England from 526 to 1000.

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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Wed Mar 27, 2019 12:43 pm

sussexpob wrote:
Arthur Crabtree wrote:Well remembered point about Mark Taylor, that was a big talking point going into the series. And good point about the Texaco Trophy performances which bore the notions of a fresh start and hope. But Australia had actually won in WI a couple of years before which represented the beginning of a new epoch for the game. My recollection was that there was more hope about Aussie weaknesses going into 2005. There was always some delusional optimism going into every Ashes series back when they used to win every time.


I wouldnt say it was Aussie weakness in 2005, more England felt they had a team that had improved enough to compete at home with Australia. In 1997, it felt the Australia team just werent that good, and could be exploited..... in 2005, they had a magnificent team, far better imo, but England had players who were playing at a top level, and prospects coming off the belt that had something about them. England in 2005 were peaking.

Of course though, you are 100% correct in the comment about delusion. In 1999 we expected to compete (and tbf, it wasnt a disasterous tour, we could have drawn all the way to the last day).....I think the main one was in 2001 though, there seemed a very misguided idea that England were ready in that series to compete with Australia due to Caddick and Goughs home seasons in 2000 (they were unplayable against bad opposition) and the Fletcher era bringing with it a more solid batting outlook...... that felt like the most stinging of the Ashes series to take pre whitewash. Australia were world class, but we were a much better team that we performed. 2003 away came with expectation, but not personally..... I think at the time I largely agreed with McGrath's bi-annual 5-0 prediction.


There were a few games where Gilchrist had kept them alive going into 2005 and I think there was an unconvincing display that winter v NZ. I suppose my memories are shaded by what actually happened.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Tue May 07, 2019 9:12 am

July 23-27 1998 at Trent Bridge. England beat South Africa at Trent Bridge.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/1593 ... gland-1998

Cricket is a sport where the diversions often overwhelm the spectacle. And there are the great moments when the punters and critics are collectively shaken from the dream by a spontaneous drama on the field and the sense of this sudden awakening is palpable to the observer. A famous moment in this category was the thrilling contest between Mike Atherton and Allan Donald on a Sunday afternoon in Nottingham in 1998. South Africa were 1-0 up in the series having won at Lord's but failed to turn an overwhelming advantage into a win at Old Trafford when England clung onto a draw with nine wickets down as Robert Croft batted unbeaten for over three hours on the final day.

At Trent Bridge, South Africa's huge advantage from the midpoint of the of the series, their 369 run first innings lead in Manchester, was threatening to slip away. The tourists had set England 247 to win after some excellent bowling from Angus Fraser and Dominic Cork. Mark Butcher and Atherton made a decent start and Nasser Hussain was in the process of winning the game with Atherton in a stand that would ultimately see England to within 55 runs of victory. As the game slipped away, Donald sought to seize the moment with a thrilling spell of hostile pace bowling in which he seemed to give the illusion of his whole body inflating with the passion of his astonishing effort, to the point of explosion. Which Atherton faced down with courage and skill....

... Which Atherton magnificently resisted. And that's the way I told it for many years. Now, I tend to think it was Allan Donald who was the victor. Now, I think life is a performance, not a race and sometimes the loser walks away with the greater honour from the encounter. Of course, Donald did get Atherton out only to be shafted by Steve Dunne, the umpire. And his spell was unforgettably transformative, conjured out of the torpor of a game drifting away on a good batting pitch. Today, I am more moved by the moment when Donald did actually seem to explode, when the ardour of his labour seemed to escape in a final fury and leave him beaten, yet superbly gallant. This was when Mark Boucher dropped Nasser Hussain shortly after Atherton's escape and Donald was instantly consumed in the fire of his competitiveness. He screamed as magnificently as Marlon Brando at the bottom of the fire escape in A Streetcar named Desire.

Hussain was dismissed by Donald shortly afterwards, but it was collateral damage. Atherton v Donald was the thing, as the Englishman, nearing the conclusion of his career, fettered by back pain, sought to survive the whirlwind of Donald's round the wicket bodyline.

The moment was enhanced even more when after a few minutes, Donald descended from the summit of his fury and apologised to Boucher for his reaction to the drop and shook his hand. Which is the incident I now remember more readily than any other.

There was anticlimax the next morning when Alec Stewart stroked the ball around the boundary to win the game and leave Atherton unbeaten on 98. The Test had reached a zenith the afternoon before and the conflict between a former England captain, survivor of the draw at Johannesburg, and a great South African pace bowler elevated the Test to a niche among the legends.

England won again at Headingley in another thriller to take the series 2-1, though the victory remains tainted by the umpiring of Javed Atkhar which hugely decided the outcome of a game England won by only 23 runs. In retrospect, the series win was an anomaly, coming between a defeat in the West Indies and another Ashes loss, and only a year away from being ranked the worst Test side.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Tue May 07, 2019 12:02 pm

Next time- England's only win from 1999.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby sussexpob » Tue May 07, 2019 3:27 pm

I once met Jonty Rhodes at WTM some years back, and we ended up talking about this series for a bit, after I told him I remembered his 100 at Lords in difficult conditions being one of the best innings I have seen live. He remarked that he finds it surprising that so many people forget about the 5th test, but remember the 4th; as while Donald and Atherton's battle was seen as the type of moment that almost defines what we love about sport, he said that for the players involved in the series from both teams, the 5th test was essentially a replay of that moment over the best part of 5 days. He said both teams were on their knees through the final test, and that tempers were frayed.

I actually looked up about it after the conversation, and he had a good point; much is forgotten about that Headingley test. Mark Butcher was racial abused by Mark Boucher, and as Rhodes and McMillan threatened to take South Africa from certain defeat to glorious victory with a 130 partnership in a target of only 219 (although they came to the crease together at 20-5), Mark Ramprakash apparently began religiously abusing the devout Christian Rhodes, and Dominic Cork unleashed a torrent of abuse at McMillan; McMillan, who is credited by Allan Donald as the hardest guy he ever met, was reduced to a 1000 yard stare and was mentally exhausted by it all (Donald sums it up excellently by saying McMillan, with no hint of irony, was in such a bad way he couldnt bring himself to drink a beer). McMillan did however apparently try to hunt Cork down after the end of the test to pound ten bells of shite out of him, but I believe Cork was very good at hide and seek, much to his credit. Donald says after the test he was so tired, he couldnt move for 30 minutes, and that the bowling he'd had to get through had left his feet in bloody tatters. South Africa were in such a bad state after the tour (and 16 tests in a year!!!), the board paid their full series win bonus for the effort, despite losing.

On the English side, Atherton says it was the toughest game he'd ever played in. He ended up in hospital with stomach cramps. Darren Gough famously had to pull up on the M1 on the way home from day 4 to projectile vomit out his car window. Angus Fraser's was off the field receiving more cortisone than most countries get through. Cork's fiery bouncer spell on day 4 left him incapable of bowling after at the tail, he was physically exhausted. Flintoff had pulled up with a muscle problem.....

In fact, England's "sportsmanship" may have won the series in the end. Cronje, seeing the England troops wilting before his eyes, sent out a message to the umpires that he wanted to take the extra overs on offer to finish the match that night. Stewart, knowing he was essentially left with having to bowl two part-timers because all his bowling options were incapable of anything else, instructed his team to leave the field and not look back until they reached the dressing room...... so while the umpires came to each other to discuss the extra half an hour being taken, and by the time theyd offered it to the batsman, England had buggered off... by which point they called stumps, much to the South African's displeasure. Gough says he only able to bowl the next day on the adrenaline of the moment, and Gus Fraser had been given enough pain meds to get him through the first half hour.... it was all they needed.

One point to note, AC..... no team was the beneficiary of umpires in the 5th test, both got extremely questionable decisions..... the sheer amount was shocking. I believe the 4th test was different, with England getting a clear balance, but I remember Wisden doing a "questionable call" summary of the series, and for the last two tests, about 1/2 of the decisions were deemed very probably wrong. Akhtar was investigated as part of the match fixing stuff that blew up the following year, but it turned out he was just useless. There are South Africans who say he messed up a clear decision which cost England a victory in the 1999 WC v Zimbabwe.. which meant England didnt qualify.... which meant South Africa didnt get the extra win that would have elevated them above Australia on Super Six standing.... which knocked out South Africa.

Even when he wasnt near the South African team, he screwed them
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby sussexpob » Tue May 07, 2019 4:15 pm

As for the 4th test.....I couldnt put it as eloquently as yourself, a very nice read! You need to write more, you have a knack for it!
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Tue May 07, 2019 6:17 pm

Great info above Sussex, and thanks for the kind comment.

Looking through the games played each year, it is noticable how few games were played each year. But in 1998, England suddenly played 16 games (same as SA). The numbers suddenly shot up. I think seven Test summers can't be far away now.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby sussexpob » Tue May 07, 2019 8:13 pm

It was the Aussies fault! They were awarded the 1991 World Cup to stage, but rather stupidly overlooked the fact that the tournament needed to occur inside the calendar year specified, and not the season 1991-92. The ICC found out I think well past the point plans were already at advanced stages, and the dual award for the 1996 WC had already been made by then, so neither could be changed.

The 1999 World Cup was changed back to the original 4 year slot, and as a consequence I believe a lot of other cricket had to be moved around, as most teams had arranged games thinking the tournament took place in 2000. SO 1998 and 2000 were very busy years for teams.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Fri Jun 14, 2019 9:52 am

July 1-3, 1999 at Edgbaston. England beat new Zealand by 7 wickets.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/1581 ... gland-1999

Looking back for positives in the portentous year of 1999 feels like an exercise in neurotic optimism. Cheer up fella, it might never happen. English cricket got its millennium bug in early as Nasser Hussain's side lost at home to New Zealand, a low which is now regarded as a year zero. This is when England were unofficially ranked worst side in the world, for the first time.

England played New Zealand in the only home Test series of a World Cup summer, in which England failed to qualify for the super sixes, squeezed out of their group by Zimbabwe. The miasma that engulfed English cricket was suffocating. The national summer sport still had a high enough profile for every comedian in the country, however dreadful, to use as a punchline. And the nation groaned in recognition.

There was little appetite across the country for the Test side to do well. Everyone just wanted to stick the knife in. What we all remember England's victory in Birmingham for is Alex Tudor being stranded on 99 as England chased down an unlikely 209 to win. Graham Thorpe had never been unambiguously popular in English cricket at this point, and he was blamed for potentially destroying Tudor's future career by finishing the game off before he could reach three figures.

It was crazy, and Tudor said Thorpe gave him the option of reaching his ton but believed they should finish the game off without delay or diversion. English cricket's entourage was in no mood for mitigation. They castigated Thorpe and have never forgiven him. England lost the series 2-1, outbowled by the Kiwi paceman and humiliated by Chris Cairn's slower ball. In a wet, grey summer, no home batter went past (or near) Tudor's 99. Horne, Astle and McMillan all passed 100 for the tourists, and their quicks ,Nash and Cairns, were dominant with the ball. The England side, led by Nasser Hussain, was heckled on the balcony at the Oval.

It felt like something had to change, and soon, or English cricket was finished. Four months later England were 2-4 in Johannesburg when Michael Vaughan on his debut joined Chris Adams at the crease.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Fri Jun 14, 2019 9:56 am

Coming up next, England win six times in a year, including one of their all time greatest victories.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Sat Aug 10, 2019 11:45 am

December 7-11 2000, England won by six wickets in the National Stadium, Karachi.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/156 ... an-2000-01

After the profound depths of 1999, optimism returned with a surge in 2000. England won a dead rubber at the end of a series in South Africa, and few yet knew that the match was corrupt and its purpose to deliver a stuffed brown envelope and a leather jacket to home captain Hansie Cronje. It felt more relevant that Michael Vaughan looked so classy in the successful run chase. At home, England won the series against Zimbabwe, which was at least more than they managed under David Lloyd, even if they did draw in a rainy Nottingham.

England went on to beat the West Indies in a series for the first time in 31 years. Under Duncan Fletcher, the pace attack of Caddick, Gough, Cork and White began to look like more than the sum of its parts. Marcus Trescothick made his debut and led the run scoring with Michael Atherton (who enjoyed a mid career renaissance around the millennium). Michael Vaughan played his first home Test summer. Nasser Hussain was skipper. In Pakistan that winter, Ashley Giles was recalled to add to his lone cap two years earlier. No doubt a journeyman and unheralded by England's own supporters, but there was at least a thought process going on in his selection. And it was ultimately a decision that paid off, at least in the currency of cricketing folk memory.

That England were to draw the first two Tests in Pakistan was astonishing. That they then went on to win the series in Karachi is the stuff of legend and England's greatest overseas coup since Kingston a decade earlier. This was a strong Pakistan side which had dominated England for years. They had Inzi, Moyo, Saeed Anwar, Saqlain (who took 18 wickets) and Mushtaq Ahmed, and the two Ws and they prepared slow pitches that suited attritional cricket. It was England's second ever series win there, their first for 39 years and their first home or away against Pakistan for 18 years.

Ashley Giles took 17 wickets in the series and was well supported by the reverse swing of Darren Gough and Craig White. But what we really remember Karachi for is the beginning of the chronicle of Graham Thorpe from mistrusted underachiever to England batting great. In many of those moments when crisis turned to victory in the toughest of circumstances, Thorpe was invariably present, crouching low over his bat, furrowed of brow, a bit of the classic cigarette card about his floppy hair and square jaw. He had batted long over the series to that point. We see him in Karachi hunting down a tricky run chase, which was his vocation, the whole series coming down to the last two sessions, inside edging for two with the light long gone as the Pakistan side sought to run the clock down. Sixty four unbeaten (adding 90 with Graeme Hick) and it was a youtube classic.

This was Pakistan's first ever loss in Karachi and even now only one of a pair. They were left to lament the umpires playing on in bad light rather than the defensiveness of their own strategy. For England it was a huge boost to their confidence. It was a series win they fought so hard for over all three Tests, and would prove a turning point in their history.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Fri Oct 25, 2019 1:07 pm

March 15-17, 2001 England beat Sri Lanka by four wickets at the SCC, Colombo.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/155 ... ka-2000-01

A recent poll of the best England performances of the last 50 years overlooked Graham Thorpe's colossal achievement in the extreme heat of Sri Lanka in 2001, which saw England complete a recovery from 1-0 down to win the series 2-1. This feels of a pair with the victory in Karachi a few months earlier, because England again won in a thrilling finish, overcoming spin friendly conditions where they were expected to obligingly submit against opposition who had dominated them in recent times. And because Graham Thorpe was so prominent.

England were so spooked by the prospect of facing Muttiah Muralitharan on his home pitches that it easy to forget that they had only played two Tests against him before this series, one of them eight years earlier. Though he had taken 16 wickets in his last game against them at the Oval in 1998. The SSC curated a big spinning pitch where batting became so problematic, that after Thorpe walked off following his magnificent unbeaten 113 to see England to an eight run lead, he was batting again only 36 overs later. He had been suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion in the dressing room, reportedly on a drip, but was sent out again with England at 22-2 chasing 74 to win. Thorpe's 32 saw England there with only four wickets in hand, defeating dreadful pitch conditions, Muralitharan, and yes that intimidating heat to get there.

This innings deserves to be remembered as the English version of Dean Jones' epic in Chennai. The physical endurance was not so great, but the conditions far worse. Yet for some reason it lacks popular cachet, maybe because it was away from home. The England win made long standing supporters of the national side believe they had turned a corner in their fortunes, an impression not at all tarnished by that summer's Ashes defeat. As in Karachi earlier that winter, this was one of England's greatest ever wins, and Thorpe, after being distrusted by previous England coaches for want of fortitude, proved himself the key player in the resurgence of the national side in the early part of Duncan Fletcher's time as coach.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby sussexpob » Fri Oct 25, 2019 2:04 pm

We discussed this when the said poll came out, but the 32* out in the second dig would be very high up on the list of achievements on its own, such was the state of that game. The pitch was as bad as you could get without a game being called unsafe, against the best spin bowler of all time, at a venue he historically performed to unbelievable levels.

Had Thorpe knicked off quickly, England would have almost certainly been bowled out for 50
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Sun May 10, 2020 12:22 pm

March 13-16, 2002, England beat New Zealand by 98 runs at Lancaster Park, Christchurch.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/153 ... nd-2001-02

It is convenient for advocates of England's renaissance under Duncan Fletcher to disregard 2002, a year when England drew in New Zealand and at home to India, beat Sri Lanka at home before going on to lose the Ashes again. After the epochal wins in Asia the previous winter, there was mainly the familiar glory in defeat to be had as Michael Vaughan exhibited his prodigious elegance in a huge 4-1 Ashes thrashing.

There was mitigation. Fletcher was transforming the team he inherited from David Lloyd into a younger side that would go on to win greater glory. And the injuries suffered during the tour of Australia were surely unprecedented. One game, a curiosity in the history of international cricket, stands out in this year of metamorphosis. The Test in Christchurch where first Graham Thorpe and then Nathan Astle slugged out a pair of double hundreds like a pair of pugnacious welterweights. On the undercard was a century from Nasser Hussain when the batting was hazardous (the next best score was Mark Ramprakash's 31). And Andrew Flintoff's 137 in three and a half hours batting with Thorpe. Together they added 281 in 51 overs with England in trouble as the pitch went to sleep.

There were wickets for Matthew Hoggard in the first innings on a greentop, and for Andrew Caddick in the second on a road. But we remember the Test for Thorpe and Astle. In February of 2002, Adam Gilchrist had scored the fastest double ton ever, against South Africa. In Christchurch, Thorpe took second place, taking nineteen more deliveries. Chasing an unlikely 550 to win, Nathan Astle shattered Gilchrist's record by 41 balls and fell to Caddick for 222 off 168 to end the game. It is still the record by a distance. Astle won his statistical bout with Thorpe, but England won the Test.

Over the next few years, many double centurions matched or surpassed Gilchrist's rate of scoring. In the Test at Lancaster Park, and at times across the noughties, it felt that cricket was broken. The balance between the ball and the bat that the game relies on had become faulty. By making the game move along ever faster, paradoxically, the game became less interesting.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Sun May 10, 2020 12:34 pm

I notice Cairns was batting at 11 for NZ, and (batting within himself) supported Astle to add 118 in 15 overs. I presume Cairns had been injured. Can't remember that.
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Re: England from 526 to 1000.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Mon May 11, 2020 10:59 pm

Might be tough to pick a game from 2003.
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