A year is a long time in English cricket. Take the end of the 20th century as a prime example of the fluctuating fortunes of the national team. In the summer of 1998, England celebrated a rare five-Test series victory over South Africa. A year later, new skipper Nasser Hussain was being booed on the balcony at the Oval after losing to New Zealand.
That series defeat against the Kiwis saw England sink to the bottom of the unofficial world standings. Fast forward a year and Hussain was being soaked in champagne at the same ground as England won the Wisden Trophy against the West Indies for the first time since 1969. You never quite knew what to expect from the English cricket team from one summer to the next.
Another exhibit in this particular gallery would be the summer of 1986. As the Mexico World Cup grabbed the attention of the sporting public, and Boris Becker defended his Wimbledon crown, England's Test team were plumbing new depths. The glory of the 1985 Ashes series seemed a lifetime ago.
That Ashes win achieved under David Gower had led some to believe that the winter series in the Caribbean could be an evenly matched contest between two of the best teams in the world. File that under misplaced confidence. England were crushed 5-0, and the pressure on Gower started to crank up.
He may have led England to a series win in India in 1984/85, but failure to win the home against the same team would inevitably lead to questions about Gower's future as captain. When England lost the first Test at Lord's, the axe fell. Mike Gatting would be the next man charged with reviving the English patient.
Gatting had enjoyed a fruitful period in the England team since being appointed as vice-captain by Gower prior to the India tour in 1984, averaging 79.85 in the twelve Tests that he had held the senior role. But it looked like Gatting faced a thankless task in turning the ship around. Six consecutive Test defeats, key players missing, and selectorial chaos were hardly the ideal ingredients for success.
In total England made five changes for the second Test at Headingley, deckchairs shuffled sufficiently for the new captain of the Titanic. With Gower ruled out due to a shoulder injury, Hampshire's Chris Smith came into the team for his first Test match in two years. Four other Ashes winners from the previous year were also dropped.
The exclusion of spinner Phil Edmonds was understandable, although the selection of 37-year-old John Lever wreaked of desperation. A "horses for courses" choice, Lever had not played Test cricket for almost five years, although he would take six wickets in his comeback. Another player returning after a five year absence was Bill Athey, as England's selectors frantically scanned the country for ways to bolster the batting.
Tim Robinson and Richard Ellison were also dropped, a fall from grace for two of England's heroes during the 1985 Ashes triumph, with wicketkeeper Bruce French handed a debut in place of Paul Downton. It was little wonder that the banned Ian Botham referred to England's selectors as "gin-slinging dodderers," as the revolving door policy continued.
Botham may have been beyond his peak, yet his drug-related absence hurt the balance of the team. At Lord's, Derek Pringle batted at number six, surely one position too high, hence the recall for Athey. This resulted in Gatting having four frontline bowlers in his XI, plus part-time bowling from Gooch. Replacing Beefy was not just an issue for England post-1992.
India's main concerns were back injuries to batsman Mohinder Amarnath and seamer Chetan Sharma, who had both played key parts in the win at Lord's. When Sharma failed a fitness test, his place was surprisingly taken by 35-year-old Madan Lal, a player who had not made the original touring party and had been plying his trade at Lancashire League club Ashton-under-Lyne. Reserve wicketkeeper Chandrakant Pandit made his debut in place of Amarnath.
Indian skipper Kapil Dev had little hesitation on batting first after winning the toss, the pitch expected to deteriorate throughout and make batting last a less than enticing prospect. Putting on 64 for the first wicket, openers Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth were untroubled. But Pringle removed both, before Ravi Shastri and Dilip Vengsarkar steadied the ship.
At 203/4, India looked in a strong position after tea. But when Lever dismissed Vengsarkar (61) and Dev in consecutive deliveries, and Pandit and Roger Binny followed soon afterwards, India had slumped to 213/8 in a rare high moment for England supporters in a summer to forget.
Closing on 235/8, India would strengthen their position in taking their score up to 272 on the following morning, with Kiran More's unbeaten 36 a crucial contribution. The highlight of England's day would be a fine piece of footballing skill from Gooch at second slip, his neat footwork resulting in a catch after he had originally dropped Maninder Singh.
Gooch's training at West Ham had obviously paid off, yet not everyone was so enamoured with aspects of football creeping into the sport. When a Mexican Wave broke out around the ground just before Mohammad Azharuddin was dismissed in India's second innings, the Guardian's Matthew Engel made his feelings clear.
"So far as I know this was the wave's first manifestation in English cricket. I fear it will not be the last. Mass hysteria and Yorkshire bitter took over, and large chunks of the crowd kept at it ad nauseum. For once, it was reassuring to remember how resistant everyone at Lord's is to any new idea."
However, you could hardly blame the spectators for trying to entertain themselves. England's innings was a crushing experience, possibly a new low in a year where that particular bar was seemingly being adjusted every match. Dismissed for just 102 in 45.1 overs, Binny (5/40) and Lal (3/18) tore England's new regime apart.
Lal removed new opener Wilf Slack for a duck, and Smith shortly afterwards, with Dev removing Gooch in between as England slumped to 14/3. Either side of lunch, both Gatting and Allan Lamb were out to loose strokes, and England scraped past the follow-on mark with eight wickets down. Only Athey (32) and Graham Dilley (10 in an hour at the crease) provided any resistance in a spineless display.
"We expected more opposition from England in this series," India tour manager Raj Singh stated. "I don't know if they are still suffering from their defeats in the West Indies, but it is a fact that we have batted, bowled and fielded better than England." There were only three things wrong with this England team....
In fairness, England did fight back, reducing India to 70/5 at the end of day two. But with the tourists already 240 in front, expectations were low for the Saturday crowd. English fans were cheered briefly as Slack took a flying catch to remove More, but it was another day of woe.
Vengsarkar anchored the innings, his unbeaten 102 a superb knock that matched England's total. Strong support from the mid/lower order helped India to 237. England needed 408 to win. Hope had left the ground and gone to the pub early.
At one point on the Saturday, India accidentally had 12 men on the field during England's innings, as 12th man Raman Lamba forgot to leave when Srikkanth returned. The visitors probably could have gone down to ten men and it would not have mattered. England closed day three on 90/6, spinner Maninder Singh claiming two late wickets to add salt to England wounds.
"Hopes that England would be revived by a more vigorous captain in Mike Gatting have so far proved fond and foolish," Scyld Berry wrote in the Observer after the Saturday. "The problem is there is no confidence or self belief in this side," Paul Weaver added in the Mirror. England losing to Argentina at the hand and feet of Diego Maradona did little to lift the gloom surrounding English sport.
It took a little over an hour to confirm India's series win on the Monday morning. Gatting stood firm for his unbeaten 31, but England could only limp to 128, defeated by a whopping 279 runs. During a Test favouring the bowlers, Vengsarkar was the only batsmen to pass 50 (twice), his total of 163 runs deservedly seeing him land the man of the match award.
The inquest commenced as soon as the match ended. Chairman of selectors Peter May bemoaned the lack of Gower and Botham, complained about the growth of one day cricket, and requested that England's players "get back to the basics of bowling a length and batting properly." Yet many laid the blame at the door of the man who was overseeing the crazy selection policy.
Journalists threw names into the hat for May's next selection meeting, as Robert Bailey, Robin Smith, Chris Tavare, and even 43-year-old Dennis Amiss were mentioned. In the end, England made only five changes for the next Test at Edgbaston, meaning that a total of 19 players had been selected in the three match series.
When New Zealand won their first Test series in England later on in the summer, those of us still watching could have been forgiven for deserting the sinking ship. The main highlights of that summer would often be during rain breaks, with a chance to watch repeats of the 1981 Ashes, before being brought back to reality. If only I had been born five years earlier.
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