Defending Chris Tavaré

It's easy to mock. It really is. Take a glance back at a lot of things from the past and the natural reaction is to pour scorn. The Sinclair C5, SodaStream, three channels on British TV, no overnight television, and the national anthem played at closedown. Pound notes. Pah, what a bunch of losers those dinosaurs were in the 80s.

Admittedly some of these things earned derision at the time. But it really is not fair to look back at all our yesterdays through a lens that is obscured by what we live through today. Which is a roundabout way of me attempting to defend an English cricketer of the past that, shall we say, maybe might not have fitted in too well with this brave new world of Bazball that we see today.

But then again, perhaps Christopher James Tavaré would have thrived in an environment where you are allowed to express yourself. The tall, slender-built batsmen was sometimes known to go on the offensive, relatively speaking, for Kent. Yet it remains his determined efforts for England that live long in the memory. As the excellent Gideon Haigh put it when discussing Tavaré, "his name translates into Australian as a very British brand of obduracy". The examples below go a long way to explaining why.

West Indies, Lord's, 1980

Facing the formidable West Indian team of the 1980s was a daunting prospect. Tavaré made his debut against a bowling attack of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner, and there was little respite in his second Test at Lord's, as Marshall made way for Colin Croft. Good luck facing that lot as you try and make the step up from county level.

England won the toss at Lord's and after deciding to bat Tavaré came to the crease with England 20/1 after Holding had dismissed Geoff Boycott. Sharing in a second wicket partnership of 145 with Graham Gooch, Tavaré helped to steady the ship and justify skipper Ian Botham's decision to bat first. Tavaré's 42 took 294 minutes and he faced 202 balls (strike rate 20.79). But all his efforts were wasted.

When he was finally removed, England were 220/5 on their way to an under par 269. The West Indies replied with 518 but eight hours lost due to bad weather helped their cause. At the end, Tavaré was 6 not out in the second innings, a 40-ball effort lasting 50 minutes. In just his second Test, Tavaré was demonstrating that he had the taste for the role.

Australia, Old Trafford, 1981

Everyone remembers Ian Botham's heroics in the 1981 Ashes. Yet without the key contributions from Bob Willis and Graham Dilley there would have been no Headingley miracle, and an argument can be made that the role of Tavaré was just as crucial at Old Trafford. Batting for a total of 710 minutes in the Test, Tavaré scored 147 runs across the two innings, in England's 107-run victory.

His 69 out of a total of 231 in the first innings proved critical when Australia replied with 130, but it would be his second innings contribution that kept England on top. England were 104/5 when Ian Botham came to the crease. The pair would put on 149 for the sixth wicket, with Botham contributing 118 runs. "When the hare runs, forget not the tortoise," Robin Marlar wrote in the Sunday Times.

Tavaré may have scored the slowest Test 50 in England - 310 minutes, although he would later break his own record - but Botham, writing in Don't Tell Kath. underlined his value to the team. "He stuck to his task brilliantly and, no matter what his critics said, there were never any complaints from inside the dressing room." Tavaré's 78 in a little under seven hours gave Beefy license to thrill. When required, Tavaré delivered just as much as the hero of the summer.

India, Madras, 1981/82

Opening the batting in the fifth Test of the India series, Tavaré had apparently been told by captain Keith Fletcher to bat for 2½ days if he wanted to, as England replied to India's 481/4 declared. At one point it looked as if England's opener was about to oblige his skipper. For 332 minutes Tavaré stood firm, scoring just 35 runs from 240 balls (strike rate 14.58) as the match drifted to an inevitable draw.

In one session before lunch, Tavaré scored just nine runs. "When he was out it was just about the most surprising moment of the tour," Frank Keating noted in the Guardian. "He is upright, quiet and solemn in all he does. He is especially upright, quiet and solemn at the crease, I'm telling you."

Threatening the slowest ever 50, Tavaré did at least wrest the record for slowest 30 from Ken "Slasher" Mackay. There was no chance of Tavaré earning such an ironic nickname in one of the dullest Test series of all time.

Pakistan, Lord's, 1982

Following on against Pakistan at Lord's, opener Tavaré settled in for bed and breakfast, batting for 406 minutes in a vain attempt to save the Test. Scoring 82 from 277 balls (strike rate 29.60), it took Tavaré 67 minutes to get off the mark, and in an innings where he went another hour without scoring, his 50 was the second slowest in Test history. Tavaré's 350-minute half century just missed out on breaking Trevor Bailey's 357-minute mark.

It may not have been pretty, yet for a while it looked as if Tavaré and an unusually restrained Botham may have been edging England to safety. Alas it wasn't to be. Pakistan won their first Test at Lord's, winning by ten wickets.

"It has become almost fashionable to berate Chris Tavaré for his slow scoring in the Cornhill Test matches this summer," wrote Henry Blofeld in the Guardian. "But it does not take much imagination to see what would have happened to England if it had not been for his second innings at Lord's." Quite.

Australia, Perth, 1982/83

The first Ashes Test of the 1982/83 series is probably best remembered for Terry Alderman dislocating his shoulder in attempting to tackle a pitch invader. But before that sore moment, Tavaré made sure that Australian captain Greg Chappell would regret inserting England. Tavaré scored 89 from 337 balls (strike rate 26.40) in 466 minutes. He would spend a full 90 minutes with his score on 66.

There was more to come. He may have scored just 9 in England's second knock, but it would take Tavaré 63 minutes to score his first run in a painstaking innings that would last over two hours (his strike rate of 10.97 is truly delicious). And at least, after a scare, England managed to leave Perth with a draw.

Tavaré would later prove that there was a different side to him in the series. Scoring 89 in 165 balls (strike rate 53.93) at Melbourne, Tavaré played a key role in England's joyous three-run win. He even provided an assist for the dramatic catch that clinched the nail-biting triumph.

Sri Lanka, Lord's, 1984

If most of this piece has been trying to argue a case for the defence of Tavaré, then this final section does little to aid the argument. Replying to Sri Lanka's 491/7 declared, Tavaré partnered by Chris Broad proceeded to bore the Saturday crowd at the home of cricket. With England fans, and possibly lovers of the sport in general, booing, jeering and slow handclapping through a partnership of 56 runs in 31 overs, this was not a great advert for Test cricket.

"I sympathise with the crowd," England skipper David Gower stated. "It is not enjoyable playing like that, so it can't be enjoyable watching it." Tavaré scored a painful 14 runs in 138 minutes, facing 95 balls (strike rate 14.73). It was abject. "Tavaré managed to bat himself out of the England side," England wicketkeeper Paul Downton later revealed. "It was his last Test for five years and he couldn't get it off the square."

Like most Englishmen playing county cricket in 1989, Tavaré did earn a call-up for an Ashes Test that summer. But his two runs at Edgbaston signalled the end of his international career. An average of 32.50 from his 25 Tests is not too shabby, but it is probably the 5735 balls faced that he will mostly be remembered for. And all those minutes spent at the crease. His name may stir up memories of boring batting, even by the standards of the time. But let's not underestimate his value to the team in an era where the words England and collapse went hand in hand.