Spirit On The Water Read Free

done quite well to restrict them to 188 off their 30 overs.
    Just over six an over was the asking rate which doesn’t sound too much if you say it quickly. The trouble was that the target was six runs every over. If an over went by when we didn’t get at least six runs, then the asking rate went up. And we didn’t, so it did. Three run-outs didn’t help the cause and we finished up some way short of the target on 120 for 8.
    We had lost but not disgraced ourselves. Our hosts looked after us well, recommending places that we should try to visit during our remaining time on the island. On our return to England, we received a copy of the match report that Menorca CC had put in their local newspaper. It included the words: “Though Ash Tree may not be the finest (cricketing) side we have met this season, they are certainly one of the friendliest and their après cricket is without equal.” We took this as the compliment that I think it was intended to be.
    We don’t question an opposition player’s parentage when he comes out to bat. We only appeal when we think someone is actually out. We would rather spend a month on a desert island with Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh listening to X-Factor contestants, than claim a catch that we knew hadn’t carried. (Actually, I’ll probably have to check on that one.) We try to win, and sometimes we do, but if we lose it’s not the end of the world (unless it’s the Congleton Gnomads, then we can get a little bit upset.)
    Back home, once Zimbabwe had finished their two-match series, another cricket tour was about to begin. The West Indian tourists had arrived. They had successfully defended the Wisden Trophy for twenty seven consecutive years. Ray Illingworth was the last England captain to hold the trophy in 1969. The West Indians arrived with Walsh and Ambrose leading their attack and Brian Lara restored to the side after a self imposed absence.
    The Windies won the first Test comfortably by an innings and 93 runs. They had a first innings lead of 133 in the second Test at Lords. What could possibly go wrong? A combination of complacency from the West Indian batsmen and excellent seam bowling from Caddick, Gough and Cork saw the West Indies bowled out for 54 in the second innings. England needed 188 to win and they scraped home by two wickets, helped by an enterprising 33 not out from Dominic Cork. On the Friday, the second day of the Test match, 21 wickets fell in 75 overs. It is the only Test match out of over 1,500 Tests ever played where some part of all four innings took place on the same day.
    The Third Test at Old Trafford was drawn. This was followed by a two-day defeat for the West Indies at Headingley, which included being bowled out for 61 in the second innings. Caddick, who always seemed to bowl better in the second innings of a match,got four wickets in an over. The tour management must have been tempted to ask a watching Viv Richards to swap his microphone for a bat and give the West Indies a hand. Even in his late forties, and not having played for a few years, he would undoubtedly have strengthened both the batting and more importantly the resolve of the West Indies team.
    England clinched the series with a win at the Oval. It was a sorry way for Walsh and Ambrose to play their last Test matches in England. In a sense, the West Indies have never really recovered from that series. During the build-up to the final Test, Roger Harper, their coach at the time, said that the players were “very low” and were “just waiting for it to end”. A sad comment on any cricket tour but somehow even sadder because it was the West Indies.
    The Ash Tree tour to Menorca, on the other hand, was deemed a success. The weather had been glorious. We’d had a few beers and made some new friends. We had even played some cricket.
    1 Atherton famously declared England’s second innings against Australia at Sydney in 1995 when Graeme Hick was on 98 not out.
    2 I’m not sure Mike