The Mother Of All False Dawns

England Versus Australia, 1997

England’s recent series defeat in India was an eye-opener in the way that the home side came back after a crushing defeat in the first test. While this England team has been making great strides in the last few years (even winning the World Cup, for Pete’s sake) that first Test victory remains a false dawn, the promise of greater riches that ultimately came to pass at the altar of high class spin-bowling and raging turner wickets. Back in the Nineties, false dawns, or indeed any kind of dawn, were rare occurrences for the England Test Team, and as the 1997 season began with another Ashes drubbing on the cards, few could have anticipated the drama that would unfold at Edgbaston between the 5th and 8th of June.

But first, some context. England had not won a home Ashes series since 1985 and been regularly pummelled down under, too. The Australian squad included five excellent pace bowlers in Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Brendon Julian and Andy Bichel. Their batting line-up was also formidable with the Waugh brothers solid in the middle order, left-handers Mark Taylor and Matthew Elliott at the top of the innings and wicketkeeper Ian Healy the veteran dynamo making sure no-one forgot their place or role. Plus of course, at the peak of his powers, there was possibly the greatest leg-spinner of all-time: Shane Warne.

The England team was less established, but still had a number of experienced players to call upon. Skipper Michael Atherton and Mark Butcher were asked to open the innings, while Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain, Graham Thorpe and John “Creepy” Crawley formed a strong-looking middle order. With Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick developing a decent new-ball partnership, there were hopes that England might at least compete with the Australian behemoth, especially after a morale-boosting 3-0 clean sweep in the preceding one-day matches.

Then, on Thursday June 5th 1997, everything changed. Well, for a bit.

Darren Gough, England bowler

“1997 should have been England’s summer. After losing four consecutive series against Australia, we made the perfect start. This was not England’s traditional style of playing. Normally we start badly and never quite catch up. This time it was something new.”

Nasser Hussain, England batsman

“I think we approached the series in a realistic frame of mind. Certainly we weren’t getting carried away because of anything that had happened in New Zealand, but there was definitely a settled look to our side, and the mood was improved when England won the one-day series 3-0,”

England had beaten New Zealand 2-0 in the three-match away Test series early in 1997. Left-handed bat Graham Thorpe starred with two centuries, as did Alec Stewart with a magnificent 173 in the first test at Auckland. Following the one-day series against Australia, there was a feeling this could be a new dawn for English cricket and that after four brutal Ashes series, the famous little urn might finally be coming home.

Alec Stewart, England batsman and wicketkeeper

“We knew we had to get at them from the first ball and Darren Gough set the tone, fizzing one past Mark Taylor’s bat. The crowd got right behind us, and I can’t remember a more fervent atmosphere in a home test match.”

Fast bowler Gough, in tandem with the tall Andrew Caddick, soon reduced Australia to 54-8 after Australian captain Mark Taylor had won the toss and elected to bat. It was an incredible morning. Pressure on Taylor, after a series of personal failures, was intense.

Nasser Hussain

“[Darren] Gough’s body language and aura was amazing that day. At one point he got Greg Blewett out with a no-ball, but he was unmoved and just said, ‘I’ll have to get him next ball.’ And he did. Caught by me. As if it was all part of the script for that match.”

Ian Healy, Australian wicket-keeper

“We lost the one-dayers 3-0, and approached the first Test down on confidence. A ray of light, though, appeared our game at Derby, when ‘Tubby’ managed to make 63 in the second innings. The Test, however, started disastrously, as we crashed to 8-54. Warney belted 47 to get us into three figures, but when England batted, Nasser Hussain made 207 and Graham Thorpe 138.”

After slipping to 50-3, a 288-run stand between Hussain and Thorpe changed the game. England, it appeared, had acquired a gritty edge and a get-the-job-done style work ethic. Having seen off the pace triumvirate of McGrath, Kasprowicz and Gillespie, there was just the small matter of the greatest leg-spinner in the world to negotiate.

Nasser Hussain

“Shane was right at his peak then, probably between the years 1995 and 2000. He was brilliant and a major threat to us. But the thing that gave me more confidence was that Edgbaston is not the greatest place to bowl spin. OK, it turns a bit, but it comes on nicely. When Shane came on, the drift was awkward… but I thought he was a little under par. Either that or I was in the form of my life. Probably a bit of both!”

When Graham Thorpe was dismissed by McGrath, John Crawley quickly followed, before Hussain put together a useful 71-run stand with Kent all-rounder Mark Ealham. When the double centurion was out at 416, England’s lead stood at 298; England’s innings eventually ended with Atherton’s declaration at 478 for 9 and a lead of 360. It was soon clear the English bowlers would not have the same immediate success in the Australian second innings.

Darren Gough

“[Mark] Taylor played one of the most remarkable knocks I’ve ever witnessed from an opponent. There was no miraculous return to form; [he] kept playing and missing. Yet nothing seemed to bother him. I was bowling better than he was batting but, by sheer character and determination, Taylor refused to be beaten.”

At 327-1, with Taylor and Greg Blewett both on tons, thoughts of an awkward 200 plus run chase were beginning to appear – something unimaginable on the first day. Then came the moment when two of England’s forgotten men from the first innings came to fore, with off-spinner Robert Croft teasing out the top three before medium-pacer Ealham weighed in with another valuable three scalps.

Ian Healy

“I remember how positive we all were watching Tubby’s dig. We all knew that he’d gone through a personal hell, so it was a big relief for everyone that his slump was over. Mentally, he was back to his best, enthused by the way he was hitting them, revving Blewey [Blewett] up between overs, setting goals and reaching them.”

Despite the brave efforts of Taylor and Blewett in particular, the Australians were bowled out for 477, Gough adding another three victims to his first innings haul. The target for England was a symmetrical 118, and they wasted little time in achieving it.

Alec Stewart

“Despite the Aussie fight-back, we were on a roll and won inside four days. Athers and I rattled along at five an over and I hit the running runs, with a four through extra cover off Warney. The crowd were fantastic; they couldn’t believe we’d won so easily. We celebrated long and hard that Sunday night in Birmingham, as we were entitled to, because beating the Aussies was the ultimate in the Nineties.”

Victory, by nine wickets, was England’s, with Nasser Hussain awarded the man of the match award for his brilliant first innings knock of 207. Yet justified or not, those celebrations did not go unnoticed in the Australian dressing room.

Ian Healy

“On the balcony after their first Test win, we thought the English players were a bit too arrogant. After all, there were still five tests to go. I don’t think any of us forgot the way the English carried on after that first Test win.”

The celebrations continued in the media as the series decamped to Lord’s. Although the second test was a rain-affected draw, Glenn McGrath took 8 wickets as England were bowled out for just 77 in their first innings. Despite the stalemate, it was an important psychological blow, reflecting a wind of change in the fortunes of both sides, and by the time the series rolled into Trent Bridge in early August, England were already 2-1 down – and soon it was 3-1. The Ashes thus regained by Australia, the mood shifted from elation to one of familiar despair.

Nasser Hussain

“The Aussies were on a run and were proving impossible for us to stop. The Ashes were gone after such a promising start to the series for us and we just didn’t make the most of the opportunity we had that summer.”

But with the series lost, there was time for one more sliver of hope for England fans. Set a nominal 124 to win the final test at the Oval, Australia subsided to a dramatic defeat, bowled out for 104 by Caddick and left-arm spinner Phil Tufnell. Maybe things were on the up after all?

Ian Healy

“Our preparation was good, and we were determined not to fall to the ‘dead’ test jinx again. But in some ways I guess we did. We only needed 124, but fell 20 runs short, because, I reckon, we got ahead of ourselves and thought the match was won. By the time we realised we were in trouble, the Test was gone.”

In the England camp, the joy at beating Australia in a Test match for the second time that summer was soon tempered by the fact that it was another Ashes series defeat, and that that victory at the Oval changed very little.

Alec Stewart

“While we celebrated that Oval victory – convinced that the Aussies hadn’t been complacent, we were determined to give credit to our bowlers – our captain was seriously thinking about resigning. [Atherton] hadn’t been fooled by the narrow margin of defeat, and felt that 3-2 perhaps flattered us. I wouldn’t disagree with that; they’d just got better after a sluggish start and we’d crumpled at key moments. The Oval win was a much-needed boost for England players and supporters alike, but we weren’t fooled… Athers looked as if he’d had enough.”

By the time the South African team arrived for 1998’s Test series, Michael Atherton had already resigned, replaced by Alec Stewart as captain and, in another Nineties false dawn, this five-Test series was secured 2-1 by the home side. Then, a year later, it all went spectacularly wrong. A home Test defeat by the touring New Zealanders dropped England to the bottom of the Wisden Test Rankings. Earlier in the summer, the one-day side had endured a grim World Cup campaign after being eliminated on net run rate in the group stage, infamously crashing out the day before the official England World Cup song was released.

The new millennium approached and that magical day in June 1997 seemed a lifetime away. As New Labour had often proclaimed during its election campaign the same year, things could only get better. And after a bit more Ashes misery, eventually, they did.

Bibliography:-

Playing With Fire – Nasser Hussain, Penguin 2004

Playing For Keeps – Alec Stewart, BBC Books 2003

Hands & Heals – Ian Healy, Harper Sports 2000

Dazzler – Darren Gough, Penguin 2001