FROM THE ARCHIVE: Tufnell spins England to victory

With Australia eyeing up a 4-1 win in the 1997 Ashes, Phil Tufnell stepped up to take 11 wickets and seal a famous victory for England at The Oval

With the Ashes already secure, the sixth match of the 1997 series was the deadest of dead rubbers. But that didn’t stop it being one of the most memorable Tests at The Oval in recent memory.

Much of this was down to Phil Tufnell, who, having not played throughout the series, turned up in South London to spin England to a tight victory. 

Watching for The Cricketer that day was Richard Hutton, who complied this report for the October 1997 issue. 

England and Australia produced a pulsating finale to 1997’s Anglo-Australian series despite the destiny of the Ashes having been previously decided in the fifth Test at Trent Bridge. 

The euphoria that greeted England’s dramatic 19-run win, which incidentally was the difference between the two sides in extras, expressed the relief in the eventual margin of defeat being 3-2 rather than 4-1.

A six-match series is designed primarily to maximise revenue, so perhaps only in the corridors of power was the acclamation of the result slightly muted in that it was achieved within only 16 and a half hours’ play, the consequences being a hand back of over £400,000 in respect of tickets sold in advance for a blank fourth day…

The outcome reflected poorly on England’s selectors, who had peremptorily discarded Phil Tufnell from the five previous assemblies. By most tokens he must be amongst the four or five best bowlers in England, and given reasonable form should never be out of the side.

He replaced Robert croft, who can consider himself grossly unfortunate, having spent most of the series toiling on expressly prepared slow seamers, to have been deprived of the only real opportunity to cash in…

For a while there was little that Australians needed to play at. Devon Malcolm got Matthew Elliott away with a wide long-hop and Peter Martin’s first ball was a wide. Martin then developed run-up problems with a consequent spate of no-balls.

Tufnell got England off the hook by removing the two-left handers [Elliott and Mark Taylor] with the aid of the rough ground outside their off-stumps. 

^{Alec Stewart took an outstanding catch to dismiss Greg Blewett off the bowling of Tufnell}

After Australia had scored at a comfortable four an over, he took the 12th over and immediately lured Elliott forward to drive turning the ball through his gate. Taylor then clipped the first ball of his next over into forward short leg’s midriff. 

Tufnell gave England renewed hope in the 10th over of the second morning. After two interruptions from some light rain, he removed Mark Waugh with one that bounced from a length onto his glove.

At this point, Andrew Caddick joined forces with a tidy spell from the Vauxhall End. Pegging away on a good length, he got an lbw verdict just after lunch against Steve Waugh which might have been no better or worse a decision than the one Alec Stewart had received around 24 hours earlier. 

Caddick was not so lucky when an outstanding claim against Ian Healy, as soon as he had come in, was denied. Compensation for England was swift, though, in the wicket of Greg Blewett, who had looked secure and imperturbable.

Sweeping and missing at Tufnell, the ball brushed his bat on the follow-through and Stewart took a spectacular, diving catch. Tufnell was then in his 22nd consecutive over from the Pavilion End, having taken 4 for 25.

He then made fools of both wicket-keepers. In one over he spun one past Healy but Stewart’s arms were not long enough to affect a stumping in time. Three balls later, in a comical piece of cricket, Healy nick a turning ball between Stewart’s thighs where it lodged without his need of any further movement to complete the dismissal.

In Tufnell’s next over the left-handed Shaun Young met a ball beyond most people’s competence. Trying to cut something nasty that spun back and leapt at him from out of the rough, he gloved a simple catch which Stewart could have caught in several other parts of his anatomy without trouble…

That Australia’s first innings had lasted another 30 overs from the fall of the fourth wicket was due to Ricky Ponting. Compact, competent and orthodox, he went about his business almost unnoticed until becoming Tufnell’s seventh victim, caught at slip…

[In the second innings] Elliott shouldered arms to Malcolm’s third ball, which was unusual for its straightness. Taylor was also lbw, but playing at another one that pitched on and straightened. 

Despite these two wickets falling to the seam attack, the outcome was in Tufnell’s hands. By conceding little in the way of run-scoring opportunities, he applied a pressure that eventually overwhelmed Australia.

^{Shane Warne celebrates Australia winning the Ashes at Trent Bridge}

He produced a beauty for Mark Waugh to edge to slip, but Caddick gave England their first whiff of victory with Blewett’s wicket in the next over. Suddenly, England were in the hunt. 

Two fine stops by Adam Hollioake at short leg saved eight runs from Ponting when Caddick overpitched, but soon after tea he found the perfect length for Steve Waugh. Stabbing at a good length ball from his favoured back foot, he was well taken at first slip by Graham Thorpe. 

With half the side out for only 54, England tightened the screw. Runs still had to be preserved, though, and Healy, who was unafraid to sweep Tufnell, and Ponting, steady at the other end, engaged in some swift running between the wickets. 

Healy had made eight when to the torment of England’s fielders, he was given not out hitting across the line of a straight ball. By the time they had added 30 precious runs, England looked in need of another spinner to support Tufnell. 

Suddenly, Tufnell straightened one on to Ponting’s back pad, which let in Young on a pair in his first Test match to face bowling projected at him from deep foot holes outside his off stump. 

Caddick’s fortuitous caught and bowled of Healy, one-handed and at the third attempt, to a ball that stopped on the pitch finally tilted the balance England’s way. Shane Warne appeared with a runner to the vexation of Mike Atherton, but then ignored his existence in having a dip at Tufnell to be well caught by Martin running backwards at mid-on.

Caddick’s potency was boundless and he produced another ball that went through the surface for Kasprowicz, whose own bowling heroics of two hours earlier had long since been forgotten, to prod into the hands of a well-positioned short extra cover.

After 40 minutes, Young got off the mark with a stroke of pedigree, but McGrath could only manage a leading edge to his first ball from Tufnell, and Thorpe at mid-off dived forward to make the catch that secured England a win that had seemed improbable for most of the match. 

This article was originally published in the October 1997 issue of The Cricketer. Click here to subscribe.