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Telegraph
05-08-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
England's 10 greatest non-Ashes series and where India 2025 ranks
England and India have just completed an epic series that ended 2-2 after the most dramatic of climaxes. Telegraph Sport ranks where it sits in England's greatest non-Ashes series of all-time. 10. England 1 West Indies 3, 1963 A series of West Indies victories in England have a fine case for inclusion. For social significance, none can match 1950, when West Indies first won in England. For cricketing significance, none can match 1976, when brilliant performances from Michael Holding and Viv Richards marked the start of the West Indies super team. But for sheer compelling cricket, the criterion that covers this list, 1963 stands out. Garry Sobers – the most complete player that Test cricket has ever known – was in his prime and with the bat was supported by the runs of Rohan Kanhai, Conrad Hunte and Basil Butcher. The side also had a brilliant, varied attack that included the pace of Charlie Griffith and Wes Hall who were supplemented by Lance Gibbs's off spin. At Lord's, Colin Cowdrey came out with a broken arm to secure a draw. England could well have salvaged a 2-2 draw at the Oval, but Fred Trueman was injured early in their defence of 253. 9. South Africa 3 England 2, 1909-10 After losing to South Africa four years earlier, for the first time ever, England resolved to select a stronger side to try and enact revenge. Instead, South Africa completed an encore, again bewitching England were their phalanx of leg-spinners, who all possessed a fine googly. One of these bowlers, Bert Vogler, took 12 wickets in the Test as South Africa won the opening match by 19 runs. It was the first of three classic finishes: Jack Hobbs steered England to a three-wicket win in the third Test, before Aubrey Faulkner, South Africa's great all-rounder, clinched a four-wicket chase – and, with it, the series – in the fourth Test. 8. England 2 South Africa 2, 2003 The series began with England captain Nasser Hussain infamously getting the name of his counterpart, new South Africa skipper Graeme Smith, wrong. Within one Test, Hussain had resigned, and Smith scored the first of consecutive double centuries. When South Africa thrashed England at Lord's to go 1-0 up, there seemed to be a chasm between the sides. But England, now led by Michael Vaughan, fought back, culminating in a classic victory at the Oval to secure a 2-2 series draw, with local boy Graham Thorpe scoring a century on his Test return. 7. England 1 Pakistan 2, 1992 The summer in which England came across reverse swing at its most devastating for the first time. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis engineered a series of stunning collapses: from 197 for three to 255 all out at Lord's, 292 for two to 320 all out at Headingley, and 182 for three to 207 all out at the Oval. Yet, even while being bewildered by reverse swing and issuing complaints about their opponents' tactics, England should have taken a 1-0 lead at Lord's, when Wasim and Waqar added an unbroken 46 to take Pakistan to a two-wicket victory. More brilliance from the pair, this time with the ball, secured victory in the decider at the Oval. 6. Sri Lanka 1 England 2, 2000-01 Every other series on this list comprised five Tests. That is no coincidence: five matches give greater scope not just for brilliant performances, but also for tensions to flare up. But when England visited Sri Lanka in 2001, the three Tests contained all the drama of the best five-match series: a cocktail of compelling cricket and often appalling umpiring, which contributed to the spikiness between the sides. Thrashed in the first Test against Murali and Co, England resolved to be more aggressive with the bat thereafter. Their flag-bearer was Thorpe, who was the leading scorer in consecutive four- and three-wicket chases. 5. England 3 West Indies 1, 2000 After 27 years, England were developing a team that they believed could finally win a series against West Indies. The first Test at Edgbaston, when Courtney Walsh took eight for 58 from 40 overs in the match to secure an innings victory, seemed to indicate that England were delusional. Midway through day two of the second Test at Lord's, England were bowled out for 134, trailing by 133 on first innings and on the brink of going 2-0 down. Out of despair, Andy Caddick then summoned an astonishing spell, taking five for 16 to bowl West Indies out for 54. Against relentless bowling from Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, England clinched a fraught two-wicket victory on the third day. It would be a hinge point in the modern history of both Test sides. With Caddick orchestrating another cataclysmic collapse at Headingley, to bowl West Indies out for 61, England won 3-1. 4. India 1 England 2, 2012-13 A heist that felt extraordinary at the time, but rapidly came to seem outlandish. After being thrashed in the first Test, England produced an astonishing heist in Mumbai. Captain Alastair Cook hit the second of his three Test centuries on the tour; Kevin Pietersen, newly reintegrated into the side, thrashed 186, one of the greatest ever innings by an overseas batsman in India. Almost as astonishingly, England's spin twins, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, outbowled India's own spinners, then repeated the feat in Kolkata as England went 2-1 up. A rearguard in Nagpur secured England's best result since the 2005 Ashes, and arguably even earlier. India would win their next 18 series at home, comfortably the best streak of any side in history. 3. West Indies 2 England 2, 1953-54 A series that some consider, with apologies to Bodyline, the most controversial of all. The clash in the Caribbean was billed as the 'world championship of cricket', and saw England complete a stirring comeback from 2-0 down to leave with a draw. Yet, while the games were lit up by a litany of great players – including the three Ws, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell, and the spin pair Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine – the cricket was just the start. The series featured controversies about umpiring and throwing, and simmering tensions of class and race, as documented in David Woodhouse's riveting book Who Only Cricket Know. The only snag was that none of the individual matches were particularly close. 2. England 2 India 2, 2025 In the months before visiting England, India had lost Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin, creating fears that the side, and the spectacle, would be diminished. Instead, India's five Tests this summer have showed the format's continued capacity for regeneration. Shubman Gill swiftly earned comparisons with Don Bradman, never mind Kohli. He was merely one of a brilliant cast of characters to light up a full 25 days of cricket, alongside his rival captain Ben Stokes, the ebullient pair of No 5s, Rishabh Pant and Harry Brook, and the unique brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah. The teams served up four matches which produced fraught on-field moments and gripping denouements. Ultimately, the series got the ending it deserved: the indefatigable Mohammed Siraj yorking Gus Atkinson to secure a six-run win and a 2-2 draw. 1. England 2 South Africa 1, 1998 A victory that remains oddly under-appreciated in English cricketing memory, perhaps because it runs contrary to the lazy popular memory of the 1990s. Yet consider the quality of the side that South Africa possessed. With a pace attack of prime Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock and a deep batting line-up, South Africa recorded the best win-loss ratio of any Test side in the 1990s. After cruising to a 1-0 win at Lord's, South Africa had 171 overs to bowl England out at Old Trafford. Yet Mike Atherton, Alex Stewart and Robert Croft helped England cling on, with the last pair surviving for 5.1 overs to salvage a draw. The last two Tests were even better. On both occasions, England overcame narrow first-innings deficits to win. At Trent Bridge, Atherton came through a pulsating duel with Donald to orchestrate a chase of 247. Then, in the decider at Headingley, Darren Gough bowled England to a 23-run win on his home ground, in a series that went down to the very final morning. So did this year's clash with India, of course – but the 1998 series was further elevated because both sides could win the series on the final day.
Deccan Herald
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Deccan Herald
Rally round the West Indies
Bengaluru: 'We wanted to be able to show Englishmen, 'you brought the game to us, and now we're better than you,'' says Michael Holding in the highly-acclaimed 2010 documentary Fire in Babylon -- a powerful ode to the West Indies cricket team that dominated the game in the 70s and 80s like few in its history. As the title of the documentary suggests, the Caribbean cricketers of that era and before them were driven by fire in their belly; having been subjected to colonial rule and racial oppression for hundreds of years, cricket became a vehicle of the Caribbean pride and protest as they made former colonial masters 'grovel' (the infamous remark by English captain Tony Greig ahead of the 1976 Test series, when he declared his team would make the West Indians grovel with a heavy political undertone) in their own grounds and vs England | Oval Test and series poised for a keen finish .Calypso Cricketers, like everything with West Indies, has a nice rhythm to it. But this phrase was coined to, in a way, demean the West Indies players -- players who were entertaining, flamboyant, fun to watch, but not to be taken seriously. The Ws (Worrel, Walcott and Weekes), the Learie Constantine and the peerless Sir Garry Sobers, among other greats from 50s to 60s, had displayed enough individual brilliance to command respect but lack of consistent results drew English players to pass condescending remarks. The 70s and 80s, however, changed that perspective. Players like Michael Holding, Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall didn't just want to win; they wanted to destroy. And they did so with utter dominance. England were only the first casualty. Australia, India, Pakistan and New Zealand... all fell before the Caribbean storm. For nearly two decades, the West Indies were the undisputed kings of world free-flowing game, their swagger and the fear they induced endeared them to the entire cricketing world. It emerged as the second most favourite team for fans across the world after their own national teams. Everyone wanted them to win, and they did so more often. Cricket fans still want them to do well, but, invariably, they don't (or they just can't). There are still entertainers left in the West Indies they seem to be happy being just the Calypso last two decades or so have seen a steady decline of West Indies cricket that shows no signs of recovery. There have been a few bright moments, like an odd Test win here and there; two T20 World Cup triumphs (2012 and 2016) and a Champions Trophy win (2004) but each time they raise hopes of revival, it has turned out to be a false dawn. Today's cricketers have certainly inherited the flair for the game, but not the fire that drove them to the top; they are proud of their cricketing pedigree but not passionate enough to sustain those high standards. If each of their wins was celebrated as their own by the rest of the cricketing world, the regular losses are marked by a collective lament July 14 at Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies hit a new low when they were shot out for 27 in 14.2 overs by Australia in the third Test to sweep the series 3-0. This was the second lowest innings total ever behind New Zewland's 26 all out -- a dubious record that was under genuine threat of being broken or equalled. This was a new depth by their own low standards in recent times and rang alarm bells in West Indies cricket's establishment. The Cricket West Indies (CWI) called for an emergency meeting of the Cricket Strategy and Officiating Committee with a few legends -- including Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and Brian Lara -- to review the performances and find a way also largely went unnoticed was their 5-0 loss in the subsequent T20Is, a format they were expected to fare better. Come to think of it, WI's performance in ICC white-ball tournaments in the last few years have left a lot to be desired. They failed to progress beyond the group stage in the 2021 T20 WC in Australia and played the next edition in 2024 only because they were co-hosts of the event. In between, they failed to qualify for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India and later the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan-UAE. .There are obvious reasons for this free fall with the CWI being the one of the main culprits. While there are multiple challenges in the form of youngsters being drawn towards other sports like football and basketball that are financially more rewarding, CWI -- going by the instances of player rebellions -- hasn't taken enough care of top players, let alone those below their rung. The franchise leagues across the world do pose a big challenge, but there appears to be no tangible effort to compel players to remain committed to West Indies a bid to restore its past glory, the CWI has come up with an elaborate project that is fancifully referred to as The Long Run: CWI'S 2024-2027 Strategic Plan For Elevating West Indies Cricket. Among several objectives that the board aims to achieve in the next two years or so is making sure 'players are proud to represent the West Indies.' That's an interesting objective to have, and while no one is suggesting they lack the pride wearing WI colours or don't feel the same emotions when 'Rally round the West Indies' blares through the loudspeaker, they no longer seem to feel the hurt after in the Caribbean may not be rewarded as much as those in India, Australia or England but they are definitely compensated better than Afghanistan players who don't even have their own infrastructure to train. Cricket may be their escape route from the harsh realities of lives at home, but you still need that hunger to succeed. The concept of West Indies, a team of players from different island nations, may not have outlived its utility yet but it needs a new purpose, direction and an honest introspection from all the game's stakeholders in the Caribbean and sincere efforts to put the game back on track. The Caribbean needs cricket and cricket needs West Indies for it to be more competitive, vibrant and appealing to a larger audience. While they are at it, a bit of handholding by the ICC and the BCCI won't hurt cricket's cause.
NDTV
06-07-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
1st Time In 49 Years: Akash Deep Achieves Big Record With 10-Wicket Haul Against England
Indian cricket team pacer Akash Deep became the first player in 49 years to achieve a stunning feat during the second Test encounter against England on Sunday. Akash Deep became the first bowler since West Indies legend Michael Holding to dismiss four out of England's top five batters in a Test match inning. Holding achieved the feat back in 1976. Akash Deep took the wickets of Ben Duckett and Joe Root before dismissing Harry Brook and Ollie Pope in the first session of Day 5. The pacer ended up with wickets to his name as India beat England by 336 runs to level the five-match series 1-1. Akash Deep achieved a 10-wicket haul with 4 in the first innings and 6 in the second. With the thumping win -- India's first-ever in Tests at Edgbaston -- Shubman Gil and Co. levelled the five-match series 1-1. Resuming the day at 72 for 3, England were reduced to 153 for 6 by lunch, with India's bowlers maintaining relentless pressure. The hosts were eventually bowled out in the second session, never posing a real threat to India's mammoth 608-run target. Pacer Akash Deep (6/99) picked his maiden five-for in Tests. He rocked England early striking twice in a rain-delayed morning session. He returned after lunch to deliver the decisive blow, dismissing Jamie Smith (88), who was the only England batter to show fight in an otherwise underwhelming batting performance by the hosts. He then took the final wicket of Brydon Carse (38). The third Test begins in London on July 10.
The Guardian
24-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
David Lawrence obituary
David 'Syd' Lawrence, the Gloucestershire and England cricketer who has died aged 61, a year after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, knew only one way to bowl. It was to charge up to the crease and hurl the ball down as fast as he could – whether it was eleven o'clock in the morning or six in the evening after a long day in the field. He became the first English-born black Test cricketer when he made his debut in 1988. For Gloucestershire he united with Courtney Walsh, the great West Indian paceman, who would soon become a friend. They would also enjoy themselves as revellers at the St Paul's carnival in Bristol each year. Together they formed a formidable, contrasting pair of opening bowlers. Walsh was the more calculating cricketer, bowling fast one day and relying on accuracy, cunning and late movement the next. Lawrence just kept racing in with abandon, a spectacular, uplifting sight unless you happened to be the batsman at the other end. Lawrence's boyhood heroes were Michael Holding, whom he watched tormenting England's batsmen at the Oval in 1976, and Viv Richards, who later played a brief, yet critical, part in Lawrence's development as a professional cricketer. Early in his career Lawrence was involved in a few scrapes in Bristol; there was the odd scuffle in a pub alongside the suspicion that some of his mates might be leading him in the wrong direction. Tony Brown, the former Gloucestershire captain, then in charge at Bristol, had the good idea of taking the young Lawrence down to Taunton to meet up with Richards, who was playing for Somerset at the time. 'People are waiting for you to fuck up,' said Richards. 'Don't give them that satisfaction.' The meeting had a huge impact on Lawrence and he would never forget it. It certainly hardened his resolve to make the most of his ability to bowl fast. Soon he was offering an obvious threat to batsmen on the county circuit, and it may not be a coincidence that he often bowled very well against Somerset. He was desperate to impress his hero. In fact he dismissed Richards several times, including in the Antiguan's last Test innings at the Oval in 1991, when Lawrence finished on the winning side with five wickets to his name. By now a substantial Test career was on the horizon, but such ambitions were destroyed in Wellington, New Zealand, the following year when his left knee cap shattered when he was in his delivery stride, the crack echoing all around the ground. He tried agonisingly hard to recover from this injury but he could never bowl fast again. Lawrence was born in Gloucester, where his Jamaican parents, Joe and Hilda, had settled; his father was a welder, while his mother worked as a nurse. He moved to Bristol when he joined the playing staff of Gloucestershire in 1981 and was given the nickname 'Syd' – after the band leader of that name – by the future England opening batsman Chris Broad, after a chaotic fielding practice with the second team. The coach, Graham Wiltshire, was hitting catches and calling out the name of the chosen fielder. When shouting 'David' three youngsters collided under the ball at the same time, so some alternative names had to be found. In 1985 Lawrence was voted the Cricket Writers' Young Cricketer of the Year, thereby joining a list that contains most of England's greatest players. By now his pace was raising eyebrows in county dressing rooms as well as in press boxes. Having completed a satisfactory Test debut against Sri Lanka in 1988, he was picked for the winter tour of India, which never took place because of the South African connections of captain Graham Gooch; so he had to wait another three years to resume his international career. He would end up representing England in five Tests and a single one-day international, and finished with a haul of 515 first-class wickets. There would have been many more but for that cruel injury in Wellington. Prematurely forced into retirement, he overcame the angst of being robbed of a career as a leading sportsman by revealing an entrepreneurial streak, which culminated in him owning and running a nightclub, Dojo, for 25 years in Bristol. By all accounts he was a hands-on boss, on the door, behind the bar and, if necessary, cleaning the toilets. He also discovered a passion for bodybuilding – as an amateur – winning several prizes. In 2022 he was appointed president of Gloucestershire CCC and fulfilled the role with gusto. Neil Priscott, chief executive of the club, observed that 'Syd pushed us to reach out to communities far and wide'. Once diagnosed with MND, he was determined to raise awareness of the condition, including through the writing of an autobiography, In Syd's Voice, with the assistance of Dean Wilson, the former Daily Mirror cricket correspondent, which Lawrence was desperate to finish in time. It was published a few days before his death. Wilson spoke of 'a warm, big-hearted, inspirational, generous guy', a description that tallied with the memories of just about every cricketer who played with or against him. Earlier this month, he was appointed MBE. He is survived by his wife, Gaynor, and son, Buster. David Valentine Lawrence, cricketer, born 28 January 1964; died 21 June 2025
