Ashes Chronicles - Part 15: MacGill the destroyer as Headley inspires Melbourne moment in 1998/99

HUW TURBERVILL: A glorious success at the MCG came among Tests that could have gone either way. Defeat again, but England felt they were getting closer to loosening Australia's grip on the urn

“Australia is a great place to be when you are doing well, and not so great when you are doing badly. It will always be that way. Australians love their sports stars, however, and, if the truth be told, they love their England cricketers” – Mark Butcher.  

England had once again made a dire start in Australia. They had been lucky to escape with a draw in the opening Test of the 1998/99 series at Brisbane thanks to a violent storm; had lost inside two days and two sessions at Perth, and were then left addled at Adelaide. The urn was gone.

They even lost to the hosts’ second string at Hobart. The joke – or was it? – doing the rounds was that the Ashes had become so one-sided that they might have to be reduced to three-Test series in the future.

Such adversity had been the cue for fine performances on previous trips, however, notably at Sydney and Adelaide four winters previously, and in Melbourne in 1982/83; and this time England roused themselves to another memorable win at the MCG, by just 12 runs.  

The fifth scheduled day was the longest in Test history – lasting eight hours and three minutes – as England battled to prevent Australia from chasing 175.  

The hosts had acquired a reputation for being vulnerable in pursuit of small targets (notably at Adelaide in 1994/95, and The Oval in 1997), but were progressing comfortably at 100 for 2 when Mark Ramprakash took a scintillating catch, hanging on to Justin Langer’s pull off Alan Mullally.  

A chink of light had been exposed, and Dean Headley took four wickets for four runs in 13 balls to turn it into a full-sized crack. 

“My first nine overs had gone for 45,” Headley told me. “We’d been told to just go out and bowl quick. I dismissed Michael Slater lbw – the ball kept low and he walked! But it felt like we had to take more than 10 wickets. There were a lot of instances of the ball hitting the pads and batsmen not being given out lbw, despite them not really playing a shot.

“I removed Mark Waugh, with Graeme Hick taking a great catch at slip, and then Darren Lehmann faced what was due to be the final ball of my spell. I went around the wicket and it was a very full delivery. He said he didn’t edge it – it was debatable – but anyhow, that bought me an extension.  

“Ian Healy had scored a century at Brisbane after being badly dropped by Angus Fraser, but after that innings he’d barely made a run. He was a very attacking player and, playing his normal game, he was also caught by Hick.” 

^{Steve Waugh on his way to a century in the first Test (Clive Mason/Getty Images)}

Lehmann, Healy and Damien Fleming were removed by Headley with the total on 140, but Steve Waugh – who was having a defiant series – and Matt Nicholson then added 21 for the eighth wicket. 

It was 7.22pm, and, with only 14 to win, Waugh claimed the extra half-hour, to the consternation of captain Alec Stewart: he wanted the Australians to have a fretful night. England had been on the field for three hours and 50 minutes, and Headley and Darren Gough had been bowling in tandem for 16 overs. Stewart felt he had little option but to urge them to carry on, and Headley found the strength to find Nicholson’s edge.  

Waugh then took a single off the first ball of Gough’s 16th over, believing that he could make two. It proved a fatal mistake. “After a not-outer?” Gough taunted him.  

Stuart MacGill had led a charmed life to score 43 in the first innings.  

“There was no way he was going to do it again,” said Headley. “It was like he had a forcefield around his stumps. It was unbelievable. Thankfully Goughie got his in-swinging yorker going to clean up the last two.” 

He bowled MacGill, then two balls later trapped Glenn McGrath lbw, leaving Waugh at the non-striker’s end on 30 not out. Ian Chappell said on radio that he had been ‘selfish’; Waugh believed in giving tail-enders responsibility. 

“We’d taken a battering from the press so there was a real emotional release,” said Headley; while Gough wrote: “Winning that Test was probably my greatest moment on a cricket field.” 

England partied like never before, running into the increasingly prominent Barmy Army. Players and fans stood on tables together belting out Oasis songs, while tour manager Graham Gooch led the national anthem. It was a far cry from Len Hutton’s men sharing a few drinks at the Lennons Hotel in 1954/55. 

Once again, though, it proved to be a one-off. England were the victims of a poor decision to reprieve Slater after he had clearly been run out by Headley in the fifth Test at Sydney. It was a tight match, and the tourists were denied a 2-2 series draw. Australia won 3-1, for their sixth successive Ashes series victory.

It was the same result as four years earlier, and the pattern had been the same; Australia started strongly, but the tourists would go into the final Test with a chance of squaring the series, only to lose it. “We came quite close – probably the closest we came in all my series against Australia,” Nasser Hussain told me.

^{The Barmy Army certainly enjoyed the tight win in Melbourne (Clive Mason/Getty Images)}

On the other hand, it could also have been 5-0, had it not rained at Brisbane, and without Headley’s heroics at Melbourne. 

England had taken some confidence from the 1997 Ashes. They had won the opening match at Edgbaston and the final one at The Oval; although the middle Tests had seen Australia comfortably on top.

Gough wrote that the strength of the squad gave England “a real chance” this time. Butcher, Dominic Cork, Robert Croft, Headley, reserve wicketkeeper Warren Hegg, Hussain, Mullally, Peter Such and Alex Tudor were on their first Ashes tours, but there was no place for Hick, who had scored a century against Sri Lanka in England’s previous Test, a stormy defeat at The Oval.

He was called up later as cover for Mike Atherton, who had a disappointing tour, averaging 13 in the Tests - he was suffering from a bad back, which meant he struggled to avoid bouncers. Hick then stayed after Graham Thorpe also went home with back trouble. 

In Croft and Such, the two off-spinners, England hoped to repeat the success of Geoff Miller and John Emburey in 1978/79, but the policy failed. Conspicuously there was no place for Phil Turnell, or Andrew Caddick, who had been the only Englishman to take 100 first-class wickets the previous summer. “No boat-rockers”, said Wisden. 

With Gooch in charge as tour manager, and Micky Stewart’s son Alec as captain, it was also no surprise to see England overdo the training again.  

Fitness coach Dean Riddle was not to everyone’s tastes. Hussain, writing in his autobiography, said that the Australians found it “hilarious” that England were performing sprint routines in searing heat, while they stretched and consumed energy drinks.  

For the first time on an Ashes tour, the tour party also had a sports psychologist, an analyst and a media-relations manager. 

Selection on the trip was also inconsistent. Tudor was picked with success, then left out, then brought back when he should not have been, while Fraser played in only two Tests, despite taking 54 Test wickets in 1998.  

England also had a long tail, with numbers six to 11 struggling. They were blown away at Brisbane, their final six first-innings wickets making only 60, while the Australians took 10 for 110 and the last five wickets for 33 at Perth, seven for 40 and five for 16 at Adelaide, seven for 70 in the first innings at Melbourne, and seven for 83 and eight for 78 at Sydney.

^{Australia's team celebrate retaining the Ashes (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)}

It also did not help that Stewart lost all five tosses, despite team-mates pleading with him to change to tails. The tosses were particularly crucial at Adelaide and Sydney. 

England had some cheering news at the start of the series, however, with Warne out injured after failing to recover from shoulder surgery. Understudy MacGill took 27 wickets at an average of 17.70 in four Tests, though, the same number Warne had taken four winters earlier.  

“If you’re facing Australia in Australia then losing the No.1 bowler in the world has to be good news,” Butcher told me. “History has shown, though, that MacGill had an even better strike rate than Warne. Not until Duncan Fletcher became coach did we start to play spin better. The whole leg-spin thing was a bit confusing to us. We just never could get to grips with Muttiah Muralitharan, Warne or MacGill.” 

John Crawley told me: “MacGill was a very good bowler and was just unfortunate to have been playing when Warne was in the same side. MacGill probably bowled as many wicket-taking balls, but he also bowled a few more that were easier to hit.” 

Also in the home line-up was Colin ‘Funky’ Miller. The 34-year-old had been living above a pub in Hobart when, because of an ankle injury, he switched from being a steady seamer for Tasmania to bowling off-spin. He gave the ball a rip, chipping in with nine wickets in three Tests. 

Australia’s bankable names also played pivotal roles. Slater scored three centuries, all in the second innings, and made 460 runs at 46. Steve Waugh scored 498 at 83, Mark Waugh 393 at 56 and Langer 436 at 48.44, while McGrath took 24 wickets and Fleming 16. 

The rational, wise captaincy of Mark Taylor, in his farewell series, also played its part. While Stewart was disciplined and patriotic, he had a disappointing record against Australia (he averaged 30.67 compared to 39.54 overall), and, because of his wicketkeeping, had a monumental workload. 

While the England party was more harmonious than had been the case on the last two trips to Australia, there were issues. Coach David Lloyd was unhappy that Gooch was the media face of the tour. The perception was that it was because of Lloyd’s comments about Muralitharan at The Oval.

The inimitable off-spinner had taken 16 wickets, prompting Lloyd to remark: “I have my opinions that I’ve made known to the authorities.” Wisden said Lloyd was “treasured” by his players, but Fraser admitted he was “a bit of a loose cannon”. He said Gooch was a “strong manager”, though. 

If England’s summer had ended after their hard-fought 2-1 series win over South Africa, they would have flown to Australia feeling confident. It was the first time England had won a five-Test series since the 1986/87 Ashes. They were furious, then, when made to face Sri Lanka at The Oval. “It was like playing in Colombo,” said Gough.

^{Dean Headley was a revelation (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)}

“It felt like our summer’s work was over,” said Butcher. “That is not to denigrate Sri Lanka, but we’d had a really tough series against South Africa, and this felt tacked on at the end. It was hard for people to give it the importance it deserves. We’d had a very seam-based attack that summer, so to face Murali on a typical Oval pitch, biscuit-dry and spin-centric… but I don’t think it knocked people too much. We expected conditions to suit us better in Australia.”

The tourists arrived in Perth in mid-November to find Australia’s links with Britain were again the subject of intense debate. Republicans believed an Australian president should replace the Queen as head of state. In 1999, a referendum was about to be held, but the republicans’ motion would be defeated.  

England soon had cricket issues to contend with, however, with their injury curse striking again in the one-day tour opener against the ACB Chairman’s XI at Lilac Hill, with Stewart hurting his back, and young allrounder Ben Hollioake his groin. Dennis Lillee bowled tidily at the age of 49, but England held on to win by one run, and Butcher received some good news: he won a trouser press for ‘best-groomed player’.  

He did not look very groomed, however, after ducking into his second ball from Matt Nicholson in the four-day match against Western Australia. He needed 10 stitches above his right eye and complained of headaches and nausea for three days. He then collided in training with Such, receiving a cut over his left eye. 

As well as injuries, that other curse of Ashes tours – dropped catches – struck again in that drawn match at the Waca, Perth. Captain Langer made 85, and Simon Katich introduced himself to England with 106, but stand-in skipper Hussain scored 118 and Ramprakash 81 in the first innings.

In the second innings, they did not make a concerted effort to go for the target of 282, however, promoting Langer to criticise their ‘negative’ approach. 

England also drew with South Australia, a match that featured a stand of 377 between Thorpe, who made a career-best 223, and Ramprakash, who struck 140. It was the highest partnership for an overseas team in Australia, and the best for an England XI since Peter May and Colin Cowdrey put on 411 against West Indies at Edgbaston 1957.

Greg Blewett, who had not established himself in the Australia team despite those two centuries in his first two Tests against England four winters earlier, made 143.

England did beat Queensland at Cairns, scoring the 142 they needed in the second innings thanks to a last-wicket stand of 36 between Mullally and Croft. The touring party were shaken, however, when Crawley was mugged after the match at midnight. “We’d been having a quiet drink with the Queensland team,” said Crawley, "when a group of guys approached me and Corkie along the high street and asked for the time.

"I was punched to the ground and they ran off. In hindsight, it took me a long time to recover from that – it was a long way back. I found the rest of the tour difficult.”

^{Alec Stewart led as captain (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)}

The next day the duo tried to persuade their colleagues Crawley had simply fallen over, without success. “We met up for practice next day and it was quite a shock,” said Fraser. “It dented his confidence, and I think it affected him as an international player.” 

Crawley did not play in the first Test. With Hick also sitting it out, there was no place for either of the men who made excellent centuries against Muralitharan at The Oval. 

Gough’s grandfather died the day before and the team wore black armbands. “When one of us is hurting, we stick by him,” said Stewart, but the move was queried by many. 

Taylor, playing in his 100th Test, won the toss and was feeling confident. A month earlier he had made 334 not out in Peshawar, equalling Don Bradman’s record for highest Test score by an Australian. This time he made 46 in a total of 485, but Australia enjoyed some luck. Steve Waugh struck his 16th Test 100 – 112 – but should have been dismissed twice.

Mullally fluffed a simple run-out when he was on 29, and Hussain dropped him at slip with two balls left on the first day when he had 68. Even more costly was Fraser’s drop at third man when Healy had 36: the wicketkeeper went on to 134. Australia made 485, putting the game out of England’s reach. Gough, who had seven catches dropped off his bowling in the match, said: “We blew a great opportunity to put Australia on the rack.”

In addition to his drop, Fraser was struggling to understand why he had been downgraded to the fourth seamer. “I had a brilliant year in 1998, but I went from being a pivotal figure in the attack to a bit of add-on. It knocked me sideways and I never got it back.

"OK, I got hacked around a bit against Western Australia, and I think there was an element of, ‘Oh, that might be Fraser cooked’, but the view on me had changed too quickly, I thought.  

“I don’t think it was personal as I’d bowled well for Alec the previous summer – I just think that they didn’t think I was suited to Australian pitches and the younger guys were better bowlers for those surfaces. It was disappointing.” 

As well as the injuries, Butcher had a miserable time in the warm-ups, making only nine runs in five innings. But something clicked for him in the Test, and he scored 116. He received support from Thorpe (77), Hussain (59) and Ramprakash, who used his feet well to make 69 not out. Their total of 375 was ultimately disappointing, though, with McGrath taking 6 for 85 (including a spell of 5 for 9 in 35 balls). 

“I’d had a nightmare,” said Butcher. “I hated warm-up matches. I’d not played in any in the West Indies the winter before as I was not expected to start the Tests, then I was thrown straight in. This time Nicholson clanked me on the head. I was in such bad form I felt I had nothing to lose, so I just went for it and played a few shots.” 

Australia then eased to 237 for 3, with Slater making 113, his ninth Test century and his fifth against England. “I always fancy bowling at him with the new ball,” said Gough. “At the same time, he can take you apart.” 

Langer also made 74, leaving the tourists 98 overs to make 348. They were soon in trouble, however, with MacGill taking three wickets.  

But bad light closed in, and the Australians were miffed that England had rejected their request to use floodlights. England also knew a storm was approaching, as they had seen meteorological predictions. And indeed rain – or golfball-size hailstones to be more exact – did come to the rescue. The Barmy Army danced on the terraces in the storm when they realised England had been reprieved.  

There was no escape for England in the second Test at Perth, however, and they were beaten by seven wickets inside two days and two sessions. Only 607 runs were scored in the match for the loss of 33 wickets, with Hick’s 68 in the second innings the highest individual score on either side.

Without the injured Thorpe, England limped to 76 for 6 at lunch on day one, and were soon dismissed for 112, Fleming taking 5 for 46. Healy took five catches and there were also four at slip. Australia took the lead with only one wicket down, but were restricted to 240 by Tudor, who recorded first-innings figures of 4 for 89 on his Test debut.

Hick twice hit Gillespie for six in his half-century, but England managed just 191, which was not enough to test Australia, who reached 64 for 3 to win. 

“Alex’s spell was magnificent,” said Butcher. “He bowled fast, with good control, and he swung it away. Tudes is a lovely kid and it was great to see.” But Fraser, who had made way for Tudor, said: “We got duffed up”, and Gough lamented: “The confidence and spirit from the South Africa series had vanished. I blame the media to some extent: one bad game and your worth in the side is questioned. The media, with help from the management, created an atmosphere of uncertainty.” 

Stewart struggled in the first two Tests but rediscovered his form with 126 in the draw against Victoria. Headley also took 5 for 58 in the first innings to bowl himself into the Test side. Thorpe tried to prove his fitness in this match but could not and flew home soon afterwards. 

The third Test was again one-sided, with Australia wrapping up the Ashes, and before Christmas for the first time. But it was not all plain sailing for them. In the run-up to the Test, Warne and Mark Waugh were fined by the Australian board for accepting money from a bookmaker in Sri Lanka four years earlier.

“Such revelations were quite new and I did not think a great deal about it,” said Fraser. “I don’t remember sitting there thinking, ‘this is huge’. You were a bit wrapped up in your own bubble.” Butcher concurred: “It didn’t really have an impact on us, although the Barmy Army sang some witty songs about bookies when either Warne or Waugh were nearer them.”

Waugh was booed to the crease and made just seven. Australia still reached 391, with Langer making an assured 179, on the hottest day in Adelaide since the 1980s.  

Headley said: “I missed out at Brisbane and Perth, where there was extra bounce and was told Adelaide would suit me better, but it was so flat. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen a team cheer when they won the toss.

“I’d been doing a lot of work with bowling coach Bob Cottam, though. I’d been bowling about two hours every morning, and another two in the afternoon. He worked on how I held the ball and built my confidence.  

“I have inefficient kidneys – England knew about it, it was on my medical records – but this was the first time that it had affected me on a cricket field. I was all right until tea, but then I could hardly bowl without cramping.

"I’d taken down 12 litres of water without going to the toilet. That night, with Australia only four wickets down [for 266], I just lay starfish-ed on the bed, wondering how I was going to get through the next day.” He finished with figures of 4 for 97.  

England struggled to 227 in reply, Hussain scoring 89 not out, playing and leaving MacGill late. 

Slater then made 103 as Australia declared on 278 for 5, before bowling England out for 237. Stewart top-scored with 63 not out, with McGrath taking 4 for 50. Atherton was controversially given out caught at slip, third umpire Paul Angley adjudicating Taylor had taken it cleanly. 

“I’ve never been so hot and uncomfortable on a cricket field,” said Butcher. “It was mid-40s, and the wind was a like a hairdryer. Nasser’s innings was a feat of endurance, but we were battered.” 

Hussain had a few drinks afterwards with Steve Waugh, who told him that he believed Australia’s success was down to “body language and mental toughness”. 

The tour reached its low point at Hobart when England lost by nine wickets to a very strong Australia A side. Adam Gilchrist captained a team that also featured Matthew Elliott, Blewett, Lehmann, Stuart Law and Michael Bevan. Atherton, standing in reluctantly as captain, scored the only double-century of his career, 210 not out, and Hick also made 125.

Blewett then responded with 169 not out. The hosts had three bowlers injured, however, and Butcher’s second-innings 103 not out was not the most challenging. Atherton declared, setting Australia A 376 to win in 78 overs on a flat pitch, and they romped home for the loss of only Elliott, with 22 overs to spare.

Blewett this time made an unbeaten 213 and was on the field the entire match, though it still was not enough to earn him a Test recall. “We were abject,” said Gooch. “If we’d set them 500, I think they might have got them.” 

Gough wrote: “I didn’t know what Atherton was thinking.” To make matters worse, he dressed as Father Christmas to give Fraser some presents – wickets! Gough claimed that Fraser smiled… but Hussain recalls it differently: “Gus didn’t see the joke and lost it with Goughy.” 

Atherton and Stewart had to talk Lloyd out of resigning, and Butcher said: “For some stupid reason we gave them a run chase, all because their bowlers were injured. It was a very English thing to do. It was the most deflating defeat and there was a big row in the dressing room – the atmosphere was horrible – as down as it could possibly be. We’d become a laughing stock again.” 

Wives and families arrived to lift spirits, however, and the customary party was held a few days later on Christmas Day, Butcher entertaining the team with his guitar. The first day of the Melbourne Test was washed out on Boxing Day, although there was still time for Stewart to call heads again. A crowd of 60,000 waited patiently, but no play was possible. 

When play did start on day two, Stewart made 107, his only Test century against Australia, in England’s 270. He had struggled all tour, but had been working hard in the nets with father Micky, who had come to visit. 

Australia appeared to take command, making 340, with Steve Waugh scoring 122 not out. MacGill also hit a career-best 43, and the duo put on 88 for the ninth wicket, lulling Waugh into the false security that led to defeat.  

England then made 244, with a struggling Atherton recording his first Test pair. Butcher was unlucky to be dismissed, his full-blooded sweep embedding itself in Slater’s jumper at short-leg. Fraser and Mullally added 23 for the 10th wicket to make Australia’s target that bit steeper, and they succumbed to Headley, Gough and Mullally, and were all out a dozen runs short. 

Hussain told me: “Dean is a great friend of mine and I’m so pleased he can look back on that match-winning spell. It was great he had that moment. He had a huge heart.” 

Butcher said: “Winning that match was a great achievement, considering how low we’d been. It just showed that when we encountered English-type weather and pitches, and there was a bit of sideways movement rather than blazing sunshine and flat pitches, we were a match for Australia.” 

Fraser heard that he had been awarded an MBE, but his glee was short-lived when he was despatched to Bowral to bolster the one-day side that lost to a Bradman XI on New Year’s Day. 

There had been speculation all winter that MacGill was now a match for Warne, and the fifth Test at Sydney gave everyone the chance to compare them. It was unfair on Warne, who had finally recovered from his shoulder injury but looked ring-rusty. Although he removed Butcher with his fourth ball, he took only one more wicket; MacGill took 12, although Warne would return to his best in the subsequent one-day series.  

Australia also played Miller, and – reverting to seam – he opened the bowling with McGrath, while England picked Tudor picked ahead of Mullally (against Stewart’s wishes) and he made a minimal contribution. 

Atherton withdrew on the morning of the match, so Stewart opened with Butcher, while Hegg won his second Test cap. Taylor won the first Ashes ‘coinwash’ – as Wisden called it – since 1953 when Lindsay Hassett also won all five for Australia, and the hosts batted first to make 322, the Waugh brothers putting on 190 together in front of the biggest SCG crowd for 23 years. 

Gough had been delighted to last a full five-Test series for the first time, and he celebrated by taking a hat-trick. He dismissed Healy, MacGill and Miller, with his family in attendance. It was the first Ashes hat-trick by an Englishman since Jack Hearne, at Headingley in 1899.  

Headley took four prime wickets: Slater, Langer and both Waughs. “Not a bad haul!” he said. “Everybody says Melbourne was my finest hour, but actually my performance at Sydney was the pinnacle of my career. I bowled out of my boots.” 

England managed 220 in reply, MacGill outshining Warne with 5 for 57 and McGrath removing Stewart for his 200th Test wicket. 

Australia were 60 for 2, with Slater on 35, when they received a slice of luck that proved pivotal. He looked some way short of his ground after Headley’s direct hit, but New Zealand umpire Steve Dunn (one umpire from a neutral country per Test was officiating in the Ashes in Australia for the first time) referred it to the third umpire, the Australian Steve Taufel.

^{David Lloyd had to be talked out of resigning as England coach (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)}

The cameras were not square on to the stumps, though, and from an alternative angle Such was obscuring the view. Slater was controversially reprieved and went on to score 123 out of a total of 184; it was more than 66 per cent of his team’s runs, the highest percentage Charles Bannerman’s unbeaten 165 in Australia’s 245 at Melbourne in March 1877.

Mark Waugh was the only other player to reach double figures, while Such took 5 for 81 in his last bowl for England. 

England needed 287, but only one side had chased more than 200 to win a Test at Sydney, and despite Butcher and Stewart putting on 57, they were dismissed for 188. MacGill took 7 for 50, giving him match figures of 12 for 107 – the best at the SCG since Australia’s Charlie Turner took 12 for 87 against England in 1888. It was a winning farewell for Taylor. 

“I was absolutely gutted,” said Butcher. “We’d travelled the length and breadth of Australia and had a chance to square the series, but Slater was reprieved by one of the worst umpiring decisions I’ve seen. He was out by a metre and a half. He went on to play one of the greatest innings, but it was an extraordinary decision, and it cost us the Test.”  

An equally frustrated Headley told me: “Taufel was too inexperienced for the job. It was a shame, as a 2-2 result would have been a moral victory and quite an achievement. It was a fantastic Test on a good wicket, ruined by one decision.

“Whereas at Melbourne we’d outplayed Australia in only about 20 per cent of the game, we gave them a really close-fought battle at Sydney. After the Test I was chatting to Australia coach Geoff Marsh, and he said, ‘Were you injured for the first two Tests? Because we can’t believe you weren’t playing’. But England would always do that.  

“I was picked for lots of Tests abroad, but for some reason they thought there would be 20-odd people who could bowl better than me at home. The typical English seamer would bowl with away shape, but Gough, Craig White and I were similar, all exponents of reverse swing. The Australians were the best team and they didn’t agree with our selections. For instance, later on they really rated Robert Key.  

“Central contracts made a profound difference for England. Back then it was a bunch of individuals. Ramps and Hick both suffered from those fragile selection policies. Now it’s like England is the top county – a club in its own right. Individuals have confidence from the security now, and it has raised standards.”  

Again the inquests began into why England had lost 3-1, with frustration being expressed that they did not have an academy like Australia’s, but Headley said: “We’ve always given Australia a run for their money, it’s just that they nearly always seemed to win the key moments. This was not a 3-1 series.” 

England again had to lift themselves for the triangular one-day series, sponsored by Carlton & United. Sri Lanka were also invited, with the teams playing each other five times in a return to the excesses of 1982/83. England did at least make the finals, unlike 16 winters before, 1990/91 and 1994/95, but they lost 2-0 to Australia.

^{Mike Atherton had a tough tour (Clive Mason/Getty Images)}

England started well, winning four of their first five games, only to lose four of their next five. Hick struck three centuries, but there were too many bits-and-pieces allrounders – Vince Wells, Adam Hollioake and Mark Alleyne never proved themselves as international cricketers. 

The tournament is best remembered for a bad-tempered clash between England and Sri Lanka at Adelaide. Muralitharan was called for throwing by square-leg umpire Ross Emerson. Arjuna Ranatunga, the captain, as unpopular with opponents as he was adored by Sri Lankans, led his side off and spent 15 minutes on his mobile consulting the authorities in Colombo.  

When the Sri Lankans came back on, Ranatunga switched Muralitharan to Emerson’s end, only for the umpire to take up an unusual view to study his action. Ranatunga was livid. Somehow Hick and England’s one-day specialist Neil Fairbrother made centuries in a total of 302 for 3. But the Sri Lankans sneaked home by one wicket, Muralitharan hitting the winning run with two balls to spare.

Roshan Mahanama had barged Gough, who then feigned a head-butt in his direction, while Stewart was overheard on television telling Ranatunga: “Your behaviour today has been appalling for a country captain.” 

“I half-expected an all-out punch-up,’” said Gough.  

Ranatunga was charged with breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct, but when he threatened to sue, the matter was dropped. Emerson was stood down by Australian Board for the rest of the tournament, and England gained some revenge, bowling Sri Lanka out for 99 at Perth. 

Australia, meanwhile, had a problem of their own, suspending future captain Ricky Ponting after he had become involved in an altercation in a Sydney bar. He admitted he had a drink problem. 

England should have won the first final at Sydney. They were 198 for 4, chasing 232, with Hussain on 58, but when Warne goaded him into being stumped, England collapsed, losing by 10 runs. Hussain was blamed by Stewart and the emotive Lloyd kicked Mullally’s stereo. 

The wheels came off in the second final, with a tired England losing by 162 runs at Melbourne, bowled out for a pitiful 110, a resurgent Warne taking 3 for 16. 

The aftermath of the trip was again messy, with Stewart and Lloyd being replaced soon after, following the disastrous 1999 World Cup campaign.

Our coverage of the Ashes is brought to you in association with Cricket 22