What life has dealt to the boys of ’92 since coming so close to final glory
Derek Pringle takes a look at the ups and downs that have affected his fellow World Cup final teammates from Melbourne
It is 25 years exactly since England lost the World Cup final to Pakistan at the MCG. Many felt that team, led by Graham Gooch, was England’s finest over 50 overs and the best in that tournament. But what of the players? How has the intervening quarter of a century treated those who last knew what it was like to represent England in cricket World Cup final? Graham Gooch Captain, opening batsman and occasional seamer Gooch had tasted defeat twice before in World Cup finals, in 1986 and 1979, so to lose again in 1992 was especially galling. Permeated with an oldfashioned sense of duty, he has spent his post-playing days giving something back to cricket, first by becoming Essex coach and then England’s batting coach, a role he held until 2015. He still coaches today, interspersing one-to-one sessions with the likes of Ian Bell with after-dinner speaking and promotional work for his scholarship, which helps to fund overseas trips for young county players. Ian Botham Opening batsman and second change bowler The ’92 final was Botham’s swansong and while he played a few more times for England that summer, he finally called it a day the following year. One of the icons of English cricket, Botham has always been in demand from the media, where he works as both commentator for Sky Sports and columnist with the Daily Mirror. Knighted in 2007 for his extensive charity work, he still leads an adventurous life fitting in fishing and golf trips between other commitments which now include being chairman of Durham CCC. Alec Stewart No.3 batsman and wicketkeeper Became a fixture in England cricket sides over the decade following the final, going on to win 133 Test caps and play 170 ODIs. An occasional presence on BBC 5 Live since his retirement, his main job now is as Surrey’s cricket director. Graeme Hick No.4 batsman and off-spinner Played on for 16 years after the final, eventually calling time in 2008 on a career that yielded a staggering 136 first-class hundreds. After retirement he won his coaching badges and emigrated to Queensland, Australia, for whom he had played Shield cricket prior to becoming qualified for England. Currently works as batting coach at Australia’s high-performance centre in Brisbane. Neil Fairbrother No.5 batsman Played in two more World Cups though England were knocked out of both early on. After cricket, he moved into the world of sports agents where he works for ISM Sports Management. Clients include Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler, as well as golfers Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke. Allan Lamb No.6 batsman Retired three years after the final to set up Allan Lamb Associates, a company
which provides corporate entertainment as well as serving Lamb’s many other business interests such as property in Grenada. He once co-owned a Chinese restaurant near Northampton proving that his entrepreneurial spirit was not crushed by that stump-shattering ball from Wasim Akram back in 1992. Chris Lewis All-rounder A supreme athletic talent who did not do himself justice on a cricket field, Lewis struggled to hold down regular employment after he called time on his playing days in 2002. A return for Surrey in 2008 to play T20 was not successful and soon after he was caught smuggling cocaine into the UK from St Lucia. Sentenced to 13 years in prison he was released in 2015 after serving half his sentence. As well as giving motivational talks about his experiences he is set to publish a book about them and his cricket career in the next few months. Dermot Reeve All-rounder One of life’s gamblers, Reeve, like Lewis, has struggled to cope with life after a cricket career that brought excitement, trophies and kudos. A promising career as a TV commentator with Channel Four ended in 2005 after he admitted a £200-a-week cocaine habit since when Reeve has undertaken various coaching jobs in New Zealand, Australia and the Indian Premier League. Two years ago, Andrew Strauss invited him to talk to England’s ODI squad, Reeve’s reputation as a progressive thinker being a source of potential inspiration. Currently, he is coach to Subiaco, a grade cricket club in Perth, Australia. Derek Pringle All-rounder Retired from cricket 18 months after the ’92 World Cup to become cricket correspondent of the Independent On Sunday. A 12-year stint at the Daily Telegraph followed in 2003 before widespread redundancies in the industry thrust him into the world of freelancing. Philip DeFreitas All-rounder A long career that saw him achieve the rare double of 10,000 runs and 1,000 wickets in first-class cricket, ended with DeFreitas moving into coaching, first at Oakham School and then as a freelance under his own company – Next Generation Cricket Development. At present, he is head coach of Swindon Cricket Club. Richard Illingworth Left-arm spinner Steadiness personified as a spin bowler, Illingworth has since taken up that other challenging profession within cricket – umpiring. As a member of the ICC’s Elite panel, he adjudicates at the highest level where the scrutiny can be crushing, as he found when he reprieved Adam Voges during a Test between Australia and New Zealand last year, when he incorrectly called no-ball. Voges, who was on seven at the time, went on to score 239, a contribution that helped to seal Australia’s win. Rest of the squad Robin Smith Middle-order batsman Robin Smith played in eight of England’s 10 games in the ’92 World Cup but missed out on the semi-final and final, which was a huge disappointment to him. Like many England cricketers before and since, Smith has struggled to adjust to life out of the limelight and has battled alcoholism as a result. A tempestuous private life added to the stress although there are signs, following his emigration to Perth, Western Australia, that a corner has been turned. A job working in brother Chris’ embroidery factory is keeping him busy, while he has recently taken up coaching in various indoor centres around Perth – his first brush with cricket since his retirement 14 years earlier. Phil Tufnell Left-arm spinner The spare spinner for that World Cup, due mainly to his dodgy batting and fielding, Tufnell has probably achieved greater, more diverse success after cricket than any of his teammates. A natural showman, with a surprisingly deft touch, he has become a successful commentator, TV presenter as well as the much-beloved captain of that BBC staple, A Question Of Sport. Gladstone Small Seam bowler. A great tourist and people person, it was only natural that Gladstone Small should become an ambassador for the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA). He has other interests and when he isn’t playing in various poker tournaments you can usually see him abroad on England cricket tours, acting as a chief guide for one of the travel companies.
Permeated with an old fashioned sense of duty, Gooch has spent his post playing days giving something back to cricket