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

[Aislabie]

India vs England - First Test at Mohali

Indian XI
SS Das
Deep Dasgupta
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
VVS Laxman
Sanjay Bangar
Anil Kumble
Harbhajan Singh
Iqbal Siddiqui
Tinu Yohannan

English XI
Nick Knight
Marcus Trescothick
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe
Nasser Hussain
Craig White
Graeme Swann
Chris Read
Andy Caddick
Alan Mullally
Phil Tufnell

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

With the Mohali track looking dry, but - at the start of the game at least - in tact, it was vital for the England captain to win the toss and get first use of the pitch before it deteriorated. They would then deploy their two spinners as the pitch started to break up and spin more. India, meanwhile, did not have a bowling attack that looked likely to thrive on a day one pitch: Kumble and Harbhajan are two very good spinners, but a seam attack of Siddiqui, Bangar and Yohannan wouldn't impress even a county coach.

Of all the Indian seamers, it was Iqbal Siddiqui who was least bad on the first day. Not only did he take the important wicket of Nick Knight with the first new ball, but he also got Graeme Swann to edge behind using the second one. At all other times though, the main challenge faced by the English batters was one of spin. Marcus Trescothick stood up to it pretty well for 49, and Alec Stewart made a successful return to number three by grinding out a composed 71. However, the real star of the show was Graham Thorpe: arguably England's brightest batting talent, Thorpe breezed to his 11th Test century and then knuckled down and made his very first Test 150. For the latter half of his innings, he found excellent support from England's newest wicket-keeper, Chris Read. Batting all the way down at number eight, Read made a very disciplined 94 not out: the hightest score by an England wicket-keeper since the 1980s, and an innings that pushed the visitors' total all the way up to 483.

For the England seam bowlers, the dry and slow pitch offered very little and it didn't take long for Nick Knight to turn to his spinners. For Tufnell, this has been a trying period of his career; he is currently "enjoying" a dozen-game streak without a five-wicket haul to his name, and his place in the team has begun to look under threat from Swann. On this occasion though, he rolled back the years and immediately started picking up Indian wickets. First Das, then Dasgupta fell to the legendary left-armer, before Swann got into the act with the wickets of Dravid and Ganguly. Tufnell hit back once again, dismissing Tendulkar and Bangar within a single over to leave VVS Laxman to try to fix things with only the tail-enders for company. He did squeeze out an extra 100 runs for India mostly off his own bat, but it still wasn't enough to drag the home side past the follow-on mark.

Not that that mattered exactly - Nick Knight opted not to enforce it, preferring to retain last use of a deteriorating wicket and instead instructing his team to go out and build an unassailable advantage as fast as possible. Strong innings from Trescothick (42), Thorpe (61) and Read (36 not out) were more than sufficient, and England were able to declare and set India an unlikely 426 to win from the last four sessions.

Very disappointingly for England, their bowlers really lacked impact in the second innings. The dead-batted efforts of Deep Dasgupta and Rahul Dravid ate up a staggeringly dull 45 overs for fewer than 60 runs, and it took all of the English spinners' skill to prise breakthroughs from that partnership. Their reward for doing so was getting to bowl at Sachin Tendulkar, who hadn't quite got the memo about dead-batting everything. He plundered a serene century, constantly picking gaps in the ultra-aggressive field to advance his score. He would eventually fall to Mullally, but by that point there simply wasn't enough time for England to force a win. On the bright side, there also wasn't time for Ganguly to force a century, but it remains honours even going into the second Test.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Graham Thorpe - 3 points (+3)
2. Chris Read - 2 points (+2)
3. Phil Tufnell - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

India (0) vs (0) England - Second Test at Ahmedabad

Indian XI
SS Das
Deep Dasgupta
Rahul Dravid
Sachin Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly
VVS Laxman
Virender Sehwag
Anil Kumble
Harbhajan Singh
Javagal Srinath
Tinu Yohannan

English XI
Nick Knight
Marcus Trescothick
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe
Nasser Hussain
Craig White
Andrew Flintoff
Chris Read
Graeme Swann
Ian Salisbury
Phil Tufnell

- - -

India win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

On another flat and dry track, Nick Knight said at the toss that he saw "no point" in sending out premier seamers Caddick and Mullally to exhaust themselves on the unhelpful surface. Instead, he announced recalls to the Test team for both Andrew Flintoff and Ian Salisbury; the former offering some much needed extra pace, and the latter offering some leg-breaks. India on the other hand chose to strengthen their batting, bringing in Virender Sehwag in place of Sanjay Bangar; Javagal Srinath also returned in place of Iqbal Siddiqui, which is probably for the best. This time it was Ganguly who won the toss and chose to bat, and suddenly the English spin trio was faced with Day One conditions on which to ply their trades.

Andrew Flintoff, taking the new ball for the first time in his Test career, started fantastically. With the very first ball of the match, he bested SS Das to claim him caught behind. Just a few minutes later, he sent in a full in-swinger to get Deep Dasgupta leg-before, and reducing India to nine for two. Phil Tufnell's first wicket of the innings, that of Sachin Tendulkar for just 25, opened the door for England to really press home an advantage. Unfortunately for them, they ran into a Wall. Thar refers of course to The Wall, Rahul Dravid. He played like he was on a completely different planet, crafting an absolutely flawless double century that dominated the Indian innings. He found solid support in Sourav Ganguly, whose 68 appeared to come easily until Ian Salisbury turned one back through the gate to clean bowl the left-hander. Another well-pitched leg-break found the edge of new batter VVS Laxman's bat, and was calmly pouched by Trescothick at slip.

When the second new ball came, Flintoff made it count again: this time it took until his fourth ball before he trapped Virender Sehwag directly in front of the stumps. Just as this threatened to be the Test that kick-started the Lancastrian's career, he pulled to a halt. Scans later confirmed it, but the TMS commentators say him clutch at his back and immediately identified that his series was over. After that, the slightly depleted England attack tried their best to polish off the Indian batting, but The Wall remained impregnable and he found great support from the whirling blade of Harbhajan Singh: the energetic off-spinner showed a glimpse of all-round promise, crunching his way to a remarkable 61 before he too was dismissed by Salisbury.

India's first-innings 459 was an imposing score for England to face up to, but face up to it they did: after Marcus Trescothick's early dismissal, Nick Knight and Alec Stewart combined for an absolutely superb partnership of 239, with Knight doing the majority of the scoring until he was finally dismissed for 131 by Harbhajan Singh. This brought form man Graham Thorpe to the crease, the left-hander having recently cemented himself as England's number four. The excellent performances continued here with another massive partnership: 155 shared between the Surrey pair. By the time Alec Stewart finally got a leading edge back to Anil Kumble, he'd assembled a wonderful innings of 188. England kept batting for another hour or so longer after that, just long enough for Graham Thorpe to become the third centurion of the innings before Knight called his men in with a first innings lead of three.

Craig White, the only remaining seam bowler, really stepped up with the new ball in his hand. He took the first three wickets to fall, first Dasgupta, then Das, then Sachin Tendulkar as the Indians tried to build a winning lead. However, his performance would disappear into the shadows once England threw the ball to their leg-spinner. Ian Salisbury, who has so often struggled at this level, finally found a groove. He became the first English leg-spinner to take five wickets in a Test innings since the now 70-year-old Tommy Greenhough in 1968, curiously also against India. Salisbury's victims were Rahul Dravid (57), Virender Sehwag (13), VVS Laxman (35), Harbhajan Singh (19) and Anil Kumble (26). This also gave him eight wickets for the match, the best haul for an English leggie since goodness knows when. When Craig White took the final Indian wicket, it set England a tricky but theoretically doable 242 runs to win from 58 remaining overs.

Emphasis on theoretically. A truly stunning new ball spell from Javagal Srinath put paid to any notions England might have had of scoring the runs. By the end of the fifth over, the Indian fast man had reduced England to a tottering 11 for five, effectively for six with Flintoff unavailable to bat. His last three wickets had come in the space of four balls as Stewart, Hussain and White were simply blown away; his entire five-for took only 17 balls to claim. The remaining batters were Thorpe and Read, then Swann, Salisbury and Tufnell. Between them, they would need to see off the remaining 53 overs. After some resistance, Harbhajan Singh broke through twice, taking Read then Swann in the space of three deliveries. But this was Salisbury's match, He knuckled down, initially sharing a 78-run partnership with Thorpe that took England to within 30 minutes of the close of play. Then, disaster: Thorpe gone, LBW to Harbhajan.

Still Salisbury didn't give up. With only Phil Tufnell left, not only did he marshal the strike, but he even managed to secure his first ever Test fifty. Amazingly, he and Phil Tufnell saw it through to the bitter end, snatching a draw from the jaws of defeat. What a Test for the Surrey man.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Graham Thorpe - 4 points (+1)
2. Ian Salisbury - 3 points (+3)
3. Chris Read - 2 points
=. Alec Stewart - 2 points (+2)
5. Phil Tufnell - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

India (0) vs (0) England - Third Test at Bangalore

Indian XI
SS Das
Deep Dasgupta
VVS Laxman
Sachin Tendulkar
Rahul Dravid
Sourav Ganguly
Virender Sehwag
Anil Kumble
Harbhajan Singh
Sarandeep SIngh
Javagal Srinath

English XI
Nick Knight
Marcus Trescothick
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe
Graeme Hick
Craig White
Graeme Swann
Chris Read
Ian Salisbury
Andy Caddick
Phil Tufnell

- - -

England won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

Presented with a Bangalore pitch that looked certain to take spin, both teams assembled bowling attacks with that in mind. England stuck with their three spinners from the previous Test: Tufnell, Swann and Salisbury; India added Sarandeep Singh to their established duo of Harbhajan and Anil Kumble. It therefore goes without saying that whichever captain would win the toss would choose to bat first, and more importantly to bowl last. Sure enough, Nick Knight did exactly that.

However, the Indian attack did their best to negate that advantage by simply outplaying the visitors. After Sourav Ganguly was one of the two bowlers to take the new ball, it was no surprise that the Indian spinners were quickly into the attack. Harbhajan and Kumble took two first-day wickets each (as well as Srinath's one) to leave England tottering at 127 for five with only bowlers and all-rounders to come. However, the all-rounders (and eventually the bowlers) really stood up when it mattered. First, Craig White and Graeme Swann both knuckled down and made their presence count. Then when Swann was finally dismissed for 64, he was replaced by Chris Read who also played his best (but not largest) Test innings yet. When Harbhajan Singh found some rhythm, he dismissed White and then Read, before Kumble got rid of Caddick to bring last man Tufnell to the crease with the score already on 429. But then something incredible happened. Ian Salisbury and Phil Tufnell put on a record last-wicket partnership. Tufnell made a streaky career-best 35, but Ian Salisbury's stunning 79 not out meant that he'd scored 134 runs in the series without being dismissed.

Against all the odds, England had made 370 more runs after losing their top five batters. And just as importantly, they had held the fort until the pitch had started to break up. Late on Day Two and early on Day Three, the makeshift new ball pair of Caddick and White made important inroads: Das, Laxman and Tendulkar all edged into the slips, and really opened up a door that the spinners could barge through. And even though Tufnell struck first of the two, it was Swann who really made it count. He ran through the Indian lower order, taking five successive wickets in a very short period of time. We will no doubt find out soon whether he has established himself as England's premier spinner. Ian Salisbury then mopped up the last wicket to curtail a very disappointing Indian innings.

So important was the opportunity to bowl last on this track that Knight declined to enforce the follow-on. Instead, he and his team set about pushing England well out of reach of the Indian batters. This would prove to be the opposite of the first innings as only the top five were required to bat: the best of them was Marcus Trescothick, who biffed a fluent century to bring his run of poor form to an end. He was best supported by Graeme Hick, whose 55 helped the English lead up to 518: completely out of reach.

Knight had given his bowlers five and a bit sessions to claim the ten wickets they needed for a series victory. The seamers started well again: Caddick took two wickets and White one with the new ball, leaving India in an absolute hole. Like a Slough sized hole. And the wickets kept coming: Tufnell took the wickets of Dravid, then Ganguly, then Sehwag, while Swann dismissed SS Das. So the match situation boiled down to Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in a sort of reverse race against the clock. And for four hours, it looked like they were winning. Despite the best efforts of Swann and (in particular) Tufnell, the two Indian spinners kept having answers.

So who do you throw the ball to to save the situation? The leg-spinner of course! In one vital spell, Ian Salisbury produced two stellar deliveries that turned sharply away from the bat and bounced. The first one, Kumble snicked to Trescothick at slip; the second one dragged Harbhajan just inches out of the crease, and Chris Read made sure to make the opportunity count. Then, fittingly, the last wicket went to Phil Tufnell: he finished with the astonishing figures of 60.5-23-71-4. Just as we were starting to doubt him.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Ian Salisbury - 5 points (+2)
=. Craig White - 5 points (+5)
3. Graham Thorpe - 4 points
4. Graeme Swann - 3 points (+3)
5. Chris Read - 2 points
=. Alec Stewart - 2 points
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

Records

Highest Innings Score
for 592 all out vs Pakistan, Karachi 2000
vs 571 all out, Australia, Adelaide Oval 1991

Lowest Innings Score
for 72 all out vs Australia, Trent Bridge 2001
vs 62 all out, India, Trent Bridge 1996

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

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

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

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

Opening Batsman Not Out in Both Innings of a Test
120* and 52* - Marcus Trescothick vs West Indies, 2000

Tied Test Match
Australia vs England , The WACA 1995

Partnerships
1. 323 - Mike Atherton & Alec Stewart vs India 1996
2. 262 - Graham Gooch & Mike Atherton vs New Zealand 1994
3. 325 - Graham Gooch & Robin Smith vs West Indies 1991
4. 252 - Alec Stewart & Graham Thorpe vs Sri Lanka 2001
5. 176 - Graeme Hick & Jack Russell vs West Indies 1991
6. 155 - Nasser Hussain & Ronnie Irani vs Zimbabwe 2000
7. 174 - Chris Lewis & Phillip DeFreitas vs Australia 1993
8. 110 - Jack Russell & Dominic Cork vs South Africa 1995
9. 95 - Robin Smith & Dominic Cork vs Australia 1995
10. 68 - Ian Salisbury & Phil Tufnell vs India 2001

Most Test Runs for England
1. Graham Gooch - 11,242 runs @ 48.04 (28 centuries, best 294)
2. David Gower - 8,506 runs @ 42.96 (15 centuries, best 215)
3. Alec Stewart - 8,449 runs @ 44.01 (22 centuries, best 202*)

Most Test Wickets for England
1. Phil Tufnell - 488 wickets @ 30.29 (30 5WI, best 8/114)
2. Ian Botham - 400 wickets @ 28.13 (27 5WI, best 8/34)
3. Bob Willis - 325 wickets @ 25.20 (16 5WI, best 8/43)

Honours Board

Spoiler: Centuries

vs , 1989-90
Graham Gooch - 112
Robin Smith - 101
Robin Smith - 112
Graham Gooch - 100

vs , 1990
Graham Gooch - 127
Rob Bailey - 196

vs , 1990
none

vs , 1990-91
Robin Smith - 110
Graham Gooch - 170

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

vs , 1991
Alec Stewart - 166
Graeme Hick - 100

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

vs , 1994-95
Robin Smith - 106
Alec Stewart - 159
Robin Smith - 134
Alec Stewart - 115
Mike Atherton - 157*
Robin Smith - 100
Graham Gooch - 205
Robin Smith - 204

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

vs , 1998
Graeme Hick - 133

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

vs , 1999
Michael Atherton - 119

vs , 1999-00
Nick Knight - 109*

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

vs , 2000
Alec Stewart - 104
Alec Stewart - 171
Marcus Trescothick - 127
Michael Atherton - 119*
Nick Knight - 135
Marcus Trescothick - 120*

vs , 2000-01
Nick Knight - 202*
Michael Atherton - 202
Nick Knight - 152

vs , 2000-01
Nick Knight - 202
Marcus Trescothick - 100
Alec Stewart - 164
Graham Thorpe - 137
Nick Knight - 160

vs , 2001
none

vs , 2001
Nick Knight - 134
Graham Thorpe - 129*
Marcus Trescothick - 154*

vs , 2001-02
Graham Thorpe - 180
Nick Knight - 131
Alec Stewart - 188
Graham Thorpe - 100*
Marcus Trescothick - 108*

Spoiler: Five-wicket hauls

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

vs , 1990
none

vs , 1990
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 116
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 72

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

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

vs , 1991
none

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

vs , 1992
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 100
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 31
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 45

vs , 1992-93
Phil Tufnell - 8 for 114
Peter Such - 8 for 47
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 72
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 167
Phil Tufnell - 7 for 171

vs , 1992-93
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 102
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 71

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

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

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

vs , 1994
Phil Tufnell - 7 for 124
Phil Tufnell - 6 for 117

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

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

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

vs , 1996
none

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

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

vs , 1996-97
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 83

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

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

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

vs , 1998
Alan Mullally - 6 for 70

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

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

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

vs , 2000
Craig White - 6 for 19

vs , 2000
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 98
Craig White - 5 for 48
Alan Mullally - 5 for 72
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 112
Martin Bicknell - 6 for 58

vs , 2000-01
Graeme Swann - 6 for 91
Alan Mullally - 5 for 73
Alan Mullally - 5 for 46

vs , 2000-01
Graeme Swann - 5 for 41

vs , 2001
Matthew Hoggard - 5 for 54

vs , 2001
Andy Caddick - 6 for 95

vs , 2001-02
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 82
Ian Salisbury - 5 for 69
Graeme Swann - 5 for 62

Career Statistics
Includes all players who debuted before 1990 and played from that date onwards either in real life or in this universe.

Cap Numbers

Player	#	Debut	Last Test
Graham Gooch	461	v (1), 1975	v (5), 1995
Ian Botham	474	v (3), 1977	v (3), 1990
Mike Gatting	477	v (3), 1977-78	v (2), 1992-93
David Gower	479	v (1), 1978	v (2), 1991
John Emburey	480	v (3), 1978	v (4), 1989
Wayne Larkins	484	v (3), 1979-80	v (1), 1990
Allan Lamb	494	v (1), 1982	v (4), 1989-90
Derek Pringle	495	v (1), 1982	v (6), 1989
Eddie Hemmings	497	v (1), 1982	v (5), 1989-90
Neil Foster	502	v (3), 1983	v (1), 1992
Tim Robinson	511	v (1), 1984	v (5), 1991
Gladstone Small	521	v (2), 1986	v , 1991
Phillip DeFreitas	522	v (1), 1986-87	v (1), 1995-96
Neil Fairbrother	525	v (1), 1987	v (3), 1987-88
David Capel	526	v (3), 1987	v (6), 1989
Paul Jarvis	527	v (1), 1987-88	v (5), 1992
Robin Smith	530	v (4), 1988	vs (5), 1997
Rob Bailey	531	v (5), 1988	v (4), 1991
Matt Maynard	532	v (5), 1988	only Test
Syd Lawrence	534	v , 1988	v , 1991
Phil Newport	535	v , 1988	v (1), 1989
Jack Russell	536	v , 1988	v (5), 1998
Angus Fraser	537	v (3), 1989	vs ,1998
Michael Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	vs (5), 2001
Devon Malcolm	539	v (5), 1989	v (3), 1996
Alan Igglesden	540	v (6), 1989	only Test
- - - - - - - - - -	- - -	- - - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - - -
Alec Stewart	542	v (1), 1989-90	vs (3), 2001-02
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	vs (3), 2001-02
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	vs (3), 2001-02
Martin Bicknell	546	v (3), 1990	vs (2), 2000-01
Steve Watkin	547	v (1), 1991	v (2), 1991
Peter Such	548	v (3), 1991	v (3), 1996-97
Ian Salisbury	549	v (1), 1992-93	vs (3), 2001-02
Mark Ramprakash	550	v (2), 1992-93	vs (1), 2000
Dermot Reeve	551	v (3), 1992-93	only Test
Andy Caddick	552	v (2), 1993	vs (3), 2001-02
Nasser Hussain	553	v (3), 1993	vs (2), 2001-02
Mark Ilott	554	v (4), 1993-94	only Test
Graham Thorpe	555	v (4), 1993-94	vs (3), 2001-02
Darren Gough	556	v (1), 1994	vs (3), 2001
Dominic Cork	557	v (2), 1994	vs (3), 1999-00
Richard Blakey	558	v (3), 1994	v (3), 1996-97
Glen Chapple	559	v (4), 1994-95	vs (2), 2000
Richard Johnson	560	v (2), 1995	only Test
Mark Alleyne	561	v (5), 1995	v (3), 1996-97
Robert Croft	562	v (5), 1995-96	v (4), 1998
Nick Knight	563	v (5), 1995-96	vs (3), 2001-02
Mark Butcher	564	v (1), 1996-97	vs (2), 2000
Alan Mullally	565	v (1), 1996-97	vs (1), 2001-02
John Crawley	566	v (2), 1996-97	vs (2), 2000
Dean Headley	567	v (2), 1996-97	vs (3), 1999
Craig White	568	v (2), 1996-97	vs (3), 2001-02
Ben Hollioake	569	vs (3), 1997	vs (5), 2001
Paul Nixon	570	vs (5), 1997-98	vs (4), 2001
Andrew Flintoff	571	vs ,1998	vs (2), 2001-02
Mal Loye	572	vs ,1998	vs (3), 1999
Graeme Swann	573	vs (5),1998-99	vs (3), 2001-02
Alex Tudor	574	vs (3), 1999	vs (1), 2001
Dr Julian Thompson	575	vs (3), 1999-00	vs (4), 1999-00
Kevin Dean	576	vs (1), 2000	vs (2), 2000
Chris Read	577	vs (1), 2000	vs (3), 2001-02
Marcus Trescothick	578	vs (1), 2000	vs (3), 2001-02
Ronnie Irani	579	vs (2), 2000	only Test
Michael Vaughan	580	vs (2), 2000	only Test
Vikram Solanki	581	vs (3), 2000-01	vs (4), 2001
David Fulton	582	vs (1), 2001	only Test
Matthew Hoggard	583	vs (2), 2001	vs (4), 2001

Captains

Player	Mat	W	T	D	L	First	Last
Graham Gooch	55	22	1	16	16	v (5), 1988	vs (5), 1994-95
Graeme Hick	43	21	0	12	10	v (2), 1992-93	vs (5),1998-99
Nick Knight	24	12	0	5	7	vs ,1998	vs (3), 2001-02
Alec Stewart	9	3	0	2	4	vs (1), 1999	vs (5), 1999-00

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mark Alleyne	4	7	2	95	19.00	-	1	56*	4	-
Michael Atherton (RET)	91	174	16	6568	41.57	13	33	242	57	-
Rob Bailey	15	28	1	815	30.19	1	2	196	15	-
Martin Bicknell	10	11	0	112	10.18	-	-	48	5	-
Richard Blakey	4	8	2	166	27.67	-	1	50*	11	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	176	7	5656	33.47	14	25	208	135	-
Mark Butcher	6	12	0	300	25.00	1	1	118	5	-
Andy Caddick	36	50	9	601	14.66	-	-	40*	4	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Glen Chapple	4	7	2	98	19.50	-	-	30	1	-
Dominic Cork	19	26	6	496	24.80	-	2	72	8	-
John Crawley	8	14	0	385	27.50	-	2	70	3	-
Robert Croft	6	7	0	199	28.43	-	1	54	1	-
Kevin Dean	2	3	3	6	-	-	-	4*	-	-
Phillip DeFreitas	36	56	6	786	15.72	-	1	82	7	-
John Emburey (RET)	60	89	18	1540	21.49	-	8	75	33	-
Neil Fairbrother	4	4	0	5	1.25	-	-	3	3	-
Andrew Flintoff	5	8	1	190	27.14	-	1	89	5	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	60	12	600	12.50	-	-	42*	13	-
Angus Fraser	59	80	11	677	9.81	-	-	34	10	-
David Fulton	1	2	0	49	24.50	-	-	40	-	-
Mike Gatting (RET)	70	121	14	4037	37.73	9	19	207	53	-
Graham Gooch (RET)	131	244	10	11242	48.04	28	60	294	147	-
Darren Gough	30	43	13	429	14.30	-	-	35*	6	-
David Gower (RET)	124	215	17	8506	42.96	15	47	215	75	-
Dean Headley (RET)	23	37	9	250	8.93	-	-	24	5	-
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	19	3	332	20.75	-	1	95	4	-
Graeme Hick	91	169	11	6188	39.16	16	31	172*	140	-
Matthew Hoggard	4	6	1	11	2.20	-	-	5	2	-
Ben Hollioake	16	27	3	523	21.79	-	3	75	16	-
Nasser Hussain	20	37	2	949	27.11	2	5	103*	31	-
Alan Igglesden (RET)	1	1	1	2	-	-	-	2*	1	-
Ronnie Irani	1	2	0	79	39.50	-	1	78	-	-
Mark Ilott	1	2	2	26	-	-	-	25*	-	-
Paul Jarvis (RET)	10	15	4	189	17.18	-	-	35*	1	-
Richard Johnson	1	1	0	1	1.00	-	-	1	-	-
Nick Knight	49	93	3	4312	47.91	13	20	247	61	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	105	9	3224	33.58	9	12	137*	53	-
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	19	0	348	18.31	-	-	43	5	-
Syd Lawrence (RET)	2	2	0	6	3.00	-	-	4	-	-
Chris Lewis (RET)	56	90	12	1973	25.29	1	7	114*	61	-
Mal Loye	2	4	0	101	25.25	-	1	92	1	-
Devon Malcolm	37	50	13	233	6.30	-	-	21*	11	-
Matt Maynard	1	2	0	13	6.50	-	-	10	-	-
Alan Mullally	47	61	17	326	7.41	-	-	40	5	-
Phil Newport (RET)	2	3	0	70	23.33	-	-	36	1	-
Paul Nixon	34	55	8	1200	22.64	-	6	84	106	8
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	36	3	512	15.51	-	2	66	7	-
Mark Ramprakash	19	36	2	1070	31.47	1	9	100*	1	-
Chris Read	5	8	3	281	56.20	-	2	94*	8	2
Dermot Reeve (RET)	1	2	0	12	6.00	-	-	6	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	71	6	2362	36.33	4	12	175	14	-
Jack Russell (RET)	94	156	35	3954	32.68	1	21	128*	243	27
Ian Salisbury	4	5	4	188	188.00	-	2	79*	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Robin Smith (RET)	82	152	17	6662	49.32	19	34	204	20	-
Vikram Solanki	5	9	0	285	31.67	-	2	63	-	-
Alec Stewart	103	200	8	8429	43.90	22	34	202*	27	-
Peter Such	12	15	7	47	5.88	-	-	14*	5	-
Graeme Swann	12	15	0	296	19.73	-	1	64	11	-
Dr Julian Thompson (RET)	2	3	0	59	19.67	-	1	50	-	-
Graham Thorpe	70	128	20	5045	46.71	12	25	180	29	-
Marcus Trescothick	22	41	4	1779	49.41	6	8	154*	58	-
Alex Tudor	11	14	1	201	15.46	-	-	40	4	-
Phil Tufnell	109	139	31	650	6.02	-	-	36	29	-
Michael Vaughan	1	2	0	54	27.00	-	1	51	-	-
Steve Watkin	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-
Craig White	51	91	17	2434	32.89	1	16	104*	5	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mark Alleyne	4	109	307	10	30.70	2.8	-	-	2/27
Michael Atherton (RET)	91	144	500	13	38.46	3.9	-	-	3/32
Rob Bailey	15	43	175	2	87.50	4.1	-	-	1/0
Martin Bicknell	10	478	1285	38	33.82	2.7	1	-	6/58
Richard Blakey	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Mark Butcher	6	19	78	1	78.00	4.1	-	-	1/0
Andy Caddick	36	1395	4027	124	32.48	2.9	4	1	7/26
David Capel (RET)	11	209	628	12	52.33	3.0	-	-	2/13
Glen Chapple	4	185	563	11	51.18	3.1	-	-	3/82
Dominic Cork	19	696	2038	54	37.74	2.9	1	-	5/59
John Crawley	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Robert Croft	6	210	664	15	44.27	3.2	1	-	5/117
Kevin Dean	2	79	182	7	26.00	2.3	-	-	3/29
Phillip DeFreitas	36	1324	3530	104	33.94	2.7	4	1	5/19
John Emburey (RET)	60	2371	5105	138	36.99	2.1	6	-	7/78
Neil Fairbrother	4	2	9	0	-	4.5	-	-	-
Andrew Flintoff	5	129	380	9	42.22	2.9	-	-	3/43
Neil Foster (RET)	39	1451	3902	115	33.93	2.7	5	1	8/107
Angus Fraser	59	2400	5929	177	33.49	2.5	5	-	6/68
David Fulton	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mike Gatting (RET)	70	125	317	4	79.25	2.5	-	-	1/14
Graham Gooch (RET)	131	306	740	17	43.53	2.4	-	-	2/12
Darren Gough	30	1178	3256	84	38.78	2.8	2	-	5/50
David Gower (RET)	124	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Dean Headley (RET)	23	1054	2834	105	26.99	2.7	8	1	7/47
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	91	285	1017	19	53.53	3.6	-	-	3/38
Matthew Hoggard	4	143	417	12	34.75	2.9	1	-	5/54
Ben Hollioake	16	501	1592	41	38.83	3.2	2	-	5/53
Nasser Hussain	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Igglesden (RET)	1	37	146	3	48.67	3.9	-	-	2/91
Ronnie Irani	1	54	123	4	30.75	2.3	-	-	4/69
Mark Ilott	1	38	127	1	127.00	3.3	-	-	1/106
Paul Jarvis (RET)	10	359	1069	26	41.12	3.0	-	-	4/50
Richard Johnson	1	44	155	0	-	3.5	-	-	-
Nick Knight	49	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	5	23	1	23.00	4.6	-	-	1/6
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Syd Lawrence (RET)	2	68	223	4	55.75	3.3	-	-	2/74
Chris Lewis (RET)	56	1580	4266	123	34.68	2.7	1	-	6/70
Mal Loye	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Devon Malcolm	37	1292	4195	137	30.62	3.2	6	-	7/86
Matt Maynard	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Mullally	47	1793	4704	172	27.34	2.6	9	1	6/70
Phil Newport (RET)	2	92	339	9	37.66	3.7	-	-	4/87
Paul Nixon	34	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	625	1807	48	37.64	2.9	2	-	5/95
Mark Ramprakash	19	1	2	0	-	2.0	-	-	-
Chris Read	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dermot Reeve (RET)	1	14	39	0	-	2.8	-	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	1	0	0	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell (RET)	94	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	4	148	498	15	33.20	3.4	-	1	5/69
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith (RET)	82	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vikram Solanki	5	22	104	1	104.00	4.7	-	-	1/22
Alec Stewart	103	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such	12	572	1669	50	33.38	2.9	2	-	8/47
Graeme Swann	12	504	1403	46	30.50	2.8	-	3	6/91
Dr Julian Thompson (RET)	2	46	196	4	49.00	4.2	-	-	3/91
Graham Thorpe	70	12	36	1	36.00	3.0	-	-	1/0
Marcus Trescothick	22	95	297	9	33.00	3.1	-	-	4/29
Alex Tudor	11	357	1182	33	35.82	3.3	-	-	4/63
Phil Tufnell	109	5480	14786	488	30.29	2.7	30	5	8/114
Michael Vaughan	1	11	32	0	-	2.9	-	-	-
Steve Watkin	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56
Craig White	51	1482	4311	137	31.46	2.9	3	-	7/63

​

So, what a set of developments this has been. I think, though, that the present state of madness is best exemplified by the career to date of one Ian Salisbury.

Player	#	Debut	Last Test
Ian Salisbury	549	v (1), 1992-93	vs (3), 2001-02

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Ian Salisbury	4	5	4	188	188.00	-	2	79*	-	-

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Ian Salisbury	4	148	498	15	33.20	3.4	-	1	5/69

I cannot stress enough that I have not made this happen on purpose.

 

[Aislabie]

England Tour of New Zealand, 2001-02

Itinerary
13 Mar 2002 - New Zealand vs England - First Test at Jade Stadium - New Zealand won by 5 wickets
21 Mar 2002 - New Zealand vs England - Second Test at Basin Reserve - England won by an innings and 111 runs
30 Mar 2002 - New Zealand vs England - Third Test at Eden Park- England won by 7 wickets

England Squad

Nick Knight

Graeme Hick
Mark Ramprakash
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe
Marcus Trescothick

James Foster
Chris Read

Ben Hollioake
Umer Rashid
Graeme Swann
Craig White

Andy Caddick
Matthew Hoggard
Alan Mullally
Ryan Sidebottom
Chris Silverwood

Ian Salisbury

After a career-launching series, Ian Salisbury demanded selection for the New Zealand tour. However, living legend Phil Tufnell opted out of the tour, opting to take some time off to be fully ready for the upcoming summer of cricket. In his place was another potential debutant: Sussex's Umer Rashid, selected largely on the basis of a star turn at Durham, is a player who the selectors described themselves as "very interested in". There were also recalls for Mark Ramprakash and Ben Hollioake; the Surrey pair both showed revitalised batting form in the 2001 Championship season. This could spell the end of Nasser Hussain's Test career, which has been highlighted by his two centuries against Zimbabwe and absolutely nothing else. At least his continuing ODI career in which he has already notched up a dozen half-centuries. There are also two new fast bowlers in the squad: the Yorkshire duo left-armer of Ryan Sidebottom and right-armer Chris Silverwood will both expect to make their debuts on this tour. Indeed, it's not completely impossible that in Hoggard, Silverwood, Sidebottom and White, England might end up selecting an entirely Yorkshire seam attack. I would find that rather funny.

 

[Welwyn]

Absolutely love this.

Really hope you find the time to pick it back up again. Think a good end point might be the 2005 Ashes as you have basically started this in the aftermath of England losing them in 1989 and will complete what could have happened in the time it took for them to win them back irl.

 

[Ed Smith]

Really glad I don't live in a world where Nick Knight was England captain mind

 

[Aislabie]

New Zealand vs England - First Test at Christchurch

Kiwi XI
Mark Richardson
Matt Horne
Lou Vincent
Stephen Fleming
Nathan Astle
Craig McMillan
Chris Cairns
Adam Parore
Daniel Vettori
Chris Drum
Ian Butler

English XI
Nick Knight
Marcus Trescothick
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe
Graeme Hick
Craig White
Graeme Swann
Chris Read
Ian Salisbury
Andy Caddick
Alan Mullally

- - -

England won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

It was some surprise when Nick Knight announced an England team at Christchurch that contained two spinners. His reasoning was that after their performances in India, they couldn't drop either of Swann or Salisbury - so they didn't. However, given the distinct green tinge present on the playing surface, there was real trepidation about whether this selection decision would come back and bite the tourists.

Sure enough, the Kiwi seamers took plenty of early wickets. Trescothick, Stewart and Thorpe all fell cheaply against the new ball, leaving captain Knight and the recently recalled Hick to rebuild the innings. They did well, compiling a serene century partnership: Hick in particular scored fluently, his 76 being highlighted by a huge pulled six off Ian Butler. However, once Cairns had rested to return to the attach, he was again able to make the ball talk: first, Hick nicked off to Richardson at second slip, then Knight nicked off to Fleming at first slip. Craig White (37) and Chris Read (21) did their level best to add some vital lower order runs, but they were outmatched by the excellent Cairns who finished with six for 78 from 27.1 overs.

In response, New Zealand also found it difficult against the new ball: Alan Mullally took the wickets of Horne and Vincent with the new ball before Richardson and Fleming rebuilt with a century partnership of their own. Eventually it was the Northampton-born spin duo that would get things back on track for England: Graeme Swann took Fleming's wicket with a turning off-break before Ian Salisbury made real inroads into the Kiwi batting. The Surrey leg-spinner took the wickets of Mark Richardson, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns and Daniel Vettori as he posed a constant threat to both edges of the bat. Andy Caddick finished things up with two wickets of his own, earning England a narrow 29-run lead.

England's second innings was characterised by batters getting starts but failing to make them count. No fewer than five batters made double figures without reaching 50: Knight (40), Trescothick (30), Thorpe (24), Hick (32), Swann (11) and Salisbury (30) will all be frustrated not to have made a more significant contribution. Alec Stewart (63) and Chris Read (50 not out) were the only two who made it as far as 50, but England really did need one of their players to go on and make a big century. Instead, England were all out for 296, leaving New Zealand a tricky but gettable 326 to win.

One common feature of cricket in New Zealand is that the pitches often flatten out as a Test match progresses. And try as they might, England found it exceedingly difficult to find regular breakthroughs. After meaningful contributions by Richardson (59), Vincent (32), Fleming (60) and Astle (49), the match was still in the balance with around 100 more runs for a famous New Zealand victory. And that was when Craig McMillan cut loose: playing on his home ground, the mustachioed number five peppered the boundary no fewer than 15 times en route to a staggering 61-ball 77 not out.

And just like that, he took the game all the way away from England in one decisive hour of batting. The series begins with New Zealand taking a commanding 1-0 lead, but it also became clear after the game that the hosts' star all-rounder Chris Cairns had picked up an injury that would rule him out for the rest of the series. Will England be able to fight back?

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Ian Salisbury - 6 points (+1)
2. Craig White - 5 points
3. Graham Thorpe - 4 points
4. Graeme Swann - 3 points
5. Chris Read - 2 points
=. Nick Knight - 2 points (+2)
=. Alec Stewart - 2 points
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points

 

[Welwyn]

Delighted to see this back.

 

[Aislabie]

Delighted to see this back.

Delighted to bring it back! I know the inclusion of Umer Rashid in the squad is pushing the bounds of reality a little, but it's worth it for keeping him out of Grenada.

 

[Aislabie]

New Zealand (1) vs (0) England - Second Test at Wellington

Kiwi XI
Mark Richardson
Matt Horne
Lou Vincent
Stephen Fleming
Nathan Astle
Craig McMillan
Adam Parore
Daniel Vettori
Chris Drum
Ian Butler
Chris Martin

English XI
Nick Knight
Marcus Trescothick
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe
Graeme Hick
Ben Hollioake
Chris Read
Ian Salisbury
Ryan Sidebottom (debut)
Andy Caddick
Alan Mullally

- - -

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

After that first Test, England were never going to come into the Test with two spinners (again). Indeed, they made two changes, bringing in Ben Hollioake (in place of Craig White) and Ryan Sidebottom (in place of Graeme Swann). Remarkably, this meant that Ian Salisbury had climbed all the way up to the position of England's first spinner; would he be able to retain this position? For New Zealand, Chris Martin replaced the injured Cairns, which isn't good news for the Kiwi batting.

Regardless, Stephen Fleming opted to bat first after winning the toss; Mark Richardson proceeded serenely to his third successive 50+ score of the series, but he couldn't find anyone to stay at the crease with him. Horne fell cheaply again, but any one of Vincent (33), Fleming (28) or Astle (22) could and should have stayed with him to build a partnership. Instead, Richardson's dismissal for a well-made 65 left New Zealand at a precarious 167 for five; that immediately became 167 for six as Adam Parore became the third of three victims for Andy Caddick in the space of 15 minutes. Only a rapid counter-attacking 50 from Daniel Vettori saved the hosts from a sub-200 score, although 229 all out was most certainly not what Fleming had in mind when he won the toss.

England's innings got off to a shaky start when Marcus Trescothick fell for just nine, but that was the only bad moment for England. Nick Knight and Alec Stewart put the home bowlers to the sword in two of the most impressive displays of Test batting ever performed in England cricket shirts. New Zealand's total of 229 came and went - by this point, Knight had brought up his hundred and Stewart was close to his, but the English batting stars weren't done there. Knight would give only one chance on his way to yet another Test double-century. After a mere ten hours of batting, Knight was finally dismissed for 205, snicking a Vettori non-spinner through to Parore behind the stumps. Stewart was still going well though, and he kept on going, past a 200 of his own, past his own Test-best, all the way to a staggering 284. With his 300 in sight, he top-edged a pull shot and was dismissed completely against the run of play. Despite missing his milestone, he had still made the highest score for England in over a decade. Knight also declared the innings with Stewart's wicket, England finishing on 570 for three.

The exhausted Kiwis simply didn't have enough left in the tank to muster a rearguard with the bat. By contrast, the England bowlers had just spent two days with their feet up: it simply wasn't a fair contest. Alan Mullally might have dominated the scoresheet with his tenth Test five-wicket haul, but it was a real team effort from the English bowlers. Between them, they rolled the Kiwis for just one run more than in the first innings, taking home the series-levelling win by an innings and 111 runs and setting things up perfectly for the series decider at Eden Park.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Alec Stewart - 7 points (+5)
2. Ian Salisbury - 6 points
3. Craig White - 5 points
=. Nick Knight - 5 points (+3)
5. Graham Thorpe - 4 points
6. Graeme Swann - 3 points
7. Alan Mullally - 2 points (+2)
=. Chris Read - 2 points
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points
10. Andy Caddick - 1 point (+1)

 

[Welwyn]

Stewart continuing to prove what we all knew. If he'd never kept he'd have been a truly world-class top-3 bat.

 

[Aislabie]

New Zealand (1) vs (1) England - Third Test at Eden Park

Kiwi XI
Mark Richardson
Lou Vincent
Stephen Fleming
Chris Harris
Nathan Astle
Craig McMillan
Adam Parore
Daniel Vettori
Andre Adams
Daryl Tuffey
Chris Drum

English XI
Nick Knight
Marcus Trescothick
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe
Graeme Hick
Chris Read
Ian Salisbury
Chris Silverwood (debut)
Ryan Sidebottom
Andy Caddick
Alan Mullally

- - -

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

Coming into the deciding third and final Test of the series at Eden Park, there were big changes for both teams. The hosts made three changes, including a debut for right-arm seamer Andre Adams, while the tourists gave a debut to Chris Silverwood by fielding a team with arguably the longest tail of any England XI in the past decade: Chris Read and Ian Salisbury were listed to bat at numbers six and seven. With that in mind, Kiwi captain Stephen Fleming chose to bat first at the toss, specifically mentioning his goal of creating "scoreboard pressure for the England lower order".

And as captain, Fleming took personal responsibility for doing just that: after the early dismissal of Richardson, Fleming took on the English bowling from his number three position. He peppered the off-side boundary and featured in big partnerships with both Lou Vincent (who became Silverwood's first Test wicket on 47) and Craig McMillan (39), but found little support as the rest of the side were in the thrall of Ryan Sidebottom's left-arm swing bowling. The hairy Yorkshireman bowled 18 stellar overs, claiming the wickets of Harris, Astle, Parore, Vettori, Adams and Tuffey for just 59 runs. Only Fleming, who finished on 121, really had an answer to him.

In reply, England's top five fully repaid the faith shown in them by the captain and coach. Knight played a strong hand with 75 from the top of the order, but was the junior partner in a second wicket partnership with Alec Stewart (88). When they fell, followed shortly afterwards by Graeme Hick for a duck, there was the very real possibility of a batting collapse. However, Graham Thorpe managed to marshal the lower-order throughout his magnificent innings of 111; though nobody in the bottom six scored more than Andy Caddick's vital 32, everyone hung around and batted with Thorpe for as long as they could do and made the unusual team composition work. The debutant Andre Adams finished his first innings of bowling in Test cricket with an expensive but impressive seven-wicket haul, including four of England's star-studded top five.

Spoiler: Off-field events during the match

- - - - -
England Cricket Board statement, 02 Apr 2002

Umer Rashid has been released from the England squad with immediate effect on compassionate grounds following the tragic death of his brother Burhan in an accident in Grenada. The England cricket team will wear black armbands for the remainder of this Test series as a mark of respect, and our thoughts are with the Rashid family at this tragic time.
- - - - -
I hope nobody finds this insensitive; much like with Ben Hollioake, I wanted to create a timeline where a couple of extra people are more or less okay.

On the fourth day, a slightly shellshocked England struggled to get everything working as it should have done. All of the Kiwi batters punished them at least somewhat, but none more than Craig McMillan, who played an attacking hand in the middle order and was rewarded with a fine second-innings century. Just as the game appeared to be getting away from England, Knight found two bowling heroes in his ranks, one old and one new: the old, Alan Mullally, rolled back the years a little with an excellent three for 54, while debutant Chris Silverwood all but matched him with three for 58. This meant a target of just 197 for the English batters to chase down - a mere formality, if there weren't so few of them.

However, they needn't have worried: if there's one thing we all know it's that you can't ever count Alec Stewart out of a run-chase. Yet again, he delivered crucial runs when it mattered most: this time with a near-faultless unbeaten 70 from number three in the batting order. He even finished with a particular flourish by depositing a short ball from Andre Adams for six to finish the match and series in style.

After the game, Nick Knight confirmed that the team structure was "exceptional, yes, but with the players we need to look at and learn about we decided it was a risk worth taking. And the players justified us with an excellent team performance."

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Alec Stewart - 10 points (+3)
2. Ian Salisbury - 6 points
=. Graham Thorpe - 6 points (+2)
4. Craig White - 5 points
=. Nick Knight - 5 points
=. Ryan Sidebottom - 5 points (+5)
7. Graeme Swann - 3 points
8. Alan Mullally - 2 points
=. Chris Read - 2 points
=. Phil Tufnell - 2 points
11. Andy Caddick - 1 point
=. Chris Silverwood - 1 point (+1)

Alec Stewart continued his historic England career by becoming the second player after Graham Gooch to have won three Barrington Medals. He averaged a stunning 130.25 in the New Zealand Test series, his 284 at Wellington eclipsing his 188 against India earlier in the winter.

He must now be coming towards the end of his career, but a career tally of 8,950 runs @ 45.66 with 23 centuries and that best of 284 show just how rich of a career it has already been.

 

[Welwyn]

I know Straussy comes through in D2 in 2002, but would love big Rob Key to get a shot first who does just as well in 2002 in D1 as the guy to step up to replace him.

Also the year that Simon Jones & Jimmy start to come through but there looks like a battery in front of them.

 

[Aislabie]

I know Straussy comes through in D2 in 2002, but would love big Rob Key to get a shot first who does just as well in 2002 in D1 as the guy to step up to replace him.

Also the year that Simon Jones & Jimmy start to come through but there looks like a battery in front of them.

Yeah, I've done a bit of scouting ahead of the coming season, and things look absolutely stacked - especially on the fast bowling front. David Fulton is probably still the next opener off the rank after his terrific 2001 and a decent Test debut, and Ian Ward is the leading opener in the Championship in 2002 so he may also be in contention for a nod depending how things go.

However, we do have an absolute cascade of players whose careers are coming to an end all at once which could be a bit painful.