Ray Illingworth’s England battle-cry
We didn’t have a drinking culture and we didn’t have curfews
STILL in robust health at 85, Raymond Illingworth is the king of patriarch games in Ashes combat.
There are only four England captains alive who won the urn on Australian soil – Mike Brearley, Mike Gatting and Andrew Strauss are the others – but Illingworth alone regained the sacred pot Down Under.
As hostilities opened at the Gabba overnight, history was stacked against Joe Root. From Simon Jones’ shredded knee ligaments to Mitchell Johnson’s 95mph ambush four years ago, Brisbane has not been kind to England for 30 years.
The bookies’ odds may be against Root’s crusade, but Illy, chaired off by team-mates in Sydney after the 2-0 triumph 46 years ago, believes England have a 50-50 chance of another conquest conceived in Yorkshire.
Root need look no further than his predecessor from the land of the White Rose for inspiration.
Illingworth’s class of 1970-71, anchored by Geoffrey Boycott’s 657 runs at 93.85 and strike bowler John Snow’s 31 wickets at 22.83 each, overcame cascades of controversy.
It remains an astonishing feat of one-eyed umpiring that, in the entire series, England bowlers did not have a single appeal for lbw upheld.
And when the Aussies needed just 223 to square the series and snatch the urn from his grasp, Illy (right) defended the modest target with supreme leadership.
England’s clinching 62-run win was marred by a drunken spectator grabbing Snow on the boundary and Illingworth leading his team from the field when his players were pelted with cans, bottles and pies.
The build-up to this series was overshadowed by a different drinkrelated issue after all-rounder Ben Stokes was arrested following a latenight brawl, but Illingworth revealed a flexible approach to refuelling was a factor behind his side’s triumph.
He said: “We didn’t have a drinking culture – and we didn’t have curfews. On an Ashes tour, you’re all grown men and there’s no problem with enjoying it within reason.
“I let the boys know if anyone turned up for work worse for wear or unfit to play because they had stayed out too late, I wouldn’t be very happy. If you treat players like adults, they will respond accordingly.
“To take on the Aussies, you need to relax during the ceasefires. On our tour, Brian Luckhurst was struggling to sleep at night because of the tension and anxiety, so I told him to forget about sleeping pills and sent him out for a couple of pints to help him get some kip.
“He slept like a baby and scored 450-odd runs with two big hundreds. The only problem we had was when Basil d’Oliveira got back to his room after too much to drink one night and there was a bit of damage. “I had a quiet word with the hotel manager, asked him how much we owed and I settled the bill out of the team fund. “Basil got a rocket and it cost him a fortune because he had to spend two hours on the phone to his wife, explaining why he was in trouble – calls from Australia cost a packet in those days – but he also came good when it mattered. “Being chaired off, after we had won in Sydney to regain the Ashes, was probably the most satisfying moment of my career. “Boycott always said he played better on that tour than at any time of his life. I got through to him because I didn’t soft-soap him and I was always truthful with him, while Snowy bowled like the wind.” Ashes tours tend to make or break captains’ reputations. Gatting won only two Tests as skipper – but they were enough to win him the Ashes,
My advice is don’t listen to too many people sticking their oar in
and few have led an expedition with just seven Tests in the job like Root.
Illingworth warned him to avoid captaincy by committee, as he will carry the can if England come a cropper. He said: “I don’t know Root personally, but I watched him leading the side in the summer and he seems to have a decent cricket brain.
“The only bit of advice I would offer him is to make sure he does the job his way. Don’t listen to too many people sticking their oar in.
“One thing I don’t like is seeing three or four people convening at the top of a bowler’s run-up. It gives the impression you’re not quite sure what to do, and the Aussies will seize on any sign of weakness.
“The lion’s share of captaincy is a matter of instinct, not making decisions by committee. If there are one or two senior players whose judgement he respects, there’s no harm in sounding out Alastair Cook at slip.
“But Root will cop the flak if England come unstuck – so he has to make sure he takes the credit for positive leadership when he gets it right.
“And of course, he has to contribute with the bat. He’s pretty sound technically, so I don’t see him having a bad time on that score. But if he scores big runs, that will help him settle in the field and go about his captaincy with more confidence.”
Illingworth, who also successfully defended the urn at home in 1972, does not expect a repeat of England’s 5-0 whitewash on Cook’s watch four years ago, saying: “It’s a 50-50 call – England have question marks about their top order, but on paper Australia’s batting looks susceptible, too.
“Above all, England mustn’t lose in Brisbane. If we don’t come unstuck in the first Test, we’ll be in business.”