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

[Aislabie]

New Zealand Tour of England, 2004

Itinerary
20 May 2004 - England vs New Zealand - First Test at Lord's - England won by 5 wickets
03 Jun 2004 - England vs New Zealand - Second Test at Headingley - England won by an innings and 105 runs
10 Jun 2004 - England vs New Zealand - Third Test at Trent Bridge - England won by 5 wickets

England Squad

Nasser Hussain

Mark Butcher
Paul Collingwood
Robert Key
Owais Shah
Ed Smith
Andrew Strauss
Graham Thorpe
Marcus Trescothick

James Foster
Chris Read

Andrew Flintoff

Jimmy Anderson
Steve Harmison
Matthew Hoggard
Simon Jones
Sajid Mahmood
Ryan Sidebottom

Ashley Giles
Graeme Swann
The game will only allow me to select 18 of these players, so we'll just roll with it based on vibes.

The 2004 summer would be the first in several years where England would go into it without the services of Nick Knight. England's efforts to blood young players means that they have a selection of possible replacements with Test experience: Mark Butcher (31), Paul Collingwood (27) Robert Key (25) and Owais Shah (25) are all capped and ready to go, while Ed Smith (26) enjoyed a breakout County Championship season in 2003 and was unfortunate to miss out on a Test cap last winter. There are also unconfirmed rumours that the England team management consulted with the ECB about the possibility of selecting the hugely exciting Phil Jaques: the Australian has a British passport and two English parents, but selectors were told he would have to serve a four-year qualifying period that rules him out of selection until at least 2006. It will certainly be interesting to see which players get the nod to have one or more attempt to nail down the last spot in England's top six this season.

 

[Aislabie]

England vs New Zealand - First Test at Lord's

English XI
Marcus Trescothick
Andrew Strauss
Robert Key
Nasser Hussain
Graham Thorpe
Andrew Flintoff
Chris Read
Graeme Swann
Ryan Sidebottom
Simon Jones
Jimmy Anderson

Kiwi XI
Mark Richardson
Stephen Fleming
Nathan Astle
Scott Styris
Craig McMillan
Jacob Oram
Chris Cairns
Brendon McCullum
Daniel Vettori
Daryl Tuffey
Chris Martin

- - -

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

It's truly an interesting time to be a cricket fan. As rather a strong New Zealand team arrives on English shores, they will face an England team who don't seem to quite know how they fit together despite winning 14 of their last 16 Tests under captain Nasser Hussain. The first question of who would bat at number three was answered by Robert Key's sublime County Championship form: the Kent man got the nod above a range of other very good options. Then, the bowling attack: with nine front-line bowlers to squeeze into a five-man attack, there are always going to be those who miss out. For the first Test, the seamers are Anderson, Jones, Sidebottom and Flintoff while the spinner is Graeme Swann. And that bowling attack would be put to immediate use as Stephen Fleming won the toss and opted to bat first.

It was a really rough start for the home team: the Kiwis batted excellently throughout Day One. They put on 311 runs before the close of play, highlighted by centuries from both Astle and Fleming, and lowlighted only by the early dismissal of Richardson and the loss of Fleming to the last ball of the day's play. The second day turned the game on its head though: within ten minutes of play getting underway, four more Kiwi wickets had been lost: first, Flintoff beat Astle for pace with his first ball of the morning, then Jimmy Anderson sent down a triple-wicket over in which he took the wickets of Styris, Oram and McMillan. The New Zealand batting line-up is exceptionally deep though, and Chris Cairns fought back with a bristling 82, supported by McCullum and Vettori.

After such a long and tiresome stint in the field, it would be vital for the English batters to respond in kind. The trouble was that where New Zealand had enjoyed the benefits of two big contributions from Fleming and Astle, the English batters repeatedly found themselves getting in and then getting out. Of the dismissed batters, only Strauss was out for single figures (snicking an angled ball from Tuffey into the slips) but only two passed 50: Trescothick (82) and Hussain (62) both losing their wickets before being able to push on for a century. Much of the credit for this has to go to disciplined bowling from Cairns and Oram in particular as the two all-rounders took three wickets each, and secured a big lead of 122 for New Zealand.

The England bowlers had no choice but to do better than they had in the first innings, and they did immediately make a good start: first, Anderson took the wickets of both openers in the ninth over, then Sidebottom followed up with the wickets of both Styris and Astle. After that, the key was to keep the pressure on and most of the bowlers did a stellar job of it: Flintoff and Swann added two cheap wickets each, and Anderson took a third: the only weak link in the attack was Jones, whose struggle for control saw him leak runs at six an over, although he did take the important wicket of top-scorer McMillan.

The result was that England would be chasing an improbably 350 to win. Improbable, but not impossible as we've seen this team chase down unlikely scores so very often. A big opening stand of 144 certainly helped out: suddenly, rather than staring down the barrel of 350, the England middle order could tell themselves they were 0 for 1 chasing 206. It's easier mentally for some reason. Trescothick kept going past his century (his 15th in Tests, and another masterclass), but his dismissal to a big-swinging Tuffey delivery was the catalyst for a mini-collapse. Rob Key (at this point 44 not out) was joined by his close friend Andrew Flintoff as England still needed another 104 to win the game. They managed to get halfway there before losing Key, but Chris Read kept his head and stayed with Flintoff the rest of the way. The big Lancastrian won the game at just gone 18:00 on the last day, dropping a single into the off side to bring up his 50 and England's win.

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. Marcus Trescothick - 5 points (+5)
2. Jimmy Anderson - 3 points (+3)
3. Andrew Flintoff - 2 points (+2)
4. Robert Key - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

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

English XI
Marcus Trescothick
Andrew Strauss
Robert Key
Nasser Hussain
Graham Thorpe
Andrew Flintoff
Chris Read
Graeme Swann
Matthew Hoggard
Steve Harmison
Jimmy Anderson

Kiwi XI
Mark Richardson
Michael Papps
Stephen Fleming
Nathan Astle
Scott Styris
Jacob Oram
Chris Cairns
Brendon McCullum
Daniel Vettori
Daryl Tuffey
Chris Martin

- - -

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

Arriving in Headingley, both teams had shuffled the pack a little bit: for New Zealand, that came in the form of Michael Papps coming back in for McMillan: as a specialist opener, he took the spot alongside Richardson while Fleming and Astle shuffled down a little bit. For England, they shuffled the pace pack again with Harmison and Hoggard coming in. It doesn't feel like a huge change though, for either team, and the game started in much the same fashion by Fleming winning the toss and batting.

That was where the similarities ended. Thanks mostly to excellent opening spells from Anderson and Harmison, New Zealand's batting effort started in a flurry of wickets. It sounds terribly reductive, but there's not really much to write about this innings: few of the Kiwi batters really stood up and held their ground, none better than Astle (40 off 69) or Tuffey (26* off 52) and none of the English bowlers particularly stood out from what was an excellent team bowling effort.

The English batting reply continued in a similar vein: it was just consistently very good indeed, and none of the Kiwi bowlers really gave them too much trouble. Andrew Strauss headlined proceedings with a leisurely century, made in no particular hurry owing to there being just so much time left in the game. He was supported by cameos from Trescothick, Key and Hussain without any of them really pushing on. There followed yet another big Thorpe-Flintoff partnership: of the 115 runs they made together, Flintoff scored 90 of them from just 79 balls faced, and there was a huge collective groan when he was bowled by Cairns. Swann added a third career half-century from number eight while Thorpe continued accumulating. The Surrey man was well into the 90s by the time Swann's wicket fell, but never got the chance to add to it as Hoggard, Harmison and Anderson conspired to leave him stranded. The glaring thing from a neutral perspective was just how underbowled Daniel Vettori was: he took an excellent, economical three-wicket haul and yet spent most of his time not bowling while the rest of the attack went far worse. Serious questions for Fleming to answer.

No matter, as the English bowlers picked up exactly where they left off: Anderson and Hoggard tore through the top order before Graeme Swann spun his way through the lower-middle. Indeed, the game would have been over very quickly indeed if not for yet more batting resistance from Daryl Tuffey. The Northern Districts man held onto his wicket for 121 deliveries before finally being dismissed for the first time in the match. It was futile resistance from him and from Scott Styris, but ultimately it gained them nothing: they still lost the game by an innings and three figures.

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. Jimmy Anderson - 5 points (+2)
=. Andrew Strauss - 5 points (+5)
=. Marcus Trescothick - 5 points
4. Graeme Swann - 3 points (+3)
5. Andrew Flintoff - 2 points
6. Steve Harmison - 1 point (+1)
=. Robert Key - 1 points

 

[Aislabie]

England (2) vs (0) New Zealand - Third Test at Trent Bridge

English XI
Marcus Trescothick
Andrew Strauss
Robert Key
Nasser Hussain
Graham Thorpe
Andrew Flintoff
Chris Read
Ashley Giles
Saj Mahmood
Matthew Hoggard
Steve Harmison

Kiwi XI
Mark Richardson
Stephen Fleming
Scott Styris
Nathan Astle
Craig McMillan
Jacob Oram
Chris Cairns
Brendon McCullum
James Franklin
Kyle Mills
Chris Martin

- - -

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

With the series already decided, both teams made changes ahead of the Trent Bridge Test. For England, that was another shuffle in the bowling department: Jimmy Anderson and Ashley Giles were both rested to make room for Saj Mahmood and Ashley Giles. For New Zealand, it involved the re-dropping of Michael Papps with Fleming back up as a makeshift opener, McMillan back into the side, and two changes in the bowling department: Daniel Vettori went from underbowled to out of the side, and Tuffey was also left out; James Franklin and Kyle Mills replace them.

Fleming made it three tosses won out of three, and he chose to bat first once again. The makeshift opening pair did quite well together again: the stubborn Richardson held his end very well, while Fleming played more of the strokes. Some excellent bowling from Flintoff and Mahmood was eventually rewarded with the wickets of Fleming and Styris, but the game really turned when Ashley Giles came into the attack: he twirled his way to a high-quality five-wicket haul in a display of day one bowling that will leave New Zealand scratching their heads about why they left out their own specialist spinner. Flintoff then came back into the attack to blow away the tail before the close of the first day: New Zealand, 284 all out.

The England batting effort could not have started worse: Trescothick losing his off stump to the very first ball of the innings. Strauss, Key, Thorpe and Flintoff all found themselves bested by the Kiwi seamers, and England were in a very precarious position at 134 for five. But those very real fears were assuaged by a record sixth-wicket partnership between Hussain and Read: the England captain notched up his eighth Test century, and the England wicket-keeper his first (the first by any England wicket-keeper since July 1989) as the pair recorded a historic partnership of 231. England kept batting after Hussain was dismissed, long enough for Read to record the highest innings ever by an England Test wicket-keeper: he was eventually dismissed for 154, at which point Hussain did indeed declare the innings.

Early in their second innings, New Zealand suffered the worst possible news: Stephen Fleming had been hit hard by a Harmison bouncer and went down like a sack of spuds. He would take no further part in the match, and his prospects of playing in the one-dayers were doubtful. The rest of the Kiwi batting was at least quite stubborn: Styris made a half-century, and there were contributions of 20 or 30 up and down the batting card. Crucially though, nothing that would take the game away from England. Their bowlers earned them a nice, manageable run-chase of 139.

On an up and down pitch, batting wasn't easy but a superb half-century from Strauss ensured that England always remained ahead of the game. Strauss's dismissal on the cusp of the target brought Chris Read to the crease, and it was entirely fitting that England's history-making wicket-keeper was there to hit the winning runs that sealed a 3-0 whitewash.

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. Jimmy Anderson - 5 points
=. Chris Read - 5 points (+5)
=. Andrew Strauss - 5 points
=. Marcus Trescothick - 5 points
5. Andrew Flintoff - 3 points (+1)
=. Ashley Giles - 3 points (+3)
=. Graeme Swann - 3 points
8. Nasser Hussain - 2 points (+2)
9. Steve Harmison - 1 point
=. Robert Key - 1 point

 

[Welwyn]

Sometimes you just have to hate Cricket Captain.

 

[Aislabie]

West Indies Tour of England, 2004

Itinerary
22 Jul 2004 - England vs West Indies - First Test at Lord's - England won by 7 runs
29 Jul 2004 - England vs West Indies - Second Test at Edgbaston - England won by 53 runs
12 Aug 2004 - England vs West Indies - Third Test at Old Trafford - England won by 2 wickets
19 Aug 2004 - England vs West Indies - Fourth Test at The Oval - England won by 9 wickets

England Squad

Nasser Hussain

Paul Collingwood
Owais Shah
Ed Smith
Andrew Strauss
Graham Thorpe
Marcus Trescothick

James Foster
Chris Read

Andrew Flintoff

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

Ashley Giles
Graeme Swann

After a hugely successful series against New Zealand, there were still a few changes to the England squad before the West Indies arrived. For one thing, Robert Key was left out after making only one half-century in the series; for another, Saj Mahmood was sent back to county cricket to develop his game after his spell in the third Test was expensive and troubled by no-balls. Apart from the number three spot this is a relatively settled side: it looks as if Owais Shah and Ed Smith will be going head-to-head to nail down that position before the South Africa tour and next summer's Ashes series.

 

[Aislabie]

England vs West Indies - First Test at Lord's

English XI
Marcus Trescothick
Andrew Strauss
Ed Smith (debut)
Nasser Hussain
Graham Thorpe
Andrew Flintoff
Chris Read
Ashley Giles
Ryan Sidebottom
Steve Harmison
Jimmy Anderson

West Indian XI
Chris Gayle
Devon Smith
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Brian Lara
Shiv Chanderpaul
Dwayne Bravo
Ridley Jacobs
Omari Banks
Tino Best
Pedro Collins
Fidel Edwards

- - -

England won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

As England's Test team sits on a seven-match winning streak, four of them against this exact opposition in their own backyard, it is fair to say that the tourists are not the bookies' favourites. Despite that, they come in with a fairly settled team: the batting order and bowling attack look broadly similar to what we're used to seeing, with the main changes being the inclusion of Dwayne Bravo and Omari Banks in place of Ryan Hinds and Adam Sanford. These may both prove to be good changes, and fans will soon be seeing them because Nasser Hussain has won the toss and will get first use of facilities. His batting charges include debutant Ed Smith, who takes the spot of his county teammate Robert Key.

The English batters had a troubled start under cloudy skies: Best and Bravo both got the ball to talk, sending home Strauss, Trescothick and Hussain early in the piece. Ed Smith impressed on debut, peppering the square boundaries with drives and glances, only to make an error just after celebrating his 50; nicking off to Omari Banks. Thorpe then did exactly the same thing by getting to 50 and then getting out, which will have been particularly disappointing in his 100th Test match for England. And when he was out, the wickets never stopped coming; England crumbling to 233 all out midway through the evening session, their batting in tatters thanks mostly to Omari Banks.

Initially, it looked like things would be just as miserable for the visiting batters, but after losing four wickets on the first evening, the second morning dawned a brand new day. Chanderpaul made himself very comfortable at the crease, but he took second fiddle to the more expansive strokeplay of Dwayne Bravo. The debutant Trinidadian found the boundary 15 times on his way to a very impressive Test century: the first of many? When those two were dismissed there wasn't much in the shed, and the West Indies quickly tottered to 282 for nine and the game was once again in the balance. That was, of course, until Cricket Captain happened: Pedro Collins and Fidel Edwards biffing their way to a 55-run last wicket partnership that put the visitors well ahead.

They then pressed home their advantage with a sustained period of good, aggressive cricket with the ball. Even when England batters got in, the West Indian bowlers never stopped attacking, and that meant that only two players scored more than 30 in the England innings. One of them was Trescothick with 37, and one was Chris Read. The England keeper, no doubt riding high on the confidence of his recent century, swung the bat hard enough to score a 62-ball 70 from number seven. With support from Giles and Sidebottom, it was enough to set the West Indies a target of 180. Eminently gettable, but just enough that England's bowlers could present a real challenge in difficult batting conditions.

And they did. First, Anderson and Harmison bowled very well with the new ball. They took the wickets of Gayle, Sarwan and Lara, but even then the West Indies were still ahead in the game. Devon Smith and Chanderpaul were both batting solidly when Hussain decided to put his trust in both his left-armers. They repaid that trust magnificently: Sidebottom found an extra yard of pace, and his natural delivery swung sharply away from the left-handers and back into the right: accordingly, Smith snicked off into the slips before Bravo was trapped LBW. Then Sidebottom scrambled the seam and trapped Jacobs in front of middle. Things were getting really tense now, and they became even moreso when Giles held one back a bit and took a return catch from Chanderpaul. He then started to spin a web around the tail-enders, dismissing both Banks and Best. That left only Collins and Edwards, the scourges of the first innings, to score the last 15 runs. But this time they only got halfway as Ashley Giles sealed a thrilling England victory!

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. Ashley Giles - 8 points (+5)
=. Chris Read - 8 points (+3)
3. Jimmy Anderson - 6 points (+1)
4. Andrew Strauss - 5 points
=. Marcus Trescothick - 5 points
6. Andrew Flintoff - 3 points
=. Graeme Swann - 3 points
8. Nasser Hussain - 2 points
=. Ryan Sidebottom - 2 points (+2)
9. Steve Harmison - 1 point
=. Robert Key - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

England (1) vs (0) West Indies - Second Test at Edgbaston

English XI
Marcus Trescothick
Andrew Strauss
Ed Smith
Nasser Hussain
Graham Thorpe
Andrew Flintoff
Chris Read
Ashley Giles
Ryan Sidebottom
Simon Jones
Jimmy Anderson

West Indian XI
Chris Gayle
Devon Smith
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Brian Lara
Shiv Chanderpaul
Dwayne Bravo
Ridley Jacobs
Omari Banks
Pedro Collins
Corey Collymore
Jermaine Lawson

- - -

England won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

After a thrillingly close first Test match, both teams came to Edgbaston having made only minor changes to their bowling packs. For England, that meant bringing in Simon Jones, and for West Indies it meant Corey Collymore and Jermaine Lawson got the nod. Both teams retained unchanged batting units. Once again, Hussain won the toss and chose to bat first despite very cloudy skies. This proved to be a poor choice.

On a very muggy, overcast morning the ball immediately swung around corners. Lawson, Collymore and Bravo all found success in exploiting the conditions, and they left the England batting in tatters. However, the most costly dismissal was that of Ashley Giles, for the tall spin bowler was not bowled out but was instead injured out of the game by a Jermaine Lawson bouncer that hit him flush on his bowling hand. He was on 30 not out at the time, and on a pitch that is expected to take spin later in the game his loss will absolutely be felt by England. Ultimately, the home side were bowled out for 201 on the eve of Tea, and Chris Read again top-scored.

To be without a spinner when the sun came out was a major disadvantage for England. They found themselves punished not by any of the big four batters (Gayle, Sarwan, Lara, Shiv) but by the unlikely duo of Devon Smith and Dwayne Bravo. Strong contributions by both of them were the backbone around which a West Indian innings of 320 was built: all four of the English seamers bowled well, but the absence of Giles was keenly felt. After 118 overs in the field, all four of them looked rather tired and the West Indies' lead stood at 119.

We know better than to write England off, even in bleak situations such as these. The entire standing of the game was changed by an opening partnership of real quality between Trescothick and Strauss: the two left-handers managed to restore parity before the loss of the first wicket, and even though only 46 of those runs belonged to Strauss his contribution was crucial. Trescothick slowed a little while Smith and Hussain each scored 20s, but he really kicked on again once he had Andrew Flintoff with him at the other end. The two star players recorded a partnership of 173, one less than Trescothick's eventual tally of 174. Once the opener was gone, Flintoff really kicked on: he thrashed his way to a century narrowly before losing his last two tail-end partners in the same action-packed over. But England had got right back ahead in the game, and West Indies would be facing a challenging target of 314 to win.

The West Indies made a strong start, losing only one early wicket to Simon Jones. Smith, Lara and Chanderpaul all made meaningful contributions as the West Indies climbed to 150 for two, then 182 for three. So who should turn the game on its head once more, but Marcus Trescothick. Not content with dominating the run-scoring, he also turned his arm over for five overs. In those overs he conceded 25 runs, but he also claimed the vital wickets of Brian Lara and Dwayne Bravo. When he was done, Simon Jones came back into the attack armed with a ball that was beginning to reverse-swing. It simply wasn't a fair contest as the rangy Welshman took the last five West Indian wickets to fall with a peerless spell of fast bowling.

Just like that, England had won by 53 runs. Just like that, they had claimed an unassailable 2-0 lead.

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. Marcus Trescothick - 10 points (+5)
2. Chris Read - 9 points (+1)
3. Ashley Giles - 8 points
4. Jimmy Anderson - 6 points
5. Andrew Flintoff - 5 points (+2)
=. Andrew Strauss - 5 points
7. Simon Jones - 3 points (+3)
=. Graeme Swann - 3 points
9. Nasser Hussain - 2 points
=. Ryan Sidebottom - 2 points
11. Steve Harmison - 1 point
=. Robert Key - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

England (2) vs (0) West Indies - Third Test at Old Trafford

English XI
Marcus Trescothick
Andrew Strauss
Ed Smith
Nasser Hussain
Graham Thorpe
Andrew Flintoff
Chris Read
Graeme Swann
Kabir Ali
Simon Jones
Matthew Hoggard

West Indian XI
Chris Gayle
Sylvester Joseph
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Brian Lara
Shiv Chanderpaul
Dwayne Bravo
Carlton Baugh
Dave Mohammed
Pedro Collins
Corey Collymore
Fidel Edwards

- - -

West Indies won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

When the dust settled on the English victory, there was good news from their camp: although Ashley Giles had been ruled out of the third Test, his participation in the fourth Test at The Oval was a possibility and his availability for the winter tour of South Africa a certainty. So that was a big plus. All the same, it meant England had to go for big changes in their bowling attack with Swann, Hoggard and Kabir Ali all coming into the side as the workloads of both Anderson and Sidebottom were monitored. On the other hand, the West Indies hit the panic button with changes to their opening batter, wicket-keeper, spinner and opening bowler: Sylvester Joseph, Carlton Baugh, Dave Mohammed and Fidel Edwards were the lucky quartet to come into the side.

Once again, the West Indian top order all made good starts, but once again none of them was able to make it count. Gayle 41, Joseph 35, Sarwan 34, Lara 48 is the sort of scorecard that will have the coaching staff tearing their hair clean from their scalps. To their credit, the English bowlers were also very good indeed: Flintoff, Ali and Swann taking three wickets each as the West Indies were reduced to 178 for nine. And you all know what's coming now: a 49-run tenth wicket partnership between Collymore and Edwards saw the visitors successfully past the 200 mark to keep them in the game. Cricket Captain.

The English batting reply was lacklustre again though: both openers and then the entire middle-order fell cheaply, leaving only Ed Smith standing tall amongst the wreckage. The Kent man made 55, his second Test half-century, before becoming Fidel Edwards' fifth victim in yet another searing spell of slingy speed. Plucky contributions from Read and Simon Jones again repaired the worst of the damage and England trailed by only 15. If they wanted to win though, they would have to figure out a way of dealing with Fidel Edwards: the Barbadian had starred with figures of seven for 44.

The West Indian second innings was yet another characterised by contributions of more than 30 but less than 60. This time there were five of them: Sylvester Joseph (50), Ramnaresh Sarwan (38), Brian Lara (43), Dwayne Bravo (58) and Carlton Baugh (40) are the batters to be named and shamed. Despite a relentless bowling effort from the England attack, the West Indians knew they'd left potentially crucial runs on the table. When you have five batters who make big starts like that, you really need to be setting the opposition more than 278 to win, and we all know what this England team is like in a run chase.

Could England nail yet another theoretically tricky run-chase? It would take one of their batters pushing on beyond a half-century and making a big three-figure score. Trescothick, Strauss and Smith were not the ones to do it: they managed only 17 runs between them as Fidel Edwards continued to be excellent. Hussain and Thorpe, the two senior members of the batting order, were the ones who would have to do it: they knuckled right down and added 126 between them before Hussain got a superb away swinger from Bravo that took middle and off stumps. Thorpe needed somebody, anybody to stay with him. For a while, Graeme Swann was that man: the Northants all-rounder adding an unusually circumspect 35 before becoming Fidel Edwards' 11th wicket in the match. At this point, it was as if Lara had forgotten he had any other bowlers, so long had Edwards and Bravo been bowling, but they kept on running in for their team.

When Graham Thorpe reached his (21st) century, he barely even acknowledged it. The milestone didn't matter, it was all about winning a Test match. Finally, a ball flew from the edge of Simon Jones' bat, perfectly splitting the batter and his own leg stump, and raced down to the boundary for the match-winning four. It was all over: Graham Thorpe had scripted a fantastic England victory off his own bat.

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. Marcus Trescothick - 10 points
=. Chris Read - 10 points (+1)
3. Ashley Giles - 8 points
4. Jimmy Anderson - 6 points
=. Graeme Swann - 6 points (+3)
6. Andrew Flintoff - 5 points
=. Simon Jones - 5 points (+2)
=. Andrew Strauss - 5 points
=. Graham Thorpe - 5 points (+5)
10. Nasser Hussain - 2 points
=. Ryan Sidebottom - 2 points
12. Steve Harmison - 1 point
=. Robert Key - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

England (3) vs (0) West Indies - Fourth Test at The Oval

English XI
Marcus Trescothick
Andrew Strauss
Nasser Hussain
Graham Thorpe
Andrew Flintoff
Chris Read
Ashley Giles
Graeme Swann
Ryan Sidebottom
Simon Jones
Steve Harmison

West Indian XI
Chris Gayle
Sylvester Joseph
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Brian Lara
Shiv Chanderpaul
Dwayne Smith
Dwayne Bravo
Carlton Baugh
Corey Collymore
Fidel Edwards
Jermaine Lawson

- - -

England won the toss and chose to bat

- - -

Looking at the teamsheets, it's clear that the two teams have quite different ideas about how this Oval pitch is going to play. England have brought back in the fit-again Giles to form a two-spin attack with Swann, alongside their usual seam options. The unlucky player to miss out is Ed Smith, who hasn't disgraced himself at all this series but who has also not gone on to make any particularly big scores. The West Indies on the other hand haven't picked a single spin bowling option: instead, Dwayne Smith comes into the side to strengthen the batting. Nasser Hussain won another toss, and naturally chose to bowl last on a surface that he expects to spin.

The English batting effort was impressive: Trescothick's 98 was the highlight (he certainly deserved a century), but there were contributions up and down the batting card. No fewer than three batters made 75 runs each: first Hussain, then Flintoff, then Graeme Swann as both spinners made half-centuries (Giles scored exactly 50 for his part). Despite there not being a single century on the books, England made almost 500, and it could certainly have been more if not for an injury to Chris Read. England's keeper had to leave the field after taking a hit on the bottom thumb off the bowling of Fidel Edwards, who took seven wickets even without that of Read. We must hope that it isn't anything serious enough to affect England's winter plans.

As a result, it was Trescothick who strapped on his keeping gear when England took to the field with the spiky haired Neil Saker as the substitute fielder in their ranks. The bowling was absolutely clinical. All four fast men took wickets as the West Indies crumbled: so fast-forwarded was the pace of the game that by the time Hussain got to bowl either of his two spinners, West Indies were already 142 for eight. Of those eight, Harmison and Sidebottom had taken three wickets each while Jones and Flintoff had only one each. Ashley Giles, on his return to the team, then bagged two of the cheapest Test wickets you'll ever see: both Baugh and Edwards caught by the substitute Saker at the cost of only one run to Giles.

Hussain did choose to enforce the follow-on with his bowlers still fresh and the West Indies 350 runs behind. With no real urgency in the game, the English bowling performance was noticeably less intense than the first innings. Simon Jones still took an early wicket, but it was one of just two before the spinners came on this time. On this occasion they both got to enjoy a nice long bowl, although with Shiv Chanderpaul at the crease for a full four hours, wickets were at times quite hard to come by. On the fourth morning, England took the second new ball and brought their well-rested seamers back into the attack. Jones, Sidebottom and Harmison finished the job between them, but not before West Indies had set England a tiny target of six runs.

With Trescothick thoroughly worn out from his time behind the stumps, it was Graeme Swann who was sent out to open the innings alongside Andrew Strauss. And duly, Swann knocked the winning runs, but not before Fidel Edwards had added one more wicket to his outstanding series tally.

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. Marcus Trescothick - 13 points (+3)
2. Graeme Swann - 11 points (+5)
3. Chris Read - 10 points
4. Ashley Giles - 8 points
5. Jimmy Anderson - 6 points
6. Andrew Flintoff - 5 points
=. Simon Jones - 5 points
=. Andrew Strauss - 5 points
=. Graham Thorpe - 5 points
10. Steve Harmison - 3 points (+2)
=. Ryan Sidebottom - 3 points (+1)
12. Nasser Hussain - 2 points
13. Robert Key - 1 point

Marcus Trescothick won this summer's Barrington Medal with a very good 594 runs @ 49.50 (2 centuries, best 174) and that vital spell of 5-0-25-2 from the seven Test matches.

 

[Welwyn]

Michael Vaughan ending his career with 4tests as basically the irl Ed Smith is hilarious!!

 

[Aislabie]

Records

Highest Innings Score
for 748 all out vs Sri Lanka, Kandy 2003
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

Most Test Match Runs (Progressive Record)
Graham Gooch - 11,242 runs, reached vs West Indies, 13th August 1995
expected to hold record until either 2006 (Brian Lara) or 2008 (Sachin Tendulkar)

First Test Bowler to 500 Wickets
Phil Tufnell - 500th wicket vs Sri Lanka , 15th June 2002

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

Highest Score by an England Wicket-Keeper
154 - Chris Read vs New Zealand, 2004

Tied Test Match
Australia vs England , The WACA 1995

Partnerships
1. 323 - Mike Atherton & Alec Stewart vs India 1996
2. 418 - Nick Knight & Alec Stewart vs New Zealand 2002
3. 325 - Graham Gooch & Robin Smith vs West Indies 1991
4. 252 - Alec Stewart & Graham Thorpe vs Sri Lanka 2001
5. 313 - Graham Thorpe & Andrew Flintoff vs India 2002
6. 231 - Nasser Hussain & Chris Read vs New Zealand 2004
7. 174 - Chris Lewis & Phillip DeFreitas vs Australia 1993
8. 110 - Jack Russell & Dominic Cork vs South Africa 1995
9. 207 - Graham Thorpe & Ryan Sidebottom vs Sri Lanka 2003
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. Alec Stewart - 9,846 runs @ 45.58 (25 centuries, best 284)
3. David Gower - 8,506 runs @ 42.96 (15 centuries, best 215)

Most Test Wickets for England
1. Phil Tufnell - 511 wickets @ 29.81 (31 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*

vs , 2001-02
Nick Knight - 205
Alec Stewart - 284
Graham Thorpe - 111

vs , 2002
Marcus Trescothick - 125
Graham Thorpe - 199*
Mark Ramprakash - 127*
Marcus Trescothick - 250*
Marcus Trescothick - 109
Nick Knight - 106*

vs , 2002
Nick Knight - 149
Mark Ramprakash - 125*
Marcus Trescothick - 123
Graham Thorpe - 269
Andrew Flintoff - 185
Nick Knight - 119
Marcus Trescothick - 111
Nick Knight - 156

vs , 2002-03
Nick Knight - 180
Graham Thorpe - 120*
Alec Stewart - 113
Andrew Flintoff - 125

vs , 2003
Nasser Hussain - 114*
Mark Butcher - 103*
Nasser Hussain - 106*

vs , 2003
Marcus Trescothick - 122
Nasser Hussain - 127
Graham Thorpe - 144
Nick Knight - 103
Nick Knight - 112*

vs , 2003-04
Nasser Hussain - 115
Nasser Hussain - 214
Andrew Strauss - 172

vs , 2003-04
Marcus Trescothick - 174
Graham Thorpe - 143*
Andrew Strauss - 129
Graham Thorpe - 274

vs , 2003-04
Andrew Flintoff - 102
Marcus Trescothick - 154
Andrew Flintoff - 111*
Andrew Strauss - 109
Graham Thorpe - 130*
Andrew Strauss - 148

vs , 2004
Marcus Trescothick - 114
Andrew Strauss - 113
Nasser Hussain - 129
Chris Read - 154

vs , 2004
Marcus Trescothick - 174
Andrew Flintoff - 107*
Graham Thorpe - 120*

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

vs , 2001-02
Alan Mullally - 5 for 45
Ryan Sidebottom - 6 for 59

vs , 2002
Ryan Sidebottom - 5 for 70
Simon Jones - 5 for 39
Simon Jones - 6 for 63

vs , 2002
Alan Mullally - 5 for 29
Phil Tufnell - 5 for 27
Simon Jones - 7 for 68
Jimmy Anderson - 5 for 51

vs , 2002-03
Simon Jones - 6 for 108
Graeme Swann - 7 for 124
Ashley Giles - 5 for 135

vs , 2003
none

vs , 2003
Ryan Sidebottom - 5 for 55
Matthew Hoggard - 6 for 63

vs , 2003-04
Ian Blackwell - 5 for 59
Ashley Giles - 5 for 31
Graeme Swann - 5 for 46

vs , 2003-04
Graeme Swann - 6 for 165
Ashley Giles - 6 for 127
Graeme Swann - 6 for 116

vs , 2003-04
Graeme Swann - 5 for 19
Steve Harmison - 5 for 44
Graeme Swann - 6 for 50

vs , 2004
Jimmy Anderson - 5 for 73
Ashley Giles - 5 for 71

vs , 2004
Simon Jones - 5 for 101
Simon Jones - 6 for 68

Career Statistics
Includes all players who debuted before 1990 and played from that date onwards either in real life or in this universe.
These stats are being reproduced from a Google Sheet here.

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	v (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	v ,1998
Michael Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	v (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	v (5), 2002-03
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	v (1), 2002
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	v (5), 2002-03
Martin Bicknell	546	v (3), 1990	v (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	v (2), 2003-04
Mark Ramprakash	550	v (2), 1992-93	v (3), 2002-03
Dermot Reeve	551	v (3), 1992-93	only Test
Andy Caddick	552	v (2), 1993	v (3), 2001-02
Nasser Hussain	553	v (3), 1993	v (4), 2004
Mark Ilott	554	v (4), 1993-94	only Test
Graham Thorpe	555	v (4), 1993-94	v (4), 2004
Darren Gough	556	v (1), 1994	v (3), 2001
Dominic Cork	557	v (2), 1994	v (3), 1999-00
Richard Blakey	558	v (3), 1994	v (3), 1996-97
Glen Chapple	559	v (4), 1994-95	v (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	v (3), 2003-04
Mark Butcher	564	v (1), 1996-97	v (5), 2003
Alan Mullally	565	v (1), 1996-97	v (5), 2002-03
John Crawley	566	v (2), 1996-97	v (2), 2000
Dean Headley	567	v (2), 1996-97	v (3), 1999
Craig White	568	v (2), 1996-97	v (2), 2002
Ben Hollioake	569	v (3), 1997	v (1), 2003-04
Paul Nixon	570	v (5), 1997-98	v (4), 2001
Andrew Flintoff	571	v ,1998	v (4), 2004
Mal Loye	572	v ,1998	v (3), 1999
Graeme Swann	573	v (5),1998-99	v (4), 2004
Alex Tudor	574	v (3), 1999	v (3), 2002-03
Dr Julian Thompson	575	v (3), 1999-00	v (4), 1999-00
Kevin Dean	576	v (1), 2000	v (2), 2000
Chris Read	577	v (1), 2000	v (4), 2004
Marcus Trescothick	578	v (1), 2000	v (4), 2004
Ronnie Irani	579	v (2), 2000	only Test
Michael Vaughan	580	v (2), 2000	v (2), 2003-04
Vikram Solanki	581	v (3), 2000-01	v (4), 2001
David Fulton	582	v (1), 2001	only Test
Matthew Hoggard	583	v (2), 2001	v (3), 2004
Ryan Sidebottom	584	v (2), 2001-02	v (4), 2004
Chris Silverwood	585	v (3), 2001-02	v (5), 2002-03
Simon Jones	586	v (1), 2002	v (4), 2004
Ali Brown	587	v (3), 2002	v (4), 2002
Jimmy Anderson	588	v (3), 2002	v (2), 2004
James Foster	589	v (4), 2002	v (2), 2003-04
Ashley Giles	590	v (5), 2002-03	v (4), 2004
Steve Harmison	591	v (1), 2003	v (4), 2004
Robert Key	592	v (1), 2003	v (3), 2004
Kabir Ali	593	v (2), 2003	v (3), 2004
James Kirtley	594	v (2), 2003	only Test
Owais Shah	595	v (2), 2003	v (1), 2003-04
Andrew Strauss	596	v (2), 2003	v (4), 2004
Gareth Batty	597	v (1), 2003-04	only Test
Ian Blackwell	598	v (1), 2003-04	v (3), 2003-04
Gary Keedy	599	v (1), 2003-04	only Test
Jason Brown	600	v (2), 2003-04	only Test
Rikki Clarke	601	v (2), 2003-04	only Test
Paul Collingwood	602	v (2), 2003-04	v (4), 2003-04
Paul McMahon	603	v (2), 2003-04	only Test
Saj Mahmood	604	v (4), 2003-04	v (3), 2004
Ed Smith	605	v (1), 2004	v (3), 2004

Captains

Player	Mat	W	T	D	L	First	Last
Graham Gooch	55	22	1	16	16	v (5), 1988	v (5), 1994-95
Graeme Hick	43	21	0	12	10	v (2), 1992-93	v (5),1998-99
Nick Knight	39	21	0	6	12	v ,1998	v (5), 2002-03
Alec Stewart	9	3	0	2	4	v (1), 1999	v (5), 1999-00
Nasser Hussain	23	21	0	1	1	v (1), 2003	v (4), 2004

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Kabir Ali	3	2	0	28	14.00	-	-	19	1	-
Mark Alleyne	4	7	2	95	19.00	-	1	56*	4	-
Jimmy Anderson	16	19	7	73	6.08	-	-	14	4	-
Michael Atherton (RET)	91	174	16	6568	41.57	13	33	242	57	-
Rob Bailey (RET)	15	28	1	815	30.19	1	2	196	15	-
Gareth Batty	1	1	0	45	45.00	-	-	45	-	-
Martin Bicknell	10	11	0	112	10.18	-	-	48	5	-
Ian Blackwell	3	4	0	48	12.00	-	-	24	-	-
Richard Blakey (RET)	4	8	2	166	27.67	-	1	50*	11	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	176	7	5656	33.47	14	25	208	135	-
Ali Brown	2	2	0	59	29.50	-	1	50	-	-
Jason Brown	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mark Butcher	13	23	1	741	33.68	2	5	118	9	-
Andy Caddick	39	53	9	643	14.61	-	-	40*	5	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Glen Chapple	4	7	2	98	19.50	-	-	30	1	-
Rikki Clarke	1	1	0	9	9.00	-	-	9	6	-
Paul Collingwood	2	2	0	102	51.00	-	1	84	-	-
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 (RET)	36	56	6	786	15.72	-	1	82	7	-
John Emburey (RET)	60	89	18	1540	21.49	-	8	75	33	-
Neil Fairbrother (RET)	4	4	0	5	1.25	-	-	3	3	-
Andrew Flintoff	36	59	8	2178	42.71	5	10	185	34	-
James Foster	5	4	0	86	21.50	-	-	45	19	1
Neil Foster (RET)	39	60	12	600	12.50	-	-	42*	13	-
Angus Fraser (RET)	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	-
Ashley Giles	17	20	7	432	33.23	-	3	51*	4	-
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	-
Steve Harmison	9	8	1	18	2.57	-	-	6	-	-
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 (RET)	95	175	12	6297	38.63	16	32	172*	144	-
Matthew Hoggard	17	15	6	49	5.44	-	-	12	2	-
Ben Hollioake	18	28	3	551	22.04	-	3	75	17	-
Nasser Hussain	47	81	7	3007	40.64	8	16	214	69	-
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	-	-
Simon Jones	21	24	6	312	17.33	-	-	49*	8	-
Gary Keedy	1	1	1	6	-	-	-	6*	2	-
Robert Key	5	8	1	275	39.29	-	2	68	1	-
James Kirtley	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Knight (RET)	75	140	6	6469	48.28	21	26	247	91	-
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	-
Saj Mahmood	2	1	0	13	13.00	-	-	13	-	-
Devon Malcolm (RET)	37	50	13	233	6.30	-	-	21*	11	-
Matt Maynard	1	2	0	13	6.50	-	-	10	-	-
Paul McMahon	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-
Alan Mullally (RET)	57	73	20	400	7.55	-	-	40	8	-
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	29	53	5	1669	34.77	3	10	127*	6	-
Chris Read	38	55	11	1246	28.32	1	5	154	140	10
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	8	8	4	229	57.25	-	2	79*	-	-
Owais Shah	2	2	0	81	40.50	-	1	76	-	-
Ryan Sidebottom	18	21	6	368	24.53	-	1	79*	4	-
Chris Silverwood	3	4	1	61	20.33	-	-	44*	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Ed Smith	3	6	0	196	32.67	-	2	55	-	-
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 (RET)	117	226	10	9846	45.58	25	44	284	35	-
Andrew Strauss	17	28	1	1264	46.81	5	3	172	14	-
Peter Such (RET)	12	15	7	47	5.88	-	-	14*	5	-
Graeme Swann	32	43	1	812	19.33	-	4	75	18	-
Dr Julian Thompson (RET)	2	3	0	59	19.67	-	1	50	-	-
Graham Thorpe	103	186	29	8224	52.38	21	38	269	43	-
Marcus Trescothick	56	102	7	4932	51.92	16	22	250*	152	-
Alex Tudor	14	19	4	351	23.40	-	2	54*	4	-
Phil Tufnell (RET)	113	142	32	652	5.93	-	-	36	32	-
Michael Vaughan	4	6	0	190	31.67	-	2	71	1	-
Steve Watkin (RET)	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-
Craig White	53	95	18	2538	32.96	1	16	104*	5	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Kabir Ali	3	91	250	10	25.00	2.7	-	-	3/62
Mark Alleyne	4	109	307	10	30.70	2.8	-	-	2/27
Jimmy Anderson	16	640	1522	68	22.38	2.4	2	-	5/51
Michael Atherton (RET)	91	144	500	13	38.46	3.9	-	-	3/32
Rob Bailey (RET)	15	43	175	2	87.50	4.1	-	-	1/0
Gareth Batty	1	30	95	3	31.67	3.1	-	-	2/69
Martin Bicknell	10	478	1285	38	33.82	2.7	1	-	6/58
Ian Blackwell	3	109	263	14	18.79	2.4	1	-	5/59
Richard Blakey (RET)	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Ali Brown	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jason Brown	1	28	65	3	21.67	2.3	-	-	2/36
Mark Butcher	13	24	100	1	100.00	4.2	-	-	1/0
Andy Caddick	39	1508	4231	134	31.57	2.8	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
Rikki Clark	1	10	14	0	-	1.4	-	-	-
Paul Collingwood	2	24	82	0	-	3.4	-	-	-
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 (RET)	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 (RET)	4	2	9	0	-	4.5	-	-	-
Andrew Flintoff	36	960	2719	89	30.55	2.8	-	-	4/30
James Foster	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	1451	3902	115	33.93	2.7	5	1	8/107
Angus Fraser (RET)	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
Ashley Giles	17	647	1765	75	23.53	2.7	4	-	6/127
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
Steve Harmison	9	315	865	29	29.83	2.7	1	-	5/44
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 (RET)	95	288	1032	19	54.32	3.6	-	-	3/38
Matthew Hoggard	17	613	1632	64	25.50	2.6	2	1	6/63
Ben Hollioake	18	541	1706	43	39.67	3.1	2	-	5/53
Nasser Hussain	47	4	22	0	-	5.5	-	-	-
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	-	-	-
Simon Jones	21	751	2585	101	25.59	3.4	6	2	7/68
Gary Keedy	1	30	60	4	15.00	2.0	-	-	3/41
Robert Key	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Kirtley	1	20	47	2	23.50	2.4	-	-	1/22
Nick Knight (RET)	75	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Saj Mahmood	2	63	189	6	31.50	3.0	-	-	3/65
Devon Malcolm (RET)	37	1292	4195	137	30.62	3.2	6	-	7/86
Matt Maynard	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul McMahon	1	21	58	2	29.00	2.7	-	-	2/44
Alan Mullally (RET)	57	2200	5699	201	28.35	2.6	11	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	29	26	94	5	18.80	3.6	-	-	4/35
Chris Read	34	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dermot Reeve (RET)	1	14	39	0	-	2.8	-	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	1	0	0	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell (RET)	94	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	8	294	952	27	35.63	3.3	1	-	5/69
Owais Shah	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ryan Sidebottom	17	678	1752	69	25.39	2.6	3	-	6/59
Chris Silverwood	3	105	309	9	34.33	2.9	-	-	3/58
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Ed Smith	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Robin Smith (RET)	82	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vikram Solanki	5	22	104	1	104.00	4.7	-	-	1/22
Alec Stewart (RET)	117	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Andrew Strauss	17	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such (RET)	12	572	1669	50	33.38	2.9	2	-	8/47
Graeme Swann	32	1324	4029	140	28.78	3.0	9	1	7/124
Dr Julian Thompson (RET)	2	46	196	4	49.00	4.2	-	-	3/91
Graham Thorpe	103	12	36	1	36.00	3.0	-	-	1/0
Marcus Trescothick	56	128	493	12	41.08	3.8	-	-	4/29
Alex Tudor	14	449	1540	43	35.81	3.4	-	-	4/63
Phil Tufnell (RET)	113	5655	15234	511	29.81	2.7	31	5	8/114
Michael Vaughan	4	11	32	0	-	2.9	-	-	-
Steve Watkin (RET)	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56
Craig White	53	1513	4419	138	32.02	2.9	3	-	7/63

​

Stats and records are up to date. This is one of those times where it really hits home just how much cricket I've got through. 167 Test matches!

 

[Aislabie]

Michael Vaughan ending his career with 4tests as basically the irl Ed Smith is hilarious!!

It's really hard to see how he forces his way back into the team as well. He's got a middling record, much like several of the other options. He's not young now, and he's behind a strong incumbent batting roster. If I recall correctly, his knee gives out in 2006 and then he has a very tough time of it in his comeback. I think he might be done.

It wasn't something I set out to like with Steve Rhodes, this is just how it worked out having Nick Knight cruising along averaging 48 for a decade.

 

[Welwyn]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. He won't open now I wouldn't think. He's in the middle order by this point and he'd surely be behind everyone you've used at the moment. Then you have Bell coming through and then KP.

 

[Aislabie]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. He won't open now I wouldn't think. He's in the middle order by this point and he'd surely be behind everyone you've used at the moment.

So looking at this, I'd say that there is a chance he squeezes back into the side after Trescothick's illness happens.

He spends the last couple of seasons batting three and sometimes opening, and given that my England team has generally leaned towards three openers in the top three I think there's a chance he might squeeze in as the third opener behind Cook and Strauss. As with all things though, I guess we'll find out when we get there.

Then you have Bell coming through and then KP.

That we do - although KP will make the side a few months before Bell. Speaking of which...