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The Guardian - UK

Sport

Rob Smyth

Cricket quiz: England in the 1990s

Devon Malcolm, Eddo Brandes, Adam Hollioake and Graham Gooch. Composite: Getty Images, Shutterstock, PA

Which England batsman was the world’s leading Test runscorer in the 1990s?
1. Alec Stewart
2. Mike Atherton
3. Graham Gooch
4. Graham Thorpe
Devon Malcolm made South Africa history by taking 9/57 at the Oval in 1994. Who picked up the other wicket?
1. Phil DeFreitas
2. Joey Benjamin
3. Martin McCague
4. Darren Gough
The BBC cut away from the cricket just before Graham Gooch reached a triple-hundred against India at Lord’s in 1990. What were they showing instead?
1. John Craven’s Newsround
2. The World Equestrian Games
3. The EBF Sandwich Maiden Stakes from Ascot
4. The Six O’Clock News
Who took eight wickets on his debut but played only one more Test for England?
1. Peter Such
2. Neil Mallender
3. Joey Benjamin
4. Phil Newport
Who was the only England batsman to make a century on their Test debut in the 1990s?
1. Andrew Strauss
2. Mike Atherton
3. Nasser Hussain
4. Graham Thorpe
Who took the most Test wickets for England throughout the decade?
1. Angus Fraser
2. Darren Gough
3. Devon Malcolm
4. Andy Caddick
How many Ashes Tests did England win in the 1990s?
1. One
2. Three
3. Five
4. Seven
Zimbabwe’s Eddo Brandes took a hat-trick against England to complete a 3-0 ODI series win in 1996-97. What was his day job?
1. Pet food taster
2. Snake milker
3. Chicken farmer
4. Ostrich babysitter
Who scored the most Test runs against England in the 1990s?
1. Brian Lara
2. Steve Waugh
3. Gary Kirsten
4. Michael Slater
Mike Atherton got in trouble for having a go at a Pakistan journalist during the 1996 World Cup. What did Atherton call him?
1. Numpty
2. Pillock
3. Buffoon
4. Wand
Who was described as “the rat that joined the sinking ship” by the Australian media when he made his England debut during the 1993 Ashes?
1. Martin McCague
2. Alan Mullally
3. Craig White
4. Adam Hollioake
How did Simon Pack, the ECB International Teams Director, greet Duncan Fletcher when he arrived to be interviewed for the job of England coach in 1999?
1. Hello David
2. Hello Dav
3. Hello Bob
4. Hello Bumble
What was the highest UK chart position reached by Dave Stewart’s All Over the World, the official theme song of the 1999 World Cup?
1. 31
2. 49
3. 97
4. It didn’t chart
Ian Botham missed the first half of England’s 1991-92 winter tour because he was starring in which pantomime?
1. Dick Whittington
2. Jack and the Beanstalk
3. Snow White
4. Aladdin
What unusual feat did Adam Hollioake achieve during England’s 3-0 ODI series win over Australia in 1997?
1. He hit the winning runs in every game
2. He pulled out two run-outs in every game
3. He hit Shane Warne for six in every game
4. He took a wicket with his first ball in every game
Graham Gooch’s immense 154 not out inspired a famous victory over West Indies at Headingley in 1991. What was the next highest individual score in that innings?
1. 17
2. 27
3. 37
4. 47
Who did the Sun christen “the prat without a hat” when he suffered sunstroke during England’s tour of the West Indies in 1993-94?
1. Alan Igglesden
2. Devon Malcolm
3. Phil Tufnell
4. Chris Lewis

Solutions

1:A - Stewart scored 6,407 runs, putting him just above the Waugh brothers, Mark Taylor and Atherton., 2:D - Malcolm was on for a ten-for until Gough took the eighth wicket to fall: Cullinan c Thorpe b Gough 94., 3:C - Yep, they really did go to the horse racing with Gooch on 299., 4:B - Mallender was a horses-for-courses selection on a green seamer at Headingley against Pakistan in 1992. He took eight wickets to help England to victory, but was less successful on a flatter Oval pitch and never played again., 5:D - Thorpe’s memorable 114 not out against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993 was the start of a marvellous Test career that brought 6,744 runs at an average of 44.66. , 6:A - Despite missing two-and-a-half years at his peak with a serious hip injury, Fraser led the way with an excellent record of 168 wickets at 26.86. Gough was second with 135, 7:C - England lost all five Ashes series by scores of 3-0, 4-1, 3-1, 3-2 and 3-1., 8:C - Brandes dismissed Nick Knight, John Crawley and Nasser Hussain with consecutive deliveries on a miserable day for England in Harare. As you can imagine, the English press were empathetic in their reaction., 9:A - It may have felt like Steve Waugh was forever 120 not out against England, but Lara – helped by his record-breaking 375 – and Mark Waugh were top of the list., 10:C - After yet another defeat to South Africa, a weary Atherton snapped, “Will somebody get rid of this buffoon?” during the post-match press-conference., 11:A - McCague, born in Northern Ireland but raised in Australia, was slaughtered by the Australian press before he made an impressive debut at Trent Bridge in 1993., 12:B - Dav Whatmore, the Australian who coached Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup, was also on the shortlist., 13:D - Stewart’s song was released on 31 May, the day after England suffered a humiliating early exit from the tournament. A day later, London’s two largest record stores reported combined sales of … zero. It never made it into the top 100 and now sells for £1.30 on Discogs., 14:B - Beefy starred as the King, although his performance didn’t impress everyone. “The expressionless Botham is the only wooden thing on stage apart from the beanstalk,” wrote the Daily Express, “and even that projects itself better.”, 15:A - England won by six wickets in all three matches. Adam Hollioake was England’s Player of the Series, while his teenage brother Ben charmed the world with a spectacular 63 on debut at Lord’s., 16:B - Mark Ramprakash and Derek Pringle both made 27. Nobody else reached double figures., 17:D - Lewis shaved his head when England arrived in the Caribbean, trained without a hat and missed the first tour game with sunstroke. “He’s gone and had a cue-ball, the prat,” said the coach Keith Fletcher.