TOPSPIN SPECIAL
ENGLAND’S Ashes hopes are long gone, but Lawrence Booth looks at five final Ashes Tests which were ‘dead rubbers’ but had ramifications beyond the result of the game: THE OVAL, 1968 England win by 226 runs
AUSTRALIA had already retained the urn by the time of the series finale at The Oval, but Basil D’Oliveira’s matchwinning 158 did two things. It led to the cancellation of England’s tour that winter after South Africa’s government objected to his inclusion in their squad: the Cape Townborn D’Oliveira was classified as ‘Cape Coloured’ by the apartheid regime. And it helped England feel better about their trip Down under in 1970-71, where they regained the Ashes after a 14-year barren run.
SYDNEY, 1986-87 Australia win by 55 runs
MIKE GATTING’S team were 2-0 up by the fifth Test at the SCG, sealing England’s fifth Ashes win in six, and prompting cricket-writing sage John Woodcock to wonder whether an Australian win might be for the good of the game. He got his wish after quirky offspinner Peter Taylor took eight wickets on debut. It seemed like a consolation victory at the time, only for Australia to go on and win the next eight Ashes with a combined tally of 28 wins to seven defeats.
SYDNEY, 2002-03 England win by 225 runs
STEVE WAUGH’S last Ashes Test was supposed to provide a glorious send-off. And he did hit a dramatic century, reached from the last ball of the second day. But England, 4-0 down, were not in the mood for a whitewash. Mark Butcher’s first-innings 124 was followed by Michael vaughan’s secondinnings 183, before Andy Caddick completed his first 10- wicket haul to seal a stirring win. The next time the sides met, in 2005, vaughan’s side would end nearly two decades of hurt.
SYDNEY, 2006-07 Australia win by 10 wickets
AN ENGLAND collapse — from 245 for four to 291 all out — set up the first Ashes whitewash since 1920-21, and undermined Andrew Flintoff ’ s authority as Test captain. His fall from grace was complete when he drunkenly clambered into a pedalo in St Lucia a couple of months later at the World Cup. He never captained his country again.
SYDNEY, 2013-14 Australia win by 281 runs
NO ASHES whitewash in 86 years, then two come along in quick succession. This one — in which England were skittled for 155 and 166 — brought dressing-room tensions to the surface. kevin Pietersen was singled out by new managing director Paul Downton and was sidelined for good, while Andy Flower resigned as team director soon after. It was a bloodbath.