Can nostalgia be bad memories as well as good? As the
Australians visit for this year’s Ashes and easily won the first Test I think
back to the 1989 series. Then the visiting team were not given little chance
and ended up trouncing the hosts 4-0. English cricket is not nearly as bad as the
1980s so the comparison is limited but this series is worth recalling for all
the wrong reasons.
English cricket was in an awful state in the 1980s and into
the 1990s. A national joke really. They came into 1989 with three series wins
in six years, twice against a weak and equally disorganised Australia. The
previous summer was infamously named the ‘Summer of 4 captains’ as Gatting,
Emburey, Cowdrey and Gooch all chipped in. While there were clear talents in
Gower, Gooch, Gatting and Lamb, these players were in the team on reputation
primarily rather than current form. All were able to score centuries on their
day but never quite consistent enough. Ian Botham had been in and out since 1985
with occasional brilliance but not remotely the force of the early 1980s.
There were no clear strike bowlers in the team, players like
Dilley, Foster, De Freitas, had not been able to establish themselves. England
had emerging players like Robin Smith but would be forced to include several
untried players in the series with disastrous results. Despite the
underachieving of these established players the home side were seen as clear
favourites for the Ashes, mostly because of the two previous Ashes series.
The warning signs appeared in the last one-day international
as Australia overcame a challenging target. The large total that Australia
amassed at the first Headingly Test was intimidating and England responded well
thanks to Lamb. But it quickly became apparent that there was a gulf in performance
levels. The frailty of the previous years emerged again. England’s stars were
unable to resist the Australian will to win that vastly exceeded England’s.
Similar to England, he Australians were able to also mix emerging
talent with experience. These emerging players made the difference in the
series. Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh were the two outstanding batsman despite
neither scoring a Test century before the series. Experienced players: Allan
Border, Dean Jones, David Boon, would all perform consistently in contrast to
their English counterparts.
The contrast in team selection was astonishing: Australia
used 12 players, England used 29. England tried to bring back established
names: Tim Robinson, Chris Tavare, Kim Barnett, with little success. They
brought in young players who were crucified by the Australian bowlers whose
confidence was sky high. Many players never played Test cricket again after
this series. Alongside such disarray in team selection on the field tactics
were severely lacking. David Gower’s charming and laidback approach became very
out-dated compared to Border’s ruthless desire to crush England. The selectors thinking
had been to re-create the 1985 success but the England team were far worse than
1985 and the Australians critically far better and far more motivated. Ted Dexter, chairman of the selectors, had initially wanted Gatting brought back as captain, but the decision was vetoed.
The player of the series Terry Alderman tormented English
batsman. As a bowler more suited to English conditions, he rarely achieved as
much success in other series. His dominance of Gooch forced the English opener
to step down from the team for the last Test.
The series was certainly a watershed for both sides. For
England a focus on youth followed with a more successful series in the next
winter. Many players from the 1980s would not play again. The rebel tour to
South Africa announced during the series forced retirement on several. Gatting,
although leading the tour, would continue for many further years. Botham and
Gower also continued in the team for another three years with the odd flash of
brilliance but were marginal to any success. Gooch actually had a superb post-1989 career including
a triple century in 1990 against India. Debutants Mike Atherton, Devon Malcolm
and Angus Fraser were all blooded in 1989 and were regular players in the
1990s.
The Ashes became a one-sided competition until 2005. Steve
Waugh, Mark Taylor, Ian Healey and Merv Hughes became dominant players. England stumbled into the 1990s and sixteen years of inferiority to our Australian cousins.
