Great series win by Australia after many years in the 80's in the doldrums. This series win was the start of Australia becoming a world cricket power again. Bobby Simpson as team coach brought success to the team. Great century by Dean Jones in the 6th test. R.I.P mate.
Why Did Australia struggle in 80s(especially Tests)? I mean, they Had Chappell playing until 83. Thomo was also there, Bruce(lefty) was a good one, Boon and Jones for the most part. The Marshes. McDermot came along, Steven Waugh was OK in late 80s. Lawson still looked decent in this series. And then there was Big Merwe, Aldermen, Whitney, etc. To Top it of off Border. I understand there were issues with the team under Kim Hughes, but failed to understand, why Aussies didnt dominate the 80s?
Craig Robinson. I would say the tied test in India and the 87 world cup win were the beginning of Australia becoming a great side. The nucleus of the great side in the early 90s played in both those events. This 89 ashes series was the event that showed they were a great side. As convincing as their defeat to the west indies was in 88-89, you can't say that they didn't put up a way bigger fight than they did in 84-85.
Nilesh Singh. The reason Australia struggled was 3 fold. Firstly, the legends of the 70s that played into the 80s were on the decline. Greg Chappell had a run of 7 ducks in 81-82. And though he recovered somewhat, he wasnt the batsman he was from 1972 to 81. Dennis lillee in the same summer had a pulled hamstring of the final test of the summer. He played 19 more tests and wasn't the same bowler. Rod Marsh scored a century against the West Indies in the final WSC superstar. This represented the final great batting performance before it declined. He was still impeccable with the gloves but he averaged 19 with the bat in tests post WSC. Thommo was dudded with selection in 79-80. He regained his test spot and had a great ashes in 82-83 but being past 30 and with the shoulder injury from 76 he was no longer a great international bowler. The second reason was the revel tours to south Africa. We lost experienced international players such as Rodney Hogg, Graham yallop, Kim Hughes, Terry alderman and Carl rackemann. Thirdly, it took some time to find the players to replace the 70s legends and the south African mercenaries. Boon became a great batsman in 87-88, Jones in this ashes series, Taylor in this ashes series. Steve waugh wasn't secure in international cricket till 93-94. Same with Ian Healy, whose test batting between 88 and 92 paralleled Rod marshes test batting from 79 to 83. Merc Hughes didn't become regular til this ashes, McDermott till 91. And Bruce Reid was injured a lot of the time. Shane Warne was the best spinner we had since Richie benaud. The best spinners between benaud and Warne were mallet who retired in 80 and Yardley in 83. It wasn't till this series that Border was backed up by great performances so that he didn't have to do it himself.
@@evanaskew6652 Guys. I would say that we didn't plan well prior to when Marsh, Lillie and Chappell retired at the end of the Pakistan tour of 83/84. By the same token, when West Indies toured the next summer, they were a great side that attacked Kim Hughes with there pace attack. He then stood down as Captain during that series due to low scores. Then came the rebel tour to South Africa where we lost a few players. It was a low period in test cricket for Australia between 1984-1989. Nilesh raised the point about the 1987 world cup win and Bobby Simpson bought all his experience to the team. It all came together in Ashes 1989 and everyone contributed to the success of that tour. We became a much tougher team Hughes brought some aggression to the team and Healy became a solid keeper. We didn't become number one in the world till 1995 but we added some quality test players along the way up till then including Taylor, Slater, Warne, Reiffel Mark Waugh, McGrath and Blewett. Between 1995-2007 Australia were the dominant test nation up until Warne, McGrath, Hayden and Langer retired. I still feel the West Indies side of the 1980s was the greatest team I have seen.
I loved the sportsmanship, the restrained celebrations of Steve Waugh, which was a hallmark of his career. The lovely English commentary, the dulcet tones of the great Richie Benaud. What a joy to witness the birth of one of the greatest teams Australia ever had. And, of course, Alan Border's superb off/cover drives. Marvelous viewing😊
Captain borders conduct in this series was a disgrace and reflected on the whole Australian side who didn't behave any better especially the obnoxious hughes.
I remember listening to this series on the radio late at night when I was in high school. Having endured the lean years in the 80's when we weren't that good, it was a very pleasant surprise to see us win so convincingly.
This was the first Ashes series I remember watching on TV as a kid. A few late nights on weekends and school holidays. Fast forward 30 years and I was in the stands at Lords
Amazing series for us Aussie kids. I was six years old...had 15-20 years of champion teams ahead, but this one remains a very special memory. Love to see those big angled fast bowler run ups too...not done these days.
Listening to Benaud again makes me lament how much we have lost. I really loved 10:35. “When he hits them”. (Thud) “they stay hit”. Just brings smiles.
This is my favourite series of all time. I remember being on a family holiday listening to TMS plus Dr No on the radio whilst travelling around Kakadu. I also echo the sentiments below, RIP the Jones Boy. We loved you 'cause you're a Victorian. Should have played more tests. Another victim of NSW bias.
Among the great mysteries of all time, up there with the Marie Celeste and Bigfoot, has to be the Test career of Derek Pringle. How did someone so palpably useless ever get beyond his village 3rd XI?
Thank you so much for uploading this. I had it on VHS as a kid and it really started my life long love of cricket. I must have watched it 50 times all those years ago but am still thoroughly entertained by it. Such a great Australian side with a mixture of old greats and future stars.
What's even more ridiculous is that England were favourites. On the basis of what exactly? Losing the last 3 series in consecutive summers. Australia effectively gave England a lesson in modern cricket.
@Hpy Nthner I’m sure they were! It would never be *quite* so bad in England again. Without the help of the weather, this 89 series would have been 6-0 😩
This Ashes series was when I first started following cricket. Considering Australia's dominance in this series, the only bright light for England was Robin Smith's defiance (66, 96, 143, 101 and 77 n.o. - the last one saving the 6th test!), and also at times Jack Russell (64 n.o., 128 n.o.). BTW, couldn't help but notice the outfields at The Oval was so very "brown"......
I remember John Clarke and Brian Dawe used to do these ‘interviews’ of well-known people and John Clarke was Gower a couple of tests into this series. Dawe asked ‘Gower’ what his ambition was and the answer was ‘get Steve Waugh out’. Dawe: ‘What, in the next test?’ Clarke/‘Gower: ‘No, just sometime during the series’. Classic Clarke and Dawe stuff.
It’s interesting reading Alan Borders autobiography, the stories of wickets.. ie the leg side dismisses of David Gower. Something Geoff Lawson brought up at a team meeting. The wicket of Ian Botham, by hohns. Back when botham playing for Queensland, Hohns was usually on the end of botham slogging him during practise. And got the nickname of ‘step and fetch it’. But Botham going to whack Hohns in the test is bowled, with a Hohns giving the line ‘step and fetch it has stuck’ Also Gowers dismissal by the flipper, he had pulled out of a short one the ball before which border thought surprising as he likes the pull shot and is quite good at it. But maybe the series was getting to him, but next ball he does go through with the pull shot, but it’s the flipper from Hohns. Gower doesn’t read it and is out.
Even as an England fan it is good to look back on this series. I was 17 and this started a period of Aussie domination that would last into my 30s! Its not the whole picture and there is quite a lot of footage missing ie England runs and wickets {yeah we did get a few!!!!} but it is great upload nevertheless. Many thanks
good to see this again, even though England got hammered! It was the first test series, the BBC did "double ended". Though I seem to remember some matches were disrupted by a strike at the BBC, which lead to managers operating the cameras!
Was 14 at the time - remember it like it was yesterday - England were poor, but had been poor for around four years to this point - they won one test from Dec 1986 at Melbourne until Feb 1990 at Kingston and that was against SL in Aug 1988 at Lord's and they were still a fledgling nation then as well and nothing like they are now!!
Yep. A truly shocking return considering some of the players we had at our disposal. However the rapid decline and injury to Ian Botham from 87 on didn't help.
The golden days of cricket. All time greats playing the game: Border, Waugh, Alderman, Hughes, Gower, Gooch, Smith .... and all time greats commentating: Jack Bannister, Tom Graveney, Tony Lewis, Ray Illingworth and of course, Richie Benaud. Golden days.
The crowd in the first test sounded very respectful to the team’s unlike the recent ones that have graced ur tvs they’ve turned into a bunch of rowdy drunken ab noxious fans
Pringle was never a test bowler to be sure and Newport, I had high hopes for him, but while better than Pringle, he was probably never real test level either. Foster I thought was pretty good over his career and De Freitas was more of a stock bowler. In England Alderman just couldn't be touched. Actually, was any Australian as good as Alderman in England?
Rohan Gillett To be sure, though Lawson and Hughes still had much better records than any of the England bowlers that year. And Hughes did as much to win the 1993 series as Warne. In a roundabout way I guess I am saying that while the Australian Ashes win that year is trumpeted as triumph - perhaps rightly so after bad years in the 80s - perhaps it needs to be put into context of how weak the England bowling attack was. Btw I think the lineup later in the series of Igglesden, Pringle Small and Cook takes the cake for worst ever. As you say Foster and Defreitas weren’t as bad as that.
Jon Richardson - "perhaps it needs to be put into context of how weak the England bowling attack was" Perhaps it should also be put in the context of how weak England's attacks were made to be before centralised contracts. Jimmy Anderson wouldn't have had the shadow of a career he's had in this (80s/90s) era's contractual conditions. England's structure in this era (and forever before) encouraged high-class mediocrity. This series - not surprisingly, and partially - was the product of Australia's foresight in bringing the Cricket Academy into play. Likewise, 2005 was (partially) a result of centralised contracts. Management is hugely important to any sporting team's success.
This series was depressing. Australia beat us 4-0 it should have been 6-0 but for the weather. Plus we had the South Africa rebel tour rearing it’s ugly head halfway through. What players were going to travel and that sort of thing. Mind you it probably took some of the spotlight away from how bad we were!!! Plus Australia played brilliantly.
It certainly takes some mysterious combination of qualities to be absolutely useless over a consistent period and remain employed. That hopeless bugger was barely village standard yet played dozens of games for England.
Foster was a bit sharper than he looked and was good in patches. Newport was only useful if the ball was swinging. Pringle...I'll never understand how that man had a Test career.
Has there ever been a thinner cricketer than Neil 'Fozzy' Foster? The guy looks like he'd fall down in a stiff breeze. Maybe it's a bit late for a full enquiry but I suspect Mike Gatting of stealing his lunch.
My first real introduction to the game, watching Alderman with the inimitable grin and the inevitable LBW of Gooch as well. Very disappointing, but was played in a good spirit, despite the wretched selections !!
Yes, poor guy was a walking wicket back then. It's funny how medium-pace can cause so much trouble to top batsmen. It's as though the extra time works against them somehow.
@@jshaers96 Also....the English coaching team could not help him. They weren't bold enough to upset his ego by telling him exactly where he was failing. It took Geoff Boycott to get hold of Gooch and drum him into shape.
I don't think you could even call it 'coaching'. If you happened to score a few runs in county cricket you'd quickly end up playing for England. Poor Mark Lathwell was hyped up and then discarded. Australia learnt from their mistakes by then and were streets ahead in organisation.
Man it's weird seeing Chubby when he wasn't chubby. Also him being called a good young player is so strange. I guess all this is because I didn't see him on tv til later on.
@@Wally-H To be fair Botham still had a bit left in the tank. His performances in the 1992 World Cup proved this. However I agree the days of explosive innings and running through teams were over.
The English press always talked up their teams chances by talking down a touring team, especially the Aussies. As Benaud said, they were forever labeling Aussie touring teams as "the weakest ever" (1964, 1972, 1989). I think England were cocky because they had easily won in 1985 and had also won in Australia in 1986-87. Embarrassingly their confidence in the Aussies being weak was unfounded. The Pommy press had a habit of doing that though. They also called the 1982 Kangaroos rugby league team a weak side.....until they annihilated everything in their path, including the Great Britain teams in the tests, on an unbeaten tour.
+Holden308 What absolute garbage! The English press can't wait to stick the boot into any England team, and whenever an England side lands down under they are instantly written off and slagged off by the Aussie media.
Funny, you make them sound exactly like... the Australian press any time a sports team tours Australia. The truth is, the England team in 1989 was not 'cocky'. Their confidence was extremely low and very fragile due to years of troubles. At Test level, they'd been in turmoil for most of the previous nine years. The team selection was constantly unsettled, the side was torn apart by rebel tours to South Africa, indifferent form and injuries of key players, repeated difficulties finding a suitable captain, and they had suffered morale-sapping defeats against most opponents over that decade. Only the previous summer, England had been hammered 4-0 by the West Indies in a series that saw nearly 30 different English players selected as they struggled to find a workable line-up. It was frankly zero achievement on the Australians' part beating an England team in such feeble shape. And yet, for all of England's inadequacies, they still beat the convicts more often than not in the 1980s. That must be REALLY embarrassing for obviously insecure Australian loudmouths like you, looking for obsolete reasons to gloat.
Two of those series victories, 85 and 86/87 were against Australian teams that were so green they pissed grass and were suffering from the same problems you attribute to England. Between 1972 and 2001 I would say that there were at least 6 series where either Australia or England were affected by some issue associated by world series cricket or rebel tours. 1978/79, 82/83, 85, 86/87, 89 and 90/91. Invariably the team affected by the crisis lost the series.78/79 Australia was decimated by wsc. England was also affected but I would say that only Knott, Greig or Underwood would be in the Egnland side. Oz lost 5-1. 82/83 England was affected by rebel tours and didn't have Gooch, Boycott, Underwood or Knott. They lost 2-1 but the series result was closer than it should have being. I have already mentioned the 85 and 86/87 series. 89 and 90/91 England was reduced by the rebel tours but looking at How Australia went against England in the first two tests of 89 and looking at what many of those Australian players would go on to accomplish I would say that Australia would have won those series by similar margins anyway, with or without Englands rebel players.The series where both teams had access to their full range of players (I am not counting the self Imposed exiles of Boycott between 74 and 77, Lillee on the 77 tour of England and G chappell in 81) indicate Australia were the better side. England won in 77 and 81. England outplayed Australia in 77 but IN 81, if not for the freakish performances of Botham Australia would have won 3-1 rather than losing 3-1. Between 1972 and 2001 those were the only series that England won where both teams had access to their full range of players.
These don't show much of the 1st test English batting - a pity I rember Kim Barnetts 80 being pretty good. He probably played Alderman the best and was unlucky to be dropped.
Phil Newport was a debutant disaster. He was hailed as a bowler with an inswinger action, but he got the ball to go away. It didn’t matter though as he didn’t really take many wickets.
Even if he'd played as asked and at his best, it probably wouldn't have made any difference. England were so pitiful in this series it took them until 2005 to put it right
I suppose as a former test captain Ritchie supported the idea of Gower manning up and trying to resolve the obvious problem that England could not get a decent start in this series, himself. It didn't work.
+Chris evans It was an old video sold in abc shops in Australia. So yes, it was edited for an Australian audience. Plus the English highlights only went for 2 and half minutes.
England were so pathetic in this series, we did see the England highlights - they were so short they'd be measured in seconds rather than minutes. In case you're wondering I'm English and this was the first Ashes series I remember as I was 13 at the time. It was truly painful and I'd dread each time the radio gave an update. I'm amazed any of the England bowlers were picked again ever and I'm not surprised that this spelt the beginning of the end of most of the England team apart from Atherton.
Probably the worst England side in history no wonder Australia won 4-0 and getting bowled out by an average bowler like alderman just about sums just how hopeless we were.
He even batted at number 6 in some tests! He was a steady county player who happened to have the right background and played for a southern county, at a time when England were desperately trying to find an all rounder to replace Botham.
The selectors thought he was going to be the next big thing after he scored a pile of runs for Oxford University. Sadly he just couldn't make the step up as a test player and his gentle medium pace was easy meat for class batsmen.
@@Wally-H There were quite a few Pringles around late 80s and early 90s. There was one in NZL - Chris and the tall one in SAF - Meyrick Pringle. Meyrick was hit on the eye by a Srinath Bouncer, that is the sticking memory I have
jesus england were terrible, poor batting even worse bowling.. How the hell did derek pringle play 30 test matches?? also embarrassing that botham was still playing test cricket at this point, looks like he is bowling about 70mph.
The first series with Ted Dexter as chief selector Ted Dexter was the most useless , stupid , idiotic selector of all time The England players knew it as well Hence they never even tried
