Gatts Ashes Part 2

Seaxe Man ended part 1 with  John Emburey saying ‘ we ( England) can’t bowl, we can’t bat and we can’t field’ after a bad series against New Zealand . Gatt kept his place as captain for tour of Australia and the rest is history.  There are notable Middlesex performances noted in this compelling detailed read. 

Ashes series 1986/87.

Mike Gatting led his first overseas mission and was one of ten players making their first tour of Australia, and was only the fourth England captain in the 20^th century (Chapman, Hutton, Brearley) were the others, to defend the Ashes successfully abroad.

So 5 years after Brearley’s triumph in England, Gatt headed for Oz and Brisbane’s Woollangabba Ground for the 1^st Test

1^st Test Brisbane 14,15,16,18, 19 November 1986.

Toss: Australia: Result: England won by 7 wickets.

Debuts: Australia: CD Matthews: England: PAJ DeFreitas

Teams

England

BC Broad

CWJ Athey

MW Gatting *

AJ Lamb

DI Gower

IT Botham

CJ Richards +

JE Emburey

PAJ DeFreitas

PH Edmonds

GR Dilley

Gatt was joined on tour by Middlesex colleagues John Emburey, Phil Edmonds and Wilf Slack.

Slack unfortunately did not shine in the warm up games and played no part in the Tests.

Australia

GR Marsh

DC Boon

TJ Zoehrer +

DM Jones

GM Ritchie

AR Border *

GRJ Matthews

SR Waugh

CD Matthews

MG Hughes

BA Reid

A strong looking Australian side, the batting proved to be it’s stronger suit, though the bowling had it’s moments.

England with 10 new tourists proved up to the job however.

England 1^st innings: 456. Botham 138, Athey 76. Gatting 61. Gower 51

Australia bowling: Hughes 3/134. CD Matthews 3/95. Waugh 3/76.

2^nd innings 77 for 3. Broad 35 no.

Australia bowling: Hughes 2 for 28.

Australia 1^st innings: 248. Marsh 56, GRJ Matthews 56.

England bowling: Dilley 5/68.

2^nd innings: following on: 282: Marsh 110.

England bowling: Emburey 5/80

Match notes

At Brisbane, Gatting became the first England captain to enforce the follow on while playing in his first Test match in Australia.

It was also the first time Australia suffered this indignity in a home Ashes Test since 1965/66.

Slack’s failure in the warm up games meant that Athey was promoted to open.

England’s quick bowling and slip catching were inconsistent and unreliable, though the Australian score suggests that they did not do too bad.

England’s emphatic victory completed 35 minutes after lunch on day 5, was a reminder of reading too much into omens and too little to experience.

The opening session had a decisive bearing on the way the match developed. At 65 for 1, much of the toss advantage had gone. Australia’s fast bowlers were below par.

Botham’s 138 was comparable to his 1981, 118 at Old Trafford. It contained 4 6’s and 13 4’s.

Marsh’s 110 was Australia’s main resistance in their follow on. 

2^nd Test at the WACA, Perth on 28,29,30 Nov and 2,3 December 1986.

Toss England: Result: Match Drawn. Debutants nil. England no changes. Australia: Geoff Lawson replaced Merv Hughes.

England 1^st innings 592 for 8 dec, Broad 162, Gower, 136, Richards 133, Athey 96

Bowling: Reid 4/115. CD Matthews 3/112.

England 2^nd innings 199 for 8 dec. Gatting 70. Gower 48.

Bowling: Steve Waugh 5/69.

Australia 1^st innings. 401 Border 125. Steve Waugh 71

Bowling . Dilley 4/79

2^nd innings 197 for 4. Dean Jones 69.

Bowling. Edmonds 1/25.

Match notes.

England’s 592 was their second highest score in Australia. Best 636 at Sydney in 1920.

Gatting became the first England captain to enjoy the luxury of declaring in Australia since Illingworth at Adelaide in 1970/71.

Broad and Athey shared a stand of 223, 5^th highest in Australia. This gave England control but not victory in the match.

This was largely due to Border in company with his no 11, Bruce Reid, avoiding the follow on. Despite many close calls against the spinners, Australia hung on for the draw.

Jack Richards, the 2^nd Cornishman to represent England, became the 3^rd keeper after Ames and Knott, to score a century against Australia. 

3^rd Test Adelaide Oval 12,13,14,15,16 December 1986

 Toss: Australia; Result: Match drawn.

 Debuts: Australia GC Dyer England JJ Whitaker.

 Changes: For Australia:  Dyer replaced Zoehrer as keeper. Zoehrer had injured his shoulder in the warm up.   Merv Hughes replaced Geoff Lawson.

 For England: JJ Whitaker replaced Botham due to injury. This proved to be Whitaker’s only Test appearance.

 Australia 1^st innings 514 for 5 dec. Boon 103, Jones 93, Border 70, Greg Matthews 73, Steve Waugh 79 no.

 Bowling: Edmonds 2/134.

 2^nd innings 201 for 3 dec. Border 100no.

 Bowling DeFreitas 1/36.

 England 1^st innings. 455. Broad 116, Gatting 100.

 Bowling Reid 4/64

 2^nd innings 39 for 2.

 Bowling: Greg Matthews 1/10 Merv Hughes 1/16.

 Match notes.

 Adelaide historically a batsman’s paradise lived up to it’s reputation. Border with the wisdom of hindsight, regretted the omission of spinner Ray Bright. He was to make 2 declarations to no avail.

 Whitaker who replaced the injured Botham, as menshed, played in his only Test. Botham’s absence left England a bowler short.

 Dilley and DeFreitas had a poor opening spell, with the latter no balled no fewer than 10 times in his opening 10 overs.

 Emburey and Edmonds were miserly giving Gatting a measure of control.

4th Test Melbourne 26,27,28 December 1986.

 Toss: England: Result: England won by an innings and 14 runs.

 Debuts nil.

 Changes: Australia: Zoehrer returned to replace Dyer as wk. Craig McDermott replaced Greg Ritchie.

 England: Gladstone Small replaced Graham Dilley. Botham replaced Whitaker.

 Australia 1^st innings. 141. Dean Jones 59.

 Bowling. Small 5/48. Botham 5/41.

 2^nd innings 194. Marsh 60. Waugh 49.

 Bowling. Edmonds 3/45.

 England 1^st innings 349. Broad 112.

 Bowling. McDermott 4/83. Reid 4/78

 Match notes.

This was celebration tome for England with a late Christmas present.  Gatting became the 3^rd Middlesex batsman to pass 3000 runs in Test cricket after Hendren and Compton, before leading England to their 1^st 3 day victory in Australia for 85 years and 105 Tests.

Broad ‘ Player of the Series’ joined the elite of Hobbs (twice), Sutcliffe and Hammond, as the 4^th England player to score 3 centuries in a rubber in Australia.

Botham whose rib injury ended an unbroken sequence of 39 Tests against Austalia in 1978, held his 100^th catch. He also equalled Richard Hadlee’s  world record by taking 5 wickets in Tests for the 27^th time.

Jack Richards 5 catches equalled the England record (shared by Parks and Taylor) for the most dismissals in an Australian innings.

The match was decided by an excellent spell of swing bowling by Gladstone Small and inept Australian batting.

Broad was the one batsman on either side to play each ball on it’s merits.

So two up with one to play and The Ashes retained.

5^th Test Sydney 10.11.12.14.15 January 1987.

 Toss Australia: Result: Australia won by 55 runs.

 Debuts: Australia: PL Taylor (spinner) who replaced McDermott, Dirk Wellham who replaced CRJ Matthews.

 England: a change. Dilley replaced DeFreitas.

 Australia: 1^st innings 343. Dean Jones 184 no.

 Bowling: Small 5/75. Edmonds 3/79.

 2^nd innings 251. S.Waugh  73.

 Bowling. Emburey 7/78

 England: 1^st innings 275. Gower 72. Emburey 69

 Bowling. Taylor 6/78

 2^nd innings 264. Gatting 96.

 Bowling. Sleep 5/73.

 Match Notes

 Emburey became the 3^rd Middlesex bowler after Titmus and Edmonds to take 100 Test wickets and Small the 3^rd  from Warwickshire after Foster (Sydney 1911/12) and Hollies (Oval 1948) to take 5 wickets.

 Australia’s consolation: their 200^th Test century against England (Border at Perth) and this was their 1^st win in 14 games.

 The SCG,  as the bowling suggested, assisted the spinners bigtime.

 Emburey who scored 69 and took 7fer, like Gatting, Small and Richards deserved better than to finish on the losing side.

 There was some suggestion at the time that Australia had called up the wrong Taylor.

 My memory of Gatt’s 96 ( with head under the sheets listening to TMS ), was that on 96, going for the ton. That a superb square cut and a probable boundary was cut off brilliantly at cover point by Steve Waugh. No run.

 Immediate foreboding, he was out next ball. Needless to say, Dean Jones 184no 1^st up was the match winning knock.

Epilogue.

 So ended Gatt’s one Ashes series albeit, with his place in the history books assured.

To follow the infamous trip to Pakistan