Swann had the spin and Malcolm the pace while Vaughan and Fletcher had that winning guile
Peter Hayter, The Cricket Paper’s esteemed correspondent, completes his ‘best of the best’ analysis from his years of reporting on England Test cricket
Spinner - Graeme Swann (Tests - 60, Wickets - 255, 5 wkt. innings - 17, 10 wkt. matches - 3, Best Bowling - 6-65 (10-132), Ave – 29.97, Runs - 1370, HS - 85, Ave – 22.10) England’s most successful off-spinner, Graeme Swann is one of only two spinners of any type to take more than 200 Test scalps for them, his record of 255 wickets standing second only to Derek Underwood’s 297, and he ended his career their seventh highest wickettaker of all time.
All of which begs the following questions: how many would Swann have taken and how high on that list might he have risen had he not spent eight years in the Test wilderness? And how would England have fared had he never got his go at all?
Granted, it was not only a catalogue of youthful indiscretions that cost him the chance on the 2000 tour to South Africa and all that time spent honing his skills in county cricket did make him the bowler he was when he was finally given his opportunity, under Peter Moores and skipper Kevin Pietersen, on the 2008 tour to India – though, at the start of the West Indies series in early 2009 he was still second choice to Monty Panesar and he only won his place in the third Test in Antigua after bowling brilliantly to new captain Andrew Strauss in the nets there.
But it is a sobering thought that twice during his period out of contention Swann had had to persuade himself carrying on at all was worth the candle.
For, with with a strike rate of 4.25 wickets per Test thereafter, not only Swann could easily have overtaken Ian Botham as England’s leading wickettaker long before his great friend and bowling ally James Anderson did so and beaten him to the 400 mark as well, but it could also be argued that without his contributions in all conditions Strauss’s England would never have achieve their No.1 status in Test cricket.
Little wonder that, from the moment his career eventually started, Swann made sure he seized every moment of every day of it, that philosophy never more important to the team than when he urged reluctant teammates to return to the Sub-continent following the terrorist atrocity in Mumbai and, later, on the eve of the second Test of the 2009 Ashes series at Lord’s.
Thanks to Anderson and Panesar England had pulled off The Great Escape in the first Test in Cardiff but when they arrived at Headquarters, nervousness and uncertainty were in the air, a mood not helped by the knowledge that Pietersen was struggling with an Achilles injury which was to bring his part in the battle to a premature end and further undermined by the pre-match announcement that Andrew Flintoff was to retire at the end of the summer.
Swann, in only his ninth Test and, by his own admission having bowled like a drain in Cardiff, took it upon himself to blow away all the negativity, telling his colleagues: “Look, lads, we’re at Lord’s, one of the greatest places to play cricket in the world. We’re playing Australia and we’re playing for the Ashes. Just bloody enjoy it.”
Five days later he bowled Mitchell Johnson to take his fourth wicket of Australia’s second innings and complete England’s victory by 115 runs.
Swann possessed no mystery-ball, relying instead on imparting massive spin, which, in turn, created steep dip and allowed him to beat quality batsmen in the air as well as off the pitch. His consistency and wickettaking threat, especially at the start of a spell in the success meant he was as affective attacking as in defence.
Was he right to quit before the 2013-14 Ashes had run their course? Some hammered him for abandoning a rapidly sinking ship. With the urn already surrendered, others, who knew he knew the extent of his elbow injury meant he was a busted flush, thought differently.
Pace bowler - Devon Malcolm (Tests - 40, Wickets - 128, 5 wicket innings - 5, 10 wkt. matches - 2, Best Bowling - 9-57, Ave - 37.09)
Of the contenders in this category, all of whom made huge contributions to the cause, Devon Malcolm was the least skilful and, when his radar was on the blink, he posed as much danger to passing birdlife as opposing batsmen.
But for raw, blistering pace, none could send a shiver down your spine like the Jamaican-born gentle giant, who, though blind as Mr Magoo without his glasses, no better than village standard with the bat and whose fielding was based mainly on guesswork, could propel a cricket ball faster than any bowler of his generation.
My own first-hand experience was limited to a set-up, ever-so-gentle net session for a magazine, but, even though Devon was under strict instructions to avoid bloodshed, even though I had been supplied by that notorious coward Phil Tufnell with all the protective equipment known to man and even though I had prepared by drinking my body weight in riesling the night before, those ten minutes at the WACA in Perth were comfortably the most terrifying of my life and among the most exhilarating.
When everything clicked even those who knew what they were doing shared those feelings. Steve Waugh and Hansie Cronje were no faint-hearts at the crease, but they were among those who,
Look, lads, we’re at Lord’s, one of the greatest places to play cricket in the world. We’re playing for the Ashes. Bloody enjoy it
when put to the test, appeared to favour discretion over valour and paid for it with their stumps and Malcolm was the only bowler Vivian Richards faced who made him think seriously about exchanging his beloved maroon cap for something sturdier.
Debate has raged over whether he actually did say “you guys are history” to the South Africans when Fanie de Villiers knocked the badge from his batting helmet that August day in 1994 at The Oval.
But no one who witnessed his 9-57, the best-ever figures by an England fast bowler, would argue strongly against the proposition that, for bloodcurdling hostility, it was the most thrilling spell any of us have ever seen, and if you don’t believe me, trawl the web to find it.
After Malcolm’s first ball had cut Gary Kirsten in two, commentator David Gower remarked casually:” I think he means business.” He did. He was unplayable. It was unforgettable and it turned the match England’s way. Captain - Michael Vaughan (Tests 51, Won - 26 (50.98%), Lost - 11 (21.57), drew - 14 (27.45%)) Narrowly pipping Nasser Hussain and Andrew Strauss, both outstanding skippers, Michael Vaughan wins my vote for his achievement in winning the greatest Test series of my time, the 2005 Ashes.
Hussain possessed a brilliant tactical brain and was a firebrand motivator. Strauss led his team to No.1 in Tests and won the Ashes Down Under with captaincy based on meticulous planning, knowing the best way to get the best out of his team and follow-myleadership.
But the Yorkshireman topped them both in masterminding victory over an Australian team regarded by many as the best team of all time.
Some have argued that Vaughan was a leader who fitted Napoleon’s criterion for his kind of general – more lucky than good. And there is no doubt that his great fortune was the coming together of a bowling unit comprising a pace attack of Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones, plus left-arm spinner Ashley Giles, and with sturdy replacements when necessary, that, from the moment it first took the field together for the opening Test of the 2004 series in West Indies brushed aside almost everything in its path.
With such diverse personalities, Vaughan’s trick was to let them evolve into a team within a team, with its own leader, Flintoff. Reverse swing and the arts and practices that made it possible were mastered to dramatic effect.
Vaughan’s men won 14 of the next 18 Tests, drew three and lost just one in a run in which they beat West Indies 3-0, New Zealand 3-0, West Indies again 4-0, South Africa in South Africa 2-1 and Bangladesh 2-0.
Next came Ricky Ponting’s 2005 Australians, with Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath and, while Vaughan was confident his side could give a decent account of themselves, he knew that, to beat them, he needed to add to the mix something they would not have seen coming.
From the moment Vaughan took over from Hussain he and coach Duncan Fletcher had also overhauled the batting, losing along the way stalwarts like Hussain himself, Mark Butcher and Alec Stewart and while many urged the introduction of Kevin Pietersen after his explosive batting in the ODIs against South Africa and Australia few predicted the man to make way would be veteran Graham Thorpe, who had recently made an unbeaten 118 against the Proteas and picked up his 100th cap in the early season series against Bangladesh, with Ian Bell most people’s idea of the batsman to miss out.
If that was a risk, urging his players to get in the faces of their illustrious opponents was a massive gamble that proved a masterstroke. Even though Australia won the first test at Lord’s the battering Harmison handed out to Langer and Ponting on the torrid opening morning left more than mere physical scars.
McGrath’s injury at Edgbaston was pure jam as was the umpiring oversight that earned England their comeback win there. What the heck? To me, Vaughan’s courage earned him the right to take advantage of any that was going. Coach - Duncan Fletcher Meticulous in preparation, self-effacing and naturally introverted, Fletcher was the perfect “silent” partner for Hussain and Vaughan, recognising the team was their team and never placing himself between the players and their leader or above them.
A superb and innovative batting and fielding coach, and a natural disciplinarian, some players found it hard to relax in the company of the Zimbabwean and others like Flintoff and Hoggard just couldn’t get on with him at all. Bearing in mind the personalities involved, his final breakdown with Freddie was a pedalo accident waiting to happen.
His record, until the team he and Vaughan built fell apart after the 2005 Ashes is second to none, which begs the question of whether he was merely as good as the teams he coached.
Some have criticised him for inflexible views on pace bowlers – for him it seemed they needed to be able to bowl at 90mph or they were barely worth bothering with – and characters – Graham Swann, jettisoned after his and Fletcher’s first tour in 2000, might have been brought back sooner by one less rigid in his views and ways.
But all respected his judgment, he was right more often than not and a word of praise from his lips was worth thousands from less demanding critics.
Even though Australia won the first Test, the battering Harmison handed out to Langer and Ponting left more than physical scars