The Wisden Chronology - 1980s

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1980

February Ian Botham dominates the Golden Jubilee Test against India at Bombay, scoring 114 and taking 13 wickets as England win with a day to spare. New Zealand beat West Indies by one wicket at Dunedin, and go on to win a bad-tempered series 1-0. It was New Zealand's first series victory at home, and West Indies' last defeat in any Test series until 1994-95. March Wisden editor Norman Preston dies, shortly before publication of the 1980 Almanack, his 30th: John Woodcock takes over for 1981. June West Indies win first Test at Nottingham: the other four games in the series are drawn. August Centenary Test played at Lord's to mark 100 years of Test cricket in England: rain spoils the game, which was enlivened by the batting of Australia's Kim Hughes but marred by a clash between angry MCC members and the umpires after a lengthy stoppage. Legendary radio commentator John Arlott makes his last broadcast from a Test. September English cricket's longest-running major sponsorship deal came to an end with the last Gillette Cup final at Lord's, won by Middlesex: the NatWest Bank took over the competition, which Gillette had sponsored from the start in 1963 but reluctantly gave up after market research suggested more people associated their name with cricket than razor blades.

1981

February With New Zealand needing six to win a one-day international at Melbourne, Australia's captain Greg Chappell instructs his brother Trevor to roll the last ball along the ground to ensure victory: he is widely criticised, and the regulations are soon changed to avoid a repeat. March England's assistant manager, Ken Barrington, dies of a heart attack on the eve of the Barbados Test against West Indies: England lose the match, and the series 2-0. The Georgetown Test was cancelled after the Guyanese government objected to the "South African connections" of England's Robin Jackman. July England beat Australia at Leeds after following on, only the second such instance in Test history: inspired by Ian Botham, recently deposed as captain, and Bob Willis, the side now led by Mike Brearley confounds the bookmakers, who offered odds of 500/1 against England during the match. Two weeks later England win again at Birmingham, and go on to take an enthralling series 3-1. December Geoff Boycott becomes the leading Test run-scorer, passing Garry Sobers's tally of 8,032 during the series in India: shortly afterwards Boycott left the tour, and never played for England again, finishing with 8,114 runs.

1982

February Sri Lanka play their inaugural Test match, losing to England by seven wickets in Colombo; their side included the teenager Arjuna Ranatunga, who also featured in Sri Lanka's 100th Test, against Pakistan in June 2000. Australia retain the women's World Cup, beating England in the final at Christchurch. March "Rebel" England tour of South Africa starts, captained by Graham Gooch and including Geoff Boycott and several of the team which had recently been playing in India and Sri Lanka: all the players are banned from Test cricket for three years. May Glenn Turner scores his 100th first-class hundred, extending it to an innings of 311 not out. July Ian Botham hits 208 at The Oval as England clinch series against India. August Pakistan win a Test at Lord's for the first time: but England win the third Test, and a close-fought series, despite missing several players banned for touring South Africa. December Zaheer Abbas scores his 100th first-class century, for Pakistan against India at Lahore. England, captained by Bob Willis, win nail-biting Melbourne Test by three runs - but Australia regain the Ashes by taking the series 2-1.

1983

March Australia's Sheffield Shield domestic competition introduces a final, between the top two teams in the table: New South Wales beat Western Australia at Perth to win the Shield for the 37th time. June India upset West Indies by 43 runs to win the third World Cup, successfully defending a modest target of 183 in the final at Lord's. August New Zealand win the Leeds Test, their first win in England after 17 defeats and 11 draws - but England go on to win the series 3-1. September Yorkshire, who had just finished 17th and last in the Championship for the first time, announce the sacking of Geoff Boycott, then almost 43, as part of a youth policy: his supporters rally round and eventually force the committee to resign. Boycott played on until 1986, finishing with 151 first-class centuries and an average of 56.83. November Sunil Gavaskar passes Boycott's record of 8,114 Test runs, during the third match of India's home series against West Indies (who won 3-0): in the sixth match Gavaskar made his 30th Test century, passing Don Bradman's record of 29.

1984

January Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh retire from Test cricket, with record tallies of 355 wickets and 355 dismissals respectively. February New Zealand bowl England out for 82 and 93 in Christchurch Test, and go on to their first series victory over England, who had to counter newspaper allegations that some of the players had smoked pot during the tour. March Pakistan also beat England 1-0 in Test series. April Sharjah becomes the first ground outside a Test-playing country to host official one-day internationals: it eventually stages a record 198 (and four Pakistan "home" Tests) before being supplanted by Abu Dhabi. August West Indies, captained by Clive Lloyd, complete a 5-0 "blackwash" of England, the first by any away team in Test history.

1985

January England, captained by David Gower, come from behind to win Test series in India 2-1. August Bolstered by the return of some of the players previously banned for touring South Africa, England win a high-scoring Ashes series 3-1. September Sri Lanka record their first Test win, at the 14th attempt, over India in Colombo. November Australia's turn to lose players to a "rebel" tour of South Africa: a team captained by Kim Hughes incurs three-year bans after signing up. December Richard Hadlee takes 33 wickets in three Tests - including 15 at Brisbane - as New Zealand win a series against Australia for the first time.

1986

April John Woodcock steps down as editor of Wisden: Graeme Wright takes over for 1987 Almanack. With Viv Richards making a 56-ball hundred in the final Test, West Indies complete their second successive 5-0 "blackwash" of England, this time at home. July Dennis Amiss of Warwickshire scores his 100th first-class hundred, aged 43. August Ian Botham returns from a three-month ban after admitting to drug use, and takes a wicket with his first ball, to equal Dennis Lillee's Test record of 355 wickets: he soon passes it. December England clinch the Ashes series at Melbourne: they eventually took the series 2-1, and also won two one-day competitions in what became known as captain Mike Gatting's "Grand Slam" tour.

1987

March Sunil Gavaskar becomes the first player to score 10,000 runs in Tests, against Pakistan during his final series: he finished with 10,122. July Victory in the Leeds Test gives Pakistan, led by Imran Khan, their first series win in England. August Star-studded match against the Rest of the World played at Lord's to mark the bicentenary of MCC. September India and Australia contest cricket's second tied Test, at Madras: Australia's coach, Bob Simpson, played in the first tie against West Indies in 1960-61. November The World Cup is staged outside England for the first time: Australia beat England by seven runs in the final at Calcutta. December A day's play is lost in the Faisalabad Test after a face-to-face argument between the England captain, Mike Gatting, and the Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana: Pakistan eventually win a rancorous series 1-0.

1988

February England draw special Test played in Sydney to mark Australia's Bicentenary: Chris Broad, later a stern match referee, smashes down his stumps after being bowled for 139. March New Zealand and England draw uninspiring three-match Test series 0-0. May Graeme Hick completes 1,000 first-class runs in English season before the end of May. August West Indies win Test series against England 4-0. September Franklyn Stephenson, a Barbadian playing for Nottinghamshire, becomes the last player to date to do the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season in England, completing it in style with two centuries and taking 11 wickets in the final match. October England tour of India called off due to the "South African connections" of some of the players, notably the selected captain, Graham Gooch, and vice-captain John Emburey. November Viv Richards scores his 100th first-class century, during West Indies' tour of Australia. December Australia beat England to win the women's World Cup - the first for almost seven years - in the final at Melbourne.

1989

January West Indies win Test series in Australia 3-1. July The South African Jimmy Cook, in the middle of a prolific stint with Somerset, carries his bat for centuries in both innings against Nottinghamshire. August Australia, captained by Allan Border, regain the Ashes - and don't surrender them again until 2005. Mark Taylor scores 839 runs in the series, an aggregate only ever exceeded by Don Bradman and Wally Hammond: in the fifth Test at Nottingham he and Geoff Marsh batted through the first day's play, finishing it at 301-0, an unpromising start for England debutants Mike Atherton and Devon Malcolm. November Sachin Tendulkar makes his Test debut for India in Pakistan, aged 16 years 205 days. Gubby Allen, former England captain and long-time administrator, dies at 87. December Javed Miandad scores 145 in his 100th Test for Pakistan, against India at Lahore.