The

England cricket team The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engl ...

toured Australia during the 1990–91 cricket season to compete in a 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 against Australia for

the Ashes 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 ...

. While in Australia, England also played a number of tour matches against state and representative teams, and competed in the one-day international (ODI)

World Series Cup The Australian Tri-Series was an annual one day international (ODI) cricket tournament held in Australia, and contested by Australia and two touring teams. The series was the primary format for international one-day cricket throughout most of t ...

against Australia 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 ...

. At the conclusion of the tour, England flew to New Zealand to participate in a three-game ODI series. Under the captaincy of

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 ...

, England were unable to regain the Ashes, losing the series 3–0.

Touring squad

The England squad flew out to Australia on 18 October 1990. The personnel was vastly different due to the turbulent years that had followed the previous tour to Australia, which had been won 2–1 under

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 ...

, who had chosen to captain an England XI on a rebel tour of South Africa and subsequently had been banned from Test cricket for three years. Following the humiliation of the

1989 Ashes series The 1989 Ashes series was a series of Test cricket matches contested between England and Australia for the Ashes. It formed part of the 1989 Australian tour of England. The six-Test series began on 8 June 1989 at Headingley in Leeds and ended on ...

defeat,

replaced

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 ...

as captain and although England continued their streak of series defeats against West Indies (going down 2–1 after winning the First Test), they won back much respect, and then followed up with series wins against India and New Zealand during the home summer. As a result, although the initial squad contained a number of inexperienced Test players (only five squad members – Gooch, Gower,

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 ...

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� ...

and Eddie Hemmings – had been on earlier tours of Australia), journalists such as former Test cricketer

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 for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' at the time) felt somewhat confident that England could match it with the Australians. *

( c) (Essex) *

( vc) (Northamptonshire) *

Michael Atherton Michael Andrew Atherton (born 23 March 1968) is a broadcaster, journalist and a former England international first-class cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England, and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the ca ...

(Lancashire) *

Wayne Larkins Wayne Larkins (born 22 November 1953) is an English former cricketer, who represented Northamptonshire, Durham and Bedfordshire as an opening batsman throughout his career. He was selected to play for England as Graham Gooch's opening partner ...

(Northamptonshire) *

(Hampshire) * Robin Smith (Hampshire) * John Morris (Derbyshire) *

Alec Stewart Alec James Stewart (born 8 April 1963) is an English former cricketer, and former captain of the England cricket team, who played Test cricket and One Day Internationals as a right-handed wicket-keeper-batsman. He is the fourth-most- capped E ...

( wk) (Surrey) * Jack Russell ( wk) (Gloucestershire) * Chris Lewis (Leicestershire) * Eddie Hemmings (Nottinghamshire) *

Phil Tufnell Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell (born 29 April 1966) is a former English international cricketer and current television and radio personality. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, he played in 42 Test matches and 20 One Day Internationals for ...

(Middlesex) *

Angus Fraser Angus Robert Charles Fraser (born 8 August 1965) is an English cricket administrator. He served as the managing director of Middlesex Cricket between 2009 and 2021, before assuming a new role heading the club's academy He is also a former E ...

(Middlesex) *

Devon Malcolm Devon Eugene Malcolm (born 22 February 1963) is a former English cricketer. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Malcolm played in 40 Test matches and 30 One Day Internationals for the England cricket team. At his best, he was the unquestionably the f ...

(Derbyshire) *

(Warwickshire) *

Martin Bicknell Martin Paul Bicknell (born 14 January 1969) is a former English cricketer. He played in four Test matches, with the last two, against South Africa in 2003, coming ten years after the first two in the 1993 Ashes series. England had played 114 ...

(Surrey)

Phillip DeFreitas Phillip Anthony Jason "Daffy" DeFreitas (born 18 February 1966) is an English former cricketer. He played county cricket for Leicestershire, Lancashire and Derbyshire, as well as appearing in 44 Test matches and 103 ODIs. Cricket writer Colin ...

(Lancashire) Hugh Morris (Glamorgan) and

Phil Newport Philip John Newport (born 11 October 1962 in High Wycombe) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played primarily as a seam and swing bowler. Newport was a stalwart of Worcestershire County Cricket Club for most of the 1980s and 19 ...

(Worcestershire) received subsequent call-ups to cover or replace injured players. As on the previous Australian series, the tour was managed by Peter Lush, while

Micky Stewart Michael James Stewart (born 16 September 1932) is an English former cricketer, coach and administrator. A right-handed batsman, Stewart's international career was hampered by illness that curtailed his first overseas tour – serving as vice-ca ...

was team manager.

Test series summary

1st Test

2nd Test

3rd Test

4th Test

5th Test

Tour matches

October * 25 - WACA President's XI - Lilac Hill, Perth, Western Australia - England won by 6 wickets * 30 - Western Australia Combined XI - Perth, Australia - WAC XI won by 3 wickets November * 2-5 -

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 ...

- Perth, Western Australia - match drawn * 9-12 -

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

- Adelaide, South Australia - South Australia won by 6 wickets * 14 -

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

- Hobart, Tasmania - England won by 8 wickets * 16-19 - An Australian XI - Hobart, Australia - match drawn December * 4 -

Prime Minister's XI The Prime Minister's XI or PM's XI (formerly Australian Prime Minister's Invitation XI) is an invitational cricket team picked by the Prime Minister of Australia for an annual match held at the Manuka Oval in Canberra against an overseas touring ...

- Canberra, Australian Capital Territory - PM's XI won by 31 runs * 20-23 -

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

- Ballarat, Victoria - match drawn January * 13-16 -

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

- Albury, New South Wales - NSW won by 6 wickets * 19-22 -

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

- Carrarra, Queensland - England won by 10 wickets

World Series Cup

England also played in the

triangular tournament with Australia and

. England finished third in the table not qualifying for the finals. December *1 v New Zealand, Adelaide Oval - New Zealand by 7 runs *7 v New Zealand, WACA, Perth - England by 4 wickets *9 v Australia, WACA, Perth - Australia by 6 wickets *13 v New Zealand, Sydney Cricket Ground - England by 33 runs *15 v New Zealand, Gabba, Brisbane - New Zealand by 8 wickets *16 v Australia, Gabba, Brisbane - Australia by 37 runs January *1 v Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground - Australia by 68 runs *10 v Australia, Melbourne Cricket Ground - Australia by 3 runs *England failed to qualify for the finals.

External sources

CricketArchive – tour itinerary

Annual reviews

Playfair Cricket Annual ''Playfair Cricket Annual'' is a compact annual about cricket that is published in the United Kingdom each April, just before the English cricket season is due to begin. It has been published every year since 1948. Its main purposes are to revie ...

1991 *

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''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 ...

1991

References

1990 in Australian cricket 1990 in English cricket 1990–91 Australian cricket season 1991 in Australian cricket 1991 in English cricket 1990-91 International cricket competitions from 1988–89 to 1991 1990-91 {{Australia-cricket-tour-stub