Tour of New Zealand & Australia 1987-88    Captain :  Mike Gatting     

England’s 69th Test tour.

(January-March 1988)

34th Test playing tour of Australia

   (previous tour 1986-87)

13th Test-playing tour of New Zealand by England

   (previous tour 1983-84)

In recognition of the bicentenary of Australia, a commemorative Test match was played at Sydney. The "Ashes", heavily insured, and specially packed by the British Museum, were flown to Australia in the keeping of a member of Prince Charles's household - the first time that the urn has left Lord's since being presented on Ivo Bligh's death sixty years before - and were displayed at the Sydney Cricket Ground. However, the Ashes as a symbol of the contest between the two countries were not at stake in the Test match.

Chris Broad having scored another century in Australia (his fourth in six Test matches) angrily swatted down the stumps when he was out and was fined £500 by the tour management.

England returned to New Zealand from Melbourne for a three-match series but, without star players Botham, Gower, Gooch, Lamb and now Foster who had gone home injured, lacked enough power to defeat New Zealand. All three Tests were drawn and the one-day international series was shared 2-2

Other England tours

Previous Test tour

Pakistan 1987-88

Next Test tour

India 1988-89  cancelled

West Indies 1989-90

Next tour of  Australia

1990-91

Next tour of New Zealand

1991-92

Members of the Test tour party (16)

Opening batsmen:  Chris Broad, Martin Moxon, Tim Robinson

Middle-order batsmen Bill Athey Mike Gatting, Neil Fairbrother

Wicket-keepers: Bruce French, Jack Richards.

All-rounder:  David Capel

Slow bowlers: John Emburey, Eddie Hemmings

Fast bowlers: Graham Dilley, Phil DeFreitas, Neil Foster, Paul Jarvis, Neil Radford.

County representation:

Ex  -  Essex (1)

La - Lancashire (1)

Le -  Leicestershire (1)

Mx - Middlesex (2)

Nth - Northamptonshire (1)

Nt - Nottinghamshire (4)

Sy - Surrey (1)

Wo - Worcestershire (2)

Yo - Yorkshire (3)

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(12 February 1988) :

 27 yrs 4 months.

§  Rothman’s Cup internationals (in New Zealand)

Test Appearances made before the tour

Gatting 61, Emburey 49, Dilley 31, Robinson 23, Foster 21, Athey 20, Broad 17, French 12, DeFreitas 7, Richards 6, Hemmings 6, Capel 4, Moxon 3, Radford 2, Fairbrother 2, Jarvis 0.

Tour Officials

Selectors

The selectors were as for the Pakistan tour:  Peter May (chairman), Phil Sharpe, Fred Titmus, Micky Stewart, Mike Gatting (captain), joined by Alan Smith (TCCB Chief Executive), Raman Subba Row (TCCB Chairman) and Ossie Wheatley (Chairman of the Cricket Committee).

Selection

Unavailable :   Ian Botham,  David Gower,  Phil Edmonds,  Graham Gooch,  Vic Marks.

Tour party announced :  30 August 1987.

Time between selection and departure from England

   136 days

 (30 August - 13 January)

Travel

London  Q  Christchurch

Paul Jarvis (who had flown home early from the Pakistan tour with a blood circulation problem in his right index finger) and Neil Foster (who inflamed his right knee on the Pakistan tour) had to pass fitness tests before this tour.

The team assembled at a Heathrow Airport hotel on 12 January and flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, next day arriving on 15 January 1988.

England landed in Sydney on 26 January for the Bicentenniel Test and the one-day international at Melbourne and flew back to resume the New Zealand tour on 5 February.

Time spent in New Zealand & Australia

    67 days

(15 January -  22 March)

On-tour selection panel

Mike Gatting (captain),  Micky Stewart (cricket manager),  John Emburey (vice-captain).

Reinforcements

Neil Foster, by straining his knee again in the Test match at Sydney, had to leave the tour and return to England on 6 February.

Fixtures/Results

† not first-class

§  Rothman’s Cup one-day  internationals (in New Zealand)

Time spent in New Zealand & Australia before First Test:

  28 days

(15 January - 12 February)

Test appearances on tour

(v New Zealand & Australia 1987-88)

4 -   Broad,  Capel,  Dilley,  Emburey,  French,  Gatting,  Moxon,  Robinson.

2 -   Athey,  DeFreitas,  Fairbrother,  Hemmings,  Jarvis

1 -   Foster,  Radford.

0 -   Richards.

Match appearances

T  Test match

o  one-day international 

x other match 

 W won  L lost  D drawn

N no result   A abandoned

u unknown result

England’s six previous Test tour results

Highlights

•  Tim Robinson hit ten sixes and 13 fours in scoring 166 against Northern Districts

•  Chris Broad scored a century (139) in the bicentenniel Test, his fourth in six Test matches in Australia, and followed up with 114 in the first Test against New Zealand at Christchurch.

•  Graham Dilley took 6-38 in the Christchurch Test, including the first five wickets to fall.

•  Dilley had another five-for (5-60) in the first innings of the Test at Auckland.

•  Martin Moxon, having just hit 117* against the Shell XI, was out for 99 in the Auckland Test

•  Broad (61) and Moxon (81) gave England a century opening stand of 129 in the rain-spoiled Test at Wellington

Tour Summary

F  Fixtures   W  Won   L  Lost   D Drawn   T  Tied  Canc  Cancelled  Aban  abandoned

Return to England

Auckland  Q London Heathrow

Neil Foster was injured in the bicentenary Test and returned home from Australia

The team's return was delayed 24 hours by a strike among emergency crews at Auckland airport.

They arrived at London Airport (Heathrow) on 23 March 1988.

Time away from England

  70  days  

(13 January - 23 March)

Finances

Accounts of the tour

"A Cricket Odyssey"   by Scyld Berry  (Pavilion Books, 1988)

Postscript

Other tours in 1987-88

England to Pakistan 1987-88

West Indies to India 1987-88

New Zealand to Australia 1987-88

Sri Lanka to Australia 1987-88

Pakistan to West Indies 1987-88