1986: England v India Second Test

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.

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.

1983 Cricket World Cup: Kapil Dev turns the tide

Kapil Dev wasn’t quite walking into the last chance saloon as he made his way to the middle of the Nevill Ground at Tunbridge Wells on Saturday June 18, 1983. But India’s World Cup campaign had definitely reached a crossroads. India were 9/4 when Dev arrived at the crease; sadly, for supporters of the national team, that was what the scorecard read, rather than the odds on an Indian victory.

1986: The tied Test

Australia will soon be touring India to take part in a four Test series, but it is hard to imagine any of their matches being quite as dramatic and exciting as the 1986 Madras Test.

1984/85: England in India

This piece is a shortened version of my previous blogs on England's tour to India in 1984/85, which can be found here and here.

1982: England v India - Ian Botham 208

Ben Stokes recently set a new English record for the fastest double century in Test cricket, so this week I am taking a look back at the previous record set in 1982 by Ian Botham.  

1987 Cricket World Cup: Best performances

Following on from my recent piece on the top performances at the 1983 World Cup, this week I am looking back at the 1987 tournament. Featuring a typical one day innings from Allan Lamb, a superb knock in a losing cause by Dave Houghton, some explosive hitting from Viv Richards, top semi-final displays from Craig McDermott and Graham Gooch, and a contribution in the final that perhaps should get a bit more credit than it deserves.

1983 Cricket World Cup: Best performances

There were a number of memorable displays at the 1983 World Cup, during a tournament in England and Wales that saw the West Indian champions finally toppled. This week I am looking back at some of the key performances during the tournament, covering the story of an inspired Zimbabwean, an unlikely West Indian hero, struggles for Sri Lanka, an inspired Indian skipper breathing life into his team, and the subsequent successes of India's seamers who took their team all the way to the ultimate prize.

1986: England v India First Test

Cricket, like most sports, has a few examples of history repeating itself. Just ask Peter Moores. In 2007 Moores took charge of an England side that had lost 5-0 in Australia, and then suffered a series defeat at home to an Asian team after previously having that country nine wickets down at Lord's in an agonising draw (I'm ignoring the West Indian series for the purposes of my comparison). Sounds slightly familiar doesn't it?

Want another example? No? Well you're going to get one regardless. In 1985, a 28-year-old left-handed batsman led England to a home Ashes series win (after winning away in India) and all seemed rosy in the English garden. But then followed a demoralising 5-0 reverse in a series overseas, which snowballed into a home series defeat against an Asian team that they were expected to beat. Alastair Cook may think things are tough at the moment, but at least he has managed to cling on to his job. In 1986, David Gower was not so lucky.

1985: World Championship of Cricket

The Greatest Show on Turf. In truth, the 1985 World Championships of Cricket failed to live up to its billing - The Wettest of Damp Squibs may have been a better tag line - the unofficial World Cup contested in Australia between the seven Test playing nations failing to catch the imagination of the public. In fact, the tournament raised many concerns about the direction cricket was taking, as journalists and players alike voiced their opinions on a variety of matters, from player burn out to the flogging of the one day game. The greatest show on turf it wasn't.

1980s: England batting collapses

The twin collapses at Brisbane last week reminded English cricket supporters of a certain age of some dark days in the past. The 1990s, and in particular the surrender at Melbourne in 1990, were recalled as examples of an era where England were more than likely to wilt under any kind of pressure. But the 1980s also featured some incredible displays of English catastrophes, the foundations built in the sand for the decade that followed.

1984/85: India v England - Gower's Glory

For my piece on the first Test of the series, please click here.

England didn't have much time to lick their wounds after their crushing defeat in the first Test at Bombay. Just two days later, the same XI - except for Vic Marks replacing Pat Pocock - won the first one day international at Pune, causing the home fans to show their disgust by hurling objects on to the field, almost causing a postponement in the process.

Amongst the mayhem, another century from a rejuvenated Mike Gatting led England home, justifying Gower's decision to install the Middlesex man as his vice-captain at the start of the tour. A drawn match in Bombay against North Zone, with a decent return of 3/29 by Richard Ellison in the first innings, and a century from Tim Robinson, gave England slight cause for optimism as the second Test at Delhi neared. On and off the field though, not all was well.

1984: India v England First Test

England's 1984-85 tour of India was never going to be easy. Thrashed 5-0 at home by the West Indies in the summer of 84, and unable to defeat the Sri Lankans in a supposedly easy one-off Test at Lord's, confidence was understandably low as the plane departed for Asia. A plane that did not contain Ian Botham (opted out) and Graham Gooch and John Emburey (South African rebel tour bans). Without these key players, and with a struggling skipper at the helm - David Gower had a W0 D3 L6 record as captain - expectations were unsurprisingly low for England's hopes in the subcontinent.