When Dom put a cork in the Windies’ dominance
Richard Edwards goes back to a blazing summer 22 years ago as England went toe to toe with a still mighty West Indian side
Having hit his first ball in Test cricket for four, Cork then proceeded to take 7-43 in West Indies’ second innings to secure a 72-run victory at Lord’s
Our series on major events that gripped the cricket world continues with the emergence of an England folk hero in 1995
In 1995 English cricket was crying out for a hero – and when a 23-year-old from Staffordshire made his debut against the West Indies at Lord’s in June of that year it looked as though, finally, one had been found.
Bounding in like a puppy who had been slurping his owners’ stash of Red Bull, Dominic Cork’s Test debut suggested he had the force of personality to almost single-handedly revive England’s fortunes.
Hitting his first ball in Test cricket for four, Cork then proceeded to take 7-43 in the West Indies’ second innings. That not only sealed a famous 72-run victory for Michael Atherton’s side, it also earned Cork the honour of securing the best debut Test figures for England in over a century.
From the depths of despair following a thorough humping at Headingley, England had tied the series and banished a Lord’s hoodoo against the men from the Caribbean that had lasted 38 years. Cork, meanwhile, was about to enjoy the sort of summer not seen from an English player in a generation.
“English cricket, mocked and maligned around the world of late, yesterday achieved a momentous win and discovered a new hero,” wrote Alan Lee in The Times as the nation, in addition to the 10,000 who had been in the final day stands at Lord’s, rejoiced at something approximating a cricketing rebirth. “Here was a result to inspire eager anticipation, not the familiar regret of a job done too late.”
Unlike England’s rapid turnaround of fortune, Cork was no overnight sensation. Having taken eight wickets against Essex between the start of play and lunch on the morning of his 20th birthday, the Derbyshire all-rounder had already served ample notice of his ability but eight one-day international appearances for his country – and 11 wickets – had barely hinted at the impact he was about to have.
In the weeks that followed his heroics at Lord’s, Cork was hailed – somewhat predictably – as the new Ian Botham, a tag that had weighed heavily on everyone unfortunate enough to be saddled with it since the man himself had demolished the Aussies in 1981.
“Yes, he bowled well; he bowled wonderfully well. He has spark and personality but he is no more the new Botham than Botham was the Archbishop of Canterbury,” cautioned Michael Henderson in The Times.
Even a third Test innings defeat at Edgbaston, on a pitch that appeared tailor-made for the West Indies pace bowlers rather than England’s, did little to dampen Cork-mania. He took 4-69, including the wicket of Brian Lara, as Atherton’s side were humbled in the Midlands.
Jason Gallian made his debut in that match, being handed a hospital pass by Ray Illingworth on the last kind of surface he would have chosen.
“It was lively,” he tells The Cricket Paper. “I broke my finger, but I wasn’t alone because Alec Stewart and Jack Russell did, too. Robin Smith also got an absolute battering. To be honest, the dressing room was pretty quiet as soon as Curtley (Ambrose) sent the second or third ball of the match flying into the sightscreen on the first bounce.”
On then to Old Trafford, minus the injured Gallian, and a piece of miracle working from Cork as dramatic as the one he had pulled off at Lord’s.
“Corky was new on the block and had a lot of energy – he was up and at you,” says Mike Watkinson, who made his England bow in his home Test match. “He was part of a group of players who were determined to establish themselves in that side, but there was a real mix of players that year. (John) Emburey made his comeback in that Test match and we were the spin twins – he was 42 and I was 34!”
Despite Watkinson taking two wickets in front of his Manchester public, there was precious little else for he and Emburey to do in the West Indies’ first innings, as Cork and a rejuvenated Angus Fraser took eight wickets between them in the tourists’ total of 216. England then responded with 437, an innings which included 94 for Graham Thorpe and a first Test 50 for Cork – an effort which set him up perfectly for a victory push to square the series.
“I was at mid-off for the hat-trick,” says Watkinson. “Richie Richardson played on, then he got Junior Murray and Carl Hooper with almost identical balls. The whole place was going mad.”
It was the first three-in-three for an England bowler since Peter Loader achieved the feat against the West Indies at Headingley in 1957 and provided further evidence that a gem had been unearthed.
“I think a few people were scratching their heads as to why it had taken so long for him to get a chance with England,” says Gallian. “He was a good cricketer and he was an aggressive cricketer too, so he brought something else to that England team with his aggression. It was good to see someone who could bowl well on wickets that didn’t necessarily offer you too much, which was the case at Old Trafford.”
From the relative calm of 161 for three, West Indies suddenly found themselves six down for the same score and still 60 runs off making England bat again.
“The only problem was that Lara was still at the other end,” says Watkinson. “He was unbelievable in that series. I knew he was a good player obviously but the thing that struck me when I bowled at him was the speed he picked up the length of the ball. He scored so quickly that even when you thought you were bowling well it was almost impossible to keep him quiet.”
Lara was eventually dismissed by Fraser with the West Indies on 283 but with Courtney Walsh and Ambrose adding a further 31, England’s eventual target was 94 in the baking north-west heat.
“It was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in a dressing room,” says Watkinson. “I remember Athers getting run out going for the third and then Robin Smith getting his cheekbone caved in by Ian Bishop. He was lying down in the changing room while I was set there sweating as the next man in.”
Having lost Nick Knight, Thorpe and Craig White in the meantime, and with almost 40 still needed, it was left to Russell and John Crawley to see England home.
“It was a great Test match and a great game to be a part of, particularly as it was at Old Trafford,” says Watkinson.
While England’s previously lampooned cricketers were cheered uncharacteristically heartily, a special place in the nation’s hearts was being carved out by Cork, who would end the series with 26 wickets at a cost of 25.
Draws in the final two Tests – thanks largely to some spirited last wicket resistance from Watkinson and Richard Illingworth in the fifth match at Trent Bridge – meant the summer ended in stalemate. It was a series that wouldn’t be equalled for another decade, by which time Cork had long since played his final Test. For three glorious months, though, he put English cricket back on the map.