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
87 matches in the 1990s

:bat: 5988 runs @ 39.92 (16 centuries, best 172*)
:c: 21 wins, 12 draws and 10 losses from 43 matches
:tick: Votes received: 3/5

RB: "The fact that Graeme Hick's average is a shade under 40 means absolutely nothing when it comes to assessing his importance to the England team. He was so good that they changed their own eligibility rules to get him in sooner. Think of the time when he single-handedly saved the Ashes for England with innings of 126 not out and 172 not out against Warne and McGrath in 1997. He was also a hugely influential captain, and his win:loss ratio is the best of any England captain since Mike Brearley. Hopefully England have a few more years' service to look forward to from him yet."

6. :eng: :ar: Craig White (Cap 568)
Debut: :zim: v :eng: (2), 1996-97
Last Test: :saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
30 matches in the 1990s

:bat: 1,626 runs @ 37.81 (1 century, best 104*)
:bwl: 69 wickets @ 36.38 (1 5WI, best 7/63)
:tick: Votes received: 3/5

SH: "Craig White is such a combative cricketer. He's always up for a scrap, and most of his best performances have come when England's backs have been up against the wall. So often he's the one who is left to bat with the tail, and he does do a good job of it. His bowling is interesting, because I don't think he's quite lived up to his potential yet. He has flashes of excellence, but has really become more of a batting all-rounder the longer he's been in the England team."

7. :eng: :wk: Jack Russell (Cap 536)
Debut: :eng: v :sri:, 1988
Last Test: :eng: v :saf: (5), 1998
87 matches in the 1990s

:bat: 3546 runs @ 31.66 (best 80)
:wk: 226 catches, 23 stumpings
:tick: Votes received: 5/5

IB: "Jack Russell was so irritating to play against. Time and again you'd get England into a state, and then he'd wander out to bat and through sheer stubbornness he'd make things okay again. It happened all the time - there was a period from about 1993 to 95 when you couldn't move for Russell posting irritating scores of 40, 50 or 60 not out. He did suffer from having to bat above the English tail-enders though. Would you believe that Gus Fraser used to bat at number eight? As a bowler, you always wanted to have a keeper like Russell behind the stumps, because he always caught his catches."

8. :eng: :ar: Chris Lewis (Cap 544)
Debut: :wi: v :eng: (4), 1989-90
Last Test :eng: v :pak: (3), 1996
56 matches in the 90s

:bat: 1,973 runs @ 25.29 (1 century, best 114*)
:bwl: 123 wickets @ 34.68 (1 5WI, best 6/70)
:tick: Votes received: 2/5

RB: "Chris Lewis was never the best batsman or the best bowler in the England team, but he was always the last player to stop trying, even on the very toughest days of cricket. Not many players can have made a more surprising Test debut than him; his six for 70 against the West Indies was a stunning spell. He picked a great time for a maiden Test century too - a decisive Ashes Test match. Although he never really repeated either performance, he always believed that he would and that sheer self-belief meant you never felt like he was out of the game. His ability to both bat and bowl really helped to balance the side."

9. :eng: :bwl: Dean Headley (Cap 567)
Debut: :zim: v :eng: (2), 1996-97
Last Test: :eng: vs :nzf: (3), 1999
23 Tests in the 1990s

:bwl: 105 wickets @ 26.99 (8 5WI, best 7/47)
:tick: Votes received: 4/5

MN: "Dean Headley's star burned briefly, but it was oh so bright. He came into the England team after taking three hat-tricks for Kent in one Championship season, and he was immediately England's most feared bowler. He could swing it both ways at decent pace and with impeccable control. His skills were just so so good. I can't remember another English fast bowler who recorded seven-wicket hauls twice in an Ashes series. It is so sad to think that we may already have seen the last of him: he's been awarded a Central Contract, but there are already whispers that his back may never let him play again."

10. :eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally (Cap 565)
Debut: :zim: v :eng: (1), 1996-97
Last Test: :saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
28 Tests in the 1990s

:bwl: 113 wickets @ 25.17 (6 5WI, best 6/70)
:tick: Votes received: 5/5

DR: "Against all conventional wisdom, Alan Mullally is the best left-arm fast bowler England has ever had. This is despite the fact that he was raised in Australia and never learned how to swing the ball. Instead, it's all about his height and his ability to hit a slightly scrambled seam from that height. It's a pretty unique proposition to face, because if he doesn't know which direction it's going to move in off the seam, how can the batter know? Pair him up with the lavish swing of Headley and the pair of them became unstoppable."

11. :eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell (Cap 543)
Debut: :wi: v :eng: (1), 1989-90
Last Test: :saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
90 Tests in the 1990s

:bwl: 417 wickets @ 29.37 (27 5WI, best 8/114)
:tick: Votes received: 5/5

RB: "Phillip Tufnell is the latest in a long line of English left-arm spinners, and at this point in his career there are those who are talking about him possibly being the best of the lot. Certainly, he is the most prolific: no other spin bowler in history has managed to take more than his 417 Test wickets, and for that he can thank the unwavering support of the English team management: no matter what might be going on in his life off the field, they have always been confident that Tufnell will deliver for them on it. Tufnell has repaid that faith and more. His achievements are historic."

Reserves
:eng: :bat: Michael Atherton (3/5 votes)
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight (1/5 votes)
:eng: :ar: Phillip DeFreitas (2/5 votes)
:eng: :bwl: Devon Malcolm (2/5 votes)
:eng: :bwl: Angus Fraser (1/5 votes)
:eng: :bwl: Neil Foster (1/5 votes)
 
Zimbabwe Tour of England, 2000

Itinerary
18 May 2000 - :eng: England vs Zimbabwe :zim: - First Test at Lord's - England won by 246 runs
01 Jun 2000 - :eng: England vs Zimbabwe :zim: - Second Test at Trent Bridge - England won by 80 runs

England Squad

:eng: :bat: Nick Knight :c:

:eng: :bat: Mark Butcher
:eng: :bat: John Crawley
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain
:eng: :bat: Mark Ramprakash
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick :redo:
:eng: :bat: Michael Vaughan :redo:

:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :wk: Chris Read :redo:

:eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake
:eng: :ar: Ronnie Irani :redo:
:eng: :ar: Graeme Swann
:eng: :ar: Craig White

:eng: :ar: Glen Chapple
:eng: :bwl: Kevin Dean :redo:
:eng: :bwl: Darren Gough
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor

As is often the case when England play the likes of Zimbabwe, the ECB has announced a squad that could under other circumstances be their A-team just as easily. For the second time in his Test career, Nick Knight has been named as captain of an England squad, this time with the clear implication that a successful series could lead to a longer run in the role that Alec Stewart has struggled to settle into. The squad contains five uncapped players who will be hoping to make their debuts in this series: Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan are two highly-rated players on the county scene, despite questionable career numbers; Chris Read is a highly-rated young gloveman; Ronnie Irani has been dominant for Essex, but is expected to be more of a white-ball player for England; Kevin Dean has recovered from an injury-hit 1999 and now looks likely to make his England debut. Should be a fun series.
 
Last edited:
:eng: England vs Zimbabwe :zim: - First Test at Lord's

English XI
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight :c:
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick (debut)
:eng: :bat: Mark Ramprakash
:eng: :ar: Craig White
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain
:eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake
:eng: :ar: Graeme Swann
:eng: :wk: Chris Read (debut)
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor
:eng: :bwl: Kevin Dean (debut)

Zimbabwean XI
:zim: :bat: Grant Flower
:zim: :bat: Trevor Gripper
:zim: :bat: Murray Goodwin
:zim: :bat: Alistair Campbell
:zim: :wk: Andy Flower :c:
:zim: :ar: Neil Johnson
:zim: :ar: Guy Whittall
:zim: :ar: Heath Streak
:zim: :bwl: Bryan Strang
:zim: :bwl: Brian Murphy
:zim: :bwl: Pommie Mbangwa

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Before the Test match, there was a virtual shooting gallery of cricketers collecting their first-ever England caps: Kevin Dean, Chris Read and Marcus Trescothick made up the first trio of simultaneous England debutants since the last time they played against Zimbabwe. This does look like a slightly sterner test than previous Zimbabwe teams, but they still show signs of being heavily dependent on Andy Flower to score their runs for them. They will also have the disadvantage of last use of the facilities after Nick Knight won the toss and chose to bat first.

The inexperienced top-order did not immediately flourish as the wickets of Trescothick, Ramprakash and White (elevated to number four to see how he copes with a different role in the team) all fell within the first hour. But there followed a sparkling 192-run stand for the fourth wicket as Knight continued to add to his Bradmanesque record against African nations and found support from Nasser Hussain. The demons that have haunted Hussain's batting at this level may finally have been cast aside as the Essex man raced to his maiden Test century in his fifteenth Test. Curiously, the main destroyer of the English batting was Guy Whittall: the Manicaland medium-pacer, best known for his double-century against New Zealand, became the eleventh man to join a very rare group of players with both a Test double-ton and a six-for alongside Frank Worrell, Garry Sobers, Wasim Akram and others.

The Zimbabwean batting was somewhat shaky in reply as the English seamers used the Lord's slope to great effect. The wickets were shared pretty evenly around the bowling attack with only Swann and Trescothick going wicketless; at the other end of the spectrum, Surrey's Alex Tudor bowled with good pace to take an innings haul of four for 63 that included the vital wicket of Whittall, whose 71 was also the highest score by a Zimbabwean.

England's second innings was more assured than the first. A confident opening partnership of 195 showed that Trescothick could possibly be the heir apparent to Alec Stewart in this England team; he made his maiden Test century on England debut, joining the likes of WG Grace, Ranji and most recently Frank Hayes. Knight also made it a brace of centuries in the match because of course he did, though his was scored more slowly than Trescothick's. The middle-order batters will be disappointed to have all recorded single-figure scores, but had they not then we may perhaps have been robbed of seeing a stunning display of hitting from Ben Hollioake: England's number seven flayed his way to a Test-best 75 that included three big sixes before missing a straight ball from Stang. Knight, still unbeaten at the other end, declared immediately.

In their second innings, Zimbabwe looked far more like the bottom-ranked Test team in the world. They lurched from calamity to disaster as first debutant Kevin Dean, then all-rounder Craig White made their batting look anything but Test quality. White in particular claimed one of the cheapest six-fors in Test history as he took the last six Zimbabwean wickets to fall at a cost of only 18 runs. The eventual margin of victory (246 runs) was probably a fair reflection of the difference between the two sides.

Several changes are expected when the teams line up at Trent Bridge as England in particular are expected to give opportunities to their entire squad.

1653055523964.png

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

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 - 5 points (+5)
2. Craig White - 3 points (+3)
3. Marcus Trescothick - 2 points (+2)
4. Nasser Hussain - 1 point (+1)
 
:eng: England (1) vs (0) Zimbabwe :zim: - Second Test at Trent Bridge

English XI
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight :c:
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick
:eng: :bat: Mark Butcher
:eng: :bat: Michael Vaughan (debut)
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain
:eng: :bat: John Crawley
:eng: :ar: Ronnie Irani (debut)
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :ar: Glen Chapple
:eng: :ar: Darren Gough
:eng: :bwl: Kevin Dean

Zimbabwean XI
:zim: :bat: Grant Flower
:zim: :bat: Trevor Gripper
:zim: :bat: Murray Goodwin
:zim: :ar: Neil Johnson
:zim: :wk: Andy Flower :c:
:zim: :bat: Stuart Carlisle
:zim: :ar: Guy Whittall
:zim: :ar: Heath Streak
:zim: :ar: Mluleki Nkala (debut)
:zim: :bwl: Brian Murphy
:zim: :bwl: Pommie Mbangwa

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

The two teams arrived in Nottingham, and between them they had made nine changes to their playing XI. Seven of them came from the England side, with Duncan Fletcher evidently eager to give opportunities to as many fringe players as they possibly could. The only four survivors from the first Test were Knight (the captain, Trescothick and Dean (both debutants) and Nasser Hussain (who was being given the chance to prove that his Lord's century wasn't a fluke. Debuts were given out to Michael Vaughan and Ronnie Irani in this game. For Zimbabwe, Carlisle and Nkala (another debutant) came into the side in place of Campbell and Strang respectively.

Interestingly, Nick Knight's men came out on the first day with a clear gameplan to score at a faster rate by really punishing the bad balls. This new approach brought the best out in some of the players who've earned a reputation for more attritional play in the county game: Mark Butcher, for example, laced 22 boundaries to all parts of the ground en route to a maiden Test century that, after his five prior outings for England, he must have feared would never come. Michael Vaughan made an occasionally streaky debut fifty before becoming Mluleki Nkala's first ever Test victim, and Nasser Hussain continued to take full advantage of wayward bowling by adding another fifty to his tally. England declared at the end of the first day's play, having posted exactly 400 runs.

The Zimbabwean reply was a curious one: there were flashes of definite quality as Murray Goodwin in particular confirmed that he is a batsman of real promise with his third Test century, finding himself well supported by Neil Johnson and Andy Flower. Below them though, there was little substance. What had started off as a triumphant entry to Test cricket for Ronnie Irani as he took four debut wickets was immediately put into context by Marcus Trescothick. The Somerset man, an occasional medium-pacer, was only bowling because of Darren Gough's match-ending injury, but he took four unlikely wickets of his own including the prize scalp of Johnson.

England again played aggressive cricket in their second innings, and by this point the story is pretty predictable. A rapid century partnership between Nick Knight (58) and Trescothick (75) set the tone for the innings before Nasser Hussain came in and plundered yet more runs off the sorry Zimbabwean bowling. He found great support from Ronnie Irani, who made the most of the opportunity to claim 78 of the easiest Test runs he could ever hope to come by. If he never plays for Tests again, he may at least be able to console himself with the fact that he has been a very successful one-cap wonder.

England had plenty of time to bowl for the victory, and they made ample use of it. Even though Trescothick ended up in the very unfamiliar role of fourth bowler, he made the opportunity count to take his career tally to seven Test wickets at just 16 apiece. Given how rarely he would bowl in a normal England side, his bowling average may remain very favourable for quite some time. Kevin Dean and Glen Chapple were also among the wickets, chipping away often enough that even a substantial rearguard from Andy Flower and Heath Streak could not ultimately derail their victory train.

At the post-match press conference, Nick Knight spoke respecfully of the Zimbabwean players, describing them as "a talented group who will only continue to improve". He also lavished praise on his own players for demonstrating "the excellent strength-in-depth that exists in English cricket at present".

1653057444366.png

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

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 (+5)
2. Nick Knight - 5 points
=. Marcus Trescothick - 5 points (+3)
4. Craig White - 3 points
5. Mark Butcher - 2 points (+2)
6. Ronnie Irani - 1 point (+1)
 
Aislabie said:
Records

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

Lowest Innings Score
for :eng: 74 all out vs Australia, The WACA 1995
vs :eng: 62 all out, India, Trent Bridge 1996

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

Best Innings Bowling
for :eng: 8 for 47, Peter Such vs India, Calcutta 1993
vs :eng: 8 for 79, Javagal Srinath, India, Lord's 1996

Best Match Bowling
for :eng: 12 for 173, Phil Tufnell vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1993
vs :eng: 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
:aus: Australia vs England :eng:, The WACA 1995

Partnerships
1. 323 - Mike Atherton & Alec Stewart vs India :ind: 1996
2. 262 - Graham Gooch & Mike Atherton vs New Zealand :saf: 1994
3. 325 - Graham Gooch & Robin Smith vs West Indies :wi: 1991
4. 247 - Robin Smith & Graeme Hick vs Pakistan :pak: 1992
5. 176 - Graeme Hick & Jack Russell vs West Indies :wi: 1991
6. 155 - Nasser Hussain & Ronnie Irani vs Zimbabwe :zim: 2000
7. 174 - Chris Lewis & Phillip DeFreitas vs Australia :aus: 1993
8. 110 - Jack Russell & Dominic Cork vs South Africa :saf: 1995
9. 95 - Robin Smith & Dominic Cork vs Australia :aus: 1995
10. 61 - Graham Thorpe & Peter Such vs West Indies :wi: 1994

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

Most Test Wickets for England
1. :eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell - 417 wickets @ 29.37 (27 5WI, best 8/114)
2. :eng: :ar: Ian Botham - 400 wickets @ 28.13 (27 5WI, best 8/34)
3. :eng: :bwl: Bob Willis - 325 wickets @ 25.20 (16 5WI, best 8/43)

Honours Board
:bat:
:wi: vs :eng:, 1989-90
Graham Gooch - 112
Robin Smith - 101
Robin Smith - 112
Graham Gooch - 100

:eng: vs :nzf:, 1990
Graham Gooch - 127
Rob Bailey - 196

:eng: vs :ind:, 1990
none

:aus: vs :eng:, 1990-91
Robin Smith - 110
Graham Gooch - 170

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

:eng: vs :sri:, 1991
Alec Stewart - 166
Graeme Hick - 100

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

:aus: vs :eng:, 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

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

:saf: vs :eng:, 1995-96
Robin Smith - 118*
Michael Atherton - 109
Graeme Hick - 106
Graham Thorpe - 107*
Michael Atherton - 108
Graeme Hick - 113
Graham Thorpe - 114*

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

:eng: vs :pak:, 1996
Alec Stewart - 149
Alec Stewart - 153
Robin Smith - 104*

:zim: vs :eng:, 1996-97
Nick Knight - 247
Graham Thorpe - 106

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

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

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

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

:eng: vs :sri:, 1998
Graeme Hick - 133

:aus: vs :eng:, 1998-99
Alec Stewart - 131
Graham Thorpe - 104
Alec Stewart - 202*

:eng: vs :nzf:, 1999
Michael Atherton - 119

:saf: vs :eng:, 1999-00
Nick Knight - 109*

:eng: vs :zim:, 2000
Nick Knight - 129
Nasser Hussain - 100
Marcus Trescothick - 106
Nick Knight - 106*
Mark Butcher - 118
Nasser Hussain - 103*

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

:eng: vs :nzf:, 1990
none

:eng: vs :ind:, 1990
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 116
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 72

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

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

:eng: vs :sri:, 1991
none

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

:eng: vs :pak:, 1992
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 100
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 31
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 45

:ind: vs :eng:, 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

:sri: vs :eng:, 1992-93
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 102
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 71

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

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

:eng: vs :nzf:, 1994
Darren Gough - 5 for 50
Phillip DeFreitas - Hat-trick
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 71

:eng: vs :saf:, 1994
Phil Tufnell - 7 for 124
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 117

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

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

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

:eng: vs :ind:, 1996
none

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

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

:nzf: vs :eng:, 1996-97
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 83

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

:wi: vs :eng:, 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

:eng: vs :saf:, 1998
Dean Headley - 5 for 112
Dean Headley - 5 for 106
Dean Headley - 5 for 119

:eng: vs :sri:, 1998
Alan Mullally - 6 for 70

:aus: vs :eng:, 1998-99
Alan Mullally - 6 for 84
Dean Headley - 7 for 55
Alan Mullally - 5 for 76
Dean Headley - 7 for 47

:eng: vs :nzf:, 1999
Dean Headley - 5 for 62
Andy Caddick - 7 for 26

:saf: vs :eng:, 1999-00
Alan Mullally - Hat-trick
Alan Mullally - 6 for 88
Alan Mullally - 6 for 90
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 114

:eng: vs :zim:, 2000
Craig White - 6 for 19
Click to expand...
Aislabie said:
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#DebutLast Test
:eng: :bat: Graham Gooch461:eng: v :aus: (1), 1975:eng: v :wi: (5), 1995
:eng: :ar: Ian Botham474:eng: v :aus: (3), 1977:eng: v :ind: (3), 1990
:eng: :bat: Mike Gatting477:pak: v :eng: (3), 1977-78:ind: v :eng: (2), 1992-93
:eng: :bat: David Gower479:eng: v :pak: (1), 1978:eng: v :wi: (2), 1991
:eng: :ar: John Emburey480:eng: v :nzf: (3), 1978:eng: v :aus: (4), 1989
:eng: :bat: Wayne Larkins484:aus: v :eng: (3), 1979-80:eng: v :ind: (1), 1990
:eng: :bat: Allan Lamb494:eng: v :ind: (1), 1982:wi: v :eng: (4), 1989-90
:eng: :ar: Derek Pringle495:eng: v :ind: (1), 1982:eng: v :aus: (6), 1989
:eng: :bwl: Eddie Hemmings497:eng: v :pak: (1), 1982:wi: v :eng: (5), 1989-90
:eng: :bwl: Neil Foster502:eng: v :nzf: (3), 1983:eng: v :pak: (1), 1992
:eng: :bat: Tim Robinson511:ind: v :eng: (1), 1984:eng: v :wi: (5), 1991
:eng: :bwl: Gladstone Small521:eng: v :nzf: (2), 1986:eng: v :sri:, 1991
:eng: :ar: Phillip DeFreitas522:aus: v :eng: (1), 1986-87:saf: v :eng: (1), 1995-96
:eng: :bat: Neil Fairbrother525:eng: v :pak: (1), 1987:nzf: v :eng: (3), 1987-88
:eng: :ar: David Capel526:eng: v :pak: (3), 1987:eng: v :aus: (6), 1989
:eng: :bwl: Paul Jarvis527:nzf: v :eng: (1), 1987-88:eng: v :pak: (5), 1992
:eng: :bat: Robin Smith530:eng: v :wi: (4), 1988:eng: vs :aus: (5), 1997
:eng: :bat: Rob Bailey531:eng: v :wi: (5), 1988:eng: v :wi: (4), 1991
:eng: :bat: Matt Maynard532:eng: v :wi: (5), 1988only Test
:eng: :bwl: Syd Lawrence534:eng: v :sri:, 1988:eng: v :sri:, 1991
:eng: :bwl: Phil Newport535:eng: v :sri:, 1988:eng: v :aus: (1), 1989
:eng: :wk: Jack Russell536:eng: v :sri:, 1988:eng: v :saf: (5), 1998
:eng: :bwl: Angus Fraser537:eng: v :aus: (3), 1989:eng: vs :sri:,1998
:eng: :bat: Mike Atherton538:eng: v :aus: (5), 1989:saf: vs :eng: (3), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Devon Malcolm539:eng: v :aus: (5), 1989:eng: v :pak: (3), 1996
:eng: :bwl: Alan Igglesden540:eng: v :aus: (6), 1989only Test
- - - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart542:wi: v :eng: (1), 1989-90:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell543:wi: v :eng: (1), 1989-90:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :ar: Chris Lewis544:wi: v :eng: (4), 1989-90:eng: v :pak: (3), 1996
:eng: :bat: Graeme Hick545:wi: v :eng: (5), 1989-90:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Martin Bicknell546:eng: v :ind: (3), 1990:nzf: v :eng: (4), 1991-92
:eng: :bwl: Steve Watkin547:eng: v :wi: (1), 1991:eng: v :wi: (2), 1991
:eng: :bwl: Peter Such548:eng: v :wi: (3), 1991:zim: v :eng: (3), 1996-97
:eng: :bwl: Ian Salisbury549:ind: v :eng: (1), 1992-93only Test
:eng: :bat: Mark Ramprakash550:ind: v :eng: (2), 1992-93:eng: vs :zim: (1), 2000
:eng: :ar: Dermot Reeve551:ind: v :eng: (3), 1992-93only Test
:eng: :bwl: Andy Caddick552:eng: v :aus: (2), 1993:saf: vs :eng: (4), 1999-00
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain553:eng: v :aus: (3), 1993:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000
:eng: :bwl: Mark Ilott554:wi: v :eng: (4), 1993-94only Test
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe555:wi: v :eng: (4), 1993-94:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Darren Gough556:eng: v :nzf: (1), 1994:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000
:eng: :ar: Dominic Cork557:eng: v :nzf: (2), 1994:saf: vs :eng: (3), 1999-00
:eng: :wk: Richard Blakey558:eng: v :nzf: (3), 1994:zim: v :eng: (3), 1996-97
:eng: :ar: Glen Chapple559:aus: v :eng: (4), 1994-95:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000
:eng: :bwl: Richard Johnson560:eng: v :wi: (2), 1995only Test
:eng: :ar: Mark Alleyne561:eng: v :wi: (5), 1995:zim: v :eng: (3), 1996-97
:eng: :ar: Robert Croft562:saf: v :eng: (5), 1995-96:eng: v :saf: (4), 1998
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight563:saf: v :eng: (5), 1995-96:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000
:eng: :bat: Mark Butcher564:zim: v :eng: (1), 1996-97:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally565:zim: v :eng: (1), 1996-97:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00
:eng: :bat: John Crawley566:zim: v :eng: (2), 1996-97:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000
:eng: :bwl: Dean Headley567:zim: v :eng: (2), 1996-97:eng: vs :nzf: (3), 1999
:eng: :ar: Craig White568:zim: v :eng: (2), 1996-97:eng: vs :zim: (1), 2000
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake569:eng: vs :aus: (3), 1997:eng: vs :zim: (1), 2000
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon570:wi: vs :eng: (5), 1997-98:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000
:eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff571:eng: vs :sri:,1998:eng: vs :zim: (1), 2000
:eng: :bat: Mal Loye572:eng: vs :sri:,1998:eng: vs :nzf: (3), 1999
:eng: :ar: Graeme Swann573:aus: vs :eng: (5),1998-99:eng: vs :zim: (1), 2000
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor574:eng: vs :nzf: (3), 1999:eng: vs :zim: (1), 2000
:eng: :bwl: Dr Julian Thompson575:saf: vs :eng: (3), 1999-00:saf: vs :eng: (4), 1999-00
:eng: :bwl: Kevin Dean576:eng: vs :zim: (1), 2000:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000
:eng: :wk: Chris Read577:eng: vs :zim: (1), 2000only Test
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick578:eng: vs :zim: (1), 2000:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000
:eng: :ar: Ronnie Irani579:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000only Test
:eng: :bat: Michael Vaughan580:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000only Test

Captains
PlayerMatWTDLFirstLast
:eng: :bat: Graham Gooch552211616:eng: v :wi: (5), 1988:aus: v :eng: (5), 1994-95
:eng: :bat: Graeme Hick432101210:ind: v :eng: (2), 1992-93:aus: vs :eng: (5),1998-99
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight33000:eng: vs :sri:,1998:eng: vs :zim: (2), 2000
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart93024:eng: vs :nzf: (1), 1999:saf: vs :eng: (5), 1999-00

Batting & Fielding
PlayerMatInnNORunsAvg100s50sBestCtSt
:eng: :ar: Mark Alleyne4729519.00-156*4-
:eng: :bat: Michael Atherton :slvo:7814911562340.75112824251-
:eng: :bat: Rob Bailey1528181530.191219615-
:eng: :bwl: Martin Bicknell4406516.25--482-
:eng: :wk: Richard Blakey48216627.67-150*11-
:eng: :ar: Ian Botham (RET)1081767565633.471425208135-
:eng: :bat: Mark Butcher612030025.00111185-
:eng: :bwl: Andy Caddick2632438213.64--37*3-
:eng: :ar: David Capel (RET)1118029316.27-2984-
:eng: :ar: Glen Chapple4729819.50--301-
:eng: :ar: Dominic Cork1926649624.80-2728-
:eng: :bat: John Crawley814038527.50-2703-
:eng: :ar: Robert Croft67019928.43-1541-
:eng: :bwl: Kevin Dean2336-4*----
:eng: :ar: Phillip DeFreitas :slvo::slvo:3656678615.72-1827-
:eng: :ar: John Emburey (RET)608918154021.49-87533-
:eng: :bat: Neil Fairbrother44051.25--33-
:eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff48119027.14-1895-
:eng: :bwl: Neil Foster (RET)39601260012.50--42*13-
:eng: :bwl: Angus Fraser5980116779.81--3410-
:eng: :bat: Mike Gatting (RET)7012114403737.7391920753-
:eng: :bat: Graham Gooch :slvo::slvo::slvo: (RET)131244101124248.042860294147-
:eng: :bwl: Darren Gough29411241314.24--35*5-
:eng: :bat: David Gower (RET)12421517850642.96154721575-
:eng: :bwl: Dean Headley (RET) :slvo::slvo:233792508.93--245-
:eng: :bwl: Eddie Hemmings (RET)1319333220.75-1954-
:eng: :bat: Graeme Hick :slvo:8716111598839.921629172*133-
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake1322246923.45-37515-
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain1629285631.7024103*30-
:eng: :bwl: Alan Igglesden (RET)1112---2*1-
:eng: :ar: Ronnie Irani1207939.50-178--
:eng: :bwl: Mark Ilott12226---25*--
:eng: :bwl: Paul Jarvis (RET)1015418917.18--35*1-
:eng: :bwl: Richard Johnson11011.00--1--
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight28542241846.5061324737-
:eng: :bat: Allan Lamb (RET)601059322433.58912137*53-
:eng: :bat: Wayne Larkins (RET)1019034818.31--435-
:eng: :bwl: Syd Lawrence (RET)22063.00--4--
:eng: :ar: Chris Lewis (RET)569012197325.2917114*61-
:eng: :bat: Mal Loye24010125.25-1921-
:eng: :bwl: Devon Malcolm3750132336.30--21*11-
:eng: :bat: Matt Maynard120136.50--10--
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally2836131797.79--223-
:eng: :bwl: Phil Newport (RET)2307023.33--361-
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon1729478631.44-584482
:eng: :ar: Derek Pringle (RET)2136351215.51-2667-
:eng: :bat: Mark Ramprakash19362107031.4719100*1-
:eng: :wk: Chris Read11055.00--52-
:eng: :ar: Dermot Reeve (RET)120126.00--6--
:eng: :bat: Tim Robinson (RET) :slvo:41716236236.3341217514-
:eng: :wk: Jack Russell (RET)9415635395432.68121128*24327
:eng: :bwl: Ian Salisbury1102121.00--21--
:eng: :bwl: Gladstone Small (RET)2026738220.10-2592-
:eng: :bat: Robin Smith :slvo::slvo: (RET)8215217666249.32193420420-
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart :slvo::slvo:831638708945.741829202*18-
:eng: :bwl: Peter Such12157475.88--14*5-
:eng: :ar: Graeme Swann3408320.75--493-
:eng: :bwl: Dr Julian Thompson (RET)2305919.67-150--
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe :slvo::slvo:499014348045.7981911623-
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick24022556.25111065-
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor57112821.33--402-
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell :slvo::slvo:90116235616.03--3627-
:eng: :bat: Michael Vaughan1205427.00-151--
:eng: :bwl: Steve Watkin2405513.75--27--
:eng: :ar: Craig White :slvo::slvo:315813162736.16111104*4-

Bowling
PlayerMatOvrRunsWktsAvgEcon5WI10WMBest
:eng: :ar: Mark Alleyne41093071030.702.8--2/27
:eng: :bat: Michael Atherton :slvo:781445001338.463.9--3/32
:eng: :bat: Rob Bailey1543175287.504.1--1/0
:eng: :bwl: Martin Bicknell41914691142.632.5--3/72
:eng: :wk: Richard Blakey4--------
:eng: :ar: Ian Botham (RET)10837791122340028.133.02748/34
:eng: :bat: Mark Butcher61978178.004.1--1/0
:eng: :bwl: Andy Caddick26105329519132.432.8317/26
:eng: :ar: David Capel (RET)112096281252.333.0--2/13
:eng: :ar: Glen Chapple41855631151.183.1--3/82
:eng: :ar: Dominic Cork1969620385437.742.91-5/59
:eng: :bat: John Crawley8--------
:eng: :ar: Robert Croft62106641544.273.21-5/117
:eng: :bwl: Kevin Dean279182726.002.3--3/29
:eng: :ar: Phillip DeFreitas :slvo::slvo:361324353010433.942.7415/19
:eng: :ar: John Emburey (RET)602371510513836.992.16-7/78
:eng: :bat: Neil Fairbrother4290-4.5---
:eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff4113337656.173.0--3/78
:eng: :bwl: Neil Foster (RET)391451390211533.932.7518/107
:eng: :bwl: Angus Fraser592400592917733.492.55-6/68
:eng: :bat: Mike Gatting (RET)70125317479.252.5--1/14
:eng: :bat: Graham Gooch :slvo::slvo::slvo: (RET)1313067401743.532.4--2/12
:eng: :bwl: Darren Gough29114331218238.062.72-5/50
:eng: :bat: David Gower (RET)124620120.003.3--1/1
:eng: :bwl: Dean Headley (RET) :slvo::slvo:231054283410526.992.7817/47
:eng: :bwl: Eddie Hemmings (RET)1351314543146.902.8--4/90
:eng: :bat: Graeme Hick :slvo:872659501950.003.8--3/38
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake1340912583634.943.12-5/53
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain16--------
:eng: :bwl: Alan Igglesden (RET)137146348.673.9--2/91
:eng: :ar: Ronnie Irani154123430.752.3--4/69
:eng: :bwl: Mark Ilott1381271127.003.3--1/106
:eng: :bwl: Paul Jarvis (RET)1035910692641.123.0--4/50
:eng: :bwl: Richard Johnson1441550-3.5---
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight28--------
:eng: :bat: Allan Lamb (RET)60523123.004.6--1/6
:eng: :bat: Wayne Larkins (RET)10--------
:eng: :bwl: Syd Lawrence (RET)268223455.753.3--2/74
:eng: :ar: Chris Lewis (RET)561580426612334.682.71-6/70
:eng: :bat: Mal Loye2--------
:eng: :bwl: Devon Malcolm371292419513730.623.26-7/86
:eng: :bat: Matt Maynard1--------
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally281059284411325.172.7616/70
:eng: :bwl: Phil Newport (RET)292339937.663.7--4/87
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon17--------
:eng: :ar: Derek Pringle (RET)2162518074837.642.92-5/95
:eng: :bat: Mark Ramprakash19120-2.0---
:eng: :wk: Chris Read1--------
:eng: :ar: Dermot Reeve (RET)114390-2.8---
:eng: :bat: Tim Robinson (RET) :slvo:41100-0.0---
:eng: :wk: Jack Russell (RET)94--------
:eng: :bwl: Ian Salisbury113760-5.9---
:eng: :bwl: Gladstone Small (RET)2078419806033.002.53-5/48
:eng: :bat: Robin Smith :slvo::slvo: (RET)82--------
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart :slvo::slvo:83--------
:eng: :bwl: Peter Such1257216695033.382.92-8/47
:eng: :ar: Graeme Swann373215635.832.9--3/88
:eng: :bwl: Dr Julian Thompson (RET)246196449.004.2--3/91
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe :slvo::slvo:491236136.003.0--1/0
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick244116716.572.6--4/29
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor51515571830.943.7--4/63
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell :slvo::slvo:9041711225041729.372.92758/114
:eng: :bat: Michael Vaughan111320-2.9---
:eng: :bwl: Steve Watkin264223544.603.51-5/56
:eng: :ar: Craig White :slvo::slvo:3188825527633.582.92-7/63

​
Click to expand...
Records and stats updated after the first series of the summer. Almost-certain one cap wonder Ronnie Irani now features in our record sixth-wicket partnership
 
West Indies Tour of England, 2000

Itinerary
15 Jun 2000 - :eng: England vs West Indies :wi: - First Test at Edgbaston - England won by 1 wicket
29 Jun 2000 - :eng: England vs West Indies :wi: - Second Test at Lord's - West Indies won by 10 wickets
03 Aug 2000 - :eng: England vs West Indies :wi: - Third Test at Old Trafford - England won by an innings and 15 runs
17 Aug 2000 - :eng: England vs West Indies :wi: - Fourth Test at Headingley - West Indies won by 62 runs
31 Aug 2000 - :eng: England vs West Indies :wi: - Fifth Test at The Oval - Match drawn - Trescothick's unbeaten Test

England Squad

:eng: :bat: Nick Knight :c:

:eng: :bat: Michael Atherton
:eng: :bat: Graeme Hick
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick

:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :wk: Chris Read

:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake
:eng: :ar: Graeme Swann
:eng: :ar: Craig White

:eng: :bwl: Martin Bicknell
:eng: :bwl: Andy Caddick
:eng: :bwl: Kevin Dean
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor

:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell

After the demolition of the Zimbabwean tourists in the Test series, it is clear that changes are afoot at the top of the English game. Three players in particular have earned themselves greater favour with the ECB: Nick Knight was appointed as England Test captain once Alec Stewart had stepped down after the second Test, and Nasser Hussain earned a recall to the first-choice Test squad in light of his staggering run tally in the series. Marcus Trescothick also made himself undroppable, and will be going head-to-head with Atherton for a place in the team. A more surprising recall was also handed to Martin Bicknell. Despite it being slightly over eight years since his last Test match, his consistent excellence for Surrey has become too much to ignore and he's being given another shot. Whether he gets into the playing XI remains to be seen though, as there are still plenty of players ahead of him in the pecking order.
 
Last edited:
:eng: England vs West Indies :wi: - First Test at Edgbaston

English XI
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight :c:
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain
:eng: :ar: Craig White
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor
:eng: :bwl: Andy Caddick
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell

West Indian XI
:wi: :bat: Sherwin Campbell
:wi: :bat: Chris Gayle
:wi: :bat: Wavell Hinds
:wi: :bat: Brian Lara
:wi: :bat: Shivnarine Chanderpaul
:wi: :bat: Jimmy Adams
:wi: :wk: Ridley Jacobs
:wi: :bwl: Curtly Ambrose
:wi: :bwl: Franklyn Rose
:wi: :bwl: Reon King
:wi: :bwl: Courtney Walsh

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bowl

- - -

As the captain of a full-strength English Test XI for the first time in his career, Nick Knight has already laid down some groundwork for what his England team might look like: Knight himself and Trescothick retained their place as the opening partnership after their stellar series against Zimbabwe, while long-time opener Stewart shuffles down to number three. Experienced batters Atherton and Hick do find themselves benched in favour of younger players like Trescothick and (marginally) Hussain, but Knight made a point at the toss to emphasise that the door is not closed for them. He also chose to bowl first due to an uneven-looking track and thick cloud, going against the "think first, then bat" approach that is conventional wisdom.

This... did not go well. Despite the tricky conditions, the tourists applied themselves very well: Wavell Hinds and Ridley Jacobs were the two stars, but Sherwin Campbell and Jimmy Adams also made all-important half-centuries. Between them, the West Indian batters managed to get all the way to 408, thanks mostly to disciplined batting against the English seamers and regular punishment of anything loose from Alex Tudor. Thankfully for England, Phil Tufnell remains an elite spinner and took on the responsibility to almost single-handedly rein in the West Indian batters: his five victims were Lara, Hinds, Adams, Jacobs and King and without those first four things could have been very different indeed.

A bowling attack dominated by the twin titans of Ambrose and Walsh is absolutely one that can apply scoreboard pressure. However, it was neither of those two who would make the biggest inroads; instead, Franklyn Rose (4 for 33) and Reon King (3 for 55) combined to tear the heart out of the English batting. Most notable was the run of three wickets for no runs when Stewart, Thorpe and Hussain were dismissed in very quick succession. If not for Nick Knight's 67 and a surprise contribution of 40 not out from Andy Caddick at number nine, England absolutely would have been left facing the follow-on. Instead, they finished their first innings with a deficit of a mere 179 runs, and over two days of cricket still to play. And the pitch has been deteriorating.

Despite the conditions, the West Indian top order continued to select their shots responsibly and offer minimal chances. If only the same had been true of their running between the wickets: first Gayle, then Hinds lost their wickets to run-outs. This was the sort of good fortune that England needed to turn around and push for the win: Tufnell successfully spun out the adhesive Campbell before Craig White sparked a startling collapse: the touring team folded from 135 for one between the two run-outs to 175 for nine when Reon King became Tufnell's third victim. A spirited last-wicket stand of 28 provided a little bit of entertainment, before being brought to an end by Craig White, who completed a five-wicket haul in his second successive Test team.

This put England in a fascinating position, needing to either score 383 runs or bat out more than four sessions to survive the game. Knight and Trescothick started positively, collecting 42 runs between them before the tea break. After the interval, Trescothick was joined by Alec Stewart (Knight having been bowled by Rose) - he of so many magical run-chases - and the pair added exactly 100 runs together before the close of play. All of a sudden, England had reached the last day needing only 232 more runs with nine wickets still in hand.

Trescothick fell early to Ambrose for 67, but Stewart pushed on to even greater heights. He would reach his century from 151 balls alongside his Surrey teammate Thorpe. His batting efforts had even made England favourites for the first time since Knight had won the toss and decided to bowl. By now the wicket was taking some genuine turn, but the part-time spin of Gayle and Adams wasn't quite good enough to take proper advantage of it. Could the West Indies stop England from scoring the 150 more runs they needed from the last two sessions?

Courtney Walsh certainly helped their chances by dismissing Stewart from the first ball of the match's penultimate session, but even so - Thorpe and Hussain both looked assured at the crease (quite unlike the first innings) and kept the scoreboard ticking through a tricky period of play. Going into the final hour, England still had 52 runs left to score and Hussain (now batting with Craig White) would have to change gears. The wickets began to fall in earnest now - Hussain, then Nixon, then Tudor finding ways to lose their wickets. Most threatening of all was the off-spin of Gayle - so desperate was new man Alan Mullally not to face him that he ran himself out first ball leaving last man Tufnell to stay with White until the game's conclusion.

Only four overs remained, and all four results were still possible. 14 more runs meant an England win. 13, a tie. One more wicket would be a West Indies victory, and should none of those things happen then the game would finish as a thrilling draw.

Reon King to White: 1 (to Tufnell) • • 4 1 • - a heart-stopping moment as a thick edge from Tufnell flew past the slips and down to the vacant third-man area for four. Only eight to win now...

Chris Gayle to Tufnell: 1 (to White) nb • • • • • - White saw out the over responsibly, but then couldn't steal the strike at the end of it.

Jimmy Adams to Tufnell: • • 1 • • • - Such a tense over, but again White's abundance of caution left him unable to retain the strike.

Six balls to go. Chris Gayle to bowl them, although he had to wait for a drink-wielding Ben Hollioake to deliver a message from the dressing room to the two batters.

Gayle to Tufnell: 0 run - An attempted drive just about dribbles back to the bowler.
Gayle to Tufnell: 1 run - Tufnell dropped the ball into the off-side and White called him through for a quick single. Four runs to win now.
Gayle to White: 0 runs - A big-turning off-break from Gayle that White had not choice but to defend.
Gayle to White: 0 runs - Gayle fires in a quick yorker, but White keeps it out.
Gayle to White: 4 runs! - White gets his front leg out of the way and thumps a slightly wide ball towards mid-off. Wavell Hinds moves to his right, but misfields, and it's all over! What a cricket match.

"Yeah, Ben ran out with a message for us," White told Mark Nicholas after the match. "Stitch told us to trust ourselves. Win, lose or draw - he'd be happy regardless." Well, England did win - just. Perhaps things would have been different if the West Indies had picked a proper spinner.

1653418031656.png

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

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. Craig White - 8 points (+5)
2. Nasser Hussain - 6 points
=. Nick Knight - 6 points (+1)
4. Marcus Trescothick - 5 points
5. Alec Stewart - 3 points (+3)
6. Mark Butcher - 2 points
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points (+2)
8. Ronnie Irani - 1 point
 
:eng: England (1) vs (0)West Indies :wi: - Second Test at Lord's

English XI
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight :c:
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
:eng: :bat: Nasser Hussain
:eng: :ar: Craig White
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake
:eng: :bwl: Andy Caddick
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell

West Indian XI
:wi: :bat: Sherwin Campbell
:wi: :bat: Adrian Griffith
:wi: :bat: Wavell Hinds
:wi: :bat: Brian Lara
:wi: :bat: Shivnarine Chanderpaul
:wi: :bat: Jimmy Adams :c:
:wi: :wk: Ridley Jacobs
:wi: :bwl: Curtly Ambrose
:wi: :bwl: Franklyn Rose
:wi: :bwl: Reon King
:wi: :bwl: Courtney Walsh

- - -

West Indies win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

After yet another thrilling Test match at Edgbaston, neither side had huge complaints with how it was doing. Despite this, each made one change: the West Indies were forced to swap out Chris Gayle - their leading bowler in the dying moments of the first Test - after he injured himself in training, while England decided to bring in an extra all-rounder, with Ben Hollioake replacing Alex Tudor at number eight. This time, Jimmy Adams won the toss but the result was the same: the home side would be left with last use of the facilities.

Mullally started things well for his team, trapping surprise opener Griffith in front of middle stump for the first wicket of the match. The West Indies fought back strongly though, as Campbell and Hinds continued their excellent form on the tour so far. In the end, their resistance would be ended by none other than Mullally again: straight after the tea break, he produced an accurate, incisive and effective spell of bowling that would see both batters back in the pavilion within minutes of each other. It was a good job he was bowling so well because fellow opening bowler Caddick was not: the stop-start pattern of his Test career only becoming more pronounced as he finished the innings with 63 overs bowled in the series so far, and not a single wicket to show for it.

Caddick's struggles were precisely opposite to the efforts of Ambrose and Walsh: the two fast men took full advantage of a very cloudy third morning to make mincemeat of the England batting order. Only Marcus Trescothick (47) and Craig White (18) managed to reach double figures as the home side crumbled to a shocking 98 all out. They simply couldn't cope with Ambrose: he claimed six of the first seven wickets to fall before Adams finally insisted that he take a rest.

The second innings - following on thanks to their enormous deficit - went far better: the opening stand between Knight (53) and Trescothick (69) made exactly one more run than the entire English first innings. Paul Nixon (49) also made a decent contribution, but like Craig White (91) he ultimately lost his wicket within touching distance of a milestone. If anything, this relatively vertebrate offering from the English batting served only to paint their first innings meltdown in an even worse light - even if better batters than they have fallen to Ambrose's elite skills.

But yeah, a run-chase of only nine runs was little but a footnote. Ouch.

1653419538514.png

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

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. Craig White - 9 points (+1)
2. Marcus Trescothick - 8 points (+3)
3. Nasser Hussain - 6 points
=. Nick Knight - 6 points
5. Alec Stewart - 3 points
6. Mark Butcher - 2 points
=. Alan Mullally - 2 points (+2)
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points
9. Ronnie Irani - 1 point
 
:eng: England (1) vs (1)West Indies :wi: - Third Test at Old Trafford

English XI
:eng: :bat: Michael Atherton
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight :c:
:eng: :ar: Craig White
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :ar: Ben Hollioake
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell

West Indian XI
:wi: :bat: Sherwin Campbell
:wi: :bat: Adrian Griffith
:wi: :bat: Wavell Hinds
:wi: :bat: Brian Lara
:wi: :bat: Jimmy Adams :c:
:wi: :bat: Ramnaresh Sarwan
:wi: :wk: Ridley Jacobs
:wi: :bwl: Franklyn Rose
:wi: :bwl: Curtly Ambrose
:wi: :bwl: Reon King
:wi: :bwl: Courtney Walsh

- - -

West Indies win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Following on from their depressing batting collapses in both first innings in this series so far, England have made a pretty radical change to their top five. Gone is Nasser Hussain, and welcomed back into the fold is Michael Atherton, a batter well-known for his adhesiveness. To make room for him, Nick Knight has moved himself into the middle-order. Andy Caddick also lost his place in the side to absolutely no-one's surprise. Chris Gayle still isn't back for the touring side, and has now been ruled out for the rest of the series. Ramnaresh Sarwan has also been called into their middle-order for the first time this series.

As England's day one bowling efforts have gone, this one was by far the best so far. The efforts of Tudor, Mullally (of course), Hollioake and White all found rewards to some extent or another, and even Phil Tufnell managed to pick up a wicket despite little help for him so early in the game. Of course, Mullally was the star as a concerted spell from him was instrumental in the West Indies collapsing from 197 for three to 240 all out - though the sheer amount of overs he bowled may mean he has to take on a slightly reduced workload in the second innings. For the West Indies, everything just unravelled when Brian Lara got out: no matter how much they tried, nobody else could match his fluency and ability not to get out to Alan Mullally... until he did, edging the left-armer through to Paul Nixon.

With England in such a strong position, Knight made a change to the listed batting order and instead opted to open the batting with himself and Marcus Trescothick; a pair of positive players, designed to move England further still ahead in the game. His plan worked perfectly as they added another century opening stand, although Knight would fall for 57 to continue his curious streak of only converting to centuries against African opposition. Trescothick would make no such mistake though, barrelling along to a career-best 127. The Somerset left-hander continues to take to Test cricket like a duck to water. Stewart too would reach three figures, and by the time Thorpe ran himself out trying to bring up his 50, it would be Ben Hollioake who emerged from the pavilion. Clearly Knight was looking for a declaration. Sure enough, Hollioake took a big swing at his first ball, missed, and so ended that experiment. Atherton finally came to the crease at number six and played with more freedom than we've ever seen before in his career. He played a variety of punchy drives, strong cuts and full-blooded pulls and hooks as he raced to the twelfth and easily the fastest century of his Test career. His innings of 119* included not one but two sixes, and contributed to the fourth century partnership of the England innings. Finally, England declared at the end of the third day.

After Mullally's first innings efforts, Knight was mindful not to overwork him as England chased the win. Instead, Phil Tufnell took on most of the workload and he did so to his usual high standards. Across a 35-over body of work in the second innings, Tufnell successfully claimed the scalps of Wavell Hinds, Sherwin Campbell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Reon King and Courtney Walsh. With that haul, he is now only one more five-for away from becoming the first Englishman to 30 of them - though he remains a considerable way behind Richard Hadlee on this one. Aside from him, Alex Tudor was the pick of the bowlers as his two for 43 was the most controlled spell he has ever produced at this level. Even a stellar unbeaten 144 from Lara wasn't enough to make England bat again - an astonishing comeback after that Lord's obliteration.

1653469229179.png

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

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. Craig White - 9 points
2. Alec Stewart - 8 points (+5)
=. Marcus Trescothick - 8 points
4. Nasser Hussain - 6 points
=. Nick Knight - 6 points
6. Phil Tufnell - 5 points (+3)
7. Alan Mullally - 3 points (+1)
8. Michael Atherton - 2 points (+2)
=. Mark Butcher - 2 points
10. Ronnie Irani - 1 point
 
:eng: England (2) vs (1)West Indies :wi: - Fourth Test at Headingley

English XI
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight :c:
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
:eng: :bat: Michael Atherton
:eng: :ar: Craig White
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :bwl: Martin Bicknell
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell

West Indian XI
:wi: :bat: Sherwin Campbell
:wi: :bat: Adrian Griffith
:wi: :bat: Wavell Hinds
:wi: :bat: Brian Lara
:wi: :bat: Jimmy Adams :c:
:wi: :bat: Ramnaresh Sarwan
:wi: :wk: Ridley Jacobs
:wi: :bwl: Nixon McLean
:wi: :bwl: Curtly Ambrose
:wi: :bwl: Reon King
:wi: :bwl: Courtney Walsh

- - -

West Indies win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

In a classic bit of horses for courses selection policy, Martin Bicknell found his way back into the Test team under the cloudy skies of Headingley. He would come into a buoyant team, fresh off a dominant innings victory across the Pennines. After Atherton's century in that game, Nick Knight confirmed at the toss that the Lancastrian would in fact remain in the middle order, but with the option of the two players swapping places if the situation demanded it. The West Indies also made one change to their bowling attack with Nixon MacLean making yet another comeback to Test cricket in place of Franklyn Rose.

Yet again, Jimmy Adams won the toss and chose to bat first on what looked likely to be the only sunny day of the entire Test. Bicknell's comeback started off in dream fashion as he trapped Campbell LBW from his very first delivery. It would soon sour though, as he ended up copping the best/worst of another sublime century from Brian Lara. Even as the rest of the order performed to a fairly ordinary level, Lara's sheer quality elevated the entire team. It took all of Alan Mullally's skill to dismiss the Trinidadian. Not only did this reverse England's fortunes but also Bicknell's as he added the wickets of Adams and Sarwan to make it three for the innings. His Surrey teammate Tudor went one better though; the fast man took another excellent four-for, including the wicket that brought the innings to a close for 379.

The English reply got off to a rocky start as Trescothick and Stewart couldn't continue their form from the third Test, but from early on it was obvious that Nick Knight meant business. His innings was full of crisp drives and cuts, and he seemed completely unperturbed by the string of wickets falling at the other end. Finally in Craig White he found a partner who'd stick around. They added an excellent 152 runs, during which time Nick Knight finally broke his curse by bringing up a seventh Test century and a first against non-African opposition. His innings would come to a close when he fell victim to a strong second wind from Courtney Walsh. He was the fifth of six wickets for the towering Jamaican. Once all of the lower-order contributions had been accounted for - including a deeply entertaining cameo from Alex Tudor - England had reduced the deficit to just five runs, but couldn't overturn it entirely.

For some time, things looked incredible for England: ten of the eleven West Indians could muster only 64 runs between them. Six of them lost their wickets to the resurgent Bicknell; he bowled a long and disciplined spell and claimed the scalps of Adams, Sarwan, McLean, Ambrose, King and Walsh. However, there's one West Indian who we've not accounted for. Sherwin Campbell chanced his arm to great effect, belting a sublime 120 not out while carrying his bat. For most of the innings it looked as if he was going to seriously challenge the Bannerman Record, but he ultimately ended up a few runs short. And England needed only to chase 199 runs - a huge opportunity to seal the series.

Again though, they must have been so worried about Walsh and Ambrose that they forgot to take care facing the other bowlers. And so, after Knight and Trescothick had steered the innings to a position of great strength at 85 for none, the rest of the England side threw it all away. All ten wickets were lost in the space of 52 runs with four each going to King and McLean.

England never even got close.

1653490451243.png

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

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. Craig White - 9 points
2. Nick Knight - 8 points (+2)
=. Alec Stewart - 8 points
=. Marcus Trescothick - 8 points
5. Nasser Hussain - 6 points
6. Phil Tufnell - 5 points
7. Martin Bicknell - 3 points (+3)
=. Alan Mullally - 3 points
9. Michael Atherton - 2 points
=. Mark Butcher - 2 points
11. Ronnie Irani - 1 point
=. Alex Tudor - 1 point (+1)
 
:eng: England (2) vs (2)West Indies :wi: - Fifth Test at The Oval

English XI
:eng: :bat: Nick Knight :c:
:eng: :bat: Marcus Trescothick
:eng: :bat: Alec Stewart
:eng: :bat: Graham Thorpe
:eng: :bat: Michael Atherton
:eng: :ar: Craig White
:eng: :wk: Paul Nixon
:eng: :bwl: Martin Bicknell
:eng: :bwl: Alex Tudor
:eng: :bwl: Alan Mullally
:eng: :bwl: Phil Tufnell

West Indian XI
:wi: :bat: Sherwin Campbell
:wi: :bat: Adrian Griffith
:wi: :bat: Wavell Hinds
:wi: :bat: Brian Lara
:wi: :bat: Jimmy Adams :c:
:wi: :bat: Ramnaresh Sarwan
:wi: :wk: Ridley Jacobs
:wi: :bwl: Mahendra Nagamootoo
:wi: :bwl: Curtly Ambrose
:wi: :bwl: Nixon McLean
:wi: :bwl: Courtney Walsh

- - -

West Indies win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

This series has lurched to and fro, but despite that the two teams came into the final Test with only one change between them: that one change was made by the West Indians, who opted to bring in Mahendra Nagamootoo as a spin option. Dutifully, West Indian captain Jimmy Adams won yet another toss and again chose to bat first, which will give Nagamootoo the best possible chance to succeed. By day four or five, this classically flat Oval pitch might actually have something in it for the bowlers.

Thanks mostly to contributions from Jimmy Adams and Wavell Hinds, the West Indies team posted another 400+ score in their first innings, but they would not have expected anything less on an immaculate batting surface. The English bowlers actually put in a tremendous performance - nobody let the scoring get out of control and everybody stuck to their skills, none moreso than Bicknell and Mullally who registered combined figures of four for 111 from 56 overs. A huge effort from the pair of them in completely adverse conditions.

The English batters could really have learned an awful lot from the English bowlers. Where the bowlers stuck to their task with great discipline and patience, the batters routinely gave away soft wickets. Stewart, Thorpe, White and others all ended their innings by making avoidable errors and Curtly Ambrose was the main beneficiary: he finished up with six for 73. Only two Englishmen managed to score in excess of 10: one was the aforementioned Thorpe, whose 41 ended only when he played an early drive against Nagamootoo, and the other was Marcus Trescothick who carried his bat for an unbeaten 120 in what was undoubtedly his best Test innings yet. It was solely down to him that England avoided the follow-on.

Fortunately the English bowling attack came to the rescue with another staggering display of discipline. The entire bowling attack - led again by Mullally and Bicknell - kept the West Indian scoring rate clearly below two runs per over as the weather forecast for days four and five steadily deteriorated. Most notable was a staggering display of seam bowling by Martin Bicknell at his home ground: he bowled 22 overs, 12 of them maidens, and took one wicket for only 25 runs. His stock has skyrocketed in these two Test matches, and he may just have saved England's Test series. Ultimately the West Indians declared their innings during the rain break that started Day Five.

Once play finally restarted, captain Nick Knight pushed himself down the order and promoted Michael Atherton into his natural habitat as a defensive opening batter. With the support of Trescothick, he successfully saw England to a safe draw that also served to draw the series.

1653559535273.png

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

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. Marcus Trescothick - 11 points (+3)
2. Craig White - 9 points
3. Nick Knight - 8 points
=. Alec Stewart - 8 points
5. Nasser Hussain - 6 points
6. Martin Bicknell - 5 points (+2)
=. Phil Tufnell - 5 points
8. Michael Atherton - 3 points (+1)
=. Alan Mullally - 3 points
10. Mark Butcher - 2 points
11. Ronnie Irani - 1 point
=. Alex Tudor - 1 point

This season's Barrington Medal was won by Marcus Trescothick in his first ever summer as a Test cricketer. He scored an astonishing 796 runs at 72.27 apiece, including three centuries and in the last Test of the summer he managed to carry his bat through the entire game - the first time any opening batter has ever achieved this feat in Test cricket.

1653559896425.png
 
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