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

[Aislabie]

World Test Rankings, as of 31 Sep 1996
Minumum qualification: 5 series

Rank	Team	Rating
1	England	786
2	South Africa	727
3	Pakistan	643
4	West Indies	625
5	Australia	583
6	India	429
7	Sri Lanka	357
8	Zimbabwe	167
9	New Zealand	156

*If two teams are level on points, their head-to-head against each other is taken into consideration

Spoiler: Australia

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

Spoiler: England

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

Spoiler: India

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

Spoiler: New Zealand

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

Spoiler: Pakistan

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

Spoiler: South Africa

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

Spoiler: Sri Lanka

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

Spoiler: West Indies

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

Spoiler: Zimbabwe

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

Pakistan are the Bannerman Shield holders (I should probably stick a list of Bannerman Shield series in a spoiler here)

Records

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

Lowest Innings Score
for 74 all out vs Australia, The WACA 1995
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

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. 247 - Robin Smith & Graeme Hick vs Pakistan 1992
5. 176 - Graeme Hick & Jack Russell vs West Indies 1991
6. 137 - Mike Atherton & Chris Lewis vs South Africa 1994
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. 61 - Graham Thorpe & Peter Such vs West Indies 1994

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. Geoffrey Boycott - 8,114 runs @ 47.72 (22 centuries, best 246*)

Most Test Wickets for England
1. Ian Botham - 400 wickets @ 28.13 (27 5WI, best 8/34)
2. Bob Willis - 325 wickets @ 25.20 (16 5WI, best 8/43)
3. Fred Trueman - 307 wickets @ 21.57 (17 5WI, best 8/31)

Honours Board

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

vs , 1990
Graham Gooch - 127
Rob Bailey - 196

vs , 1990
none

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

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

vs , 1991
Alec Stewart - 166
Graeme Hick - 100

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

vs , 1990
none

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

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

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

vs , 1991
none

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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	v (3), 1996
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 (3), 1996
Angus Fraser	537	v (3), 1989	v (1), 1996
Mike Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	v (3), 1996
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 (3), 1996
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Martin Bicknell	546	v (3), 1990	v (4), 1991-92
Steve Watkin	547	v (1), 1991	v (2), 1991
Peter Such	548	v (3), 1991	v (4), 1994-95
Ian Salisbury	549	v (1), 1992-93	only Test
Mark Ramprakash	550	v (2), 1992-93	v (4), 1995-96
Dermot Reeve	551	v (3), 1992-93	only Test
Andy Caddick	552	v (2), 1993	v (3), 1996
Nasser Hussain	553	v (3), 1993	v (3), 1994
Mark Ilott	554	v (4), 1993-94	only Test
Graham Thorpe	555	v (4), 1993-94	v (3), 1996
Darren Gough	556	v (1), 1994	v (3), 1996
Dominic Cork	557	v (2), 1994	v (2), 1996
Richard Blakey	558	v (3), 1994	only Test
Glen Chapple	559	v (4), 1994-95	v (5), 1994-95
Richard Johnson	560	v (2), 1995	only Test
Mark Alleyne	561	v (5), 1995	v (2), 1995-96
Robert Croft	562	v (5), 1995-96	only Test
Nick Knight	563	v (5), 1995-96	only Test

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	18	8	0	5	5	v (2), 1992-93	v (3), 1996

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mark Alleyne	3	5	2	82	27.33	-	1	56*	4	-
Mike Atherton	49	91	8	3780	45.54	9	16	242	27	-
Rob Bailey	15	28	1	815	30.19	1	2	196	15	-
Martin Bicknell	4	4	0	65	16.25	-	-	48	2	-
Richard Blakey	1	2	0	58	29.00	-	-	29	1	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	176	7	5656	33.47	14	25	208	135	-
Andy Caddick	13	19	2	221	13.00	-	-	37*	2	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Glen Chapple	2	3	0	63	21.00	-	-	30	1	-
Dominic Cork	12	16	3	266	20.46	-	1	72	7	-
Robert Croft	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	60	12	600	12.50	-	-	42*	13	-
Angus Fraser	57	77	11	631	9.56	-	-	34	9	-
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	16	23	8	256	17.07	-	-	35*	1	-
David Gower (RET)	124	215	17	8506	42.96	15	47	215	75	-
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	19	3	332	20.75	-	1	95	4	-
Graeme Hick	55	99	5	3577	38.05	8	19	147	79	-
Nasser Hussain	4	7	0	124	17.71	-	-	33	8	-
Alan Igglesden	1	1	1	2	-	-	-	2*	1	-
Mark Ilott	1	2	2	26	-	-	-	25*	-	-
Paul Jarvis	10	15	4	189	17.18	-	-	35*	1	-
Richard Johnson	1	1	0	1	1.00	-	-	1	-	-
Nick Knight	1	1	0	18	18.00	-	-	18	2	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	105	9	3224	33.58	9	12	137*	53	-
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	19	0	348	18.31	-	-	43	5	-
Syd Lawrence	2	2	0	6	3.00	-	-	4	-	-
Chris Lewis	56	90	12	1973	25.29	1	7	114*	61	-
Devon Malcolm	37	50	13	233	6.30	-	-	21*	11	-
Matt Maynard	1	2	0	13	6.50	-	-	10	-	-
Phil Newport	2	3	0	70	23.33	-	-	36	1	-
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	36	3	512	15.51	-	2	66	7	-
Mark Ramprakash	15	28	2	862	33.15	1	7	100*	-	-
Dermot Reeve	1	2	0	12	6.00	-	-	6	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	71	6	2362	36.33	4	12	175	14	-
Jack Russell	77	128	29	3304	33.37	1	18	128*	198	21
Ian Salisbury	1	1	0	21	21.00	-	-	21	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Robin Smith	76	140	15	6332	50.66	19	32	204	20	-
Alec Stewart	51	99	5	4666	49.64	15	14	200	12	-
Peter Such	11	14	6	45	5.63	-	-	14*	4	-
Graham Thorpe	16	28	5	1011	43.96	3	3	114*	9	-
Phil Tufnell	60	75	15	327	5.45	-	-	36	17	-
Steve Watkin	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mark Alleyne	3	74	199	7	28.43	2.7	-	-	2/27
Mike Atherton	49	144	500	13	38.46	3.9	-	-	3/32
Rob Bailey	15	43	175	2	87.50	4.1	-	-	1/0
Martin Bicknell	4	191	469	11	42.63	2.5	-	-	3/72
Richard Blakey	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Andy Caddick	13	551	1537	42	36.60	2.8	1	-	5/69
David Capel (RET)	11	209	628	12	52.33	3.0	-	-	2/13
Glen Chapple	2	85	276	5	55.20	3.2	-	-	3/99
Dominic Cork	12	442	1283	35	36.66	2.9	-	-	4/138
Robert Croft	1	36	144	2	72.00	4.0	-	-	2/74
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	-	-	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	1451	3902	115	33.93	2.7	5	1	8/107
Angus Fraser	57	2333	5722	174	32.88	2.5	5	-	6/68
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	16	624	1709	43	39.74	2.7	2	-	5/50
David Gower (RET)	124	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	55	191	626	13	48.15	3.3	-	-	3/38
Nasser Hussain	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Igglesden	1	37	146	3	48.67	3.9	-	-	2/91
Mark Ilott	1	38	127	1	127.00	3.3	-	-	1/106
Paul Jarvis	10	359	1069	26	41.12	3.0	-	-	4/50
Richard Johnson	1	44	155	0	-	3.5	-	-	-
Nick Knight	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	5	23	1	23.00	4.6	-	-	1/6
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Syd Lawrence	2	68	223	4	55.75	3.3	-	-	2/74
Chris Lewis	56	1580	4266	123	34.68	2.7	1	-	6/70
Devon Malcolm	37	1292	4195	137	30.62	3.2	6	-	7/86
Matt Maynard	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Newport	2	92	339	9	37.66	3.7	-	-	4/87
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	625	1807	48	37.64	2.9	2	-	5/95
Mark Ramprakash	15	1	2	0	-	2.0	-	-	-
Dermot Reeve	1	14	39	0	-	2.8	-	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	1	0	0	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell	77	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	1	13	76	0	-	5.9	-	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith	76	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	51	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such	11	557	1614	49	32.94	2.9	2	-	8/47
Graham Thorpe	16	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	60	2836	8271	293	28.22	2.8	23	5	8/114
Steve Watkin	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56

​

Stats and records updated ahead of the much anticipated (by me) tour of Zimbabwe. Lots of players who have been very busy in the last few years will be getting some long-awaited time at home.

Also, no wonder we were hammered - only three of our batsmen passed 50 in the entire series and that's just not how you win cricket matches

 

[Aislabie]

England Tour of Zimbabwe, 1996-97

Itinerary
18 Dec 1996 - Zimbabwe vs England - First Test at Bulawayo - England won by 152 runs
26 Dec 1996 - Zimbabwe vs England - Second Test at Harare - England won by 6 wickets
03 Jan 1997 - Zimbabwe vs England - Third Test at Harare - England won by 86 runs

England Squad

Graeme Hick

Mark Butcher
John Crawley
Nasser Hussain
Nick Knight
Mark Ramprakash
Graeme Thorpe

Richard Blakey
Graham Kersey

Mark Alleyne
Robert Croft
Craig White

Andy Caddick
Glen Chapple
Dominic Cork
Darren Gough
Dean Headley
Alan Mullally

Peter Such

After a protracted period of consistency in selection, the England squad that was announced to go to Zimbabwe over the Christmas period was an enormous departure from that principle. Gone were Atherton, Stewart, Smith, Lewis, Russell, Fraser, Malcolm and Tufnell, the players who had established themselves as the absolute core of the team over the last near-decade, and a focus instead on the younger talents who have yet to fully establish themselves in the England team. When pressed on why they had taken such a drastic measure, the TCCB (which had also announced its reformation into the England and Wales Cricket Board from the new year) explained that "Our long-standing players have had an enormous workload over recent years, and we believe they have more than earned a Christmas at home with their families. And that it presents us with the opportunity to blood our younger players in a controlled way is a great bonus." Surrey wicket-keeper Graham Kersey also made it into the squad as a back-up, but is not expected to make his Test debut as it seems that the management want to get the best possible look at Richard Blakey at Test level.

 

[ahmedleo414]

I am absolutely loving this series, great work as always

 

[Aislabie]

Zimbabwe vs England - First Test at Bulawayo

Zimbabwe XI
Grant Flower
Stuart Carlisle
Alistair Campbell
Dave Houghton
Andy Flower
Andy Waller
Guy Whittall
Paul Strang
Heath Streak
Bryan Strang
Henry Olonga

England XI
Nick Knight
Mark Butcher (debut)
Mark Ramprakash
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Nasser Hussain
Richard Blakey
Glen Chapple
Darren Gough
Andy Caddick
Alan Mullally (debut)

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Ahead of the opening Test match at Bulawayo, there had been much written about the changes made to the England side, but while there were a lot of fringe players - captain Hick being the only Englishman present with more than Gough and Thorpe's 16 Test caps, and the opening pair had just one cap between them - there was still a lot of quality in the England side. Indeed, this was close to the strongest possible eleven available from their present squad. "It is very unlikely that anybody else will play all three Tests," Hick explained after winning the toss and choosing to let his opening batsmen have first dibs on the surface, "but that doesn't mean we don't want to put our best foot forward as we start this Test series hopefully with a win."

That expectation did not start well when debutant opener Mark Butcher lost his middle stump to an in-swinger from Heath Streak, but once Nick Knight found his gear, he looked entirely at home in Test cricket. Breezing to his maiden Test century nearly an hour before the tea interval, he impressed to such an extent as to put Graham Thorpe's high-quality efforts at the other end very much in the shade, even as the Surrey man cruised to his fourth Test century. A 210-run fourth wicket stand certainly serves to take attention away from how a team lost the first three, as does the sight of a young-ish opening batsman in only his second Test match making his opportunity count to the tune of a career-changing 247. Knight's runs came from 525 balls, as he batted for eleven peaceful hours before being caught behind looking for the boundary that would have brought up yet another milestone. A maiden Test half-century for the equally inexperienced Blakey was also completed before the England captain called his men in to get a bowl at Zimbabwe before the end of the second day.

The prospect of a full day's bowling threatened to stretch the all-seam quartet of English bowlers to the limit, and so it proved: thanks to Andy Flower, Zimbabwe endured for almost 150 exhausting overs that took a huge toll on three of the four seamers. The only exception was Alan Mullally: the Southend-born but Australian-raised left-armer bounded tirelessly to the wicket for 38 excellent overs, and was rewarded with his first six Test wickets. He stood head and shoulders above the more vaunted duo of Caddick and Gough, as well as the disappointing Chapple, to collect the best figures on England debut since Chris Lewis in 1990. Regardless of his excellence though, a lead of 82 was not what Captain Hick would have hoped for when he declared the England innings on 500.

The strategy for the English batsmen was to score their runs as quickly as possible, and then get Zimbabwe back out to bat for most or all of the fifth day's play. This plan started poorly when Butcher fell to a carbon copy dismissal from a Heath Streak in-swinger, but the rest of the batsmen were noticeably more successful. Knight (49), Ramprakash (41) and Hick (43) all scored steadily for their contributions before Thorpe (61 off 87) and Hussain (27 not out off 11) really cut loose against Olonga in particular to put England into a position from which they could not lose.

Now, it may be fair to say that Andy Caddick felt the pressure of his disappointing first innings display, because he charged in with an extra yard of pace and immediately troubled the home top-order. Carlisle, Campbell and Grant Flower were dismissed within two overs of each other by the enlivened Caddick, before he extended his spell after the lunch interval to account for Andy Flower and Houghton as well. At this point he'd taken the first five wickets to fall, but also had taken barely a moment's break from bowling. It was time for the others to step up to the plate, and while they all bowled well and aggressively, the final five minutes of play rolled around with Guy Whittall still at the crease and looking entirely comfortable. Enter a spectacular piece of captaincy from Hick: a single over of loopy off-spin to break Whittall's rhythm against pace bowling before Caddick took hold of the tattered old ball for the final over of the game.

With his first ball, he thundered in and dropped it straight onto Whittall's toe; the umpire gave it out, and suddenly he had five balls to snatch back an England win.

With his second, he dug it in short to Olonga, whistling past the non-batsman's chest.

With his third, he fired the ball directly at middle stump. Olonga, dissuaded from getting into line by the previous ball, missed and was bowled.

England - and mostly Andy Caddick - had snatched victory with just one minute of play left in the entire five days. Well bowled Andy Caddick and well played (eventually) England.

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. Nick Knight - 5 points (+5)
2. Andy Caddick - 3 points (+3)
3. Alan Mullally - 2 points (+2)
4. Graham Thorpe - 1 point (+1)

There aren't many games where those performances from Caddick and Thorpe would put them as second and fourth picks for the Barrington points. What a cricket match.

 

[Aislabie]

Zimbabwe (0) vs (1) England - Second Test at Harare

Zimbabwe XI
Grant Flower
Mark Dekker
Alistair Campbell
Dave Houghton
Andy Flower
Andy Waller
Guy Whittall
Paul Strang
Heath Streak
Eddo Brandes
Henry Olonga

England XI
Nick Knight
John Crawley (debut)
Mark Ramprakash
Graeme Hick
Nasser Hussain
Richard Blakey
Craig White (debut)
Robert Croft
Dominic Cork
Dean Headley (debut)
Alan Mullally

- - -

Zimbabwe win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

If you had any uncertainty about this not being a normal Test series, then the resting of Graham Thorpe for a Boxing Day Test a week after his stellar performance at Bulawayo should provide ample evidence. England are handing out a further three debuts to John Crawley (batting out of position as an opener, after Butcher's horror debut), all-rounder Craig White and fast bowler Dean Headley. Additional changes include the recall of spinning all-rounder Robert Croft, as well as Dominic Cork as England look at options to find more balance in their team. On Zimbabwe's part, they have brought in Mark Dekker and Eddo Brandes to hopefully put up an even stronger fight in this match.

It comes to something when Mark Dekker is the aggressor in a partnership, but in Zimbabwe's opening stand he most definitely was - at least in comparison to Grant Flower, who stonewalled his way to just ten runs from the opening 30 overs. However, he didn't give his wicket away, which was clearly a central tenet of the Zimbabwean batting strategy: a noble approach, but you still want a few more than 150 runs by the time the fielding captain gets the chance to take the second new ball. Surprisingly, the bowler who was most able to break through the Zimbabwean defences was Craig White, whose skiddy seamers claimed the wickets of Dekker, Waller, Streak and Brandes at various stages of the innings. However, none of the bowlers disgraced themselves as no Englishman conceded so much as three an over.

Despite batting out of position, John Crawley started his Test career with great promise, managing to compile an organised 37 before edging an excellent seaming delivery from Heath Streak. With him having seen off the new ball, it made run-scoring far easier for Ramprakash and Hick than it might otherwise have been. Indeed, they will have been disappointed to have both fallen in the 60s rather than going on and making a match-grasping contribution. The task of taking responsibility was instead inherited by the debutant White, who made a mature unbeaten 51 that belied his inexperience and took England to within 25 before running out of partners.

A deficit of just 25 was something that England would be more than capable of overturning, so long as they were incisive with ball in hand. Debutant Dean Headley was exactly that: before the close of play, he took three vital wickets to expose the two key Zimbabwean batsmen: Houghton and Flower. They then succumbed to the energetic bowling of White and Mullally on the fourth morning, leaving ample opportunity for the English bowlers to continue their progress routing the Zimbabwean batting. That they succeeded makes a pleasant change compared to the often toothless nature of English bowling against admittedly more resilient opposition.

The resulting target of 170 was well within England's reach, even in fourth and fifth day conditions. Nasser Hussain, promoted to number three for the occasion, made a small but promising contribution of 25 which was at least more than either of the openers; the bulk of the runscoring fell to Ramprakash and Hick, and it is fortunate that both were of ample quality to guide England to victory with half of the fifth day still remaining.

With the series mathematically safe, it will be interesting to see what combination takes to the field for the New Year's 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. Nick Knight - 5 points
=1. Craig White - 5 points (+5)
=3. Andy Caddick - 3 points
=3. Dean Headley - 3 points (+3)
=5. Graeme Hick - 2 points (+2)
=5. Alan Mullally - 2 points
=7. Mark Ramprakash - 1 point (+1)
=7. Graham Thorpe - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

Zimbabwe (0) vs (2) England - Third Test at Harare

Zimbabwe XI
Grant Flower
Andy Waller
Alistair Campbell
Dave Houghton
Andy Flower
Craig Evans
Guy Whittall
Paul Strang
Heath Streak
Everton Matambanadzo
Pommie Mbangwa

England XI
Mark Butcher
Craig White
Nasser Hussain
Graeme Hick
John Crawley
Richard Blakey
Mark Alleyne
Robert Croft
Dominic Cork
Dean Headley
Peter Such

- - -

England win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Yet again, England had made significant changes to their playing XI. Most notable was the recall of Mark Butcher, who could be seen throughout the previous Test match working in the nets to rectify the technical flaw exposed by Heath Streak, but other returnees to the team included Mark Alleyne and Peter Such; with the pitch looking flat but dry, the England management clearly felt that this was a prescient time to look at the available all-round and spinning options, even if it resulted in Craig White playing as a makeshift opener as he occasionally does for Yorkshire. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe used the dead rubber to give opportunities to a few of their younger players, as Pommie Mbangwa and Everton Matambanadzo came into the seam attack and Craig Evans got another opportunity in the middle order.

Quite unexpectedly, Craig White made the most of the opening spot from the word go: although a somewhat limited player, he played well within those limitations by peppering the boundary with an off-drive and pull shot, while otherwise preferring to drop the ball behind the wicket to rotate the strike. Such an organised approach is ironically exactly what one would expect from a full-time opener, and Mark Butcher did look similarly organised until he copped a shocking LBW decision to become the first of six victims of Paul Strang's leg-spin. This gave the opportunity for White and Hussain to assemble the innings' largest partnership, with contributions further down the order coming from Hick (52), Blakey (34), Croft (46) and Cork (43). Despite the lack of a single outstanding score, England were able to post a well-made 400 before Hick declared.

Thanks to the unusual approach to selection this series, England had at their disposal a six-man bowling attack comprising four seamers and two spinners. Despite this, the wickets were not shared evenly: instead, Craig White bowled himself into huge contention for a long-term berth in the team with a tireless spell that yielded seven wickets. His first came when Alistair Campbell snicked off to a diving Richard Blakey, and was followed in the same over by Grant Flower who edged to Hussain at second slip. The Houghton-Flower partnership threatened to be a problem before Houghton became the first of three Zimbabweans to edge to Graeme Hick at first slip (the other two would be Andy Flower and Pommie Mbangwa much later in the innings). In his second spell, White added the scalps of Whittall (caught Hussain) and Streak (caught hooking at fine leg) to complete a stellar five-wicket haul. As previously mentioned though, Flower and Mbangwa made it seven top-quality wickets, with six of them caught in the cordon. Of course this isn't to say that the Zimbabwean innings was without merit - a fine century from Andy Flower and an impressive 65 from Evans meant that they weren't far behind England in the game.

With extremely limited time left in the game (thank you rain), it was imperative that England scored quickly with the bat. Liberated by the apparent instruction that it didn't matter if they got out, England raced to a frantic 183 all-out, starring a Test-best 44 from Butcher, and a surprisingly accomplished 54 from Robert Croft. White and Cork added 25 runs each, and on a surface beginning to go up and down it seemed that 204 might be enough runs to defend.

Of course, it might have been more compelling had Grant Flower and Dave Houghton not both been needlessly run out, the latter for a diamond duck. It entirely changed the balance of the game, suddenly forcing Zimbabwe to think more about survival than runs. Craig White capitalised yet again on this indecision by bowling his eleven stellar overs to finish with scarcely believable figures of 11-6-7-2. With wickets for Alleyne at the other end, there were only two wickets left by the time the spinners got on - they shared one each, but must have been disappointed not to get the opportunity to share in the wicket buffet to the same extent that Craig White had done.

Speaking of Craig White, what a startling entry into Test cricket: his debut series, of which he had played two matches, had yielded him 147 runs (at 73.50) and 16 wickets (at 11.37) including innings figures of seven for 63, which are the best since Neil Foster a decade ago Andy Caddick two weeks ago. Such contributions vindicate the selection of such a youthful squad, even if they do spell the end, for the forseeable future at least, of Chris Lewis's Test career.

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. Craig White - 10 points (+5)
=1. Nick Knight - 5 points
=3. Andy Caddick - 3 points
=3. Robert Croft - 3 points (+3)
=3. Dean Headley - 3 points
=6. Graeme Hick - 2 points
=6. Nasser Hussain - 2 points (+2)
=6. Alan Mullally - 2 points
=9. Mark Alleyne - 1 point (+1)
=9. Mark Ramprakash - 1 point
=9. Graham Thorpe - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

Records

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

Lowest Innings Score
for 74 all out vs Australia, The WACA 1995
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

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. 247 - Robin Smith & Graeme Hick vs Pakistan 1992
5. 176 - Graeme Hick & Jack Russell vs West Indies 1991
6. 137 - Mike Atherton & Chris Lewis vs South Africa 1994
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. 61 - Graham Thorpe & Peter Such vs West Indies 1994

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. Geoffrey Boycott - 8,114 runs @ 47.72 (22 centuries, best 246*)

Most Test Wickets for England
1. Ian Botham - 400 wickets @ 28.13 (27 5WI, best 8/34)
2. Bob Willis - 325 wickets @ 25.20 (16 5WI, best 8/43)
3. Fred Trueman - 307 wickets @ 21.57 (17 5WI, best 8/31)

Honours Board

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

vs , 1990
Graham Gooch - 127
Rob Bailey - 196

vs , 1990
none

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

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

vs , 1991
Alec Stewart - 166
Graeme Hick - 100

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

vs , 1990
none

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

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

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

vs , 1991
none

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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	v (3), 1996
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 (3), 1996
Angus Fraser	537	v (3), 1989	v (1), 1996
Mike Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	v (3), 1996
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 (3), 1996
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	v (3), 1996-97
Martin Bicknell	546	v (3), 1990	v (4), 1991-92
Steve Watkin	547	v (1), 1991	v (2), 1991
Peter Such	548	v (3), 1991	v (3), 1996-97
Ian Salisbury	549	v (1), 1992-93	only Test
Mark Ramprakash	550	v (2), 1992-93	v (2), 1996-97
Dermot Reeve	551	v (3), 1992-93	only Test
Andy Caddick	552	v (2), 1993	v (1), 1996-97
Nasser Hussain	553	v (3), 1993	v (3), 1996-97
Mark Ilott	554	v (4), 1993-94	only Test
Graham Thorpe	555	v (4), 1993-94	v (1), 1996-97
Darren Gough	556	v (1), 1994	v (1), 1996-97
Dominic Cork	557	v (2), 1994	v (3), 1996-97
Richard Blakey	558	v (3), 1994	v (3), 1996-97
Glen Chapple	559	v (4), 1994-95	v (1), 1996-97
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 (3), 1996-97
Nick Knight	563	v (5), 1995-96	v (2), 1996-97
Mark Butcher	564	v (1), 1996-97	v (3), 1996-97
Alan Mullally	565	v (1), 1996-97	v (2), 1996-97
John Crawley	566	v (2), 1996-97	v (3), 1996-97
Dean Headley	567	v (2), 1996-97	v (3), 1996-97
Craig White	568	v (2), 1996-97	v (3), 1996-97

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	21	11	0	5	5	v (2), 1992-93	v (3), 1996-97

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mark Alleyne	4	7	2	95	19.00	-	1	56*	4	-
Mike Atherton	49	91	8	3780	45.54	9	16	242	27	-
Rob Bailey	15	28	1	815	30.19	1	2	196	15	-
Martin Bicknell	4	4	0	65	16.25	-	-	48	2	-
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	2	4	0	69	17.25	-	-	44	2	-
Andy Caddick	14	19	2	221	13.00	-	-	37*	3	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Glen Chapple	3	5	1	73	18.25	-	-	30	1	-
Dominic Cork	14	19	3	350	21.88	-	1	72	8	-
John Crawley	2	4	0	58	14.50	-	-	37	-	-
Robert Croft	3	3	0	111	37/00	-	1	54	-	-
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	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	60	12	600	12.50	-	-	42*	13	-
Angus Fraser	57	77	11	631	9.56	-	-	34	9	-
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	17	23	8	256	17.07	-	-	35*	1	-
David Gower (RET)	124	215	17	8506	42.96	15	47	215	75	-
Dean Headley	2	3	2	21	21.00	-	-	17*	-	-
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	19	3	332	20.75	-	1	95	4	-
Graeme Hick	58	105	6	3823	38.62	8	21	147	84	-
Nasser Hussain	7	13	1	265	22.08	-	1	68	14	-
Alan Igglesden	1	1	1	2	-	-	-	2*	1	-
Mark Ilott	1	2	2	26	-	-	-	25*	-	-
Paul Jarvis	10	15	4	189	17.18	-	-	35*	1	-
Richard Johnson	1	1	0	1	1.00	-	-	1	-	-
Nick Knight	3	5	0	344	68.80	1	-	247	4	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	105	9	3224	33.58	9	12	137*	53	-
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	19	0	348	18.31	-	-	43	5	-
Syd Lawrence	2	2	0	6	3.00	-	-	4	-	-
Chris Lewis	56	90	12	1973	25.29	1	7	114*	61	-
Devon Malcolm	37	50	13	233	6.30	-	-	21*	11	-
Matt Maynard	1	2	0	13	6.50	-	-	10	-	-
Alan Mullally	2	1	0	15	15.00	-	-	15	-	-
Phil Newport	2	3	0	70	23.33	-	-	36	1	-
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	36	3	512	15.51	-	2	66	7	-
Mark Ramprakash	17	32	2	1047	34.90	1	9	100*	1	-
Dermot Reeve	1	2	0	12	6.00	-	-	6	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	71	6	2362	36.33	4	12	175	14	-
Jack Russell	77	128	29	3304	33.37	1	18	128*	198	21
Ian Salisbury	1	1	0	21	21.00	-	-	21	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Robin Smith	76	140	15	6332	50.66	19	32	204	20	-
Alec Stewart	51	99	5	4666	49.64	15	14	200	12	-
Peter Such	12	15	7	47	5.88	-	-	14*	5	-
Graham Thorpe	17	30	5	1178	47.12	4	4	114*	10	-
Phil Tufnell	60	75	15	327	5.45	-	-	36	17	-
Steve Watkin	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-
Craig White	2	3	1	147	73.50	-	2	71	1	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mark Alleyne	4	109	307	10	30.70	2.8	-	-	2/27
Mike Atherton	49	144	500	13	38.46	3.9	-	-	3/32
Rob Bailey	15	43	175	2	87.50	4.1	-	-	1/0
Martin Bicknell	4	191	469	11	42.63	2.5	-	-	3/72
Richard Blakey	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Mark Butcher	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Andy Caddick	14	610	1702	51	33.37	2.8	2	-	7/53
David Capel (RET)	11	209	628	12	52.33	3.0	-	-	2/13
Glen Chapple	3	128	398	6	66.33	3.1	-	-	3/99
Dominic Cork	14	522	1492	39	38.26	2.9	-	-	4/138
John Crawley	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Robert Croft	3	77	252	5	50.40	3.3	-	-	2/74
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	-	-	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	1451	3902	115	33.93	2.7	5	1	8/107
Angus Fraser	57	2333	5722	174	32.88	2.5	5	-	6/68
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	17	683	1866	46	40.57	2.7	2	-	5/50
David Gower (RET)	124	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Dean Headley	2	87	172	7	24.57	2.0	-	-	4/24
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	58	192	631	13	48.54	3.3	-	-	3/38
Nasser Hussain	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Igglesden	1	37	146	3	48.67	3.9	-	-	2/91
Mark Ilott	1	38	127	1	127.00	3.3	-	-	1/106
Paul Jarvis	10	359	1069	26	41.12	3.0	-	-	4/50
Richard Johnson	1	44	155	0	-	3.5	-	-	-
Nick Knight	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	5	23	1	23.00	4.6	-	-	1/6
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Syd Lawrence	2	68	223	4	55.75	3.3	-	-	2/74
Chris Lewis	56	1580	4266	123	34.68	2.7	1	-	6/70
Devon Malcolm	37	1292	4195	137	30.62	3.2	6	-	7/86
Matt Maynard	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Mullally	2	102	229	11	20.82	2.2	1	-	6/94
Phil Newport	2	92	339	9	37.66	3.7	-	-	4/87
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	625	1807	48	37.64	2.9	2	-	5/95
Mark Ramprakash	17	1	2	0	-	2.0	-	-	-
Dermot Reeve	1	14	39	0	-	2.8	-	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	1	0	0	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell	77	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	1	13	76	0	-	5.9	-	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith	76	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	51	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such	12	572	1669	50	33.38	2.9	2	-	8/47
Graham Thorpe	17	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	60	2836	8271	293	28.22	2.8	23	5	8/114
Steve Watkin	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56
Craig White	2	75	182	16	11.37	2.4	1	-	7/63

​

Updated stats and records from a series that has kind of reframed the entire English player pool.

We had almost all of the most recent 20 Test debutants (including five new ones from this series) on the field together, and got a really good look at which of those players we would like to move forward with versus which might be lucky to get back into the side. The biggest ones of course were Alan Mullally, Craig White, Nick Knight and Dean Headley, who all to a greater or lesser extent have made their mark as players who should definitely be considered to replace players who have long since become established in the team. The squad for New Zealand will certainly include a lot of the more impressive players from this series, and could see us saying auf wiedersehen to a selection of senior players.

Another interesting series coming up before we try to retain the Ashes, that's for sure.

 

[Aislabie]

England Tour of New Zealand, 1996-97

Itinerary
24 Jan 1997 - New Zealand vs England - First Test at Auckland - England won by 8 wickets
06 Feb 1997 - New Zealand vs England - Second Test at Wellington - Match drawn
14 Feb 1997 - New Zealand vs England - Third Test at Christchurch - England won by 7 wickets

England Squad

Graeme Hick

Mike Atherton
Nasser Hussain
Nick Knight
Robin Smith
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe

Richard Blakey
Jack Russell

Robert Croft
Chris Lewis
Craig White

Andy Caddick
Darren Gough
Dean Headley
Devon Malcolm
Alan Mullally

Phil Tufnell

Well this certainly is an interesting England squad, and one with several changes informed by happenings in Zimbabwe. The biggest examples of that are the inclusions of Craig White, Dean Headley and Alan Mullally who all had stellar debut series: White in particular will have turned himself into one of the very first names on the teamsheet. Among those who will be most aggrieved to miss out are Mark Ramprakash and Angus Fraser: the former will point to the inclusion of Hussain after a disappointing start to his career as being unmerited, but Hussain has clearly been earmarked as somebody with leadership potential. Fraser meanwhile could have expected to make the squad ahead of Croft or Lewis, but can still consider himself likely to be picked for the summer's Ashes series.

 

[Aislabie]

New Zealand vs England - First Test at Auckland

New Zealand XI
Bryan Young
Blair Pocock
Adam Parore
Stephen Fleming
Nathan Astle
Justin Vaughan
Chris Cairns
Lee Germon
Dipak Patel
Simon Doull
Danny Morrison

England XI
Mike Atherton
Alec Stewart
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Craig White
Jack Russell
Andy Caddick
Dean Headley
Phil Tufnell
Alan Mullally

- - -

New Zealand win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Compared to the last time these two sides met, the playing XIs are close to unrecognisable. For New Zealand, we have reached an area that I had mentally repressed - that of "Adam Parore, specialist top-order batsman"; for England, we may be reaching the beginning of a new era if the rousing debut performances of the Zimbabwe series are anything to go by. Unusually for New Zealand, there was not so much as a hint of green to be found on the playing surface - something that captain Lee Germon seized upon after winning the toss and electing to bat first.

Grass or no grass, the new-look English seam attack immediately announced itself as being considerably better than the Kiwi batting: Andy Caddick demonstrated his quality as a new ball bowler by obliterating the top order of his birth country - in the space of ten minutes, he sent back Bryan Young, Blair Pocock and the big fish Stephen Fleming, only once needing the assistance of a fielder. Two further early wickets from Alan Mullally left the home side reeling at 49 for five before lunch on the first day, a large hole for Astle and Cairns (and later captain Germon) to dig them out of. And to an extent they did, courtesy of an excellent 82 from Astle that was only ended by a fine spinning delivery from Phil Tufnell, one of his four wickets. The finishing touch to an excellent team effort was that Craig White continued his early-career momentum by claiming the wicket of Simon Doull.

New Zealand's low total offered the chance for the English batsmen to step up and dominate a Test match. The top order did not necessarily deliver in that regard as both Atherton and Stewart failed against a strong new ball attack from Morrison and Cairns, but a true captain's innings from Graeme Hick ensured that England surged ahead. Around half of his eventual 110 runs came in a century partnership with Craig White, who continued his excellent introduction to Test cricket with a personal best 77. Even the tail-enders offered a little bit of resistance, including an unbeaten 22 from Dean Headley that nudged England up to their eventual 174-run advantage.

Of course anything can happen in Test cricket, so a twin breakthrough for the English opening attack would certainly have settled some nerves - Young fell to Headley before Pocock was trapped LBW by Caddick - and all before the home side had mustered a single run. From there, the innings continued as a carbon copy of the Kiwis' first crack: subsiding to 50 for five before an Astle-led resistance. On this occasion, Germon and Patel offered a few additional runs down the order, but nothing that would stand in the way of an excellent team effort from the English bowlers, all five of whom claimed wickets. No weak links, and nobody leaking runs certainly bodes well for the upcoming Ashes.

A target of 82 could be just enough to get you worrying if you lose a few early wickets, so it was important that Atherton and Smith not let the early loss of Stewart hold them back. They compiled a useful 50 partnership before Hick was briefly called upon to apply the finishing flourish to a wonderful team win. This New Zealand team is not a strong one at present, and England will now be deeply disappointed if they fail to complete a clean sweep of the winter Tests.

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. Craig White - 13 points (+3)
2. Graeme Hick - 7 points (+5)
=3. Dean Headley - 5 points (+2)
=3. Nick Knight - 5 points
=5. Andy Caddick - 3 points
=5. Robert Croft - 3 points
=7. Nasser Hussain - 2 points
=7. Alan Mullally - 2 points
=9. Mark Alleyne - 1 point
=9. Mark Ramprakash - 1 point
=9. Graham Thorpe - 1 point
=9. Phil Tufnell - 1 point (+1)

 

[Aislabie]

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

New Zealand XI
Bryan Young
Blair Pocock
Adam Parore
Stephen Fleming
Nathan Astle
Chris Cairns
Lee Germon
Dipak Patel
Simon Doull
Danny Morrison
Daniel Vettori

England XI
Mike Atherton
Alec Stewart
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Craig White
Jack Russell
Andy Caddick
Dean Headley
Phil Tufnell
Alan Mullally

- - -

New Zealand win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

After a one-sided first Test, we might have expected changes to be made. However, England appear happy with their playing XI at present, and have gone unchanged; New Zealand made only one change with young Daniel Vettori replacing Justin Vaughan, changing the balance of the side somewhat by picking a gangling second spinner to bat at eleven (which is a great reminder of how much Vettori improved through his career). Regardless, that same glass top-three will have to face the English seamers, and will have to do so almost immediately after Lee Germon won the toss and chose to bat.

Unexpectedly, however, Bryan Young stood up to be counted with a superbly determined century from the top of the order. With the solid support of Parore and Fleming, he guided New Zealand to a position of great strength at 230 for two when the second new ball came around. Hick's approach to breaking this troublesome partnership was to give that second new ball to Alan Mullally and Craig White, a plan that immediately bore fruit as New Zealand's next four wickets fell for just 35 runs. Though the lower-order - particularly Dipak Patel, who made 55 not out - did mount some resistance, both teams can feel relatively pleased with their first efforts of the match.

However, by this point there was a thick layer of cloud cover and try as they might neither Atherton nor Stewart managed to survive until the close of play. This was a big loss - two fifths of England's main five batsmen dismissed with only 18 runs between them. Once Robin Smith also failed to put up a notable contribution, a huge amount of pressure landed on the shoulders of Graeme and Graham (Hick and Thorpe). They stood up to it well by mounting a large century partnership, only for that hard work to be undone in spectacular fashion by a patented England batting collapse. On this occasion, that collapse started with Graeme Hick falling to a questionable LBW decision off Daniel Vettori's bowling and finished 23 runs later when Phil Tufnell failed to cope with a straight ball from Danny Morrison.

Suddenly, New Zealand were dominating the game. Thus, England's position required some rather more defensive bowling tactics to try to slow the game down. Nobody was more effective at this than the highly impressive Craig White. Across the innings, he bowled 21 overs, during which time he took four wickets and conceded only 34 runs. Of course, this alone wasn't enough to stop New Zealand solidifying their dominant position: despite a lukewarm batting effort highlighted only by half-centuries from Parore and Cairns, they were still able to extend their lead to a huge 380 by the time they were bowled out with just under four sessions of play left.

England have in their ranks the king of the improbably fourth innings run-chase in Alec Stewart, and despite the entire body of cricketing wisdom saying "don't do it", it was pretty clear that he had one eye on the huge target. He biffed ten fours and a six on his way to an impressive 88, an approach matched by Graham Thorpe (eleven fours and a six en route to his 76). However, the cheap losses of Atherton, Smith and Hick had left England in an extremely precarious position whereby the loss of Stewart for his 88 exposed the inexperienced White - arguably the last buffer before the tail, given Russell's recent batting form.

"The inexperienced White", however, has looked world class ever since he broke into the Test team and day five of the second Test was no exception. Although he spent most of his innings alongside Jack Russell - not someone with whom to push for a high-tempo run chase - he still made the most of the gaps in New Zealand's aggressive fields to add plenty of runs to his burgeoning career tally. So well did he play that with ten minutes left in the day, he dropped a delivery from Simon Doull under his eyes in the off side and sprinted for a single. The English section of the crowd erupted, applauding a man who had just scored his maiden Test century in the process of saving a Test match. That Bothamesque performance also secured him the Barrington Medal with one Test of the winter still to play, a rare feat indeed.

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. Craig White - 18 points (+5)
2. Graeme Hick - 9 points (+2)
=3. Dean Headley - 5 points
=3. Nick Knight - 5 points
5. Graham Thorpe - 4 points (+3)
=6. Andy Caddick - 3 points
=6. Robert Croft - 3 points
=8. Nasser Hussain - 2 points
=8. Alan Mullally - 2 points
=10. Mark Alleyne - 1 point
=10. Mark Ramprakash - 1 point
=10. Alec Stewart - 1 point (+1)
=10. Phil Tufnell - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

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

New Zealand XI
Bryan Young
Blair Pocock
Matt Poore
Stephen Fleming
Nathan Astle
Adam Parore
Chris Cairns
Simon Doull
Daniel Vettori
Heath Davis
Geoff Allott

England XI
Nick Knight
Alec Stewart
Robin Smith
Graeme Hick
Graham Thorpe
Craig White
Jack Russell
Andy Caddick
Darren Gough
Phil Tufnell
Alan Mullally

- - -

New Zealand win the toss and choose to bat

- - -

Coming into the third Test match, both sides had wrung the changes: for England, a horribly out of form Mike Atherton made way for Nick Knight and Darren Gough came in for Dean Headley, who was experiencing back pain. New Zealand's changes were considerably more sweeping: Lee Germon's leadership was brought to an end between Test matches, and he immediately lost the place in the side that he had commanded solely with his captaincy. With him went half of the bowling attack, meaning that of the bowling attack that started the series, only Chris Cairns and Simon Doull remain.

Those replacement bowlers would have to wait for a chance to show off their skills however, as new captain Stephen Fleming opted to bat first after winning the toss. Young and Pocock started well with a nice 69-run opening partnership before Alan Mullally made the game's first breakthrough as Young played a loose drive. That brought the incoming Matt Horne to the crease, and he immediately showed why he'd been selected with a calm and competent presence at the crease as he compiled an excellent 71. What he needed - but didn't get - was some equally solid support. Instead, Chris Cairns (39) was the only one of the bottom eight batsmen to even score over 20 as New Zealand stumbled to 253 all out at the end of the first day's play.

The second day, on which England would have to bat, dawned grey and gloomy. Punctuated by frequent rain showers, the playing conditions provided ample assistance for the Kiwi seamers, especially Cairns and Allott. Indeed, only three English batsmen really got to grips with them: Robin Smith (65), Graham Thorpe (48) and of course England's own Action Man, Craig White (45 not out). Although a total of 227 was far lower than Graeme Hick would have hoped for from himself and his charges, he can be grateful that the English team coped better with these conditions than they had done previously against Pakistan.

With such a slender lead, New Zealand needed a strong start. 99 for one certainly counted as such a start, with both Pocock and Horne looking comfortable and scoring well. Both, however, would fall to Phil Tufnell as part of a catastrophic batting collapse for the home side. Caddick and Tufnell's three wickets each were supported by two from Gough and one each from Mullally and White as the Kiwis' last nine wickets fell for just 98 runs - one fewer than their score at that previous position of strength. Most frustratingly for Fleming, almost all of his batsmen got starts before getting out - seven of the eleven Kiwi batsmen reached double figures, although three more (including Fleming) were dismissed for ducks to English seamers.

England have turned themselves into run chasing specialists, and a target of 224 runs to win (and nearly two days in which to score them) posed few problems. Under clear blue skies, the tourists took a no-risks approach that served all of the batsmen well, in particular Nick Knight (71), Robin Smith (63 not out) and Graeme Hick (52). Despite toiling through over a hundred overs, the Kiwi bowlers were simply unable to string together wickets in any real quantity without the assistance of the swing-friendly conditions of the first innings.

And so concluded a winter in which England won five out of six Tests against moderate to poor opposition, and in which we may have witnessed the birth at Test level of the Next Botham™ in Craig White, the emphatic Barrington Medal winner.

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. Craig White - 19 points (+1)
2. Graeme Hick - 9 points
=3. Andy Caddick - 5 points (+2)
=3. Dean Headley - 5 points
=3. Nick Knight - 5 points
=3. Robin Smith - 5 points (+5)
=7. Graham Thorpe - 4 points
=7. Phil Tufnell - 4 points (+3)
9. Robert Croft - 3 points
=10. Nasser Hussain - 2 points
=10. Alan Mullally - 2 points
=12. Mark Alleyne - 1 point
=12. Mark Ramprakash - 1 point
=12. Alec Stewart - 1 point

 

[Aislabie]

(sorry for the delay in stats - I was down to putting in Alan Mullally's updated career bowling numbers - meaning only Phil Tufnell left before I was done - before Chrome had a moment and I lost all the progress on the player stats. Off to have a bit of sad time before I do them all over again)

 

[Aislabie]

World Test Rankings, as of 31 Sep 1996
Minumum qualification: 5 series

Rank	Team	Rating
1	England	800
2	Australia	654
3	South Africa	625
4	Pakistan	600
5	West Indies	542
6	India	464
7	Sri Lanka	321
8	New Zealand	250
9	Zimbabwe	150

*If two teams are level on points, their head-to-head against each other is taken into consideration

Spoiler: Australia

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

Spoiler: England

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

Spoiler: India

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

Spoiler: New Zealand

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

Spoiler: Pakistan

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

Spoiler: South Africa

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

Spoiler: Sri Lanka

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

Spoiler: West Indies

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

Spoiler: Zimbabwe

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

Pakistan are the Bannerman Shield holders

Spoiler: Bannerman Shield Roll of Honour

Champion Team as of 29 Jan 1975: West Indies

• Won 2-1 against India
• Won 2-1 against Pakistan
• Won 3-1 against Australia
• Won 2-0 against England
• Won 2-0 against India
• Won 3-0 against Australia
• Won 2-0 against New Zealand
• Won 5-0 against England
• Drew 1-1 against Pakistan
• Won 3-0 against India
• Drew 2-2 against England (playthrough starts here)
• Won 2-1 against Australia
• Won 1-0 against South Africa
• Won 2-0 against Pakistan
• Lost 2-1 against England

Champion Team as of 21 Apr 1994: England

• Won 1-0 against New Zealand
• Won 1-0 against South Africa
• Won 3-1 against West Indies
• Won 2-0 against India
• Lost 2-1 against Pakistan

Champion Team as of 25 Aug 1996: Pakistan

• Won 1-0 against Zimbabwe
• Drew 1-1 against New Zealand
• Lost 1-0 against South Africa

Champion Team as of 27 Oct 1997: South Africa

• Drew 1-1 against Pakistan
• Won 2-0 against Sri Lanka
• Won 5-0 against West Indies
• Won 2-0 against Zimbabwe
• South Africa vs England Test series (5 matches), 1999-00

Records

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

Lowest Innings Score
for 74 all out vs Australia, The WACA 1995
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

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. 247 - Robin Smith & Graeme Hick vs Pakistan 1992
5. 176 - Graeme Hick & Jack Russell vs West Indies 1991
6. 137 - Mike Atherton & Chris Lewis vs South Africa 1994
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. 61 - Graham Thorpe & Peter Such vs West Indies 1994

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. Geoffrey Boycott - 8,114 runs @ 47.72 (22 centuries, best 246*)

Most Test Wickets for England
1. Ian Botham - 400 wickets @ 28.13 (27 5WI, best 8/34)
2. Bob Willis - 325 wickets @ 25.20 (16 5WI, best 8/43)
3. Phil Tufnell - 310 wickets @ 27.85 (24 5WI, best 8/114)

Honours Board

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

vs , 1990
Graham Gooch - 127
Rob Bailey - 196

vs , 1990
none

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

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

vs , 1991
Alec Stewart - 166
Graeme Hick - 100

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

vs , 1990
none

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

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

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

vs , 1991
none

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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	v (3), 1996-97
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 (3), 1996-97
Angus Fraser	537	v (3), 1989	v (1), 1996
Mike Atherton	538	v (5), 1989	v (2), 1996-97
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 (3), 1996-97
Phil Tufnell	543	v (1), 1989-90	v (3), 1996-97
Chris Lewis	544	v (4), 1989-90	v (3), 1996
Graeme Hick	545	v (5), 1989-90	v (3), 1996-97
Martin Bicknell	546	v (3), 1990	v (4), 1991-92
Steve Watkin	547	v (1), 1991	v (2), 1991
Peter Such	548	v (3), 1991	v (3), 1996-97
Ian Salisbury	549	v (1), 1992-93	only Test
Mark Ramprakash	550	v (2), 1992-93	v (2), 1996-97
Dermot Reeve	551	v (3), 1992-93	only Test
Andy Caddick	552	v (2), 1993	v (3), 1996-97
Nasser Hussain	553	v (3), 1993	v (3), 1996-97
Mark Ilott	554	v (4), 1993-94	only Test
Graham Thorpe	555	v (4), 1993-94	v (3), 1996-97
Darren Gough	556	v (1), 1994	v (3), 1996-97
Dominic Cork	557	v (2), 1994	v (3), 1996-97
Richard Blakey	558	v (3), 1994	v (3), 1996-97
Glen Chapple	559	v (4), 1994-95	v (1), 1996-97
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 (3), 1996-97
Nick Knight	563	v (5), 1995-96	v (3), 1996-97
Mark Butcher	564	v (1), 1996-97	v (3), 1996-97
Alan Mullally	565	v (1), 1996-97	v (3), 1996-97
John Crawley	566	v (2), 1996-97	v (3), 1996-97
Dean Headley	567	v (2), 1996-97	v (2), 1996-97
Craig White	568	v (2), 1996-97	v (3), 1996-97

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	24	13	0	6	5	v (2), 1992-93	v (3), 1996-97

Batting & Fielding

Player	Mat	Inn	NO	Runs	Avg	100s	50s	Best	Ct	St
Mark Alleyne	4	7	2	95	19.00	-	1	56*	4	-
Mike Atherton	51	95	8	3848	44.23	9	16	242	34	-
Rob Bailey	15	28	1	815	30.19	1	2	196	15	-
Martin Bicknell	4	4	0	65	16.25	-	-	48	2	-
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	2	4	0	69	17.25	-	-	44	2	-
Andy Caddick	14	19	2	221	13.00	-	-	37*	3	-
David Capel (RET)	11	18	0	293	16.27	-	2	98	4	-
Glen Chapple	3	5	1	73	18.25	-	-	30	1	-
Dominic Cork	14	19	3	350	21.88	-	1	72	8	-
John Crawley	2	4	0	58	14.50	-	-	37	-	-
Robert Croft	3	3	0	111	37/00	-	1	54	-	-
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	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	60	12	600	12.50	-	-	42*	13	-
Angus Fraser	57	77	11	631	9.56	-	-	34	9	-
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	18	24	8	256	16.00	-	-	35*	1	-
David Gower (RET)	124	215	17	8506	42.96	15	47	215	75	-
Dean Headley	4	5	3	43	21.50	-	-	22*	-	-
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	19	3	332	20.75	-	1	95	4	-
Graeme Hick	61	111	7	4105	39.47	9	23	147	90	-
Nasser Hussain	7	13	1	265	22.08	-	1	68	14	-
Alan Igglesden	1	1	1	2	-	-	-	2*	1	-
Mark Ilott	1	2	2	26	-	-	-	25*	-	-
Paul Jarvis	10	15	4	189	17.18	-	-	35*	1	-
Richard Johnson	1	1	0	1	1.00	-	-	1	-	-
Nick Knight	4	7	0	418	59.71	1	1	247	5	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	105	9	3224	33.58	9	12	137*	53	-
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	19	0	348	18.31	-	-	43	5	-
Syd Lawrence	2	2	0	6	3.00	-	-	4	-	-
Chris Lewis	56	90	12	1973	25.29	1	7	114*	61	-
Devon Malcolm	37	50	13	233	6.30	-	-	21*	11	-
Matt Maynard	1	2	0	13	6.50	-	-	10	-	-
Alan Mullally	5	4	1	28	9.33	-	-	15	-	-
Phil Newport	2	3	0	70	23.33	-	-	36	1	-
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	36	3	512	15.51	-	2	66	7	-
Mark Ramprakash	17	32	2	1047	34.90	1	9	100*	1	-
Dermot Reeve	1	2	0	12	6.00	-	-	6	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	71	6	2362	36.33	4	12	175	14	-
Jack Russell	80	132	30	3404	33.37	1	18	128*	210	22
Ian Salisbury	1	1	0	21	21.00	-	-	21	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	26	7	382	20.10	-	2	59	2	-
Robin Smith	79	146	17	6558	50.84	19	34	204	20	-
Alec Stewart	54	105	5	4811	48.11	15	15	200	13	-
Peter Such	12	15	7	47	5.88	-	-	14*	5	-
Graham Thorpe	20	35	6	1403	48.38	4	6	114*	15	-
Phil Tufnell	63	78	15	342	5.43	-	-	36	17	-
Steve Watkin	2	4	0	55	13.75	-	-	27	-	-
Craig White	5	7	2	337	67.40	1	3	104*	3	-

Bowling

Player	Mat	Ovr	Runs	Wkts	Avg	Econ	5WI	10WM	Best
Mark Alleyne	4	109	307	10	30.70	2.8	-	-	2/27
Mike Atherton	51	144	500	13	38.46	3.9	-	-	3/32
Rob Bailey	15	43	175	2	87.50	4.1	-	-	1/0
Martin Bicknell	4	191	469	11	42.63	2.5	-	-	3/72
Richard Blakey	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Botham (RET)	108	3779	11223	400	28.13	3.0	27	4	8/34
Mark Butcher	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Andy Caddick	17	733	1980	62	31.94	2.7	2	-	7/53
David Capel (RET)	11	209	628	12	52.33	3.0	-	-	2/13
Glen Chapple	3	128	398	6	66.33	3.1	-	-	3/99
Dominic Cork	14	522	1492	39	38.26	2.9	-	-	4/138
John Crawley	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Robert Croft	3	77	252	5	50.40	3.3	-	-	2/74
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	-	-	-
Neil Foster (RET)	39	1451	3902	115	33.93	2.7	5	1	8/107
Angus Fraser	57	2333	5722	174	32.88	2.5	5	-	6/68
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	18	720	1950	48	40.62	2.7	2	-	5/50
David Gower (RET)	124	6	20	1	20.00	3.3	-	-	1/1
Dean Headley	4	163	359	13	27.62	2.0	-	-	4/24
Eddie Hemmings (RET)	13	513	1454	31	46.90	2.8	-	-	4/90
Graeme Hick	61	192	631	13	48.54	3.3	-	-	3/38
Nasser Hussain	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Igglesden	1	37	146	3	48.67	3.9	-	-	2/91
Mark Ilott	1	38	127	1	127.00	3.3	-	-	1/106
Paul Jarvis	10	359	1069	26	41.12	3.0	-	-	4/50
Richard Johnson	1	44	155	0	-	3.5	-	-	-
Nick Knight	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Allan Lamb (RET)	60	5	23	1	23.00	4.6	-	-	1/6
Wayne Larkins (RET)	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Syd Lawrence	2	68	223	4	55.75	3.3	-	-	2/74
Chris Lewis	56	1580	4266	123	34.68	2.7	1	-	6/70
Devon Malcolm	37	1292	4195	137	30.62	3.2	6	-	7/86
Matt Maynard	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alan Mullally	5	213	519	22	23.59	2.4	1	-	6/94
Phil Newport	2	92	339	9	37.66	3.7	-	-	4/87
Derek Pringle (RET)	21	625	1807	48	37.64	2.9	2	-	5/95
Mark Ramprakash	17	1	2	0	-	2.0	-	-	-
Dermot Reeve	1	14	39	0	-	2.8	-	-	-
Tim Robinson (RET)	41	1	0	0	-	0.0	-	-	-
Jack Russell	80	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ian Salisbury	1	13	76	0	-	5.9	-	-	-
Gladstone Small (RET)	20	784	1980	60	33.00	2.5	3	-	5/48
Robin Smith	79	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Alec Stewart	54	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Peter Such	12	572	1669	50	33.38	2.9	2	-	8/47
Graham Thorpe	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Phil Tufnell	63	2973	8635	310	27.85	2.8	24	5	8/114
Steve Watkin	2	64	223	5	44.60	3.5	1	-	5/56
Craig White	5	185	449	29	15.48	2.4	1	-	7/63

​

And at last, here are the updated rankings, stats and records. We've managed to stretch our legs a little at the top of the world rankings, but knowing the future as I do I also know that we won't get another shot at the Bannerman Shield until the last series of the 2000s. When that time comes around, we'll need to make it count.

Also, the now-31 year old Phil Tufnell has become England's third-highest all-time wicket-taker which is quite the achievement. It will certainly be interesting to see how much longer he can keep that kind of form going. If he can keep going until he's played 100 or more Tests then he could become the first Englishman to 500 Test wickets.

I'm also going to have Robin Smith retire from international cricket after the Ashes to focus on his business interests and on the Hampshire captaincy.

 

[Aislabie]

Australia Tour of England, 1997

Itinerary
05 Jun 1997 - England vs Australia - First Test at Edgbaston - Australia won by 5 wickets
19 Jun 1997 - England vs Australia - Second Test at Lord's - Australia won by 8 wickets
03 Jul 1997 - England vs Australia - Third Test at Old Trafford - England won by 2 wickets
24 Jul 1997 - England vs Australia - Fourth Test at Headingley - England won by 32 runs
07 Aug 1997 - England vs Australia - Fifth Test at The Oval - Match drawn


England Squad

Graeme Hick

Mike Atherton
Nasser Hussain
Nick Knight
Robin Smith
Alec Stewart
Graham Thorpe

Jack Russell

Robert Croft
Ben Hollioake
Craig White

Andy Caddick
Angus Fraser
Darren Gough
Dean Headley
Devon Malcolm
Alan Mullally

Phil Tufnell

After a hugely successful winter that included the Bothamesque emergence of Craig White (whose averages after five Tests are 67.40 / 15.48), English fans were treated to the second such emergence of a potentially generational talent in what felt like no time at all: Ben Hollioake delivered a one-day international debut that will be talked about for years, and has been drafted into the Test squad as a result. He is the only uncapped player in it; the only other change is that Angus Fraser returns in place of reserve 'keeper Richard Blakey, whose contingency role will be taken on by Alec Stewart if Russell runs into difficulty.

Additionally, Robin Smith has confirmed that this will be his last Test series, as he seeks to focus more on his recent appointment as captain of Hampshire, as well as some business interests outside the game.

 

[ddrap14]

English fans were treated to the second such emergence of a potentially generational talent in what felt like no time at all: Ben Hollioake delivered a one-day international debut that will be talked about for years, and has been drafted into the Test squad as a result.

I should ask: what is your plan with Ben in this game? We all know the sad story in real life...