New Zealand return to the Kia Oval for the second Rothesay Test of the series against England, their first at the ground since 1999. Richard Spiller looks back to their previous visits, the first coming in 1931 when they became the fourth country to visit the ground after Australia, South Africa and West Indies
1931: A TOUGH BAPTISM
The Kiwis’ first encounter with England at The Oval proved a tough one. They had enjoyed an even share of honours in the opening outing at Lord’s but lasted just three days south of the river. Centuries from Herbert Sutcliffe, Duleepsinhji and Wally Hammond meant skipper Douglas Jardine – the Surrey man having just taken charge – only batted for a few minutes in making seven not out before declaring at 416-4 on day two.
The tourists were rushed out for 193 before the end of the day, captain Tom Lowry (62) and Jack Kerr (34) saving them from complete capitulation, Middlesex paceman Gubby Allen claiming 5-14 in 13 overs.
Sent in again by Jardine, New Zealand did marginally better this time, Giff Vivian’s 51 their best, Maurice Tate claiming 3-22 and leg-spinner Ian Peebles taking 4-63 to overshadow the debut of slow left-armer Hedley Verity, who would become a Yorkshire and England great. He was one of two players getting a first look, the other Surrey all-rounder Freddie Brown.
1937: RAIN CUTS SHORT ENGLAND VICTORY BID
The 1-0 defeat was echoed six years later, New Zealand already behind when they reached The Oval. The tourists were 20-0 in the half-hour of play allowed on the rain-wrecked opening day, extending that to 249 all out on the second against an attack led by Surrey’s Alf Gover and Northamptonshire’s Austin Matthews. The latter was a surprise choice and he would become one of the early members of the one cap wonders club, the scalp of Walter Hadlee in each innings doing him little good.
England’s 254-7dec was built around 103 from Joe Hardstaff of Nottinghamshire, assisted mostly by Denis Compton – making 65 as he made his debut alongside Cyril Washbrook and Matthews – and Wally Hammond (31). Vivian’s 57 ensured the Kiwis made it to 187 all out in the second innings and, although the hosts needed 183, there was only time for them to finish on 31-1.
1949: HADLEE’S MEN CREATE HISTORY
It was a dozen years – which included the Second World War – before New Zealand would return to The Oval and their feat in drawing the four-match series 0-0 ensured the “49ers” would carve a niche in their country’s cricket lore.
Hadlee won the toss for the first time in the series, seeing openers Bert Sutclifffe (88) and Verduri Scott (60) provide a launchpad of 121 on the way to 345 all out. Surrey’s Alec Bedser returned 4-74 in a side packed with bowlers to the extent that county colleague Jim Laker bowled only seven overs.
Len Hutton’s appetite for batting at the ground had already seen him hit a world record 364 against the Australians in 1938, this time making 206 – he would add another double century the following year against West Indies – while Bill Edrich hit 100. That enabled skipper Freddie Brown, now in charge of Northamptonshire, to apply some pressure after his side had totalled 482, despite Fen Creswell marking his debut with 6-168 in a marathon spell of 41.2 overs.
Sutcliffe (54), Merv Wallace (58) and John Reid (93) frustrated Brown’s ambitions despite Bedser (3-58) and Laker finding increasingly sharp turn to take 4-78, their 308-9dec playing out time.
1958: MAY’S WHITEWASH AMBITIONS DROWNED OUT
You could hardly blame the Kiwis if they felt relieved when their next appointment in Kennington, in 1958, was largely drowned out by rain.
They were 4-0 down and two previous outings at the ground had seen them beaten by Surrey, in the final year of their seven successive County Championship titles.
Bowled out on the opening day for 161, the tourists saw England – captained by Peter May and accompanied by his Surrey spin pair Laker and Tony Lock – reach 30-0. Three maiden overs on the second day were followed by bad light presaging a major thunderstorm and there would be resumption until the fifth morning.
Opener Arthur Milton (36) and last man Fred Trueman (39) ensured the reply stretched to 219-9dec, despite Tony MacGibbon’s 4-65, the Kiwis playing out time at 91-3 to end England’s hopes of winning all five Tests for the first time. Perhaps it was an ill portent, May’s much-lauded side heading to Australia as hot favourites to retain the Ashes but being hammered 4-0.
1969: ILLINGWORTH’S MEN ON LONG ROAD TO ASHES
England still hadn’t won back the urn lost in 1958-59 when New Zealand next visited The Oval but the appointment of Ray Illingworth as captain – initially as a temporary replacement for injured Colin Cowdrey – had set England on the trail to regain them.
Illingworth’s first task, to beat West Indies in the first mini-series of the summer, had already been completed successfully and now New Zealand came to The Oval trailing 1-0.
They would find Derek Underwood far too good for them. The Kent left-arm spinner had been England’s hero at The Oval a year earlier when he bowled out Australia on a dramatic final evening. Now he claimed 6-41 from 26 overs, which included top-scorer Glenn Turner for a painstaking 53 out of 150. John Edrich, a centurion 12 months earlier, enjoyed home turf again in making 68 at the top of the reply of 242 all out – Bruce Taylor took 4-47 – before Underwood got to work again.
His 6-60 from 38.3 overs exerted a stranglehold which even Brian Hastings (61) found difficult to escape, and two wickets each for pacemen John Snow and Alan Ward helping to dismiss the tourists for 229. Debutant Mike Denness (55no) and Phil Sharpe (45no) took England to victory by eight wickets.
1978: GOWER STRIKES MAIDEN TON
New Zealand’s next visit to The Oval was marked by a landmark moment in the career of an England great. First of all though, Geoff Howarth – Surrey’s adopted Kiwi son – went within six runs of becoming the first of his countrymen to make three successive Test centuries but only John Wright (62) and skipper Mark Burgess (62) could join him in double-figures, Bob Willis’s 5-42 ensuring they were despatched for 234.
Debutant paceman Brendon Bracewell, just 18, soon had England rocking at 7-2 but David Gower’s maiden Test ton – stroking his way to 111 before being run out – earned the hosts a valuable lead of 45. Ian Botham (3-46) and left-arm spinner Phil Edmonds (4-20) were chiefly responsible for the Kiwis struggling to 123-7 second time round, the fourth day being lost when an inch and a half of rain fell.
Surrey were well prepared for it, having borrowed giant tarpaulins from the All England Club, which enabled Harry Brind and his groundstaff to get play restarted on day five.
That gave England time to finish off the resistance at 182, Graham Gooch’s unbeaten 91 heading the chase for 138 just into the last hour.
1983: OLD MATES WILLIS AND HOWARTH BATTLE IT OUT
Two visits within three years were launched by the opening Test of the 1983 series, a four-match contest coming straight after the World Cup. Its unusual mid-July timing enabled Surrey to crack on with demolishing the old Taverners Stand next to the pavilion, the first major stage of The Oval’s redevelopment. There was also the chance for Bob Willis and Geoff Howarth, who had both spent much of their developing years at The Oval, to square up.
Richard Hadlee’s 6-53 restricted England to 209 all out on the opening day – Derek Randall’s 75 defying his Nottinghamshire team-mate – but it was answered by Willis’s blistering opening spell, removing both Crowe brothers for ducks in his 4-43 and the Kiwis needing a forceful stand of 84 between Hadlee (84) and Jeremy Coney (44) to shrink the deficit to 13.
The mood of the match changed as Graeme Fowler – whose 105 was his maiden Test century – and Chris Tavare (109) put on 223, only the 11th double century opening stand in England’s history. Yet the home side ended up being jeered off at the end of a third day in which they could manage a mere 194 in 94 overs. Allan Lamb became the third centurion of the innings before Willis declared at 446-6, setting his opponents 460.
Survival looked possible while John Wright and Howarth were adding 120 for the third wicket but the left-hander was run out for 88 after four hours. Once Howarth (67) and Martin Crowe fell to Phil Edmonds (3-101), off-spinner Vic Marks (3-78) joined his left- arm colleague to work through the rest to bowl them out for 270 despite Lance Cairns lashing four sixes near the end.
A first for English cricket was the replay screen erected at the Vauxhall end, although it had to be turned off at one stage with Hadlee claiming it was distracting him while batting. The home side went on to win the series 3-1.
1986: BOTHAM’S DRAMATIC RETURN
When the sides met again three years later England were desperate to redeem their summer. After the glory of winning the Ashes a year earlier, David Gower’s side had been crushed 5-0 in West Indies, the captain fired amid a 2-0 defeat to India and new skipper Mike Gatting unable to prevent New Zealand going in front in the second half of the summer.
The main story, though, was the return of Ian Botham – suspended for much of the summer – who was almost instantly into action. With his first delivery he had Bruce Edgar caught in the slips by Graham Gooch to equal Dennis Lillee’s record of 355 Test wickets, going one better soon after when he trapped Jeff Crowe LBW.
John Wright’s dogged 119 over more than seven hours dominated a rain-interrupted first innings of 287 which stretched into the third morning but Gower (131) and Gatting (121) made batting look wonderfully easy, coming together at 62-3 and adding 223 for the fourth wicket on the only day that the weather did not intervene.
Botham dominated the only hour of play on the fourth day, smashing a record-equalling 24 off one over from seamer Derek Stirling in his rumbustious 59no. But only six balls were possible on the fifth, England suffering a second series defeat of the summer and the Kiwis celebrating their first series victory in this country.
1999: KIWIS CELEBRATE AS ENGLAND PLUNGE
It would be another 13 years before New Zealand returned to The Oval for a Test, proving one of their most memorable moments. The four-match series was poised at 1-1, England’s early exit in the World Cup earlier in the season having provoked one of the domestic game’s bouts of navel-gazing.
Stephen Fleming’s 66 rescued his side from 104-7 on the opening day, adding 78 for the ninth wicket with Daniel Vettori (51) to reach 236. England found batting no easier, bowled out for 153 with Chris Cairns (5-31) and Vettori (3-46) profiting most, but then had the Kiwis reeling at 39-6 as Andy Caddick and Ed Giddins took three wickets apiece. Cairns counter-attacked thrillingly for 80, two of his four sixes landing on the pavilion shelf, extending the innings to 162 all out.
That left England with more than two days to make 246 and at 143-3 they fancied their chances. But Mike Atherton’s departure at 164 unleashed a grisly collapse in which they folded for just 162, an over-long tail horribly exposed as Dion Nash starred with 4-39. Defeat meant England slumped to the bottom of the Test rankings.
