The
West Indian cricket team
The West Indies cricket team, nicknamed the Windies, is a multi-national men's cricket team representing the mainly English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean region and administered by Cricket West Indies. The players on t ...
played 16
first-class cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
matches in England in 1988, under the
captaincy
A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule ...
of
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is an Antiguan retired cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Batting generally at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...
. They enjoyed considerable success during the tour, while
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
endured a "disastrous summer" of continuous change.
England easily won the initial three-match
One Day International
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
(ODI) series, retaining the
Texaco Trophy
The Texaco Trophy was the name used for One Day International cricket tournaments held in England from 1984 until 1998.
The series were sponsored by American oil company Texaco replacing the previous sponsorship by the UK's Prudential (between 1 ...
and raising expectations for a successful summer in the five-match
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
series to follow. However, the West Indies comfortably retained the
Wisden Trophy
The Wisden Trophy was awarded to the winner of the Test cricket series played between England and the West Indies. It was first awarded in 1963 to commemorate the hundredth edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. Series were played in accordanc ...
by winning the Test series 4–0. The players of the Test series were
Malcolm Marshall
Malcolm Denzil Marshall (18 April 1958 – 4 November 1999) was a Barbadian cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, Marshall is widely regarded as one of the greatest and one of the most accomplished fast bowlers of the modern era in Test cricket. ...
for West Indies for his 35 wickets and
Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch, (born 23 July 1953) is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, h ...
for England, who scored 459 runs and ended the summer as captain.
In Test match cricket, the captain is an important role and one which is usually relatively stable. This tour has become known in cricketing circles as the "summer of four captains" as England used four different
captains
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the five Test matches. The win set a high water mark for West Indian fortunes in Test cricket in England. The 1988 series proved to be the culmination of a 25 year run of almost uninterrupted success, but they have failed to win a single series in England in the subsequent years.
West Indian team
![Curtly ambrose2 crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Curtly_ambrose2_crop.jpg)
By the summer of 1988, the West Indies had experienced nearly ten years as the best Test team in world cricket, including a streak of
winning 10 of 11 Test series they played from 1980 to 1985–86 (the other was drawn). However, the West Indies side that had enjoyed this considerable recent success was beginning to show signs of ageing. The experienced
batsmen
In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is an Antiguan retired cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Batting generally at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...
(the captain),
Gordon Greenidge
Sir Cuthbert Gordon Greenidge (born 1 May 1951) is a Barbadian, former first-class cricketer, who represented the West Indies in Test and One-day Cricket for 17 years. Greenidge is regarded worldwide as one of the greatest and most destructive o ...
,
Jeff Dujon
Peter Jeffrey Leroy Dujon (born 28 May 1956) is a retired West Indian cricketer and current commentator.
He was the wicket-keeper for the West Indies cricket team of the 1980s, an athletic presence behind the stumps as well as a competent mid ...
, and
Desmond Haynes
Desmond Leo Haynes (born 15 February 1956) is a former Barbadian cricketer and cricket coach who played for the West Indies cricket team between 1978 and 1994.
Haynes favoured a more measured approach to batting and scored 7,487 runs in 116 Te ...
were aged 36, 37, 32, and 32 respectively at the start of the Test series, and
bowlers Michael Holding
Michael Anthony Holding (born 16 February 1954) is a Jamaican former cricketer and commentator who played for the West Indies cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers in cricket history, he was nicknamed "Whispering Dea ...
and
Joel Garner
Joel Garner (born 16 December 1952) is a former West Indian cricketer, and a member of the highly regarded late 1970s and early 1980s West Indies cricket teams. Garner is the highest ranked One Day International bowler according to the ICC bes ...
and batsman
Larry Gomes
Hilary Angelo Gomes (born 13 July 1953) is a Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies cricket team, West Indian former cricketer.
Cricket career
Gomes toured England with the West Indian youth team in 1970 and made his first-class cricket, first-cla ...
had recently retired.
As a result, the squad arrived with an inexperienced group of
pace bowlers: supporting
Malcolm Marshall
Malcolm Denzil Marshall (18 April 1958 – 4 November 1999) was a Barbadian cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, Marshall is widely regarded as one of the greatest and one of the most accomplished fast bowlers of the modern era in Test cricket. ...
, a veteran of 53 Tests, were relative newcomers
Courtney Walsh
Courtney Andrew Walsh OJ (born 30 October 1962) is a former Jamaican cricketer who represented the West Indies from 1984 to 2001, captaining the West Indies in 22 Test matches. He is a fast bowler and considered one of the all-time greats, best ...
(20 Tests),
Patrick Patterson (11),
Winston Benjamin
Winston Keithroy Matthew Benjamin (born 31 December 1964) is a former Antiguan cricketer who played 21 Tests and 85 One Day Internationals for the West Indies. He is also the father of world champion athlete Rai Benjamin.
Domestic career
Ben ...
(4),
Curtly Ambrose
Sir Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose KCN (born 21 September 1963) is an Antiguan former cricketer who played 98 Test matches for the West Indies. Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, he took 405 Test wickets at ...
(3) and
Ian Bishop (0).
The West Indies' most recent series had been an "epic" 1–1 draw at home
against Pakistan, but their previous two Test series against England had both resulted in 5–0 victories. The first of these,
in England in 1984, was the first
whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used ...
England had suffered since the 1920–21 season when
England toured Australia, while the second occurred in the Caribbean in
1985–86. These two one-sided victories by the West Indies became known as "blackwashes".
English team
By contrast, the English team had suffered a run of bad performances spanning several years, winning only seven of their previous 52 Tests.
The England side had most recently toured
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, drawing the
Bicentennial Test
The Bicentennial Test was a single Test cricket match played between Australia and England at the Sydney Cricket Ground in celebration of the bicentenary of permanent colonial settlement in Australia. The match took place from 29 January to 2 Feb ...
and losing the only
One Day International
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
played, and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, drawing all three Test matches and sharing the ODIs 2–2. Before this, they had endured a "hostile" and highly controversial
tour of Pakistan, during which an argument between captain
Mike Gatting
Michael William Gatting (born 6 June 1957) is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex (1975–1998; captain 1983–1997) and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test ma ...
and
umpire
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
Shakoor Rana had led to a diplomatic incident.
The three match series was lost 1–0, but the "teasing, taunting... bemusing" performance of
leg-spinner
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...
Abdul Qadir
Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir ( ar, عبد القادر) is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means "servant of the powerful", ''Al-Qādir'' being one of the names of God in the ...
, who took 30
wicket
In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...
s in three Tests,
was unlikely to be repeated, given that the West Indies' only specialist spinner was
Roger Harper
Roger Andrew Harper (born 17 March 1963) is a Guyanese former cricketer turned coach, who played both Test and One Day International cricket for the West Indies cricket team. His international career lasted 13 years, from 1983 to 1996, and he w ...
,
an
off-break
Off spin is a type of finger spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners are right-handed spin bowlers who use their fingers to spin the ball. Their normal delivery is an off break, which spi ...
bowler.
Despite having lost 5–0 to the West Indies in each of the two most recent series,
England had grounds for optimism, following good performances in the
shorter form of the game: the team had reached the
World Cup Final the previous year, losing to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Writing in the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'', Mike Bowen disparaged Gatting's captaincy, but talked up England's chances, based on their batting line-up. Gatting entered the summer as incumbent, but his position had been undermined by poor England Test performances and his on-field spat with Shakoor Rana. As such, he had been appointed captain only for the Texaco Trophy.
England's "summer of four captains"
As the series unfolded, England were dominated by the West Indians in what Andrew Miller and Martin Williamson of ''
ESPNcricinfo
ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...
'' described as "the crazy summer of 1988". The cadence of the summer's contest was summed up for ''
Wisden
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
'' by
Tony Cozier
Winston Anthony Lloyd Cozier (10 July 1940 – 11 May 2016) was a Barbadian cricket journalist, writer, and radio commentator on West Indian cricket for over fifty years. Scyld Berry wrote that he was both the voice and the conscience of West I ...
: "The morale and reputation of English cricket has seldom been as severely bruised as it was during the 1988 Cornhill Insurance Test series against West Indies".
The significance of there being four captains in just five Test matches can better be understood with context. The
captain of a cricket team performs a vital role. Cricket captains have responsibility for strategy and tactics, and the England captain may also have an important say in team selection. Traditionally, captains of international teams are not changed frequently – for example, during the entire decade of the 1970s, only seven different men captained England,
yet there were four captains in just a few weeks in the summer of 1988.
The many changes of captain over the summer reflected uncertainty in the English cricketing establishment as to how to respond to the drubbing the team was receiving from the West Indies; as Cozier put it, the selectors "did not seem to know where to turn, either for a new captain or for a settled team".
The England team had not suffered such uncertainty since the
West Indies tour of England in 1966, where the
selector
Selector may refer to:
*Selector, electrical or mechanical component, a switch
*''Selector'', music scheduling software for radio stations created by Radio Computing Services
*Selector, of music, otherwise known as a disc jockey
*Selector, a pers ...
s chose three different captains (
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Univers ...
,
M. J. K. Smith
Michael John Knight Smith , better known as M. J. K. Smith or Mike Smith, (born 30 June 1933) is an English former cricketer who was captain of Oxford University Cricket Club (1956), Warwickshire County Cricket Club (1957–1967) and ...
and
Brian Close
Dennis Brian Close, (24 February 1931 – 13 September 2015) was an English first-class cricketer. He was picked to play against New Zealand in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England, ...
) and England lost the five-Test series 3–1. Coincidentally,
Peter May Peter May may refer to:
*Peter W. May, American businessman
*Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English Test cricketer
*Peter May (writer)
Peter May (born 20 December 1951) is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. H ...
was on the Board of Selectors for the 1966 series, while he was chairman of the Board of Selectors for the 1988 series.
Statistical summary
Before the Test series began, the West Indian cricket team played three One Day Internationals against England in May 1988. All of the ODIs were won by England, largely thanks to disciplined, economical bowling by
Gladstone Small
Gladstone Cleophas Small (born 18 October 1961) is an English former cricketer, who played in 17 Test matches and 53 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for the England cricket team.
Small was primarily a pace bowler, he was selected for the 1986 ...
,
Phil DeFreitas and
Derek Pringle
Derek Raymond Pringle (born 18 September 1958) is an English former Test and One Day International cricketer for England, and is now a cricket journalist.
Life and career
Pringle was born in Nairobi, Kenya. His father Donald Pringle, who had ...
throughout and good batting performances from Gatting in the First (82
*) and Third (40*) ODIs.
England retained the
Texaco Trophy
The Texaco Trophy was the name used for One Day International cricket tournaments held in England from 1984 until 1998.
The series were sponsored by American oil company Texaco replacing the previous sponsorship by the UK's Prudential (between 1 ...
.
The ODIs were followed by five Test matches. The First Test was drawn, and the remaining four Tests were all won convincingly by the West Indies.
The West Indies played 11
first-class matches
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...
, in addition to the five Tests,
defeating
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
in May and
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
in June. The other nine first-class matches, and the First Test, were all drawn:
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
,
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
,
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
,
Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
,
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
,
and
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
.
During the match against Gloucestershire at
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, immediately after the ODI series,
Phil Simmons
Philip Verant Simmons (born 18 April 1963) is a Trinidadian cricket coach and former cricketer who was an all-rounder played as an opening batsman, a medium-fast bowler and a slip fielder. He is the current coach of the West Indies cricket ...
suffered a horrific injury, receiving a ball to the head from bowler
David Lawrence. Not wearing a
helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
, the blow caused his heart to stop and he had to be taken to hospital where he underwent emergency brain surgery. He missed the rest of the tour, but made a full recovery in time for the
1991 West Indies tour of England.
In addition to the One Day Internationals, there were four other non-first-class fixtures. West Indies beat
Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI
The Duke of Norfolk's XI is a scratch cricket team. It was originally named for the 16th Duke, but following his death in 1975 the team played on in his widow's name as Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI. After her own death in 1995, the title re ...
in a 40-over match,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
in a 50-over match and a combined
Oxford and Cambridge Universities team over two days; they also drew with
Minor Counties
The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...
in a two-day match.
Jeffrey Dujon was selected as one of the
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
for his performances during the 1988 season. The article in the 1989 edition said that his "value was repeatedly emphasised" during the 1988 series and that his performances "invariably steadied the innings; he held twenty catches and missed little."
One Day Internationals
England won the Texaco Trophy 3–0.
1st ODI
England omitted
Eddie Hemmings,
Bill Athey
Charles William Jeffrey Athey (born 27 September 1957) is a retired English first-class cricketer, who played for England, and first-class cricket for Gloucestershire, Yorkshire and Sussex; he also played a solitary one-day game for Worcesters ...
and
Neal Radford
Neal Victor Radford (born 7 June 1957) is an English former first-class cricketer, who appeared in three Tests and six ODIs for England.
Radford was born at Luanshya in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He played domestically for Transvaal, L ...
from their squad of 14.
[ They won the toss and elected to put the West Indies in to bat.] Simmons and Greenidge made a first-wicket partnership of 34 before the former was caught by Allan Lamb
Allan Joseph Lamb (born 20 June 1954) is a South African-born former English cricketer, who played for the first-class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire. Making his Test debut in 1982, he was a fixture in the Test and One-Day Intern ...
off the bowling of Graham Dilley
Graham Roy Dilley (18 May 1959 – 5 October 2011) was an English international cricketer, whose main role was as a fast bowler. He played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club and Worcestershire County Cricket Clubs, and appeared in ...
. Bowling alternate overs, Pringle and Small then dismissed Greenidge, Richards and Richie Richardson
Sir Richard Benjamin Richardson, KCN (born 12 January 1962) is a former West Indies international cricketer and a former captain of the West Indian cricket team.
He was a flamboyant batsman and superb player of fast bowling. He was famous for ...
, leaving the West Indies on 72 for four. Gus Logie
Augustine Lawrence Logie (born 28 September 1960), commonly known as Gus Logie, is a former West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago cricketer and is currently an international cricket coach.
Logie played in the dominant West Indies team of the 1980 ...
and Carl Hooper
Carl Llewelyn Hooper (born 15 December 1966) is a former Guyanese cricketer who captained the West Indies in Tests and ODIs. An all-rounder, he was a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler, who came to prominence in the late 1980s in a side ...
were restricted to singles as the England captain Gatting kept a tight in-field. Hooper made his half-century before being dismissed one run later, caught by John Emburey
John Ernest Emburey (born 20 August 1952) is a former English first-class cricketer who played for Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Western Province, Berkshire and England.
According to cricket writer Colin Bateman, Emburey's participation in two So ...
off the bowling of Small. Logie fell to Small 11 runs later, caught behind, with the score on 180 for six. The West Indies tail-enders provided little resistance to England, and the innings concluded with the visitors being dismissed for 217 off the last ball.[
In reply, ]Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch, (born 23 July 1953) is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, h ...
and Chris Broad had a confident start and made an opening partnership of 70 before Broad was caught by Greenidge off Marshall's bowling. With the West Indies focus on restricting Gatting, Gooch was able to progress relatively unhindered but was dismissed for 43 by Ambrose, caught by Harper, and England were 119 for two. Then, described by Mike Selvey
Michael Walter William Selvey (born 25 April 1948), known as Mike Selvey, is an English former Test and county cricketer, and now a cricket writer and commentator. Selvey played in three Tests for England in 1976 and 1977. His county cricket co ...
, writing in ''The Guardian'', as a "loony period of kamikaze running", Monte Lynch
Monte Alan Lynch, (born 21 May 1958) is a Guyanese-born English cricketer. His family emigrated to England when he was a child. He played in three One Day Internationals for England and in 359 first-class matches.
Lynch was a hard-hitting ba ...
was run out on his debut while both Gatting and Lamb narrowly avoided a similar fate. The latter was bowled by Hooper on 11, with England then 153 for four. Gatting, partnered by Pringle, made his fifty, and guided England to the total required with two overs to spare, winning the match by six wickets.[ Small was named ]man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
for what Selvey described as "inspired bowling".
2nd ODI
The second ODI, at Headingley, saw the West Indies win the toss and elect to field. They dropped Harper to play four fast bowlers, yet Gooch and Broad made a steady start, scoring 17 off the first three overs. Scyld Berry
Anthony Scyld Ivens Berry, known as Scyld Berry (pronounced "Shild", born 28 April 1954) is an English journalist and cricket correspondent of the ''Daily Telegraph''. He was editor of ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' from 2008 until 2011.
He was ...
described the subsequent period of batting as "one awful struggle against the fast bowlers" and compared it to Test match play. When Gatting was caught by Richards off Marshall's bowling, England were 64 for two, Lynch, Lamb and Gooch all failed to make an impression as their team collapsed to 83 for five. Pringle and Paul Downton
Paul Rupert Downton (born 4 April 1957) is the current Director of Cricket at Kent County Cricket Club. He had previously been the managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board between February 2014 and April 2015.
He is a former ...
then put on a sixth-wicket partnership of 66 before the former was caught behind by Dujon. Berry noted that Richards' insistence on bowling himself denied "his best bowlers" six overs. Downton made 30 before falling to Bishop with England on 154 for seven, but with DeFreitas making 15, supported by Emburey and Small, England concluded their innings on 186 for eight.
The West Indies made a poor start to their reply, losing Simmons, Richardson and Greenidge to be 38 for three. Despite some resistance from their captain Richards, he was bowled by Small after making a quick 31, and with Logie with Lynch catching from Dilley's bowling, the visitors were 67 for five. Dujon made 12 before being bowled by Pringle, and Marshall was by Gooch for 1. Hooper made 12 before being caught leg before wicket by Pringle, and despite a 28-run ninth wicket partnership between Ambrose and Walsh, the West Indies were bowled out in the 47th over, on 139, to lose the second ODI by 47 runs. Pringle, scoring 39 with the bat and with bowling figures of 3 for 30, was named man of the match.[
]
3rd ODI
The third ODI, at Lord's, saw Radford replace Dilley for England, the latter suffering from a "viral complaint". The match was disrupted several times by rain: a single ball was bowled by England, who had won the toss and elected to field, before the first weather delay of the day curtailed play. A first-wicket partnership of 40 between Greenidge and Haynes was followed by poor innings from Richardson, Logie and Richards, whose wicket fell after making 13 runs from 46 deliveries, with the West Indies on 95 for five. Hooper was then run out on 12 before the innings was brought to an early close due to poor weather, on 125 for six, with five overs remaining. The following morning, Marshall and Dujon took the attack to England and scored 53 runs in the final overs, ending the West Indies innings on 178 for seven. Gooch and Broad made a 71-run opening partnership before the former was stumped off Hooper's bowling. Broad was dismissed with England on 108 for two, but Gatting and Lynch, then Lamb, saw England reach the total with relative ease, winning by seven wickets with five overs to spare. The West Indies conceded the highest number of extras in the ODI format, conceding 42 runs mainly from leg byes and no balls.
DeFreitas was named man of the match as England whitewashed the one-day series against the West Indies for the first time ever.[
]
Test matches
First Test
Gatting was the incumbent England captain for the First Test at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is also t ...
. England won the toss and elected to bat, making 220 for five on the first day, with an opening partnership of 125 between Gooch and Broad. Marshall picked up four wickets, including England's top three, with Ambrose claiming the fifth wicket. Play was extended by thirty minutes due to the slow over rate of the West Indies. The West Indies dominated the second day, with Ambrose and Marshall taking the remaining five wickets for 22 runs, the latter taking 6 wickets for 69 runs. In reply, Greenidge and Haynes made a first-wicket partnership of 54 against the bowling of Dilley and DeFreitas, before Greenidge was caught behind from the bowling of Paul Jarvis. Richardson was then caught by Gatting off Emburey for 17. Richards entered the field and between him and Haynes, took the West Indies to 125 for two by close of play. Day three was rain-affected, with England managing to take the wickets of Richards and Haynes, but only after both had made half-centuries. Play closed early due to the inclement weather with the West Indies on 264 for 4, holding a lead of 19 with six wickets remaining. A rest day followed the third day, and on day four, the West Indies extended their lead over England. With 80 from Hooper, and an eighth-wicket partnership of 91 between Ambrose and Marshall, Richards declared on 448 for 9, a lead of 203, with less than four hours of the day's play remaining. England made slow progress for the remainder of the day, making it to 67 for one after 31 overs, with opener Gooch not out on 38. On day five, Gooch continued to dominate the West Indian bowlers, and partnered first by Gatting and then David Gower
David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 Te ...
, he scored 146 as England ended the day on 301 for three and secured the draw.
Before the Second Test, Gatting was sacked for an alleged off-field indiscretion with a barmaid
A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...
. The tabloid media made allegations of "shenanigans" in his room; he "admitted taking... erinto his room but denied anything untoward had happened". During the previous winter, Gatting had been involved in an on-field altercation with umpire Shakoor Rana in Pakistan that snowballed into a diplomatic disaster with the third day of the second Test in Faisalabad
Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...
being abandoned and accusations of cheating. His recently published autobiography ''Leading From The Front'' "...was banned in all shops on county grounds. Gatting was good enough to lead Middlesex and England, but spectators couldn't buy his book at Lord's". This proved to be Gatting's last match as captain. He had captained England in 23 Test matches since taking charge against India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in 1986, but won only two.
Second Test
Gatting was replaced as England captain by his Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
colleague John Emburey. Writing in ''The Guardian'', Mike Selvey suggested that "the England captaincy at present has all the appeal and life expectancy of a South American dictatorship" and suggested that Emburey's position was "more tenuous than most have been at the time of their appointment". Gatting was also dropped from the team, replaced by Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
's Martyn Moxon
Martyn Douglas Moxon (born 4 May 1960) is a former English cricketer, who played in ten Test matches and eight One Day Internationals for England and for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1980 and 1997. In May 2007, Moxon was confirmed as ...
. DeFreitas was also replaced, by Small, but the tourists were unchanged.
The West Indies won the toss and opted to bat first. England began the Test with "an inspirational morning session" of fast bowling from Dilley, who took four of the first five wickets to fall to reduce the West Indies to 54/5. At lunch on the first day, Dilley had figures of 4/35, and "he would have taken five had Pringle at first slip
Slip or SLIP may refer to:
Science and technology Biology
* Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole
* Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting
* Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy
Computing and ...
caught Logie when he was 10". Logie and Dujon settled in to score 81 and 53 respectively, as the West Indies were eventually all out for 209. In reply, England lost Broad for a duck, and ended the day on 20 for one.[ Moxon, Gower and Gooch all contributed to getting England up to 112 for two, but from then on, the West Indies seam bowling dominated, with Marshall taking 6/32, and with England all out on 165, helped secure a first-innings lead for the visitors of 44 runs. Greenidge and Haynes then faced 6.3 overs between them before the day's play came to a close.
On day three, the touring batsmen completely dominated England's bowlers, adding a further 334 runs, including a century from Greenidge and fifties from Richards and Logie. The West Indies held a 398-run with five wickets in hand as play closed for the day. During the rest day, it was confirmed that Emburey would remain as England captain for the third Test. The fourth day of the second Test match began with England's bowlers taking the remaining five wickets for 43 runs in 11 overs, with the West Indies all out for 397 which set England a target of 442 to win. Logie ended on 95 not out as he ran out of batting partners with both Ambrose and Walsh out for ducks. Other than Lamb who scored 99 not out, England's top order offered little resistance to the West Indies bowling attack, and they ended the day on 214 for seven. The final day saw good innings from a number of the England ]tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...
with Downton scoring 27, Emburey 30, Jarvis 29* and Dilley 28, but the final wicket fell soon after lunch. England were all out for 307 and lost the Test match by 134 runs.
Third Test
The England team had a different look for the third Test, with four changes to the team. The 36-year-old Essex left-arm spinner John Childs made his debut, becoming the oldest England debutant since Dick Howorth
Richard Howorth (26 April 1909 – 2 April 1980) was an English cricketer who played as an all-rounder for Worcestershire County Cricket Club between 1933 and 1951. Chiefly remembered as a left-arm orthodox spin bowler, Howorth also occasionall ...
in 1947. Childs joined the recalled Gatting and DeFreitas, and newcomer David Capel
David John Capel (6 February 19632 September 2020) was an English cricketer who played for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club and the English cricket team. Cricket writer Colin Bateman noted that "Capel was one of those unfortunate cricketer ...
. Small and Jarvis were both unavailable as a result of injury, and Pringle was dropped. Most media attention however was focused on Broad, who was also dropped, "ostensibly for his consistent failure to make runs in home Tests, but there was always a suspicion that he was being disciplined for the incident at Lord's when he was spotted by a television camera mouthing his disappointment at an lbw decision". For West Indies, Haynes was unfit, ending a run of 72 consecutive caps. He was replaced by the spinner Harper, and Patterson was replaced by Benjamin.
England won the toss and elected to bat, and were quickly two wickets, on 14 for two. Only Gooch, Lamb and Downton offered any real resistance to the West Indian fast bowling attack, as England were bowled out for 135. No batsman scored more than 33 in England's first innings, as the four quick bowlers shared the wickets. Selvey, in ''The Guardian'', was unforgiving in his criticism: "it was pathetic: a capitulation" and that the "debacle was inexcusable". In reply, the West Indies made it to 242 for five by the end of a rain-affected second day, with Greenidge scoring 45 and Richards 47. The third day was once again affected by weather, this time in the form of hailstorms, but the West Indies increased their score to 357 for six, Dujon being the only batsman to fall throughout the day, on 67. That evening, Richards accused the English of deliberating over-watering the Old Trafford pitch so as to reduce the potency of the West Indies attack. After a rest day, the West Indies innings continued into the fourth day, afflicted by poor light. After the loss of Harper for 74, Richards declared on 384 for seven, a lead of 249. In reply, England faced just 29 overs but lost Gooch, Gatting and Moxon cheaply, ending the day's play on 60 for three. On day five, England collapsed, with only Gower make double figures while Capel and DeFreitas were dismissed without scoring. England were all out for 93, Marshall finishing with figures of 15.4–5–22–7, the best of his Test career. Extras were the third highest scorer, with 12. England were "unable to cope for any length of time with the West Indian fast bowlers" and never gave even a sign of competing in a one-sided affair. Two former England captains, Ted Dexter
Edward Ralph Dexter, (15 May 1935 – 25 August 2021) was an England international cricketer.
An aggressive middle-order batsman of ferocious power and a right-arm medium bowler, he captained Sussex and England in the early 1960s. He captaine ...
and Bob Willis
Robert George Dylan Willis (born Robert George Willis; 30 May 1949 – 4 December 2019) was an English cricketer, who represented England between 1971 and 1984. A right-handed fast bowler, Willis is regarded by many as one of the greatest fa ...
, called on the chairman of selectors, Peter May, to resign.
On 15 July 1988, ten days after the end of the third Test, it was announced that England's third captain of the series would be Chris Cowdrey, son of Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Univers ...
, an England captain in the 1960s. May stated: "our performance in the series to date has been disappointing and we believe that Chris's style of leadership is what is now required". Coincidentally, Cowdrey was May's godson, and it was expected that the appointment would last at least until the end of the series.[ The England selectors surprised the cricket public with their new appointment as captain, selecting a player who many believed owed his appointment more to his father than his own ability.] Cowdrey was a successful captain of Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
in county cricket
Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship ...
, but had played just five Tests previously, during the 1984–85 tour to India, captained by David Gower
David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 Te ...
.[ He became only the second son to follow his father as captain of the England cricket team, after George Mann in the 1940s followed Frank Mann in the 1920s.
]
Fourth Test
The England side was thoroughly shaken-up following the debacle in the Third Test at Old Trafford. The selectors tried to turn things around with seven new faces in the team, the most extensive change of an England XI during a Test series since seven players were changed for Tests in the 1921 Ashes Tests. As well as Cowdrey replacing Emburey, Gatting asked not to be considered for selection and the selectors also dropped Downton, Moxon, Capel, Defreitas and Childs in favour of Pringle, Neil Foster
Neil Alan Foster (born 6 May 1962) is an English former professional cricketer, who played 29 Test matches and 48 One Day Internationals for England from 1983 to 1993. Domestically Foster played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1980 to 1993, ...
, Athey, Jack Richards, Tim Curtis
Timothy Stephen Curtis (born 15 January 1960, Chislehurst, Kent) is a former England cricketer, English teacher and Director of Sport at RGS Worcester. He retired from teaching in 2016.
A right-handed batsman, Curtis was a prolific scorer for ...
and Robin Smith, with the last two set to make their Test debuts. For the West Indies, both Greenidge and Richardson sat the match out, injured: Haynes returned, and a debut was handed to Keith Arthurton
Keith Lloyd Thomas Arthurton (born 21 February 1965) is a former West Indian cricketer. Having become only the third player to hail from Nevis, the middle order batsman/left-arm orthodox bowler played in 33 Tests between July 1988 and August 19 ...
. Jeff Dujon was promoted up the batting order as a makeshift opener.
The match suffered an unusual delay shortly after it began. Play "was halted after two overs ... when the bowler's run-up at the Rugby Club End was found to be flooded ... The drains had been blocked before the Test to try to retain moisture in the square. But the Yorkshire club insisted that all drains were functioning properly by the start of the match and put the cause of the trouble on the volume of overnight rain." Umpires Dickie Bird
Harold Dennis "Dickie" Bird, (born 19 April 1933), is an English retired international cricket umpire. During his long umpiring career, he became a much-loved figure among players and viewing public, due to his excellence as an umpire, but al ...
and David Shepherd became involved in an exchange recalled nearly 30 years later in ''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'':
“It’s wet, Shep!” Dickie shouted across to his co-umpire David Shepherd. “Well throw some sawdust on it Dickie!” Shepherd shouted back. “Sawdust? Nay lad, it’s a lake!” Dickie yelled back, and, on a ground bathed in sunshine, off they all went. “You again Bird!” barked a disgruntled spectator as the players neared the pavilion, to which Dickie famously replied: “Don’t blame me. I’m an umpire, not a plumber.”
The West Indies won the toss and put England in to bat. Considerable rain had fallen overnight and the start of play had to be delayed by nearly an hour because of drizzle. After just two overs, an underground leak erupted at the Rugby Stand end of Headingley, causing play to be suspended until 2:30p.m. England wickets fell regularly throughout the afternoon, leaving them at 80 for four, but an unbeaten fifth-wicket partnership between Lamb and Smith saw the day's play close with England on 137 for four. After increasing their stand to 103 on day two, Lamb was forced to retire injured, on 64 and England on 183 for four. He went to take a single before hobbling and collapsing at the bowler's end with a torn calf muscle. Smith was then caught behind and Cowdrey was out lbw without scoring. The lower order failed to provide any real resistance to the West Indian bowlers, and England were bowled out for 201. Dujon was the first to fall, followed by Hooper and Richards, while Haynes made a half-century before being trapped lbw by Pringle with the West Indies on 137 for four. Logie was then caught by Foster off a slower ball from Pringle, before rain curtailed the day's play with the West Indies on 156 for five, 45 runs behind England.
Rain delayed the start of the third day, with play not possible until 2:45p.m. and in the two hours of play before the inclement weather returned, the West Indies were on 238 for eight with Harper on 31. He completed his half-century on day four before being the last wicket to fall, the West Indies being 275 all out with a lead of 74. Gooch and Curtis put on an opening stand of 56 before the latter was bowled by Ambrose. After making his half-century, Gooch was caught by Hooper off the bowling of Walsh with England 80 for two. England then collapsed, losing their remaining wickets for 58 more runs, including 19 from Lamb who played despite carrying his injury. All out on a total of 138, England held a lead of 47 going into the final day. Just 26 minutes into day five, the West Indies made their target without loss, winning the match by ten wickets and taking an unassailable 3–0 lead in the series into the fifth and final Test. Cowdrey suggested the defeat was in part directly as a result of the loss of Lamb mid-partnership with Smith: "you need partnerships to put pressure on he West Indian bowlers for as soon as you lose a wicket, they raise their game".
Fifth Test
The England selectors turned to 35-year-old Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch, (born 23 July 1953) is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, h ...
, stalwart opening batsman
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...
, as their fourth captain of the series, for the Fifth Test at The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
. England also replaced Cowdrey with DeFreitas, dropped Gower for Matthew Maynard
Matthew Peter Maynard, (born 21 March 1966) is an English cricket coach and former cricketer. He played in four Tests and fourteen ODIs for England.
Maynard was a batsman (and, later in his career, wicketkeeper) known for his aggressive and da ...
, and replaced the injured Allan Lamb
Allan Joseph Lamb (born 20 June 1954) is a South African-born former English cricketer, who played for the first-class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire. Making his Test debut in 1982, he was a fixture in the Test and One-Day Intern ...
with Rob Bailey, a recall and two Test debuts respectively. The tourists replaced the youngster Arthurton with Greenidge, who had recovered from an injury.
England won the toss and elected to bat, with Gooch receiving the first ball, but the new captain was the first wicket to fall with the score on only 12. Some solid top-order play from Curtis (30), Bailey (43) and Smith (57) was followed by some mediocre scores from the middle- and lower-order batsmen. The West Indian off spinner Harper took three wickets, being the first England wickets to fall to spin during the summer. England then collapsed again and lost six wickets for 83 runs to end the day on 203 for nine. Just two more runs were added on the second day as Marshall had Foster caught off the third ball of the day, his 34th wicket of the series. After nine overs, the West Indies had collapsed to 16 for three with Foster taking the wickets of Haynes, Greenidge and Richards. Logie and Dujon then steadied the innings, taking the score to 155 for five but the tail-enders offered little resistance. Losing their last five wickets for 28 runs, the West Indies were all out for 183. England started their second innings with a lead of 22, with Gooch and Curtis making a 50-run opening partnership before the latter was out lbw. Bailey and Smith both fell with the score on 55, and play ended for the day with Gooch unbeaten on 38 and England on 64 for three, 86 ahead of the West Indies. Foster, the nightwatchman, and Gooch completed a 50-run partnership on the morning of day three before the former was caught by Logie off Benjamin's bowling. Gooch remained at the crease for almost the whole innings, described by Scyld Berry
Anthony Scyld Ivens Berry, known as Scyld Berry (pronounced "Shild", born 28 April 1954) is an English journalist and cricket correspondent of the ''Daily Telegraph''. He was editor of ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' from 2008 until 2011.
He was ...
writing in ''The Observer'' as "one of the most famous by an England captain in recent years".[ His was the last wicket to fall, caught by Greenidge off Ambrose, for a seven-hour 84, and England were all out for 202, a lead of 224. In reply, the West Indies made an unbeaten start, with Greenidge making a half-century and his side ended the day on 71 without loss, requiring 154 runs for victory. Gooch's Test match ended with a trip to hospital to address a dislocated finger sustained while he fielded at slip.] After a rest day, the West Indies resumed their run chase and a first-wicket partnership of 131 came to an end when Greenidge was out for 77, caught behind off Childs' bowling. Hooper made 23 before being bowled by Foster but Logie (38*) and the opener Haynes (77*) secured the victory by eight wickets with more than a day of the Test match to spare, and ensured a 4–0 series victory for the West Indies.
Aftermath
Gooch had enjoyed a successful series against West Indies as a batsman, named 'Man of the series' for England. He remained in charge for England's next match, against Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
at Lord's later in the 1988 season, in which he achieved his first victory as captain. Gooch was appointed captain for the 1988–89 tour of India, which was cancelled after India refused visas to eight players who had played in South Africa,[ and he was replaced as captain in summer 1989 by a new England management team, who reappointed ]David Gower
David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 Te ...
for the six-match Ashes series
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...
at home against Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. England lost 4–0, bringing Gower's long captaincy career to a close. When a "rebel" England tour of South Africa (breaking the sporting boycott of South Africa) was announced, a number of candidates for captain were removed from the picture, as those who joined the tour, captained by Gatting, were banned from regular international cricket.
Gooch was reappointed England captain for the tour to West Indies in the winter of 1989–90 and remained in that position until 1993. Personally, he achieved great success: for much of this period, he was also rated as one of the world's leading batsmen.
England's fortunes under Gooch revived. With so many potential players banned from the side, England took a new-look team to West Indies in 1989–90, and won the first Test, their first victory over the West Indies in Test cricket since 1974. Gooch's hand was broken by fast bowler Ezra Moseley
Ezra Alphonsa Moseley (5 January 1958 – 6 February 2021) was a Barbadian cricketer who played in two Test matches and nine One Day Internationals for the West Indies cricket team in 1990 and 1991. He was the only member of the 1982 rebel tou ...
and he missed the rest of the series. Understudy Allan Lamb
Allan Joseph Lamb (born 20 June 1954) is a South African-born former English cricketer, who played for the first-class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire. Making his Test debut in 1982, he was a fixture in the Test and One-Day Intern ...
lost both of his matches in charge and England lost the series, but had performed creditably: Wisden reported "The truth of the matter is that at worst they merited a shared series, and at best an unimaginable upset of the world champions of Test Cricket." The 1991 home series, yet again versus West Indies, was a hard-fought 2–2 draw, and, in one-day cricket, England reached the World Cup final for the second successive time the following winter, losing to Pakistan. Away from home, though, England were not so strong, losing heavily to Australia in 1990–91 and to India and Sri Lanka in 1992–93, though these were either side of a series victory in New Zealand.
The West Indies team's next opposition was Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
where the team enjoyed a 3–1 Test series win on foreign soil, their only defeat in that series coming on a pitch friendly to spin bowling in which 11 wickets were taken by the occasional left-arm spin of Allan Border. "The West Indians made a slow start to their tour, losing twice to Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
before running into form... So effectively, at times irresistibly, did Vivian Richards's West Indian side play in the first three Test matches in Australia that by the New Year they had already retained the Frank Worrell Trophy
The Frank Worrell Trophy is awarded to the winner of the West Indies– Australia Test match series in cricket. The trophy is named after Frank Worrell who was the first black captain of the West Indies. It was first awarded at the end of the 1 ...
."
The West Indies went on to record further Test series victories in the next two years, defeating India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
3–0 in a four-Test series in the Caribbean in 1988–89, and narrowly beating England once again in the Caribbean in 1989–90. However, the team's long period of pre-eminence was coming to an end. For several of their senior players, the 1991 tour of England was a swansong: Richards, Marshall and Dujon all retired from Tests after the final match, while Greenidge, after 108 Tests, had announced his intention to do likewise but was forced out of the tour by injury before the Tests began, and Logie also played his last of his 52 Tests on the tour. Nevertheless, the West Indies were to remain unbeaten in a Test series for a few more years yet, but never as dominant as they had been: and their 2–1 home defeat by Australia in 1994–95 saw the West Indies relinquish the mantle as the World's best Test cricket side to their visitors, and by the time that the International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
launched the official Test rankings in 2001, the West Indies were rated as the sixth best team in the world.
In one way, the 1988 series was a watershed. The 4–0 win in 1988 was the fifth series win in succession for West Indies on English soil, a run stretching back to 1973, and part of a longer series of seven wins out of eight stretching back to 1963. Since then, West Indies have failed to win another series in England, with defeats in 2000, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017 and 2020, and drawn series in 1991 and 1995. On home turf, West Indies continued their domination until the new millennium, since when West Indies have won twice, England once and there has been one drawn series.
References
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1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
1988 in English cricket
1988 in cricket
International cricket competitions from 1985–86 to 1988