Archives: Graham Gooch and David Gower fail to save Ashes, 1991

Although England could not in the end get within range of their target of 255 in 28 overs, having finally bowled out Australia with under two hours left, theirs was a failure as glorious as the charge of the Light Brigade. When, at Edgbaston in 1987, England needed 124 off 18 overs against Pakistan, it was beyond their capabilities and now, even the best one-day batsman in England, Graham Gooch, could not extend a magnificent initial thrust in which he and David Gower put on 84 in 12 overs.

Australian captain Allan Border had placed five men on the boundary, and a ball was bound in the end to go in the air to a fielder. Gower's drive to long-off was a few yards short of clearing Taylor's head and when Larkins missed a sweep and Gooch, having hit seven thumping fours, was caught at mid-wicket, Australia were able to relax. The Ashes, though not yet the series, was won and lost. In 1928/29 England lost on the eighth day of the last Test at Melbourne after scoring 519 in their first innings, the only precedent for what might have happened had Australia been out an hour earlier than they were yesterday. England were left to wish half chances had been taken, pad/bat appeals allowed and even that Devon Malcolm had been brought back to get rid of the tail. Gooch recognised that if he had introduced Malcolm early in the decisive 67-minute stand between Matthews and Rackemann it might have bought his team the crucial extra time, but Malcolm was suffering from a back strain and it was a gamble he was not prepared to take either then or at the start of the day.

England bustled through 21 overs in the first hour and in the last of them, after two near things, they got the break for which they were pressing. Hemmings bowled from the Noble Stand end and Tufnell from the Randwick, and apart from a couple of overs by Atherton to enable them to change ends, the pattern was of close fielders, sharply turning balls and much propping and cocking. But Australia were also very positive and Healy, playing most valuably as night-watchman, wasted practically no scoring opportunities as he built his highest Test score. That he should have batted into the second session emphasised the significance of his early life when in Hemmings's second over he hit the ball low to square-leg where a languid Gower dived to his left but could not cling on. Boon had snicked Hemmings low through Russell's legs and he celebrated with a four. But he fell to a low left-handed catch at slip, off the edge via Russell's glove.This was a vital wicket but for a time Australia began to pick up runs quickly as Healy, surviving an appeal for a catch off his glove, reached his took his total of runs against England past 3,000. But even as hope seemed to be fading for the British holidaymakers forming a fair proportion of the crowd, it was ignited again in the 31st over of the morning. First Boon swept Tufnell hard to square leg where Gooch held a good catch at the second attempt, then Jones chipped his first ball straight back to Tufnell. He came within an ace of a hat-trick: Gower, close in at point, clutching in vain as the ball spun off Waugh's bat and pad. Australia's lead at lunch was 201, not enough for comfort and their jitters increased when, with 14 runs added, Waugh was caught behind off an outside edge and Healy's defiant innings was ended by a low left-handed catch.

It was the high point of the day for England. Only Matthews and as flimsy a tail as Australia has ever had remained but, helped by surviving one confident appeal for a catch off pad and glove, the mightily-built Queenslander Carl Rackemann thrust out his pad at the spinners with the stubborness of a Lord's gateman and survived in company with Matthews for 21 overs and more than an hour. Matthews, needless to say, sold his wicket dearly, trying to cut once too often he lost his off-bail. It happened an hour too late. Alderman soon succumbed to give Tufnell a well-deserved five-wicket haul and the taking of the new ball eventually put paid to Rackemann's valuable defiance.

England have little time to reflect on another dramatic Test match which drew crowds of 106,304 overall and record receipts. For two days they played generally poor cricket and even on the last their fielding was well below Australia's standard, but their batting confidence has returned and with it a faint hope that they might yet come home next month with some honour. They are already in Melbourne preparing for tomorrow's final World Series qualifying match. After the last two days of the Test match, Australia will be keener than ever to make sure that England do not pip New Zealand for a place in the final. It will be interesting to see how low they mow the outfield at the MCG because the necessary scoring rate - 218 in 50 overs - will be well nigh impossible if they leave it shaggy. Time, I think, for Mr Stewart to buy the groundsman a drink.

SCOREBOARD

Overnight: Australia 518 and 38-2; England 469-8 dec

AUSTRALIA Second innings

M A Taylor lbw b Hemmings 19

G R Marsh c Stewart b Malcolm 4

I A Healy c Smith b Tufnell 69

D C Boon c Gooch b Tufnell 29

A R Border c Gooch b Tufnell 20

D M Jones c and b Tufnell 0

S R Waugh c Russell b Hemmings 14

G R J Matthews b Hemmings 19

C G Rackemann b Malcolm 9

T M Alderman c Gower b Tufnell 1

B A Reid not out 5

Extras 6

Total (all out) 205

Fall: 1-21, 2-29, 3-81, 4-129, 5-129, 6-166, 7-166, 8-189, 9-192, 10-205.Bowling: Malcolm 6-1-19-2; Small 2-1-6- 0; Hemmings 41-9-94-3; Tufnell 37-18-61- 5; Atherton 3-1-9-0

ENGLAND Second innings

G A Gooch c Border b Matthews 54

D I Gower c Taylor b Matthews 36

W Larkins lbw b Border 0

A J Stewart run out 7

R A Smith not out 10

M A Atherton not out 3

Extras 23

Total (4 wkts) 113

Fall: 1-84, 2-84, 3-100, 4-100. Bowling: Alderman 4-0-29-0; Rackemann 3-0-20-0; Matthews 9-2- 26-2; Border 9-1-37-1.