Published: Jul 31, 2013, 03:45 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 02, 2014, 08:10 PM (IST)
Coming into the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Gordon Greenidge was in sublime form and carried it into this game with a sublime 223 © Getty Images
On July 31, 1984, West Indies went 4-0 up against England, a step closer to inflicting upon them their first ‘blackwash’, riding on Gordon Greenidge’s double-hundred and Roger Harper’s six-wicket haul. The game also saw Winston Davis score his career-best 77 as a nightwatchman and David Gower’s controversial decision of pushing his injured soldier in the line of fire. Karthik Parimal revisits that eventful Old Trafford Test.
The word ‘hammered’ is often used loosely to describe a team spiralling down in a contest, but it would be apt if one were to mention it to define England’s plight when the West Indies visited in the summer of 1984. In the first Test at Edgbaston, they were blown away by the pace trio of Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding, by an innings and 180 runs. Marshall remained the tormentor-in-chief to secure victories by margins of nine and eight wickets in the next two Tests, respectively, before the two sides moved to Old Trafford for the fourth fixture.
Here, too, very few placed their money on England eking out a draw. West Indies had both their batting and bowling departments working in tandem, whereas the English weren’t sure of either functioning when it mattered most. Allan Lamb was the only batsman who consistently put up scores. His centuries at Lord’s and Leeds were applauded even by the harshest of critics — for it was against the finest bowling line-up in the world. However, it was the bowling that was more worrisome for England. On winning the toss at Manchester, Clive Lloyd unflinchingly opted to bat first.
A Gordon Greenidge assault
Before the English bowlers could have a crack at the sturdy West Indian middle-order, comprising Viv Richards, Lloyd and Jeff Dujon, they had to get past the tenacious openers — Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. Greenidge looked formidable as he was coming off a double-century at the majestic Lord’s only three weeks prior to this game. The fact that he was in his element became evident on the first morning, when, despite the early demise of Haynes, he thwacked every English bowler. His partner at the other end, Larry Gomes, too, operated on a higher gear.
Nevertheless, against the run of play, the top-order collapsed after Gomes was caught at 30, and West Indies slumped to 70 for four. From here on, the game turned on its head. Ian Botham was miserly during the first session, whereas Norman Cowans was treated with disdain by Greenidge and the new batsman Dujon. Paul Allott was soon called into play and was reasonable when he bowled full, but on the odd occasion he would pitch it short, Greenidge unfurled pulls that left the former astonished. When it would slightly drift onto his pads, he would nonchalantly beat the fielder at mid-on with his supple wrists,. Pat Pocock, the offbreak bowler aged 37 at the time, and who was recalled into the side after eight years in the expectation that the wicket would offer assistance to the spinners, was ineffective against Greenidge.
The partnership between Greenidge and Dujon crossed the three-figure mark. A thunderous on-drive brought up the opener’s century, but his subdued celebration gave away his desire to broach another double-hundred. With Dujon as his partner, the task was less arduous. Botham, who bowled a tight spell all morning, was hit for 40 runs in his next eight overs after lunch. It was then that the wicket showed some signs of turn. Pocock and Nick Cook did manage to pull the scoring rate down, but by then the two batsmen were well settled — with Dujon in sight of his third Test ton. Shortly after reaching his century (101 — 12 fours), though, he was caught behind by Paul Downton off Botham.
Winston Davis, who was drafted into the side in place of the injured Marshall, was promoted up the batting line-up as a nightwatchman. While Greenidge continued to meticulously craft his innings, Davis played a few unorthodox shots against Botham and Allott, which ultimately put the bowlers off their marks. Eventually, he would go on to make 77 (10 fours, one six), which is his highest Test score.
A cramping Greenidge was approaching his second double-century of the series, and a late cut of Pocock helped him pocket that soon. “Greenidge’s was an outstanding display of concentration, in which he mixed sound defence with occasional bursts of aggression and was rarely beaten,” noted Wisden.
Greenidge was dismissed for 223 (30 fours), when he finally edged Pocock to Downton, but West Indies’ total of 500 was undoubtedly enough to dent England’s morale.
A meek surrender and a captaincy blunder
Graeme Fowler and Chris Broad began assertively against one of the fiercest attacks, but Eldine Baptiste broke through Fowler’s defences after the openers scampered to a 90-run stand. Then Davis fractured Paul Terry’s left arm with a short ball and the English were effectively two wickets down. No one expected Terry to return to bat in that state. It was Lamb who dropped anchor again, and even as wickets kept falling at the other end, he trudged to a fifty and then towards the coveted three-figure mark for the third consecutive time.
At 278 for seven, avoiding the follow-on (301) was England’s top priority, but Garner struck twice to leave the hosts 23 behind. As the players began to walk off the field, a bruised Terry, with his broken arm straitjacketed to his body, walked out to bat. This caught many at the ground by surprise, but perhaps David Gower, the English captain, wanted to give Lamb (who was batting on 98) a few balls to score his hundred. Or perhaps he expected Lamb to keep the strike and steer England across the follow-on target. If, in the off chance, Terry ended up with the strike, Gower, one thought, would have declared immediately.
However, what transpired stunned the cricketing fraternity. Lamb scored the two runs required for his third consecutive century and started to run towards the pavilion expecting a declaration, but was startled to see Gower coolly waving at him to go back and play. Terry was on strike. He missed the first ball and was mercilessly bowled off the second by Garner. Gower’s move copped severe criticism from former players and pundits and diluted England’s already frail focus further. “The declaration should have been made as soon as the latter [Terry] was about to face the bowling (unless it was for one ball, say, with only a handful of runs needed),” wrote Mike Brearley in his book The Art of Captaincy. “This was a case of captaincy that was neither clear nor compassionate,” he further added.
Distracted by events off the field, triggered by Gower’s insensitive approach, England succumbed to Roger Harper’s spin (6 for 57) in the second innings and were bowled out for a paltry 156. “Conflicting statements, which failed to establish Gower’s exact intention when Terry first made his reappearance, appeared only to have an unsettling effect on England’s second innings. Any hope of their making a fight of the match had disappeared by the close of this fourth day,” noted the 1985 edition of Wisden Almanack.
The English conceded defeat by an innings and 64 runs and went 4-0 down in the series, with a ‘blackwash’ looking inevitable. The rout was completed by 172 runs in the final Test at The Oval.
Brief scores:
West Indies 500 (Gordon Greenidge 223, Jeff Dujon 101; Pat Pocock 4 for 121, Paul Allott 3 for 76) beat England 280 (Allan Lamb 100*; Joel Garner 4 for 51, Eldine Baptiste 3 for 31) and 156 (David Gower 57; Roger Harper 6 for 57) by an innings and 64 runs.
(Karthik Parimal, a Correspondent with CricketCountry, is a cricket aficionado and a worshipper of the game. He idolises Steve Waugh and can give up anything, absolutely anything, just to watch a Kumar Sangakkara cover drive. He can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/
