The best of times; the worst of times

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Clivejw posted this interesting comment on Saturday:

I haven’t had this miserable a summer as a cricket fan since 1999, and as that year ended with the appointment of Duncan Fletcher as coach (he had in fact been appointed before the summer of that year, but Glamorgan wouldn’t release him from his contract), it can in retrospect be seen as a turning point. Only the announcement of the names of the Gatting rebels treacherously stabbing David Gower in the back and taking money from a bloody and divisive South African regime, which came while the last rites were still being administered to a miserable summer on the field, matches it for wretchedness.

The few encouraging signs on the field this year, mostly from the younger players, have been more than overshadowed by the Cult of Alastair Cook and the wilful negligence, to put it at its mildest, of the cricket press. At least in ’89 the latter did their job. I bet Ted Dexter wishes he had the current deferential, supine media bunch.

Oh yes, I did enjoy one thing — Sri Lanka’s victory at Headingley.

It got me thinking, and inspired the question I’d like to pose: what was the worst ever time for you, as an England supporter? And what was the best?

I’ll kick off with my own. Clearly the last nine months have been bleak, but my most wretched memories derive from the 1993 Ashes.

We lost 4-1. The 1, as so often in that era, was the consolation dead-rubber goal at the Oval. That irrelevance besides, we were absolutely awful – a ramshackle, limp and dog-eared side, pummelled from pillar to post by an Australian team with vastly slicker firepower.

The selection, chaired by Ted Dexter, was sclerotic to a degree unusual even in English cricket. We fielded twenty four players in total, including seven debutants. Under the influence of coach Keith Fletcher (formerly of Essex) and captain Graham Gooch (captain of Essex), the over-riding principle was to pick players from, erm, Essex. They included Mark Ilott, Nasser Hussain, Peter Such, Derek Pringle (for the ODIs), Gooch himself, and Neil Foster. Foster’s selection (for the second test, in which he returned 0-94) told you much about the management’s clarity of thought and vision for the future. After only one more first class match, he retired from cricket.

We lost the first test by 179 runs. In the second at Lord’s, Australia made 632-4 (Taylor, Slater and Boon all made centuries) and won by an innings and 62. The third test was drawn, but we lost the fourth by an innings and 164 runs.

That test, at Headingley, was the nadir to end all nadirs. If you think things are bad now, imagine opening the bowling with Mark Ilott and Martin McCague. Australia made 653-4, including 200 for Allan Border. On the second day of their innings, we only took one wicket.

We then replied with 200 and 305. Gooch, at the time one of world’s best batsmen, bizarrely moved himself down to number five in the order, handing the opening berth to Mark Lathwell, who made a duck.

It was Gooch’s final match as captain. In his first outing as skipper, Mike Atherton presided over an eight-wicket defeat in the fifth test.

What about the best of times? I’m tempted to pick 2000, when we achieved our first series victory over the West Indies since the 1960s. Crawling over the line in the nail-biter at Lord’s. Winning in two days at Leeds. People’s Monday at the Oval.

But I’ll have to choose an obvious and cliched one – 2005. That summer every element which makes cricket great came into perfect alignment. Two skilful teams, one with the accolades and the other at the height of its powers. A pot-boiler narrative. A nation gripped. Catharsis and joy. I could mention Harmison’s slower ball and Strauss’s wonder-catch, but I suspect you remember what happened in those five matches.

Over to you. As a supporter, what were the best of times, and the worst of times?

*****

PS: I doubt many of you are still very interested in Turtle Tank-gate, but just in case, here’s an update. As both Jonathan Agnew and I felt there was some unfinished business, we made contact – and after a few e-mails agreed to draw a line under the rumpus.

I continue to stand by our material, and of course our writer Tregaskis, whom I closely consulted. I will not be changing the article in question. In turn, Jonathan has articulated his own points very clearly and with conviction, We will agree to disagree, and move on.

71 comments

  • Hard to disagree with your choice of 2005, but the previous year was pretty good too. Beating the Windies on their own patch for the first time in 36 years (only Brian Lara’s 400 not out preventing a whitewash), followed by a clean sweep of all seven Tests at home, several from unpromising positions – we believed we could win from anywhere that year.

    Worst – got to be 1999. Dumped out of a World Cup early in ideal home conditions, and hitting rock bottom after losing to the Kiwis.

  • I remember the ’93 series, I was at the old Trafford test to watch Warne bowl. I don’t remember the series as being awful, the Australians were utterly dominant and I enjoyed watching them even if I didn’t enjoy watching us. It was actually this series that got me back into playing, partly because I figured I was tall and strong, how could I bowl worse than the England lads? Well it turns out that there have been occasions when I did bowl much worse than England in ’93. Funny how you can be inspired by the best and the worst of things.

    • Mark,
      I remember that Old Trafford test of 93 too. Went on the Saturday and the last day, and England only lost by about half an hour from memory. Gooch nearly pulled off the rearguard and would have done except for punching the ball away from his stumps. Defeat with honour – but the rest of the series was a massacre really. 1989 was a bigger shambles though – and much more unexpected.

  • Meanwhile, based on the success of this summer Downton and Co are busy planning the itineries for 2020-2023 with the hope that there will be 2-3 days less cricket and less travelling in order to look after the players ….. and on it goes …..what’s the point?????

      • Comment made with slight tongue in cheek, however I’ll expand – I don’t like Agnew, never really did, and he confirmed it during one of test matches in the summer which I won’t bother getting into now, anyhow, it felt like you had him flustered and under a bit of pressure (this is how I read it). By your “agree to disagree” comment, you gave up on trying to get him to really come clean. In my opinion, and I stress, in my opinion, you settled for a draw as opposed to going for a win.

        What do you think, should we agree to disagree?

        • Hi Doug – remember that we never sought an argument, nor had gone to any great lengths to promote that particular article at that particular time. The ding-dong came completely out of the blue, from our perspective.

          I’m not changing anything on our site, I’m not altering any editorial, so there’s no real point sustaining an argument. Agree to disagree is shorthand for – let’s lay off it now.

          JA has his views, his position (eg about Flower) and reported what he did – he’s perfectly entitled to think, report, and say what he likes. I never set out to change his mind, or anyone’s, or shine a spotlight on him. My only interest lay in defending our material.

  • Warne dropping KP at The Oval – Ashes gone!

    The last 12 months of English cricket’s administration – an absolute disgrace to the integrity of the game, history and the fans.

  • The worst time: everything that happened between Gower being dropped for good and the apartheid tourist Mike “a bunch of people singing and dancing” Gatting being recalled in September 1992, through to the Headingley Test of 1993 that you mention. Unremittingly appalling on and off the field, redeemed (somewhat ironically given today’s climate) only by journalists producing pieces like these:

    http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket-gower-dumped-but-gatting-recalled-england-rebels-return-to-the-fold-for-the-winter-missions-as-selectors-spring-a-few-surprises-1550029.html

    http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/sporting-images–those-memorable-moments-that-lit-up-the-world-of-sport-in-1992-cricket-dexters-ordeal-by-question-and-answer-1565251.html

    The worst single moment is still “Gower dumped but Gatting recalled”. I still feel like exploding 22 years later. This year runs 1992/93 very close, but obviously I can’t be sure I will still feel the same in 2036.

    I can’t really believe I’m not including 1989, but I suppose I remember it more fondly than I should because the Saturday at Trent Bridge was my first day at an Ashes Test and I saw Robin Smith score 101 and Ian Botham’s last Ashes innings (an hour-long 12 with a broken finger). Not sure which of them got the bigger ovation.

    The best time: everything between Marcus Trescothick and Graham Thorpe’s partnership at The Oval in 2003 and the open-top bus parade two years later. I don’t think I will ever see anything to match that period as long I live. If I had to boil it down to a single moment, then Flintoff’s first over in Australia’s second innings at Edgbaston in 2005. Although the moment I fell hopelessly in love with that England side was at Lord’s against New Zealand in 2004: Hussain ran out Strauss when the latter was in sight of twin hundreds on debut, went on to make a match-winning hundred himself and promptly retired to allow Strauss to play alongside Vaughan. It just sums up how much more likeable they were.

    • Thanks for this Arron – so many fascinating points to pick out from this, but for now…English cricket’s attitude to rehabilitating rebel tourists remains a black mark. Sending a few text messages is a terrible act of betrayal. But abandon your team to earn apartheid rand in South Africa, and as soon as possible the establishment takes you back into its bosom.

    • “The best time: everything between Marcus Trescothick and Graham Thorpe’s partnership at The Oval in 2003 and the open-top bus parade two years later. I don’t think I will ever see anything to match that period as long I live.”

      This. It’s such a shame it all unravelled so quickly. I’m really struggling to show any interest in the current side. And I was thinking back to that period the other day wondering if I’d ever like a side or a period in cricket as much as that again.

  • The Best of times first – Obviously 2005 but I’ll leave others to dwell on that.

    I started watching cricket in the mid 80’s and it took us a long time to have a decent summer, but 1991 was the first one that really stands out, an epic series vs the West Indies. Gooch and that miraculous match winning innings at Headingley in the 1st test. Robin Smith displaying fight, skill and brut force against a great attack, the magic of Ambrose, Marshall & Walsh & Tufnell rolling them over at the Oval to force a 2-2 draw.
    The Ashes in 97 were a highlight too, we lost but with that first test we had genuine hope.

    The worst of times – We had many a bad summer in my early years, but less so in recent.
    2010 is the worst by a long way, an excellent series. 2 of the best fast bowlers of recent years and it all came crashing down with that News of the world exclusive. Heart wrenching.

    This year has been a good summer I feel, plenty of positives to take from it.

  • I’m going to nominate the 89 ashes. It was not a patch on the incompetence and off field folly of 93 as Maxie so eloquently describes. No, the point of 89 was the shock value, and what it ushered in. Namely 16 year of ashes misery.

    It seemed to come out of nowhere. England had enjoyed great success in the 80s against the Aussies. Botham’s ashes in 81, Gower’s of 85, and Gatting’s tour of 86/87. The Aussies were a busted flush.

    When the teams turned up at Headingley for the first test match, the general consensus of the pundits was this was going to be an Ashes dominated by both teams batsman, and the bowling attacks were weak.

    As we meandered through day 4 it looked like the pundits were right. Australia had made 600 odd declared, after being put in by Gower. England had replied with 430 odd. The Aussies then scored quick runs in the second innings. About 40 minutes before lunch on day 5 England started their second innings with just over 2 sessions to bat. The pundits all turned their attention to Lords,and the second test match convinced this one would be drawn. But they hadn’t told Terry Alderman who suddenly seemed to have a hand grenade not a cricket ball. England lost 6 wickets for 57 runs to be all out for 191. Terry Alderman claimed 5 for 44. England would go onto lose 4-0. And we were introduced to Steve Waugh, and what would be coming for the next 2 decades.

    Amusingly this is the Wikipedia entry describing the press reaction. Quite interesting in these times when our captain can not be criticised.

    “Australia had won the first Test by 210 runs, and led the 1989 Ashes series 1-0. The English press duly lambasted the side for their poor performance, especially David Gower who had inserted Australia and watched them amass 600 runs. The media called for instant changes demanding the head of Derek Pringle in particular.”
    Perhaps thats why he doesn’t like change?

    • I thought the worst moment of 1989 on the field, the one that really set the tone for the next 16 years, was day three at Lord’s. England started the day right in the game: Australia were 10 runs behind with four wickets standing, Merv Hughes had just come to the crease and they looked to have a long tail. No-one seriously expected Hughes to hang around the way he had done at Headingley.

      What followed was unutterably depressing: if it happened on International Cricket Captain you’d unplug your computer and start the series again. Hughes made 30, Hohns 21 and Geoff bloody Lawson 74 out of a ninth-wicket partnership of 130! And at the end of the innings Steve Waugh had scored 329 runs without being dismissed. They ended up with a lead of 242, and England closed on 58-3. I think it was also the day David Gower cut short the evening press conference because he had tickets for the theatre.

      England never had the remotest sniff of parity for the rest of the series.

      http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63508.html

  • Getting drunk and putting a bet on England to retain the Ashes after the fourth day’s play at Adelaide in 2006, and then waking up the next morning (UK time) to check the score…that wasn’t great.

    The England career of Mark Ramprakash. I loved everything about him, and seeing him fail endlessly was heartbreaking. I like to tell myself that it could all have been so different – the team for the dead rubber win in the 1993 Ashes you refer to above should have been the one England stuck with (more or less) for the next ten years. But it was back to all-rounders, horses for courses, and panic.

    The last nine months has been the worst, by some distance. Reasons set out very clearly by yourself and Dmitri, too depressing to go into. That it has included the media, and people like Agnew whose voices were a part of my childhood, seems to make it much worse than if it was just the ECB.

    The best – a couple of Ramprakash catches (I could never enjoy watching him bat, I always knew he was about to get out); watching Flintoff smashing the South Africans around at Lords (though we lost); TMS burbling along in the background of life in general; Ian Bell last summer; Hussain, Gough, Fraser, Trescothick, Vaughan; everything about 2005.

    To win, with a team which has been mostly terrible for twenty years, the competition you care the most about, in which you have been endlessly humiliated, by beating arguably the best team of all time, playing wonderful, attacking cricket, over a gripping series of games with the balance of power constantly shifting and nail-biting finishes to most of the matches – most sports fans never get close to that. We are incredibly lucky.

    • Growing up watch cricket in the 90’s I have to say I agree on Ramprakash and could say the same for Hick, I imagine they were amazing in the nets…

  • Ooh what tough question Maxie. Well for the worst, in my opinion, tis present stuff. Even though England has been wasted in the past and yes the Gower episode was terrible. I think this present situation is far far worse in terms of so many telling so many porkies and damaging and trashing people’s characters and cricketing success. I do remember the South African stuff so well. Actually what I find most distasteful about all this present stuff, is that some of those who deserted these shores and England are now lauded to the skies. Many of these former SA cricketers are among those who have been part of the trashing KPs England career. Such hypocrisy is not even being addressed. Unbelievable really. I think this is why I find this present episode so awful.

    The best for me has to 2005. Wonderful relationship between Vaughan and Fletcher which lead to the wonderful on and off field leadership by Vaughan. A team with a great many “mavericks” and Vaughan made it look easy, didn’t he? My abiding memory will always be listening to Boycott on the radio whilst watching the TV – always did that! Vaughan had made an unusual field placement. Boycott: what on earth is Vaughan doing with a man out there? I cannot remember who was bowling but the Aussie batsman hit the ball straight into the hands of that new field placement! Boycott then said: Oh that’s why Vaughan put him there! Well I never.

    Wonderful series full of ups and downs and thrills and amazing catching by Strauss and Collingwood and others. That picture of Freddy comforting the very distressed Brett Lee, who had batted so very well. Good sportsmanship, great games and great play by all the players. It was just so good and those memories make it difficult for me to ever forgive the ECB, et al, for making such mess our the wonderful game now.

  • Need to think about this, but 1993 had one massive plus point for me. The call up for the Third Test at Trent Bridge of one GP Thorpe. Who made a century in that second innings. Who was then appallingly treated by that idiot Illingworth.

    1988 was a thoroughly depressing summer. 1989 as well. 1999 is there. 1986 is also much under-rated (losing at home to India and New Zealand, while for five of those tests our all-rounder couldn’t play because he confessed to smoking a bit of puff).

    • that idiot Illingworth

      Illingworth was no idiot – instead, a rather intelligent man with the ability to be both foolish and unpleasant.
      Otherwise, agreed.

  • watching Graeme Smith bat for the entire summer in 2003 was pretty fucking miserable.

    At least 1993 ushered in the Shane Warne and Tim May double act, who as a young spin bowler quickly became my idols.

    • I was at Lord’s for the second day of the second test, watching Smith pile on run after run after run. It was the dreariest day’s cricket I have ever seen. I think SA scored 500 for 0 that day. Or at least it seemed like that.

      Do you remember the overjoyed reaction when Smith trod on his stumps early on in the third test?

  • The Ashes tours down under in the 90s were pretty depressing. The Phil Tufnell field academy. Poor old Michael Atherton trying to set a field with Gooch and Gatting (both about to turn 40 years old) at mid off and mid on. Good luck fellas!

    At least you knew we losing to a great team.

    Ray Illingworth trying to re model Devon Malcolm’s bowling action in the middle of a tour in South Africa. (What is it about England coaches wanting to mess about with England bowlers actions?)

    1981 and 2005 were highlights.

  • Maxie, full respect to you and TFT for the way you’ve carried yourselves in this, you are an opinion blog and never profess to be the gospel truth just try and reflect your own opinion and those of the cricketing public.

    I do understand Agnew’s frustration in that Morgan retweets (to his many millions of follows) and highlights articles regardless of the validity just to further his cause and reenforce his stance, you could say all the characteristics of a tabloid editor unsurprisingly.

    There’s been a lot of ‘Playing the man’ over this whole issue best illustrated by that unsavoury twitter spat but I think agreeing to disagree and building from common ground is definitely the best way forward.

    As for worst moment; 51 all out at Sabina Park in 2009. Effectively getting skittled out for 50 by Sulieman Benn with the batting line up we had will stick long in the memory.

    Best moment; Harmison slower ball to Clarke in 2005, massive moment, great skill.

    • “Best moment; Harmison slower ball to Clarke in 2005”.

      Agreed. A sublime moment of skill, genteel savagery, and joy. It was cricket of the purest confidence and elan.

  • Having lived in Australia for 13 years my worst and best are 2006/07 and then 2010/11.
    Watching England lose when I was in England was bad, but at least there’s a shared sense of misery and experience about it. But there’s nothing worse than being whitewashed when you have to go into work and cop it every day. Watching the Adelaide defeat unfold was without doubt the worst I’ve ever felt watching England. This second whitewash hurt – but that first one still stings.
    Conversely, being at the G to see us bowl the Aussies out for 98 and be 154-0 at stumps – after the hidings of the 90’s and the whitewash, was sweet revenge. 2005 is the greatest series I’ve seen (and probably will see) but 2010/11 shades it for me because I was there.

  • A view from the darkside:

    Best;

    Steve Waugh throwing down the gauntlet in the West Indies and refusing to be cowed by their bowlers. Thus signaling the beginning of the turn around for Australia.

    Amazing Adelaide!

    The ball of the century.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXanXViSEOI

    Ashes 06/07

    Ashes 13/14

    Worst;

    Getting carted all over the place by Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards in the 70’s and 80’s.

    Ashes 05/06

    Mickey Arthur

    Botham at Headingley (but you had to love the innings)

    Having to sit up through the night to Watch the Ashes in England from the 70’s

    Having to sit up through the night to watch the ashes in Australia since 1999

    The absolute nadir! Living in the states for ten years from 89-99, no bloody cricket!

    Best/worst; Freddy with his arm around Brett Lee 05/06

    • Ian,

      I Was trying to remember, but is it true that after the 86/87 Gatting tour the Australians canceled their upcoming tour to the West Indies because they wanted to protect their players from another bad defeat? I’m sure at the time they were thinking about it, but did they cancel the tour?

      I tried looking it up on line but can find no mention of it. Maybe I’m wrong, but I am sure this was a real issue.

  • Many comments already on the lows (I’ll add my vote to 1989) but being of a slightly older vintage I’d like to mention 1977 as a high.

    During the previous two years England had been decimated by the pace of Australia and the West Indies. We kept selecting an older groups of players and were repeatedly told “the cupboard is bare” (what we now know as TINA). In the 1976 ODIs some younger players were finally selected and showed some promise then we won in India in 1976/77. For many of us the real proof of a turnaround came in the defeat in the Centennary Test as Derek Randall went toe-to-toe with Dennis Lillee in his backyard. The 1977 Ashes saw us not only win comfortably but do so with real flair in the field with Willis outbowling Thomson, Underwood the outstanding spinner and our fielding out of this world. We discovered Botham, Boycott returned and Gooch and Gower were just about to break through.

    With hindsight the most important thing was that we’d laid the groundwork for a strong team for the next 5-10 years but for a youngster at the time the delight was to see that England could play with flair and without fear. These qualities had seemed to belong to Australians only!

    • That series featured Boycott’s 98th hundred (in the match Botham made his debut – taking a five-fer, his wicket bowling Greg Chappell with an under-edged long-hop), and of course his 100th, unforgettably, in the next test at Headingley.

      It was the start of a period of Ashes dominance – including that series, we won 5 out of the next 6.

  • Princeofporkupine, I object strongly to your suggestion that my article had no validity.

    You may not agree with its content, which is fine, but the piece was extensively researched and nothing has emerged since to disprove the central themes. In fact, the reverse is more likely true.

    Piers Morgan may or may not have had ulterior motives for giving the piece a wider audience, but that does not invalidate the article itself. Throughout the Twitter spat, as your put it, Maxie, TFT and I have responded with studied courtesy while resolutely defending our position.

    I have no wish to stir the pot again, particularly since a rapprochement of sorts has been reached between Jonathan Agnew and TFT, and there is little more to say on the matter. But while I am happy to take a difference of opinion on the chin, I do object when my integrity is called into question.

    • On the contrary Tregaskis I don’t consider you dishonest at all – The spat was referring to Aggers and Piers, TFT was, as you rightly point out, in the crossfire. Furthermore I wholly agree changing the content of an opinion blog at this point goes against the whole purpose of a blog.

      The point I was, albeit clumsily making was, Piers Morgan has historically promoted un-verified information as absolute truth and the phrase about Andy Flower Aggers objected to just so happened to be in your piece.

      Hope you see the spirit of my comment, I can only apologise if my clumsy phrasing has offended you – I realise emotions are high on this and certainly don’t want to stir things.

      • Princeofporkupine, thank you for taking the time to clarify the point you were making. I see now that you were not directing criticism towards me or the article. I appreciate you coming back to me on this so quickly.

        • Hello Tregaskis.

          I couldn’t help smiling when I read your response to some perceived criticism by princeofporkupine.

          You are somebody who spends a lot of time on blogs such as this and BTL criticising other people’s written work. I must you do so with erudition although not always, I would hazard a guess, in full possession of the facts.

          So when another respondent raises an eyebrow (he did not appear to be criticising you – he certainly didn’t mention your name), your reaction is: “I object strongly to your suggestion that my article had no validity.”

          Irony rating – what do you reckon, seven out of ten? Or maybe an eight.

          :-)

          • As a matter of interest John how long have you known that KP was invited back into the team at the behest of Flower and not Cook?

            It seems rather suspicious this little titbit has been put out now. With a certain book coming out which if one is to believe will be critical of Flower.

            • I always thought Cook was the driving force behind KP’s return, with Flower going along with the decision.

              But I really don’t see it as a huge deal either way.

              They both must have agreed to have KP back. The decision would have required two ticks – in fact, perhaps more with Giles Clarke and Hugh Morris also likely to have been consulted. Certainly, it was Clarke was conducted the ‘reintegration’ press conference with KP in Sri Lanka during the World T20.

              If you remember, the players and management had a series of meetings with KP in Oxford at the end of the 2012 season to thrash out their differences. KP was invited back as a consequences of those meetings.

              • Thank you John for that. Have to agree to disagree on how big a deal it was.

                Certain sections of them media certainly were making a big deal of it when they were pushing an image of Cook that was all magnanimous.

                Also, for those of us who have suspected that Cook is a bit of a Flower puppet it comes as no surprise that it was the coach who was calling the shots.

              • For me, the problem has always been about proportionality and proof.

                I feel that the whole matter was driven by an emotional response that supported everyone’s pre-existing view of Pietersen and an agenda that people wanted to follow. There was certainly a villainous narrative that made sense, which could even have been true, but it was not supported by facts that could be definitively relied upon.

                The noise at the time, about the gravity of the offence, supported by the suspension, led most of us to believe that Pietersen had overstepped the mark to the extent that it amounted to gross misconduct.

                But this perception never dovetailed with the level of negotiation, involving the ECB’s biggest executives, undertaken in an attempt to bring Pietersen back into the team. If he was as bad as projected, why was a straightforward sacking not the end of the matter?

                Well, here are a few thoughts: (1) it was admitted that texts were sent but no one knew for sure what was said; (2) the texts were private; (3) Pietersen was too important to the team to let go so easily; (4) there was no clear legal case to dismiss Pietersen, with the prospect of a million pound bill concentrating minds; (5) in the context of other events taking place at the time (contract negotiations, parody Twitter accounts), a gross misconduct charge faced serious proportionality and fairness obstacles; (6) the risk that the ECB might be shown, under examination, to have behaved less than well. These complex issues went far beyond the pay scale let alone the relative forgiveness levels of Alastair Cook or Andy Flower.

                John Etherbridge is right that many people had to sign off on Pietersen’s “re-integration,” and he is also right, in my view, in suggesting that it does not matter a huge deal who is identified as the fixer. But the current discussion, raised by Jonathan Agnew this week, concerns who was it that was driving the forgiveness thing. The sceptics here note that Alastair Cook was first put up as Pietersen’s saviour, when it was useful for Cook’s press. Then, a couple of years later, Andy Flower was revealed as his saviour, when, oddly enough, it is likely to prove useful to Flower’s press.

                I am not sure that the truth is even somewhere between these two points. It seems much more likely that the ECB had no real choice but to bring Pietersen back into the team, in which case neither Cook nor Flower can take much credit, though that has not stopped the matter being spun salami thin in favour of the next guy in the rank. I cannot offer definitive facts. Just a weary, soul-destroying view.

          • Hello John

            Thank you for your comment. Can we compromise on 7.5 out of 10? I was far too sensitive, but its been a bumpy week.

            I work with the best facts available. I wish there were more. Can’t promise to get it right, but try to put forward a point of view that is worth a quick glance.

            Great to see you adding new patterns to the TFT kaleidoscope, and happy to accept that the thrust of your irony comment is well made.

            • Of course. My observations were meant in the right spirit and glad to see they have been taken as such.

              My sons tell me that the use a smiley face means that irony/humour/fun is intended!

              It certainly was in this case.

  • Some difficult best moments to choose from such as winning away in Pakistan in the dark; Harmison 7-12 in the Windies but 2005 was brilliant. Unfortunately, instead of that series resulting in an increase in popularity in the game, it might even have harmed the sport in England! No match since has been on free to air, whilst to the average cricket fan only the Ashes matters now as all other countries struggle to sell out in England. In 2004, when we won all 7 tests that was fantastic summer in front of big crowds but I couldn’t see NZ and the Windies selling out these days.

    There have been many low moments, being bowled out for 72 against Pakistan recently, losing to the Windies in 2009 with Strauss twice now declaring soon enough, but nothing tops Adelaide 2006!

  • Thanks for all your excellent comments – very much appreciated and some fascinating stories here.

    If anyone fancies developing a reminiscence into a fully fledged piece, to be posted as an article, just let me know – maxie@thefulltoss.com and maxie@maxieallen.com .

    A couple of my own to add.

    Our series victory over SA in 1998 was an under-rated achievement we tend to forget about now. It was our first five-test series win since 1986/7. SA weren’t as good then as they are now, but still a handful – and had Allan Donald near the peak of his powers. Atherton’s famous 98 at T Bridge symbolised a gritty, nuggety, street-fighting comeback after getting hammered at Lord’s.

    I wonder we’d have made of Alec Stewart’s sacking as captain if we’d had the modern internet back then. He’d overseen the SA win, and not done disastrously in Aus (where it would have been 2-2 if the umpire had spotted Michael Slater’s bat three inches out of the crease at Sydney). The World Cup was a mess, but it always is. My memory is that just before that tournament Stewart led a revolt over pay. His sacking wasn’t attributed to that formally, but you have to wonder.

    Also with SA in mind, Devon Malcolm’s nine wickets at the Oval in 1994. Especially his opening spell, which reduced them to 1-3. I still remember the obscene angles at which Hansie Cronje’s stumps were splayed.

  • this goes back a way…all the way to 1971. Illingworth’s side had won the Ashes in Australia in a long, tedious series with an ageing team who just managed to get head and stay there over a disintegrating Aussie side. And then we played a home series against Pakistan and a complete unknown called Zaheer Abbas flayed the English attack to all parts while making 270-odd (not looking up the scores). Mushtaq made 100. Asif Iqbal scored another century. England, sans Boycott, were bowled pout quite cheaply by another unknown, Asif Masood, with only Alan Knott showing any real resistance. despite this, England held on for a draw. The other tests against Pakistan went more to plan! Then came India. Bedia, Venkat and Chandra destroyed the English batting repeatedly but England always just about held on – with some doughty contributions by Illingworth. He was a good player even though he turned into a lousy manager. Then England lost at the Oval, bowled out for 101. So I learned that winning the Ashes did not really mean much, even at that young age. Then came the humiliation of the 74-75 Ashes, where Denness stood down as captain in the 4th Test (imagine Cooky doing that!). The coming of Greig brought hope, and the subsequent reaction to him by the cricket establishment was shameful and indefensible, when you think of how they treated people who flouted the rules to play in South Africa.. I prefer not to remember events between 1989 and 2000. The selection issues – pick the mercenaries such as Gooch and Gatting, and drop Gower. The coaching issues – let’s “improve” Devon Malcolm’s action. The attitude of entitlement – David Lloyd saying “we flipping murdered them”. The events of 2013-14 are like a rapid replay of all my bad memories of English cricket. But at least the authorities back then did not hold the public in contempt like they seem to nowadays.

  • Just to be different (and having a longer memory) 1957 when May and Cowdrey stood up to a mighty WI – the 3 W’s, Sobers, Kanhai, the spin twins and put us on our way to a series win. That England side was full of amazing players. Best for me was 1981, remarkable, emotional, felt great to be an Englishman. 2005 was almost as good but not quite.

    As others mentioned, the past 12 months has been pretty unbearable. So much baggage, politics, dishonesty, mistreatment of players. I prefer county cricket now – it’s just cricket and some damn fine cricket too this season.

    • Enviable memories there. Plus I fully agree with you, this has been a very good season for county cricket.

  • My worst moment as an England supporter is included in Maxie’s piece, but if you’ll allow, I’ll elaborate. The final morning of the Old Trafford test of 1989, watching England subside to yet another defeat, and with it, the Ashes surrendered for the first time since ’81-’82, and with the names of the rebels having been revealed in the morning’s press — on top of all that we had endured previously in the series, and in the whole of that depressing era of 1987-89 — was just the pits. Even Jack Russell putting to shame the top order and scoring his maiden first-class century in a test match couldn’t take away the shame of what those rand-chasers had done. It was bad enough being serial losers — now some of our senior players had revealed themselves to be skunks as well. Three of the players named were currently involved in the Fourth Test – Robinson, Emburey and Foster; a fourth, Dilley, had been selected to play but was unfit on the first morning. Five of the others – Gatting, Broad, Jarvis, DeFreitas and Barnett – had already played in the earlier Tests of 1989, and of the remaining seven, six were former internationals. Only David Graveney, the future chairman of selectors, was uncapped at international level.

    Just to recap the ignominy of the previous two years: 1987 and 1987/88: — defeat to Pakistan at home and away, the Shakhoor Rana-Mike Gatting incident; 1988: Gatting dismissed over an alleged relationship with a barmaid and the summer of the four captains and a 4-0 defeat to the West Indies to go with the 5-0, 5-0 defeats in 1984 and 1985/6. Both 1988 and 1989 ended with Gooch as captain, both times as a symptom of desperation — on removing Gooch as captain and replacing him with Gower at the start of the 1989 Ashes, the new chairman of selectors had compared his captaincy to a dead fish. Now the Dead Fish was captain again, and India promptly declared it would not accept him as someone who had played on an earlier rebel tour to South Africa, leading to the cancellation of the 1989-90 tour of India. So not only had the whole of the summer of 1988 been an unmitigated disaster on the field, there was no test cricket to warm us in the winter months either.

    And yet the summer of 1989 started so optimistically — victories over the Aussies in the recent past had cheered the nation up despite hammerings from the West Indies and Pakistan in the previous seasons (and series defeats at home to both India and New Zealand in 1986). Now we had a new chairman of selectors who surely couldn’t be worse than Peter May, who had picked 28 players for the 1988 season, including, with disastrous results, his godson as one of the five captains (really only four, as Derek Pringle merely deputized for Gooch when the later was injured at the Oval). And Gower had captained England to Ashes victory in 1985 and scored a bagful of runs in so doing. Matthew Engel in The Guardian captured the mood of optimism by quoting from the prologue to Shakespeare’s Pericles:

    To sing a song that old was sung,
    From ashes ancient Gower is come;
    Assuming man’s infirmities,
    To glad your ear, and please your eyes.

    After the “five captains” debacle of the summer of ’88 followed by a winter of no cricket at all, surely happy days were about to return again?

    But just a couple of months later, it had come to this: Gower stabbed in the back by members of his own team, the ignominy of propping up apartheid, back to the Dead Fish as captain, and then — the announcement of the touring party to the West Indies, and the omission of David Gower. As I said, the absolute pits.

    The reason that I cannot agree with Arron’s wholesale dismissal of the period 1989-93 period, however, is what happened next — England’s wholly unexpected victory at Sabina Park in Feb 1990, the first time we had beaten the Windies in a test since the Port of Spain in 1973/4 (which, curiously, was a x-day match!). Suddenly it was clear that the Dead Fish had not only rejuvenated himself as a batsman after his travails against Terry Alderman in ’89, he had also manage to conjure winning performances from a rookie team that had been given no hope when they had left for the Caribbean.

    Although the rest of the series was bitterly disappointing, that victory in Jamaica was not a one-off — for the first time since ’85, England had a victorious summer at home in 1990, beating New Zealand and India (reversing the results of 1986), and after losing the Ashes in the winter, then went on to draw the 1991 series at home against the West Indies. For the first time since the sixties, we gave as good as we got in a full series against what was still the world’s strongest team. If not for the groundsman preparing a shocker of a pitch at Edgbaston on which Courtney Walsh’s first ball bounced from a good length over the batsman’s and wicket-keeper’s heads, England would surely have won the series.This was one of the most enjoyable series I can remember, with the momentum swinging backwards and forwards — the highlights for England being Gooch’s 154* at Headingley, one of the great test innings, and Robin Smith’s century at the Oval. Plus we performed brilliantly in that year’s world cup — the last time that we can claim that — and would have won it, if the LBW law had been consistently applied in the final.

    This, though, was the best of Gooch as captain, and the remainder of his reign was marked by increasingly ignominious failure, with a series loss to Pakistan in 1992, the final dropping of Gower for the tour of India and Sri Lanka, the predictable “brownwash” of that tour, and the by-now-routine Ashes humiliation in the summer of 1993 alluded to by Maxie and others.

    My favourite moment or period in international cricket will follow in a later post.

    • Whoops, seem to have accidentally deleted a couple of characters there. The 1973/4 test at the Port of Spain was a six-day match, not an x-day match, whatever that might be!

    • “The reason that I cannot agree with Arron’s wholesale dismissal of the period 1989-93 period”

      Clive, the period I dismissed wholesale was from the sickening recall of Gatting/permanent dropping of Gower in September 1992 to the apocalyptically awful Headingley Test of July 1993.

      I wouldn’t dream of dismissing Sabina Park 1990 to the Oval 1991. Apart from the Ashes bit in the middle, obviously.

    • “and would have won it, if the LBW law had been consistently applied in the final”.

      Or, more generously, would have won if Wasim Akram hadn’t produced one of the great spells under pressure to rip out Lamb and Lewis.

      Leave the counter-factuals to Ed Smith! Pakistan won because they deserved to. Great post, otherwise….

    • Thank you, Clive, for this wonderfully erudite, perceptive, and acutely written post which vividly brings back so many memories – good and bad.

      I’d forgotten that David Graveney was involved in that rebel tour. Just goes to show what a career boost it could be…

      • Looking back now it seems quite clear the English cricket establishment was determined to reward those players who went to South Africa. One can only come to that conclusion seeing how many of them were given jobs afterwards.

        Thanks to the revelations about the D’Oliveira affair we now know the conspiracy between the South African govt and many very powerful people in the English cricket establishment.

        It’s worth keeping in mind when these same people start lecturing about supporting the England team, they were quite happy to walk out on the England team. Whether they agreed or didn’t agree with the ban, ((They didn’t agree with it)) they knew if they went, they would get banned. They chose to dump their national team for cash.

        Nothing has changed really. When you look how cricket is now run. Cash over England. ODI over Ashes.

  • Some good memories! I remember the Slater run out – Simon Tauffel was the umpire. The 98 series against SA was brilliant but we will be remembered for the abysmal umpiring. Javed Akhtar in particular. It is contained the worse batsman I have ever seen play test cricket, Gerry Liebenberg – a walking wicket if ever you saw one!

    As I like one day cricket a couple of lows for me are the 2 champions trophy defeats in finals – 2004 and 2013. The West Indies putting on over 60 for the 9th wickets to win in the dark at the Oval. Then last year Morgan and Bopara getting out in successive balls when 20 off 16 was needed. If we had won one of those at least we could have claimed to have won a global 50 over tournament! Will we ever?

  • Now, I’m far too young to have been there, but I can’t help having a huge soft spot for the England tour of Australia during the Winter/Spring of 1932/33 . . . Surely there is no greater joy for an English cricket fan than to not only win the Ashes in Australia but to really really really annoy the Australians while doing it? And the great thing is – they still haven’t got over it. You have to love that Jardine fellow.
    ;)

    • I’m glad you didn’t use the B-word (an Australian slur). I’ve just been reading Duncan Hamilton’s biography of Harold Larwood – incredible story.

  • The summer of 1991 was the summer I fell in love with cricket, catching snatches of the Windies series whilst on family holiday in Cornwall, so I will always retain a soft spot for that one.

    Beyond 2005 obviously. High for me though was the tour 2000/1, seeing a team made up of players who’d largely all been messed around at one point or another and had spent large parts of the last 7 or 8 years getting beaten by all comers, coming together to beat 2 very good teams was a real feel good story.

    Honourable mention to the 2004/5 tour of South Africa too, we were a very good team then.

    Not old enough to really remember the rebel tours so for me, low on the pitch was that crushing first Ashes whitewash.

  • 2005 was pretty special.
    I remember having to get up very early while staying in the US to catch a couple of tests via TMS on the net… and back in the UK, a memorable hour or so watching Pietersen take on Brett Lee on the recently installed flat screen at my insurance broker. Happy days.
    About the only thing which marred that summer was the fantastic Simon Jones breaking down at the height of his powers.

    Clive rather eloquently described the bad times above, though one element perhaps not emphasised enough was the sheer joylessness of the manner in which we played.

    One of the best things about the current, rather dismal summer of cricket was a dominant Yorkshire side clearly having fun – and a coach who positively encouraged them to do so.
    Not something you automatically associate with the current England setup (or indeed some Yorkshire teams of the past…).

    • Speaking of which, the ECB doing its best to conform to stereotype…

      http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/sep/12/yorkshire-county-championship-title-andrew-gale
      Yorkshire celebrated their first County Championship title for 13 years with extra feeling in front of the Trent Bridge pavilion after the England and Wales Cricket Board had prevented their suspended captain, Andrew Gale, from being presented with the trophy as a disciplinary measure…
      Gale did come down to the pitch after the champagne spraying, and drew the loudest cheer of the day from the few hundred Yorkshire supporters who had gathered around the presentation. The ECB has yet to confirm whether that was in defiance of their ban.

      • And the ECB are not very happy about it – here’s their statement:

        ***

        After an incident at the recent LV=CC match between Lancashire and Yorkshire, the England and Wales Cricket Board made a formal complaint to the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) about the conduct of the Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale.

        On receipt of this complaint the CDC has decided to convene a Disciplinary Panel Hearing to consider the matter.

        In these circumstances it was not felt appropriate for Mr Gale to be involved in today’s LV=CC Division One trophy presentation at Trent Bridge.

        The ECB will not make any further comment until the disciplinary process is concluded.

  • But when Jimmy Anderson uses industrial language at the Indian captain and another batsman everything is ok!! Funny old game

  • I started to watch the cricket on TV in the 1970s, as well as listening to John Arlott, Fred Trueman, Blowers, CMJ and co on TMS. The 1977 home Ashes series win was great, I can remember Derek Randall pulling off an amazing run out of Mc Cosker which induced an Aussie collapse if I remember correctly. 1981 was even better, coming from behind in the series, Brearley coming back as captain, Botham’s heroics with bat and ball, Willis taking 8 wickets to skittle out the Aussies at Headingley. 1991 drawn home series with the Windies was also good, they still had an outstanding team back then. 2005 also very special. To me it is a national disgrace that 2005 is the last year that cricket test matches were screened on terrestial TV. This is our national summer sport, for God’s sake. In 2005 you’d still see lads in the local park pretending to be Freddie Flintoff. Rare to see any such games now.
    Low points in a way for me are all melded together in a collective memory of all the England batting collapses I have seen or listened to over the last 40+ years. The 1984 and 1988 thrashings by the Windies were humbling, but at least the Windies were a great team. 1989 was truly horrendous, I actually saw three days live of that terrible series, days four and five at Lord’s and a rain affected day at the Oval. The 29 players used throughout the summer, the inept batting collapses, the fact that Derek Pringle could have ever even been considered as Test class, plucky Jack Russell scoring a brave century. It was a low point, but 1984 and 1988 were also bad.

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