Test Match Special - England vs West Indies Classics: Old Trafford 1995

Episode Date: June 19, 2020

Jonathan Agnew, Fazeer Mohammed and Andy Zaltzman remember a brilliant Test match at Old Trafford in the summer of 1995.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Bring more gear, carry more passengers, face greater challenges. Welcome to the world of Defender, with seating up to eight, ample cargo space and legendary off-road capability. It's built to make the most of every adventure. Learn more at landrover.ca. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. Marshall in, he bowls, Foster goes forward, and he's out, caught there by Harper at third step. Here is Waltz. On the way now, and Gouche pulls down towards backward split-leg. That's going to do his hundred.

Hooper has hit on the pad, there's an appeal towards El-Barm. He's giving him out to W. Cork has taken a hatchet. There's a big I-B-W appeals for him. He's out. Lv-W. West Indies all out, 454. Hello, welcome along to episode three of our four programs looking back at classic test matches, play between England and the West Indies.

This series goes alongside a TV program currently on BBC 2 and the I player, and how nice it is to see cricket back on BBC television, by the way. So we're taking a tour through the latter part of the 20th century, exploring how West Indian dominance slowly shifted towards English success through the 80s and the 90s. In our first couple of episodes, we looked at a devastating win for the tourists at Lourdes in 1984, and then a Graham Gooch inspired England win at Headingley in 1991. Here comes Malcolm he bowls to water, who hits it in the air, he could be caught. It's Ramprakash coming in, two of them going for it, and it is caught, in fact, very well indeed by Michael Atherton, diving in front of Ramprakash from the gully, and England have beaten the West Indies for the first time in England, for 22 years.

There we are, Chris Martin Jenkins describing the end of that particular match in 1991, a wonderful win for England. For this programme, we're off to Old Trafford in July 1995 and the fourth match of a six-game series. Why was that? It was eventually drawn 2-2. The windies were two-one up in the series coming into the match, having won the third test by an innings and 64 runs at Edgebaston.

England's 89 all-out in the second innings was a particularly dismal display. Bishop is on the way to bull to Ellingworth. And Ellingworth is edged it. He's caught. It's all over. That's the end of the match. Hooper takes the catch and the match is finished. And England have been beaten all out for 89.

Ellingworth caught by Hooper at second slip of the bowling of Bishop without scoring. And England have been beaten by an innings and 64 runs. And the West Indies have inflicted on England as in fact. and perhaps as embarrassing a defeat, as England have suffered for some time. Tony Kosia, recording that huge win for the West Indies. Now, this one is a memorable game for many reasons. Not least, it's the first and only time I can remember sunlight, stopping play. It really did.

I'm sure you remember who the umpower involved was. It could only have been won. We'll talk about that in a second. And with me to go through it all, I'm delighted to say that I'm once again joined by Fasia Muhammad in Trinidad. and also Test Match Special Statistician Andy Zaltzman. Greetings, gentlemen. Hello. Good to be with you all once again.

And you too, Fasie. I hope things are well over there in Trinney. Let's start then. It's fascinating a series. Why were there six games? Can anyone remember why there were six? I think that that was, often the way, they'd been quite a few six test Ashes series.

I think that came in in the, well, through the 70s and 80s. So it was, I guess, before they had split. it's summers, it was you know, I guess just what was done to, I guess, maximize the amount of cricket available before they realized you could have seven tests with two teams instead of six tests with one.

And might I suggest, I guess, that it could have been the Brian Lara factor because remember the year before, he had had that phenomenal summer, the world records and then the 501 in the county season, and who knows it might have been, okay, well, let's cash in on the Prince of Port of Spain being there with

the West Indies team. A very good reminder from Trinidadian Fasio Mahabod about Trinidadian Brian Lara. But you could well be right, Fasier. We'll give you that. And he had a wonderful role in this series, of course. Where were the West Indies then, Fas? Come on, at this point in the 1990s. Here we are now in 1995.

Are they still just teetering on the brink? Well, as we look at it on the benefit of hindsight, the watershed year, as it was described, in 1995, because you record just a couple months earlier. In fact, even earlier than that, the West Indies had suffered a test series defeat at home to Australia, Mark Taylor's Australians, which ended 15 years unbeaten for the West Indies and test series going back to that contentious tour of New Zealand in 1980.

And in fact, at home, the West Indies hadn't lost the test series for some 23 years. So it was a significant moment. And indeed, as we've seen what happened, not just in 1995, because that tour of England was a turbulent one for many different reasons, there was a level of complacency still, because I recall West Indies Hall, the great fastball and then manager of the West Indies team, referring to the aberration of Kingston that innings lost to Australia, which handed the Frank Royal Trophy to Mark Taylor's men. For a long time, the West Indies deluded themselves or ourselves by believing that it was only a matter of time before we returned to the top. As it turned out, it was the sort of a plummet down a precipice.

Yeah, interesting. And England, and even the 90s were a horrible decade doing England's support. Weren't they, crike, way more downs than ups. Yeah, well, England were in a state of transition for about 20 straight seasons, I think. I think I might have used that expression myself at some stage in the 90s. Yeah, it seemed to be just unending transition and churning through players, maybe not at quite the extreme rate of the late 1980s. And things had got a bit better since the late 80s when in four years.

England only won three test matches out of 40, I think it was. But they'd just lost in Australia the previous winter, 94, 95, but it had been a little more competitive. They'd won the fourth test. They'd given Australia a close game in the third test. But, yeah, England was still a long way from being a powerhouse in test cricket. But things had picked up a little, but they were still inconsistent and largely unsuccessful. Yeah, and summed up, really, by this match, who comes back into the side?

John Embry, aged 43. Doesn't that kind of sum up the 90s, really? Well, it does in a lot of ways that he was still one of the most successful bowlers in county cricket. In fact, in the 90s, only Steve Watkin at that point had taken more county championship wickets than Embury. But he'd only paid three tests in the previous six years. And in 21 tests dating back to the 86-87 Ashes tour, Embry had taken 32 wickets in his last 21 tests. So the fact that England were turning back to him does suggest that, yeah, things weren't entirely rosy in terms of the production line of players and that the art of selection was maybe not quite as scientific as it is these days. It's worth going through the teams, actually, both sides, just a bit, it'd refreshes of memories, so who was around.

There's always one or two that make your eyebrows go, really? So West Indies then, Hooper was opening with Campbell, Lara at three, Adams, Richardson, Artherton. Murray was keeping wicket, then Bishop Ambrose, Kenny Benjamin, and Courtney Walsh was the West Indies line-up. England, Nick Knight, opening with Michael Atherton, with John Crawley at number three. Then Thorpe, Robin Smith, Craig White, Russell, Mike Watkinson. Mike Watkinson, playing there at Old Trafford. He played four tests in all, of course. Dominic Cork, John Embry and Gus Fraser.

So that's how the two teams lined up. I'm just looking at that batting line up there for the West Indies Fasier. Obviously, one name sticks out massively. But, you know, if you think about Jimmy Adams' career and, of course, Ritchie Richardson as well, I mean, and Carl Hooper. I mean, there are some pretty stellar names around there as well. It's kind of easy to shrug off that West Indies batting lineup. But there's some pretty decent players up there.

Yeah, it was an unchanged 11 from that annihilation in the test match. I did it was no surprise that it was the same 11. Interesting, though, that Carl Hooper was playing as an opening batsman, he had actually started as an opener for the first three test matches, was opener as well for the start of this test match. And you look at that batting order and you wonder why the Western East were on this decline, as appeared apparent shortly after, because they were inconsistent with the exception of Lara who had yet to get a decent score in the series.

But you have some names there who you would expect on their day should be able to make a significant difference in favor of the Western East. But the problem was, as we found out, those days didn't happen too often when they all got it together. And that's why the Western East started to struggle so badly with the bat. And they were slightly on the decline as well as individuals. I mean, Lara hadn't had been decent since he broke the world record with his 375 in Antigua in 1994. But he hadn't scored major runs since then. Carl Hooper still hadn't fully emerged.

He was averaging 31 after 50 tests. He became a better player later in the decade. Richie Richardson had significantly declined. He was averaging about 30 in his last 15 tests after being over 50 for a long time before that. And Jimmy Adams, after an amazing start, averaging 86 in his first 14 tests, hadn't scored 100 in his previous seven. So their batting was much less strong,

albeit that that was an extremely potent bowling attack. So Wendy's win the toss. They bat first. They only make 216, but Brian Lara hits form. Fraser back into the attack. He's burning from this Stretford end for the first time. That first ball is tickled away very fine by Lara and away for four runs. Lara's 50. It's a very strange signal from Empire Mitchley. I think that was runs. Lara's reached his 50 anyway. 52 not out. Out of us in his 148 for three.

So Brian Lara, 87 out of 216. There are four wickets each for Dominic Cork and Angus Fraser. In comes Cork both short and Hooper, it. Sky's it. Crawley is underneath it, it's a difficult one. He's dropped, he's caught it. He fell over as he took it, and Hooper has fallen for the short ball. Fraser. At court, at slip.

A poor shot by Richardson. The ball bounced up to the shoulder, played a rather casual defensive stroke, and Thorpe took an easy catch at first slip. And England have taken two wickets in the last three overs before lunch, both of them to Angus Fraser. Pork Bowls, or Benjaminers Bowles.

horrible smear through the leg side. That really was a pretty ropey shot. He's lost his off stump. Corp has taken his fourth wicket. Ambrose looks disgusted at the non-striker's end. He hasn't moved. He's standing there now, surveying the wreckage of Benjamin Stumps. He's away, heading off towards the dressing rooms. So 2-16 all out. Four wickets for Corkman Fraser. Two for Mike Watkinson, though, Andy. I showed a measure of surprise. Of course, you all remember that Winker played for England. Great Lancashire Stor-Watt and coach, of course. with his test career? Well, this was his debut, five days short of his 34th birthday.

He's England's oldest debutant in the last 30 years. And there's a totally curious pattern to it. It's between 1976 and the year 2000, kind of peak era of West Indian dominance, England gave nine debuts to players aged 33 or more. Six of them were against the West Indies. So it's almost like you to send in the oldies against the formidable pace attack

that they had to face. but Watkinson have a fine debut in this game five wickets in the match and a useful 37 and played a good innings in the fifth test of the series as well so we had a brief but quite successful career belated in his career and he was playing as an offspin having been for a lot of his career more of a medium pace

of Phil Lancashire I was going to mention that I mean he actually was a very effective bit of both wasn't he I mean Tony Gregg of course who remember his all round who bowled his seam as an offspin but Mike Watkinson similarly yes and those kind of players seem to have slightly disappeared from the game but they cause havoc with the stats, I guess.

Because, you know, you tick your box for spin or pace or mixture. The mixture bowlers make it, they make it so hard to get decent stats on how spinners have done at certain grounds. So good riddance to them, I say. No more sober as is Greg's and Watkinson. Well, no, but what about both of them? Did both of them ever take a wicket with his off-spings? I mean, he bowled it occasionally in test matches, usually in horribly lost causes.

I'm not going to ask you look it up now. Someone will let us know. Drop us in email. Because, well, knowing Ian Botham with the Golden Arm, anyway, he wasn't playing in this game. Weston is 216 all out. Just before T, there was an extraordinary situation. This is the old, Old Trafford,

before they turned the pitches around, of course. So it's facing east-west rather than north-south. And therefore, late in the afternoon, summer's day, brilliant sunshine. The sun is going straight down into the batsman's face. down at the, well, the Stretford end, it was our commentary box end because down there was a very well-known DIY store with a glass roof. And it was off that that the sun was reflecting

and the batsman couldn't see. Umpires Dickie Bird and Cyril Mitchley conferring just to the left. There's a reflection and a Dickie Bird. seems to be somewhat magnetic when it comes to attracting unusual problems that sort of glaring light is obviously a big problem for the players

big problem for us and I mean Dickie Bird has faced just about every possible turmoil and torture on the field of play there's something ironic about the man best known for taking everyone off a bad light all the time actually taking them off from being too good but is that the only time

Is that the only time it's ever happened? It happens sometimes at county games where they'd be a shout of cover the windscreens and people go out and get a blanket and shove it on the wind screens or something. But I can't remember a player had been called off with it before. They could have done with it

in some of the other matches against the West Indies in the 80s and 90s, I think. Should have been rolled out more broadly. Yes. The sunshine in the West, you ever seen that before, Fazier? I actually recall, like,

it happened a couple of times at the Annesville ground in St. Vincent, which you'll know, you'll recall that the airport was just basically over the fence on the other side of the ground. But because it was such a tiny ground, and directly behind the bowler's arm,

at the airport end, there was this gap between the side screen and one of the stands. And invariably, some of them would just be coming along to park the car, have a look at the cricket, or maybe to drop off lunch or tea or whatever it was,

and then they'd hang around there only to have the umpires, waving them away, play would have been stopped in the odd one, the international, for the same reason, sunshine glinting off the wind

screens at the Annesville ground. Crazy. Beautiful ground. England took a hammering. I think we already played there once. And England got absolutely hammered in a one-day international. That is another, that's another subject altogether. So, England batting then. And actually, they rattled up some runs here. Now, really interesting innings from Graham Thorpe, who hit 94.

Benjamin comes in and bowls to Thorpe, who drives through extra cover. This should go for Ford. The chase for Richardson from mid-off. It will go for Ford. What an over for England. And for Graham Thorpe. Two drives, two pulls. If you talk champagne moments, that's it.

Times four. That over. Oh, brilliant. All exquisite cricket shots. Magnificent cricket shots. For me, that first drive is still the best. Well, I think he... But that one wasn't much far away from it.

I think he enjoyed the pull. Second pull. It's arrogance. You know, I'm on top. He's moved on to 88. England 248 for 4. So he made 94, and this innings is remarkable, really, in the context of England's innings, isn't it, Andy?

Because 437 all out, no one got 100. There were only two batsmen past 50, of which Graham Thorpe made 94. I mean, it's not often you see a scorecard like that. Extras, 64, 34. 34 nobles. That's proper West Indies. Proper West Indian extras, that is.

Well, it was a terrific performance from extras. It was, in fact, England's highest score at home against West Indies in an innings since 1966 and their second highest anywhere against West Indies since 1974. Six players made 30 or more. The 64 extras was the joint fourth most in any innings at that point in Test cricket

and the other 34 balls was a hell of a lot even by West Indian standards. But Thorpe had made a very, very good start to his test career. This was his 14th half-century score in 19 tests. He had another in the fifth test after this, and only two other England players made 15-half centuries or more in their first 20 tests, and they were Hobbes and Suckliff back in the distant early part of the 20th century. So he made a superstar to his test really.

But he played a lot of crucial inning such as this for England at that time. It really was some really indisciplined cricket by the Westerners with those 34 no balls. And you have to ask yourself, would it have anything to do with getting carried away with what they did at Edgeburn? with that bizarre pitch where it was lush green right down the middle and they were just banging it in short and they did the same thing for this match at Manchester and just didn't come off and it was really some awful cricket by the West Indies fastballers, the majority of them vastly experienced.

Not sure it's a record or no, Andy can think about that while we just savour Dominic Cork scoring his half century. Here's Cork off the back foot, stares it for his fifth one, down towards third man, good innings here by Dominic Cork. He's got 50, raises his bat, takes off his helmet, and then goes around the ground, points his bat in the direction of the crowd, and that's a good innings by Dominic Court. He's exactly 50, and England are 430 for 9, replying to the West Indies 216. Yeah, an excellent game, Dominic Hork.

How about here's some more of him in a second. 34, is that a record? 34 no balls in a test innings? It wasn't a record, Agass, but it was high up the list and runs gratefully accepted by England. was only the sixth time in 15 years that the West Indies had conceded a first innings deficit of 200 or more in 122 tests. Over the same period, England had conceded a 200 lead in first innings 26 times. So that gives you an idea of the disparity between the teams over the previous decade and a half. Massive lead then. So 221 in fact, England's lead was

after West Indies were bowled out for 437. They made a good start in their second innings. Then They were 161 for three. They lost three wickets in three balls to a Dominic Cork hat trick. Cork Bowls. Oh, Wishol's played on. He's played on in the first over of the day, trying to leave the ball alone. He got an inside edge onto his stumps. That's a vital breakthrough for England.

Now, Junior Murray is the new batsman. 161 for 4. Two runs scored this morning. The West Indies have lost to Wicked. Away goes Cork and Bowles to Murray. He's hit on the pad. He peels for leg before. Wicked.

He's out. Watton. Corks on a hat trick. A terrible start for the West Indies, to try and save this match. Murray's out first ball, leg before wicket to Dominic Cork. And what a start for England, 161 for 5. And Murray can barely drag himself off the ground. So Cork on a hat trick, three slips a gully, two men around the bat.

Away he goes, and bowling two, Carl Hooper, he bowls now. Hooper is hit on the pad, there's an appeal towards Upal Misses. He's giving him out over W. Cork has taken a hatchick in his first over of the day. He's mobbed by his teammates and he's sunk to the ground and Hooper departs now. What a start. There's a standing ovation from this near full house for Dominic Cork.

I wonder how many missed it. It was the first over of the day. How many people were still shuffling into Old Trafford. Did you miss it, Andy? I missed it when I was getting a train up to Norfolk for a summer job. And I got to the station. I had my radio with me as all.

good cricket fans did in those days and hopefully still do. And I think I went to get a coffee at the station and whilst I was queuing for the coffee without having put my radio on for the start of the day, I missed England's first test hat trick since 1957 since Peter Loder did the hat trick also against the West Indies. So it was, that's one of my greatest regrets in lifehaggers

that I missed corks hat trick because of a coffee. Well, you know, in fact, Fasier will recognise it It was just one of those when you're commentating. To think with LBWs, you just know they're out. You know, you just kind of know it. And that last one, especially, to get a hat trick, LBW, it's not that common, I don't think. The umpires thinking about it and so on, up with the finger.

It was, it was out. Well, I wish I had missed it, August, because I was up very early in the morning in the Caribbean, waiting for the start of play. West Indies well set, Brian Lara, Richie Richardson, ready to get the West Indies going, piling on the runs, putting England in their place after that huge.

first innings lead. And the next thing, you know, the Vatch is virtually over within one over, and I had to endure it at 6 o'clock in the morning. It was a statistically remarkable hat trick as well, not only England's first for such a long time, but only the third unassisted test hat tricks. So no one else was involved, only Cork with the bold and 2 OBWs. And the two previous unassisted hat tricks were both by a chap called Jimmy Matthews, who was an Australian bowler in the early 20th century, against South Africa at Old Trafford during the Triangle series in 1912. He had a bold LBW and LBW in the first innings and a bold

and two court and bowls in the second innings, two hat tricks in the match. But Cork was the first since then where the bowler did it all on his own. He had an amazing match. I should have mentioned earlier, course, during the course of that 56, he actually knocked a bail off while he was

setting off for a run. No one noticed, no one appealed. He came back for the second run, pop the bail back on, and nothing was said, so he was having one of those games. So yes, suddenly then, Weston, is clearly are in trouble but it's all set for your Trinidad Prince of

Port of Spain then wasn't it because he scored his first century of the series Now will this go for four Oh the field that hasn't seen it Angus Fraser didn't see it to deep backwards square leg And that will go for four It shouldn't have done really So a strange way for Lara

To get his century But he's there all the same A standing ovation for him Helmet aloft He's raising his back to all parts of the ground The first century in this series has come in the fourth test match and fittingly it is Brian Lara.

So Brian Lara reaching his first hundred of the series and this again we talked about Graham Thorpe's innings in England's first innings. This was statistically I guess bizarre as well 145 he made out of 314

the next highest score was 44 by Shewin Campbell so again I mean statistically obviously brilliant but I mean it was a brilliant It is. And it was long overdue because he'd gotten a couple of decent scores of a few starts earlier on in the series. But again, because of the incredible standard that he would have set in 1994 the year before, and with the expectation of him coming back to England, taking

on England, he really hadn't produced the runs that would have been expected. And then the 87 in the first innings amid the capitulation, and then really getting into stride with that 145, the way he would have dominated. And that's Lara for you. He likes nothing better, not just the centre stage, but to be able to manipulate an innings with the lower order. And the way he was able to dominate and keep the West Indies going. And the man in which he played was really classic Lara in his batting prime. Yeah, it was a, he was obviously an amazingly beautiful batsman to watch. I guess one of those players that, you know, however much you support your team, you want to see do well for the other side. But as I said, he had a bit of a dip. This was only his

second test century in 13 tests since he made that 3.75 and I guess maybe for the first time in his career, some uncertainty had been dismissed four times in three tests by the Indian spinner Raju just recently. So this was a major return to form for Laura and he continued it through the rest of the series. So West Indies then, despite Lara's efforts, bowled out for 314. Four wickets in total in thenings for Dominic Cork. At this point he'd taken 20 wickets across his first three tests. It looked like England's great new hope. Cork on the way to Walsham.

End of the innings. Cork gets his fourth wicket. Walsh bowled by Cork for 16. Ambrose not out 23. 314 all out the West Indies. Which means that England will require... No, that's got to be worked out by Bill Fringle for me. I give up.

Poor old Tony. It's good to see the commentator still leaning on their... scoreers then. Ninety-four, 94 then, England needing. It doesn't sound much that these little targets are often a problem, aren't they? England lost three for six to stumble to 48 for four, which is effectively for five, because Robin Smith had retired hurt. So were there nerves, should there have been? In comes Benjamin on the way now to White and White. Gets a lifting delivery. He's caught at second slip by Chandapal. This match is alive. White getting an outside edge. Chanderpull taking the catch at second slip. England are 48 for four and they've got Robin Smith injured in the pavilion. They need another 46 to win the match. White goes for one.

I guess there would have been, given that it was England in the 1990s and victories were not overly common. I think it's fair to say. But Jack Russell played quite a few crucial innings for England over the years. Might not leap off the scorecard, but it was another kind of. useful 30 or to get England across the line. He was always difficult to bowl out, Jack Russell. Busy and ugly and annoying. But 31 he scored from 39 balls in that context, which is a brilliant effort. And with John Crawley, he saw England home to level the series.

Arthetton. Bowls, and that's tickled away. Now this should be it for two runs, surely. It's gone down towards short, fine leg. In comes Campbell, sprinting in for a deep backward square leg. Those are the two runs completed. The stewards run under the ground. So to hundreds of spectators.

handshakes all round as jack russell collects a stump he'll want that for his benefit and away he goes what a valuable innings he's played here 94 for four with russell 31 not out john crawley 15 not out the ground absolutely a wash of spectators there we are and you're right andy i mean you know an england win in those days and against the west indies when he's still trying to convince yourself and he'd been hammered by them in the match before? I mean, to get over the line, I think it was a huge relief. Yes, and it added to this rather very dramatic fluctuating series,

a game in which there were obviously some incredible individual performances and a good team performance by England. And just to pick up on Dominic Cork, at this point he'd taken 20 wickets in his first three tests, which was the most by an England seamer in his first three tests of a career since Freddie Truman back in the 1950. So he'd made a massive difference to this England side, having taken 7 for 43 on his debut at Lord's,

the best figures by an England bowler on debut. He swung the ball, didn't he? Those early days of Dominic Cork, he really did swing the ball a lot. Fasier, just a last thought from you. Is that sort of a reminder of the reliance of the West Indies on Brian Lara? Indeed, it was. And when you talk about Brian Lara in that series,

the wheels really started to come off after that, because, as you might recall, he went AWOL. He couldn't be found for about three days. There was a real blow-up at a team meeting after the loss of that test match. Richardson accused him indirectly of trying to undermine his captaincy. Lara went missing, said that cricket was ruining his life. He told her the manager, Wes Hall at the time. Carl Hooper went missing as well.

He walked out on the team. And it all really went off the field downhill after that. Winston Benjamin had actually been sent home from the tour. after the second test match, and you really saw the signs of a disintegration of that discipline and that unity in Western East cricket, even though Lara reeled off another couple of hundreds when you returned to the team for the fifth and sixth test matches. So it was really bizarre and so much went on off the field on that tour that up to now, we still haven't gotten the full story of a lot of what went on. I can imagine what has been like following it in the

Caribbean, the phone ins and everything else. It must have been incredible. It was absolutely infuriating to see what was going on because we took it for granted. When you go to England, you probably don't even bother to travel with the Wisden Trophy because you know it's not going to be handed up to the English any time soon. So you just kept it at home. And because of that whole colonial history, you know how it goes our guys. West Indians took a particular delight in not just defeating England, but in hammering England. And to have to be in a situation, not just that you were caught in a battle having drawn in 19,

Drawn again now in 1995 as this series finished. But to have all of that turbulence behind the scenes, players were disciplined at the end of the tour and because of that discipline, Lara pulled out at the last minute from the subsequent tour of Australia. So really, in more ways than one, the wheels were starting to come off. And to highlight that, Fasian, at the end of 1995, Westinies had won four and lost four of their 12 tests.

And that means that 1994 is the last calendar, year in which the West Indies won more tests than they've lost. They've never had another year with more wins than losses since they've had a few where it's been level. But in 17 of 19 years from 1976 to 1994, they'd won more than they'd lost. So that shows that this really was the moment where the West Indian decline was becoming entrenched. Well, extraordinary scenes obviously in the Caribbean. What about the rest of the series then, Andy? How did it pan out, remind us? Well, disappointingly stodgily, it was too all after four tests. and then there were two high-scoring draws the West Indies almost got into a position to force a win at Nottingham,

and then the decider at the Oval was on an absolute pudding of a pitch. Lara ended up with 765 runs in the series after two big hundreds in the final two tests. Only Steve Smith in last year's ashes has surpassed that total in a series in England since then. Great, thanks, Andy, and to you, Fuzzyer, of course. Thanks for your company. Make sure you don't miss out on the BBC 2 and the BBC IPlayer programmes that also look back on these matches with Issa Gour and look out for the final instalment of this BBC Sound series

which will be out soon. We're going back to a real classic at Lords in 2000. See you then. Like the top 10 Premier League strikers. Personally, I think it's really hard to have Shearer anywhere near the top 10. The Match of the Day, Top 10 podcasts. Only available on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.