Tour of India 1997-98                Captain: Mark Taylor

65th Test tour

Eighth Test-playing tour of India

(February - March 1998)

This was Australia’s first Test series in India (aside from the one-off Test in 1996) since the tied Test series of 1986-87, and Steve Waugh was the only survivor from that team. Australia had not won a Test match in India since 1969-70; but, having triumphed away from home over England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies, had built a sequence of nine consecutive victories in Test series since that against Pakistan 1994-95.  It remained to win a series in India but the Indians resisted that, winning the first two Tests by comfortable margins.

The Aussies salvaged some pride by winning the one day tri-series with India and Zimbabwe, beating India in the final under the captaincy of Steve Waugh.  He had taken over from Mark Taylor according to the Australian Board’s new policy of having separate captains for Tests and one-dayers.

Both teams then travelled to Sharjah for yet another triangular contest, this time with New Zealand.

Other Australian Tours

Previous tour

England 1997

Next tour

Pakistan 1998-99

Next tour of India

2000-01

Members of the Test tour party  (15  + 1)

Opening batsmen:  Michael Slater,  Mark Taylor

Middle-order batsmen:Greg Blewett,  Darren Lehmann,Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh

Wicket-keeper:  Ian Healy

Spin bowlers:Stuart MacGill, Gavin Robertson, Shane Warne.

Fast bowlers:  Adam Dale, Mike Kasprowicz,  Paul Reiffel and Paul Wilson  (replaced by Damien Fleming).

State representation

  Sheffield Shield teams

N   New South Wales (5)

Q  Queensland (3)

S   South Australia (3)

T   Tasmania (2)

V   Victoria (2)

W  Western Australia (0)

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(6 March 1998) :  29 yrs  4 months

ODI - member of the squad for (In) Pepsi Triangular Cup tri-series in India and

(S) Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah.

Test Appearances made before the tour

SR Waugh 101,  Healy 100,  Taylor 93,  ME Waugh 75,  Warne 64,  Reiffel 34,  Slater 34,  Blewett 28,  Ponting 15,  Kasprowicz 10,  MacGill 1,  Dale 0,  Lehmann 0,  Robertson 0,  Wilson 0  [Fleming ] 

Tour Officials

Steve Bernard became Australian team manager in January 1998 and subsequently dropped out of the national selection panel.

Selectors

Trevor Hohns (chair),   Andrew Hilditch,  Steve Bernard,  Geoff Marsh (coach).

Selection

Unavailable:  Glenn McGrath had a stomach injury where he had torn an abdominal muscle;  Jason Gillespie;   and Simon Cook also injured.

Tour Party announced:   9 February 1998.

Not selected:   Matthew Elliott, Andy Bichel.

Off-spinner Gavin Robertson, who toured Sri Lanka and Pakistan in 1994 was called up from Sydney grade cricket to allow Warne time off between Tests.

One-day squad announced:  18 March 1998

Withdrawal:  Paul Wilson was originally selected for the ODIs but withdrew following his injury during the Test series. Adam Dale took his place in the squad.  Ian Harvey was added to the squad later.

Time between selection and departure from Australia       

11 days

(9 February  - 20 February

Travel

Sydney   Q    Mumbai

The team flew out of Sydney on 20 February and arrived in Mumbai on 21 February.

The four one-day players left Australia on Wednesday 25 March. Bevan had flown out the day before to join the Test squad and Fleming on Saturday 20 March.

Time spent in India

   53 days

(21 February - 15 April)

On-tour selection panel

Mark Taylor (captain),  Geoff Marsh (coach),  Steve Waugh (vice-captain).

Reinforcements

Damien Fleming left Melbourne on 20 March and arrived in Calcutta next day as a replacement for Paul Reiffel who injured a shoulder bowling in the first Test. Fleming was due to arrive the following week with the one-day players but was rushed out because Paul Wilson was unwell, with an abdominal complaint. Wilson and Reiffel both flew home during the third Test match.

Adam Dale remained on tour to take Wilson’s place in the one-day tournaments in India and Sharjah

Michael Bevan was called for on 21 March and arrived on 24 March to cover for Steve Waugh (groin injury).

Three other players had been selected for the ODI series : Gilchrist, Moody and Martyn.

Ian Harvey was added to the squad for Sharjah owing to concerns about the fitness of Warne (shoulder) and Moody (hamstring).  He arrived in Dubai on 14 April from the Maldives where he had been on holiday. South Australian spinner Brad Young was also placed on stand-by.

Fixtures/Results

The B C C I  (Board of Control for Cricket in India) had announced the itinerary on 21 January 1998.

† not first-class

§  one-day internationals (Pepsi Triangular Cup and Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah))

Time spent in India before First Test:      13 days

(21 February  -   6 March)

Test appearances on tour

3  -   Blewett,  Healy,  Kasprowicz,  Ponting,  Robertson,  Slater,  Taylor,  Warne,  ME Waugh.

2  -   S R Waugh

1  -   Dale,  Lehmann,  Reiffel  Wilson.

Highlights

•    Shane Warne passed Lance Gibbs’s record of 309 Test victims, the most wickets by a spin bowler in Tests.

•    Ian Healy (90) added 96 runs for the 9th wicket with debutant Gavin Robertson (57) at Chennai.

•    Mark Waugh scored 153 not out at Bangalore adding 106 with Darren Lehmann, who made 53 in his first Test innings (eight years after winning a place in the Australian XII and being made 12th man).

•   Michael Kasprowicz took 5-28 and Gavin Robertson 3-28, putting India all out for only 169 at Bangalore.

•   Skipper Mark Taylor scored 102* as Australia passed its victory target in the third Test at Bangalore.

•   Michael Bevan’s innings of 75 not out brought Australia victory in the one-day final in Delhi.

Tour Summary

Return to Australia

New Delhi   Q  Sharjah   Q Sydney

Paul Reiffel returned home early with injury before the third Test match, as did Paul Wilson..

As the Pepsi ODI series began, five other players returned early to Australia: Taylor, Healy, Blewett, Slater and MacGill. Steve Waugh took over the captaincy for the one-day tournaments.

After the one-day final, the team took an Emirates flight from New Delhi, delayed by morning fog, to Dubai Airport on 15 April. There was further delay when airport authorities refused to allow some players to pass through with video cassettes.  They then travelled on to the desert kingdom of Sharjah, for yet another triangular one-day tournament, this one between Australia, India and New Zealand.

Waugh’s limited-overs team arrived home in Sydney on 27 April.

Time away from Australia 

    66 days  

(20 February to  27 April)

Finances

Pepsi entered an agreement with the Indian Board in September 1994 to sponsor the Test and one-day triangular. They had to go to court to enforce that with the Indian Board.

Written accounts of the tour

……..

Postscript

The Australians were tired out after the India tour but were required to fulfil another engagement in Sharjah before they could return home.

On return from Sharjah, Shane Warne had to undergo a shoulder operation, which ruled him out of Australia’s next tour (to Pakistan 1998-99).

Mark Taylor considered quitting the Test captaincy because he disagreed with the selection policy of choosing a separate captain for limited-overs matches.