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

[blockerdave]

It just didn't sit right for me to have Botham flay a big double-century when in real life, his last 16 Tests (from 1986) saw him score 426 runs @ 19.36 with a best of 51 (his only 50 in that time). I like Botham the cricketer, but it's just not really realistic for me to have early-career Botham in my ranks.

It's part of the reason I'm trying to coax him to 400 wickets so he can retire a bit earlier, at the moment he's a bit of an unfair advantage to my team unless I deliberately misuse him

I mean you’ve a competent Ned Larkins opening the batting and Graeme Hick playing a year early.

I don’t think Botham smashing a fairly weak (Hadlee and excepted) Kiwi attack is the realism breaker here.

 

[Aislabie]

I mean you’ve a competent Ned Larkins opening the batting and Graeme Hick playing a year early.

I don’t think Botham smashing a fairly weak (Hadlee and excepted) Kiwi attack is the realism breaker here.

Competent Larkins? He's just completed his tenth and (spoiler) last career Test without scoring a 50, so that's pretty true to form.

Hick a year early was perhaps a mistake, but the TCCB insisting on seven years of qualification when the norm was four years everywhere else has always seemed weird, so I thought I'd go with giving him a quick go before turning to someone else.

As for Botham smashing the Kiwis - I was okay with that, but a double ton against Shastri and Hirwani on a turning day-five pitch? Bit much

 

[blockerdave]

Sorry yes it was India not Kiwis.

mind, that India 1990 side were shite.

 

[Ed Smith]

Sorry yes it was India not Kiwis.

mind, that India 1990 side were shite.

Not so much at home though eh Dave?

 

[blockerdave]

Not so much at home though eh Dave?

Oh they were a helluva side by 93

 

[Aislabie]

England (0) vs (1) India -Second Test at Old Trafford

England XI
Graham Gooch
Tim Robinson
Rob Bailey
Robin Smith
David Gower
Ian Botham
Jack Russell
Chris Lewis
Gladstone Small
Phil Tufnell
Devon Malcolm

India XI
Ravi Shastri
Navjot Sidhu
Sanjay Manjrekar
Dilip Vengarkar
Mohammad Azharuddin
Sachin Tendulkar
Manoj Prabhakar
Kapil Dev
Kiran More
Anil Kumble
Narendra Hirwani

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

The English players would have pleaded with the groundsmen to leave some grass on if they'd had the opportunity, but when they arrived at Old Trafford they found anything but. Instead, they were confronted by the closest thing to a dustbowl that English conditions can possibly produce - and they'd only brought one spinner. India, by comparison, brought in a third spinner in the form of debutant Anil Kumble, who definitely won't appear later on in this playthrough.

The dusty pitch is no excuse for getting obliterated by the seamers though. Despite almost every English batsman getting "in" (Gooch, Robinson, Bailey, Smith, Botham and Russell all reached 20) but none of them "went on" (all but Russell - 27 not out - got out before reaching 50). The main beneficiaries were Kapil and the debutant Kumble, who shared seven wickets between them to leave England a disappointing 223 all out early on the second day.

In reply, the English bowling and fielding effort was actually a good one. Although Lewis and Small both went wicketless, they were controlled and built pressure so that the more erratic Malcolm and Botham could capitalise and pick up five wickets between them. The real star of the show was Tufnell though - the young spinner took full advantage of some helpful conditions to pick up the wickets of Sidhu, Tendulkar, Prabhakar, Kapil and Kumble and claim his maiden Test five-for. Although the Indians did manage to put together a 54-run lead thanks to Shastri and Kapil, there was definite hope for England if they could apply themselves with the bat.

England didn't apply themselves with the bat. It wasn't entirely their fault - two leg-spinners on a wearing surface is never an easy proposition - but they didn't exactly help themselves by losing Gooch and Bailey before any of the spinners even held the ball. The latter may be starting to look over his shoulder as memories of his sublime 196 begin to be overtaken by memories of him failing to make meaningful scores. There was a similar story of players failing to make big contributions too - Smith (35), Gower (36), Botham (38) and Lewis (36*) all guilty to different extents, although Chris Lewis at least can't be blamed for running out of partners. England managed to barely scrape past 200, leaving them a pretty insufficient 150 runs to defend.

They tried admirably; with the surface taking huge turn, Gooch gambled on giving the new ball directly to Tufnell and he delivered five important wickets (Shastri, Sidhu, Vengsarkar, Azharuddin and Kapil) for a cost of only 72 runs. If he could just find some support from the seamers at the other end things would have been fine, but Gladstone Small proved to be the weak link. He leaked runs at four an over, and by the time he was banished from the bowling attack the damage was done. A late rally from Tufnell and Botham (now up to 399 career wickets) was admirable, but ultimately the seventeen-year-old Tendulkar stayed calm and sealed the win for India.

With England now two-nil down in the three-match series, it remains to be seen if there will be any experimental selections for the Oval dead rubber.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Ian Botham - 7 points (+2)
2. Phil Tufnell - 6 points (+3)
=3. Rob Bailey - 5 points
=3. Graham Gooch - 5 points
=5. Angus Fraser - 3 points
=5. David Gower - 3 points
=5. Jack Russell - 3 points
=5. Gladstone Small - 3 points
=9. Devon Malcolm - 2 points
=9. Robin Smith - 2 points (+1)
10. Chris Lewis - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

England (0) vs (2) India - Third Test at The Oval

England XI
Graham Gooch
Tim Robinson
Rob Bailey
Robin Smith
David Gower
Ian Botham
Jack Russell
Martin Bicknell (debut)
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell
Devon Malcolm

India XI
Ravi Shastri
Navjot Sidhu
Sanjay Manjrekar
Dilip Vengarkar
Mohammad Azharuddin
Sachin Tendulkar
Manoj Prabhakar
Kapil Dev
Kiran More
Atul Wassan
Narendra Hirwani

- - -

India win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

With Fraser back to full fitness and the Test series beyond reach, England reacted to their double batting failure by changing the bowlers. On this occasion, Chris Lewis and Gladstone Small made way for Angus Fraser and exciting debutant Martin Bicknell. Ian Botham also announced that this was to be his final Test match, although he plans to carry on playing one-day cricket for the foreseeable future. Bizarrely, India left out their star debutant from the last game and brought in Atul Wassan who *checks notes* plays cricket.

The young Bicknell had an excellent Test debut, bowling an impeccable line and length to build up ample pressure as the first-change bowler. He would be rewarded by the wicket of Navjot Sidhu shortly before lunch, then again by trapping Manoj Prabhakar LBW shortly before the close of play. Tufnell too appeared brim-full of confidence as he twirled his way through 21 excellent and controlled overs. He was robbed of the plaudits, however, by Ian Botham's dismissal of number 11 Narendra Hirwani caught and bowled to bring up his 400th Test wicket - only the second man in Test history to achieve the landmark. That India were all out for an entirely mediocre 292 was something of an afterthought.

The English batting took a while to get going with the 50 partnership between Gooch and Robinson taking over 30 overs, but when was the last time an English opening pair batted through an entire session? Although neither Gooch nor Robinson went on to record a big score, they had laid the platform for others to capitalise on. The only trouble was that they didn't; from the fall of the fourth wicket to the end of the innings, England added only 23 runs to crumble from 154 for three to 177 all out. All of Kapil Dev's birthdays had come at once.

Being 100 in arrears as you walk out to begin bowling in the third innings is never an easy task, and so it proved for England here. Deflated by their batting collapse, it took them 43 overs to take their first wicket, and after that 120-run opening stand the game was pretty much already gone. Tufnell, Fraser and Bicknell all bowled well, but it not well enough to paper over what was mounting into a massive lead going into the fourth innings. Surprisingly, Azharuddin did not consider a declaration, instead just letting his batsman keep on batting. As a result, England were left with the chance of salvaging a draw from a match in which they had been hopelessly outplayed.

Gooch and Robinson both made the usual good starts, but were as usual unable to convert them into meaningful time at the wicket. Indeed, the only man to face more than 100 balls was number three Rob Bailey, who ended up being the sixth man out for 47. In the end though, the biggest problem for England was just the general difficulty of trying to face good spin bowling on a worn out wicket. That difficulty took the form of Narendra Hirwani, who claimed seven of the ten wickets to fall including Bailey, Botham for the last time in Test cricket, and Devon Malcolm to seal a famous 3-0 series win.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Phil Tufnell - 9 points (+3)
2. Ian Botham - 7 points
3. Rob Bailey - 6 points (+1)
4. Graham Gooch - 5 points
=5. Angus Fraser - 3 points
=5. David Gower - 3 points
=5. Jack Russell - 3 points
=5. Gladstone Small - 3 points
=9. Martin Bicknell - 2 points (+2)
=9. Devon Malcolm - 2 points
=9. Robin Smith - 2 points
12. Chris Lewis - 1 point

The final Test of the summer, one which finished with four straight defeats to teams that England might have been expected to win, also saw the awarding of the second-ever Barrington Medal. This time it went to the highly impressive Phil Tufnell, who put a difficult debut behind him to establish himself as England's first choice spinner ahead of the upcoming Ashes tour.

It is also farewell to the Test career of Ian Botham



108 Test matches - Debut vs 1977
5656 runs @ 33.47 (14 centuries, best 208)
400 wickets @ 28.13 (27 5WI, best 8/34)

 

[Aislabie]

Records

Highest Innings Score
447 all out vs New Zealand, Lord's 1990

Lowest Innings Score
122 all out vs New Zealand, Edgbaston 1990

Highest Innings
196, Rob Bailey vs New Zealand, Lord's 1990

Best Innings Bowling
6 for 70, Chris Lewis vs West Indies, Kensington Oval 1990

Best Match Bowling
10 for 188, Phil Tufnell vs India, The Oval 1990

Partnerships
1. 98 - Graham Gooch & Michael Atherton vs West Indies 1990
2. 154 - Graham Gooch & Robin Smith vs New Zealand 1990
3. 152 - Rob Bailey & Robin Smith vs New Zealand 1990
4. 173 - Robin Smith & David Gower vs West Indies 1990
5. 102 - Robin Smith & Ian Botham vs West Indies 1990
6. 81 - David Gower & Jack Russell vs New Zealand 1990
7. 81 - David Gower & Phillip DeFreitas vs West Indies 1990
8. 47 - Jack Russell & Phil Tufnell vs India 1990
9. 44 - Jack Russell & Angus Fraser vs West Indies 1990
10. 29 - Gladstone Small & Devon Malcolm vs New Zealand 1990

Honours Board

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

vs , 1990
Graham Gooch - 127
Rob Bailey - 196

vs , 1990
none


vs , 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

Career Statistics

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mike Atherton	7	13	0	314	24.15	-	-	47	4	-
Rob Bailey	6	12	0	386	32.17	1	-	196	3	-
Martin Bicknell	1	2	0	8	4.00	-	-	5	-	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	176	7	5656	33.47	14	25	208	135	-
Phillip DeFreitas	16	24	2	309	14.05	-	-	43*	4	-
Angus Fraser	12	17	0	157	9.24	-	-	29	1	-
Graham Gooch	84	154	5	5562	37.32	11	32	196	86	-
David Gower	117	204	16	8093	43.04	15	43	215	75	-
Eddie Hemmings	13	19	3	332	20.75	-	1	95	4	-
Graeme Hick	2	4	0	107	26.75	-	-	36	2	-
Allan Lamb	60	105	9	3224	33.58	9	12	137*	53	-
Wayne Larkins	10	19	0	348	18.31	-	-	43	5	-
Chris Lewis	6	9	1	138	17.25	-	-	36*	3	-
Devon Malcolm	9	18	5	95	7.30	-	-	14*	1	-
Tim Robinson	31	53	5	1684	35.08	4	6	175	9	-
Jack Russell	18	32	11	910	43.33	1	5	128*	52	5
Gladstone Small	14	21	5	261	16.31	-	1	59	1	-
Robin Smith	19	37	3	1530	45.00	4	8	143	7	-
Alec Stewart	1	2	0	7	3.50	-	-	5	-	-
Phil Tufnell	5	10	1	50	5.555	-	-	36	2	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mike Atherton	7	40	148	8	18.50	3.7	-	-	3/32
Rob Bailey	6	26	118	2	59.00	4.5	-	-	1/0
Martin Bicknell	1	61	142	5	28.40	2.3	-	-	3/72
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Phillip DeFreitas	16	548	1588	31	48.12	2.9	1	-	5/86
Angus Fraser	12	504	1234	37	33.35	2.4	1	-	5/47
Graham Gooch	84	293	708	17	41.46	2.4	-	-	2/12
David Gower	117	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Eddie Hemmings	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	2	26	95	2	47.50	3.7	-	-	2/61
Allan Lamb	60	5	23	1	23.00	4.6	-	-	1/6
Wayne Larkins	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chris Lewis	6	195	485	15	32.33	2.5	1	-	6/70
Devon Malcolm	9	300	961	20	48.05	3.2	-	-	4/65
Tim Robinson	31	1	0	-	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gladstone Small	14	560	1440	49	29.38	2.6	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith	19	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	5	226	681	25	27.24	3.0	2	1	5/72

​

Another end-of-series stat update. Honestly, Phil Tufnell's 18-wicket breakout series was the big positive from this summer; other than that there's not much to write home about. Also added designations to players to denote a Barrington Medal win.

 

[Aislabie]

England Tour of Australia, 1990-91

Itinerary
23 Nov 90 - Australia vs England - First Test at The Gabba - Match drawn
26 Dec 90 - Australia vs England - Second Test at The MCG - Match drawn
04 Jan 91 - Australia vs England - Third Test at The SCG - Match drawn
25 Jan 91 - Australia vs England - Fourth Test at Adelaide Oval - Match drawn
01 Feb 91 - Australia vs England - Fifth Test at The WACA - England won by 202 runs

England Squad

Graham Gooch

Mike Atherton
Rob Bailey
David Gower
Graeme Hick
Allan Lamb
Tim Robinson
Robin Smith

Paul Nixon
Jack Russell

Chris Lewis

Martin Bicknell
Phillip DeFreitas
Neil Foster
Angus Fraser
Devon Malcolm
Gladstone Small

Phil Tufnell

So far, the thing that has really characterised this "new era" for England has been clarity and consistency of selections. The 18-man playing squad has seen only two changes from the group that got obliterated by India: first was the retirement of Ian Botham. There can of course be no like-for-like, but Neil Foster's 94-wicket season simply demanded to be rewarded with an England recall. The second change was that of Wayne Larkin being dropped; this can come as no surprise: he is a 37-year-old opener with 10 Test matches and no Test fifties. His replacement is Michael Atherton: the young Lancashire opener has had an excellent county season with both bat and ball, and has already shown that his leg-spinners can be an attacking weapon against the West Indies. Again, Phil Tufnell has the responsibility of touring as England's only spinner, but with a Barrington Medal under his belt, he'll have plenty of confidence.

 

[Aislabie]

Australia vs England - First Test at The Gabba

Australia XI
Geoff Marsh
Mark Taylor
David Boon
Allan Border
Dean Jones
Steve Waugh
Greg Matthews
Ian Healy
Merv Hughes
Bruce Reid
Terry Alderman

England XI
Graham Gooch
Tim Robinson
Rob Bailey
Robin Smith
David Gower
Jack Russell
Chris Lewis
Neil Foster
Angus Fraser
Gladstone Small
Phil Tufnell

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

The new-look, post-Botham England team had something of a diplodocus tail about it, but Graham Gooch said at the toss that Russell's Test career so far (averaging 43 after his first 18 Test matches) qualified him for the promotion to the important number six position. Lewis at seven and Foster at eight, however... we'll see how that goes, especially against the likes of Big Merv and Terry Alderman.

It's been a long time since an England opener not called Graham Gooch scored a Test 50. An improbably long time. Not since Chris Broad in 1988 has such a 50 been scored, a run of 21 Test matches in which no such fifty has been scored. Honestly you'd expect one to have been scored by accident by at least one of Chris Broad, Tim Curtis, Martyn Moxon, David Gower, Martyn Moxon, John Stephenson, Michael Atherton and Wayne Larkins, but the streak continues. For a long time on the first day, Robinson looked certain to break it, but after seeing off the entire opening session he nicked off to Merv Hughes for 38. Close, but no cigar. Another low score from Bailey followed, before Gooch and Smith came together and assuredly batted out the entire rest of the opening day. Pretty much exactly the kind of day a captain hopes for after winning the toss and batting. A middle order collapse did follow Gooch's dismissal for 87, but just as it looked like the platform would be wasted, Gladstone Small and Angus Fraser mounted some unexpected batting resistance. Small managed his second Test fifty, both of them scored from number nine during the openers' barren spell.

The five-man bowling attack, the very thing for which they have foregone a decent number seven batsman, had an excellent first Test match. Led by Angus Fraser, they scarcely gave up a single easy run to the Australians. So tight was the bowling that Allan Border was forced to bat for nearly five hours in pursuit of his 68. When he missed a straight ball from Fraser after all that hard work, he was characteristically grumpy. Surprisingly, that was one of six LBWs given to the England attack, three each for Fraser and Tufnell. The Australian umpires must have truly been faced with no choice but to give them out. One thing that the Australians did manage to do was take a lot of time out of the game; it wouldn't be easy for England to force a result with only five sessions left in the game.

They could perhaps have shown a little more urgency in their efforts to set a target, but there were still several positives in the England second innings. Firstly, Tim Robinson made good on all the promise of the first innings, and scored the first half-century by an English opener other than Gooch for 22 matches. May there never by such a streak again. Secondly, Rob Bailey made another excellent 40, which probably helps him sleep a little easier. And thirdly, Robin Smith made another fantastic century... almost. Given only one more over to reach his milestone, he missed a straight ball from Reid trying to work it for the single that would get him there. Gooch promptly declared.

There probably wasn't enough time left in the game to force a result against a weaker team, but there definitely wasn't time to do so against Australia. In the end, after a couple of sessions of the dead bats of Marsh and Boon, the two teams shook hands with hostilities suspended until Boxing Day.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Robin Smith - 3 points (+3)
2. Angus Fraser - 2 points (+2)
3. Phil Tufnell - 1 point (+1)

 

[i.n]

Career Statistics

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mike Atherton	7	13	0	314	24.15	-	-	47	4	-
Rob Bailey	6	12	0	386	32.17	1	-	196	3	-
Martin Bicknell	1	2	0	8	4.00	-	-	5	-	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	176	7	5656	33.47	14	25	208	135	-
Phillip DeFreitas	16	24	2	309	14.05	-	-	43*	4	-
Angus Fraser	12	17	0	157	9.24	-	-	29	1	-
Graham Gooch	84	154	5	5562	37.32	11	32	196	86	-
David Gower	117	204	16	8093	43.04	15	43	215	75	-
Eddie Hemmings	13	19	3	332	20.75	-	1	95	4	-
Graeme Hick	2	4	0	107	26.75	-	-	36	2	-
Allan Lamb	60	105	9	3224	33.58	9	12	137*	53	-
Wayne Larkins	10	19	0	348	18.31	-	-	43	5	-
Chris Lewis	6	9	1	138	17.25	-	-	36*	3	-
Devon Malcolm	9	18	5	95	7.30	-	-	14*	1	-
Tim Robinson	31	53	5	1684	35.08	4	6	175	9	-
Jack Russell	18	32	11	910	43.33	1	5	128*	52	5
Gladstone Small	14	21	5	261	16.31	-	1	59	1	-
Robin Smith	19	37	3	1530	45.00	4	8	143	7	-
Alec Stewart	1	2	0	7	3.50	-	-	5	-	-
Phil Tufnell	5	10	1	50	5.555	-	-	36	2	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mike Atherton	7	40	148	8	18.50	3.7	-	-	3/32
Rob Bailey	6	26	118	2	59.00	4.5	-	-	1/0
Martin Bicknell	1	61	142	5	28.40	2.3	-	-	3/72
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Phillip DeFreitas	16	548	1588	31	48.12	2.9	1	-	5/86
Angus Fraser	12	504	1234	37	33.35	2.4	1	-	5/47
Graham Gooch	84	293	708	17	41.46	2.4	-	-	2/12
David Gower	117	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Eddie Hemmings	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	2	26	95	2	47.50	3.7	-	-	2/61
Allan Lamb	60	5	23	1	23.00	4.6	-	-	1/6
Wayne Larkins	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chris Lewis	6	195	485	15	32.33	2.5	1	-	6/70
Devon Malcolm	9	300	961	20	48.05	3.2	-	-	4/65
Tim Robinson	31	1	0	-	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell	18	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gladstone Small	14	560	1440	49	29.38	2.6	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith	19	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	5	226	681	25	27.24	3.0	2	1	5/72

​

I like what you have done there with career statistics Aislabie. Looks awesome.

 

[Aislabie]

I like what you have done there with career statistics Aislabie. Looks awesome.

Thank you very much. No point building an alternate universe if you aren't going to keep statistics!

 

[Aislabie]

Australia (0) vs (0) England - Second Test at The MCG

Australia XI
Geoff Marsh
Mark Taylor
David Boon
Allan Border
Dean Jones
Steve Waugh
Greg Matthews
Ian Healy
Merv Hughes
Terry Alderman
Bruce Reid

England XI
Graham Gooch
Tim Robinson
Rob Bailey
Robin Smith
David Gower
Jack Russell
Chris Lewis
Neil Foster
Angus Fraser
Gladstone Small
Phil Tufnell

- - -

Australia win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

In a great rarity for Ashes Tests - especially in comparison to the 1989 series - both teams went into the Second Test with unchanged playing XIs after both teams put in strong performances in the opening game. This means the same batting-heavy Australia up against the same bowling-heavy England, this time at the MCG. Which team will be suited best by the fact that the wicket looks like an absolute road remains to be seen.

So well did the English seamers start the Test that by lunch Australia had scored only 53 runs, for the loss of both Marsh and Taylor. Between them, Foster and Fraser had bowled 21 overs, seven maidens, two for 25. Phenomenal Test bowling which necessitated a huge rearguard from Boon and Waugh. The pugnacious pair added 93 and 75 respectively, much-needed runs as the confident Tufnell spun a web around the tail-enders to claim four more cheap wickets for his growing career tally. Australia managed just 303 from their first innings.

Emboldened by their excellent bowling and fielding effort, the England openers played with considerable competence; Gooch recorded a seemingly effortless 71 and Robinson made it back-to-back fifties with a stoic 84. Neither could convert to a century, but the platform they had laid was still hugely important: it allowed Smith (84) and Gower (81) to make big contributions of their own before Jack Russell came in and added yet another fifty. By tea on the fourth day, England were more than 200 runs ahead and could declare in order to push for the win. Huge progress for a team only recently humbled by India in their own backyard.

There was only one problem with that plan - the Australians, despite their disappointing first innings, are very good at batting. On a surface that still offered little to the bowlers, the task of batting survival was not an especially complicated one for them. The English bowlers claimed only four Australian bowlers in 120 overs of toil. Foster and Fraser were the pick of the bowlers again, but even they couldn't make the ball misbehave near often enough.

A draw is of course better than a loss, but there was a definite sense of a missed opportunity for England as they shook hands on another draw.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Robin Smith - 4 points (+1)
=2. Tim Robinson - 3 points (+3)
=2. Phil Tufnell - 3 points (+2)
4. Angus Fraser - 2 points

 

[Aislabie]

Australia (0) vs (0) England - Third Test at The SCG

Australia XI
Geoff Marsh
Mark Taylor
David Boon
Allan Border
Dean Jones
Steve Waugh
Greg Matthews
Ian Healy
Carl Rackemann
Terry Alderman
Bruce Reid

England XI
Graham Gooch
Tim Robinson
Rob Bailey
Robin Smith
David Gower
Jack Russell
Chris Lewis
Neil Foster
Angus Fraser
Phil Tufnell
Devon Malcolm

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Each side made a change for the third Test in the quest of making a result more likely. For Australia, it was to replace the out of form Merv Hughes with Carl Rackemann; for England, it meant leaving out Gladstone Small (whose main contributions had been with bat in hand) to make room for the mercurial but very fast Devon Malcolm. It remains to be seen how much of a weapon he will be against the likes of Border and Jones.

The rejuvenated England opening pair put together another strong partnership. When you win the toss and bat, you want to get to lunch without losing any wickets; with Gooch and Robinson at the helm, England achieved that and more: having batted past lunch and tea, Robinson became the day's only casualty, trapped in front by Greg Matthews for an excellent 99 out of England's tally of 218 on the first day. Gooch and Bailey batted on into the game's fifth session before the former fell finally for 170, and the latter for 61. The job for the incoming Smith and Gower was to capitalise on an incredible platform and push for a winning position. Smith in particular did so, posting an impressive 81, as well as Chris Lewis, who made a maiden Test 50 as England posted another 500-plus score.

The bowlers, though, were dealt a blow before they even started. A vicious bouncer from Terry Alderman pinned Phil Tufnell as he tried to get out of the way, and he was immediately felled. It was immediately clear that he would not be fit to bowl in the game, leaving England without a front-line spinner. On an increasingly tired and dusty wicket, this was not a winning outcome. All four of the front-line seamers would end up conceding over 100 runs as their workloads were understandably exhausting. There was a big positive for Neil Foster though, as he put in a big workload and took an impressive four-wicket haul.

But yeah, it was another draw. The openers put together another excellent partnership, but Robinson was cruelly denied another century: this time thanks to running out of time while unbeaten on 93. It does, however, look like the opener crisis is at an end.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Tim Robinson - 5 points (+2)
2. Robin Smith - 4 points
=3. Graham Gooch - 3 points (+3)
=3. Phil Tufnell - 3 points
4. Angus Fraser - 2 points
5. Neil Foster - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

Australia (0) vs (0) England - Fourth Test at Adelaide Oval

Australia XI
Geoff Marsh
Mark Taylor
David Boon
Allan Border
Dean Jones
Mark Waugh
Greg Matthews
Ian Healy
Craig McDermott
Merv Hughes
Bruce Reid

England XI
Graham Gooch
Tim Robinson
Rob Bailey
Robin Smith
David Gower
Michael Atherton
Jack Russell
Neil Foster
Martin Bicknell
Gladstone Small
Angus Fraser

- - -

Australia win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Ahead of the fourth Test, the series was still locked at 0-0, with neither side (including the home side) having looked like the being able to force a result. As a result of injuries and mixed amongst players, each team has made three changes for the Adelaide Test. For the home side, there has been a change of Waughs as well as some respite for the fatigued Terry Alderman, who will be replaced by Craig McDermott. Also, after the failed Rackemann experiment, Big Merv returns. For England, the lack of a second spinner in the squad means that Mike Atherton returns the Test side as its main spinner; he is not a specialist, but he is fresh off the back of a Championship season in which he took 45 wickets at 30 apiece. He is the best option available. Additionally, Bicknell and Small both return to the Test team.

There's nothing worse than being the fielding side and being powerless to get anything out of the conditions, but that was exactly what happened for the English bowlers after the Australians won the toss and batted first. The first day dawdled by with very little in the term of excitement for paying spectators until finally, one over from the end of play, England took a wicket: Angus Fraser taking the wicket of Geoff Marsh for a glacial 77. Indeed, the only member of the top seven not to score at least 50 was Allan Border, but as captain of a batting team that had racked up almost 600 runs. The only bowler who will have left with his head held high will have been Neil Foster; even as the Atherton experiment failed around him, he managed to pick up another excellent four-wicket haul.

With half of the game gone already, England were not playing for a win - they were merely playing not to lose, which is a very different mindset. They employed it quite successfully to reach the end of Day Three, essentially giving themselves 20 wickets to last two days. And make them last they most certainly did - the real star was Tim Robinson yet again. He batted for an incredible twelve tedious hours in which he gave up scarcely a chance while scoring at scarcely a run an over. (The game isn't kidding when it says "very defensive style".) Yet again though, he would be robbed cruelly close of his first Test century since 1987 - LBW again to Bruce Reid. It came as a surprise to everyone that the ball didn't thud against the middle of his bat.

Honestly, this one might be a contender for worst Ashes series of all-time, if not worst of all Test series. It's been a shocker. Let's hope there's something in the pitch for the fifth and final Test.

Spoiler: Barrington Medal Points

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

Spoiler: Points system

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

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

Standings
1. Tim Robinson - 8 points (+3)
=2. Graham Gooch - 4 points (+1)
=2. Robin Smith - 4 points
=4. Neil Foster - 3 points (+2)
=4. Phil Tufnell - 3 points
6. Angus Fraser - 2 points

463 runs in six innings, five half-centuries, but a best of only 99. What a weird Ashes this has been for Tim Robinson.