Vivid memories and epic contests... Caribbean tours have always been special

HUW TURBERVILL takes a trip down memory lane to revisit some of his favourite games between West Indies and England ahead of the upcoming Test series...

It is hard for England fans to claim they savour memories of the 1985/86 expedition of the West Indies. As David Gower explained in the February edition of The Cricketer everything that could go wrong, seemed to.

Cricket aficionados had to marvel at the swagger of Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and Viv Richards however, and the sheer shock factor of their pace attack. It was devastating cricket. There was even the shocking book, Another Bloody Tour, by Frances Edmonds, wife of Phil. 

The 1989/90 trip has very vivid memories for me though, thanks to the arrival of Sky TV. Ball-by-ball coverage from the sun-kissed Caribbean, as effective as Vitamin D tablets for those suffering the winter blues in Blighty.

The way Graham Gooch restored resilience in the England team after successive series humiliations was something to behold. Angus Fraser, Gladstone Small, Phillip DeFreitas and David Capel struck rigidly to a fourth-stump line, when the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ entered common cricket parlance, and Devon Malcolm gave England some firepower at long last.

The first Test win at Jamaica’s Sabina Park was thrilling. I had never seen England beat West indies in a Test before. I didn’t know it was possible. 

If it wasn’t for some terrible time-wasting by the hosts in Trinidad, England would deservedly have gone 2-0 up with two to play. I also recall the grimace on Gooch’s face when he had his hand broken by Ezra Moseley in that third Test. Ouch.

England fans had high hopes under the new young skipper, Mike Atherton in 1993/94, but the series ended in a disappointing 3-1 defeat. The memory of the trip that stands out for me is that 14-over spell that Courtney Walsh sent down to the young skipper in the first Test at Jamaica. He described it as one of the fastest he had faced.

It was scary watching it in a West London pub (I was a student). I cannot even begin to imagine how terrifying it was facing it. Then it was Curtly Ambrose’s turn in the third Test – England 46 all out at Port of Spain. OK, there were two scary pacemen now not four, but still – it was electrifying. 

Brian Lara’s 375 in the fifth Test was so epic. So magisterial. His high backlift scything down like a guillotine. His timing sweeter than any Caribbean fruit.

Four years later, with Atherton captain again, and this time he really did think he could do it. That he didn’t, and England lost 3-1 again, proved the final straw, and he resigned as captain. It was an honourable exit. He had not always been given the players he wanted, and without central contracts, the English cricket system worked against the interests of the England national team.

There was that incredible, abandoned Test at Kingston, of course, when Lara magnanimously agreed to call things off on the first morning with England 17 for 3 on a potential death trap. An extra Test was tagged on, which meant two at Port of Spain.

The hosts won the first, and I recall Mark Butcher showing nerves of steel to shepherd England home with an unbeaten 24 from 103 balls batting at No.6 in the second.

Michael Vaughan’s side in the 2003/04 rubber was on the cusp of greatness. They were to win all seven home Tests in 2004, then triumph in South Africa the following winter, and then, of course, take the 2005 Ashes.

Steve Harmison’s incredible spell of 7 for 12 at Sabina Park exacted some revenge on the Ambrose humiliation. England dominated the first three Tests, and this time the Lara masterclass – 400 not out in the fourth Test – came too late to inflict any real damage (except blisters on the feet of England’s fielders).

My over-riding memory of the 2009 trip is England delaying their declaration in the third Test at Antigua, and West Indies escaping nine wickets down. They won the series 1-0. It was the start of magnificent things however, with Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower leading them to the 2010/11 Ashes, and No.1 spot in the world in 2011. So it was easily forgiven.

Vivid memories. Epic contests. It really has been a great place to host Test cricket.

Check out our West Indies vs England combined XI