Is England's current bowling line-up their worst ever?

England Cricket / Andrew Hughes / 10 March 2008 / Leave a Comment

Andrew Hughes looks back with fondness at the 2005 Ashes bowling-line up of Flintoff, Harmison, Jones, Hoggard and Giles and compares it to the current crop of bowlers that surendered at Hamilton this week

Anyone who got into cricket during the 2005 Ashes triumph might be forgiven for thinking that this weekend's tepid surrender at Hamilton is the worst performance by any England team ever. Well don't worry, because it isn't. In fact, those of us who've been following English cricket for longer can recall far worse horrors; five-day epics of awfulness; jaw-dropping comedies of pantomime ineptitude.

Don't believe me? Well take a look at these beauties, from 1988, 1989 and 1994 respectively. See, a sense of perspective can help when you're drowning your sorrows, as those punters who backed England at odds-on to win the First Test must be doing.

Even hardened patriots will surely be thinking twice about steaming into the [2.9] on offer about England levelling the series in Wellington this week. Quite why they are shorter than New Zealand at [3.15] is one of life's little mysteries, like the continued selection of Steve Harmison. At Hamilton we reeked of fear and self-doubt. We made the third worst Test team feel like world-beaters. You can't turn that round in three days.

So what's the problem? Whatever their current travails, this is not a bad batting line up. In fact, batting has never been a serious problem. Even in the dark days of the nineties, we could still unearth quality batsmen like Atherton, Hussain, Thorpe and Stewart. Our problem then, as now, was the toothlessness of our bowling. With all due respect to Gough and Caddick, the average England bowling attack in the nineties featured more pie-throwers than a Tiswas reunion. We couldn't bowl anyone out twice and so we didn't win Test matches. Well here's a cheery stat for you. Hamilton was the seventh consecutive Test in which we failed to take twenty wickets. Cherish your DVD of the 2005 Ashes because we're heading back to the dark ages.

In fact, Duncan Fletcher's achievement looks more impressive with every passing Test. He managed to weld together a four-pronged pace attack that no one else could match. Harmison, Flintoff, Jones and Hoggard were the foundations of the house that Duncan built. When they failed, the building collapsed and we are still picking through the rubble.

Harmison is now a joke without a punch line. Flintoff has spent more time under the knife than Jordan. Simon Jones might resurface some time this summer in the rice paddies of Worcester. Only Hoggard remains and, like an ageing piece of Yorkshire heavy machinery, he is rusty and creaky. If it weren't for Ryan Sidebottom and his first-Viking-off-the-longboat impression, we'd be watching the gummiest bowling attack this side of the Caribbean.

Most worrying of all, the county cupboard is rather bare. Stuart Broad shows promise and should get his chance to replace Harmison at Wellington. But that's about it. James Anderson's wonky technique only functions when the ball swings and the batsmen promise not to hit him too hard. The bowling roster on the recent Lions tour to India consisted of Liam Plunkett, a man previously dropped due to his Harmisonesque inability to locate the cut strip; Graham Onions, an over hyped county seamer and Worcestershire's favourite male model, Kabir Ali. When injuries struck, the selectors turned to thirty-plus journeymen Charlie Shreck and Steve Kirby. It's enough to make Bob Willis weep.

With Harmison ineffective and Hoggard off the boil, England might be tempted to emulate New Zealand and play two spinners for the remaining Tests. The hosts will undoubtedly be looking to repeat the dose at Wellington on a pitch that tends to crumble more quickly than Hamilton and again in the last Test at Napier. Bearing that in mind, you might want to consider backing the spinners on either side to finish as top wicket takers. Daniel Vettori at [5.9] is currently on 3 wickets, only 3 behind Kyle Mills [2.22]. Monty Panesar at [8.4] has more of a mountain to climb to overhaul Ryan Sidebottom [1.25]

Finally, some have suggested that this is the worst England bowling line-up of recent years. I'm not sure about that. Remember this bunch from 1993 ? But what do you think? Which is the worst England bowling line-up you can remember?