Graham Alan Gooch, is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time, with 67,057 runs across first-class and limited-overs games. His List A cricket tally of 22,211 runs is also a record. He is one of only twenty-five players to have scored over 100 first-class centuries.
John Ernest Emburey is a former English first-class cricketer who played for Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Western Province, Berkshire and England.
International cricket in South Africa between 1971 and 1981 consisted of four private tours arranged by English sports promoter Derrick Robins, two tours by a private team called the "International Wanderers", and one women's Test match. The apartheid policy followed by the South African Governments of the day meant that no Test match playing nation was willing to tour, thereby depriving world cricket of leading stars such as Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards, Clive Rice and Eddie Barlow.
The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because the international cricketing bodies banned South Africa from competitive international cricket throughout this period because of apartheid. As such the tours were organised and conducted in spite of the express disapproval of national cricket boards and governments, the International Cricket Conference and international organisations such as the United Nations. The tours were the subject of enormous contemporaneous controversy and remain a sensitive topic throughout the cricket-playing world.
Edward Ernest Hemmings is a former English cricketer, who played in 16 Test matches and 33 One Day Internationals for the England cricket team between 1982 and 1991. He made his England debut relatively late in his career, at the age of 33, having predominantly represented Nottinghamshire in the County Championship. His chance came when several England players announced their intention to go on a rebel cricket tour to South Africa.
The England cricket team toured Australia during the 1982–83 season, playing a five-Test series for The Ashes and a number of tour matches against Australian domestic teams. They also played a triangular One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia and New Zealand.
The England cricket team toured Sri Lanka in February 1982. The tour included two One Day International (ODI) matches and one Test match. Sri Lanka had become a Test playing nation the year before, and this was their inaugural Test match. Many celebrations had been prepared in Sri Lanka, include the issuing of commemorative stamps and coins.
The England cricket team toured South Africa in 2004–05. England won the five-Test series 2–1, achieving their first series win in South Africa for 40 years, when MJK Smith's side were victorious in 1964–65; however, South Africa won the seven-match ODI series 4–1, one match finishing as a tie and the other as "no result".
The Indian cricket team toured South Africa during the 1996–97 season, playing three Tests from 21 December 1996 to 30 January 1997. Prior to the series, India toured South Africa in the 1992–93 season, losing the Test series 0–1. India was led by Sachin Tendulkar while South Africa was led by Hansie Cronje. The series was Tendulkar's first overseas Test tour as captain and third overall. The tour began with a Test series, consisting of three matches. South Africa won the first two matches by a huge margin, thereby winning the series 2–0, while the final Test ended in a draw. At the end of the series, Brian McMillan of South Africa emerged as the top run-scorer with 296 runs, with an average of 98.66. He was closely followed by fellow team member Daryl Cullinan with 291 runs and India's Rahul Dravid. Allan Donald and Javagal Srinath finished the series as top wicket-takers capturing 20 and 18 wickets respectively. The former was named "man of the series".
The South African cricket team toured England in the second half of the 1965 season, winning the three match Test series 1-0, with two matches drawn. They had a young and improving side. Their players included Graeme Pollock and his brother Peter, Colin Bland and Eddie Barlow.
The English cricket team toured India during January, February and March 1993. The tour was beset by controversy over England's poor performances and results, with selection, tour management, the Indian cuisine and climate, airport industrial action and even players' facial hair being blamed for the lack of success.
The West Indian cricket team toured England in 1980, spending virtually the whole of the 1980 English cricket season in England. West Indies also played two matches in Ireland and two in Scotland.
The England national cricket team toured the West Indies from January to April 1981 and played a five-match Test series against the West Indies cricket team which the West Indies won 2–0. England were captained by Ian Botham; the West Indies by Clive Lloyd. The second Test of the tour was cancelled, after Robin Jackman's visa was revoked by the Guyanese government, for playing and coaching in South Africa. In the third Test, England's opening batsman Geoff Boycott was dismissed for a duck, after six balls bowled by Michael Holding. It has been described as the greatest over in Test cricket.
The South African cricket team toured England and Wales between May and August 2017, playing three One Day Internationals (ODIs), three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and four Test matches. The ODI matches were in preparation for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, which took place in England and Wales during June. Extra security was provided to South Africa for the ODI series following the Manchester Arena bombing. England won the ODI series 2–1 and the T20 series 2–1.
The England cricket team toured the West Indies between January and March 2019 to play three Tests, five One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The series included England's first Test match in Saint Lucia, when they played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground. It was also England's first tour to the West Indies to play all three formats of international cricket since they visited in 2009. The ODI fixtures were part of both teams' preparation for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Khaya Majola was a South African cricket player and administrator. A black African, Majola played cricket during the apartheid-era in South Africa. Early in his playing career, he was given opportunities by the South African African Cricket Board (SAACB) to play alongside white players in exhibition matches, and to play overseas in England. He soon rejected further offers from the SAACB, feeling that the matches were token gestures, and that they were using black players as tools to overturn the sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa, and enable the national team, consisting solely of white players, to be re-admitted into international cricket. This decision meant that Majola played almost all of his cricket in the Howa Bowl between 1973 and 1991, a non-racial tournament organised by the South African Cricket Board of Control (SACBOC), who supported the boycott. Matches were typically played on matting wickets in poor conditions; they were not considered to be of first-class status at the time, but were subsequently added to the records.
The West Indies cricket team toured England to play three Test matches. The team were originally scheduled to tour the country in May and June 2020. However, the series was initially postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cricket West Indies stated that they would do everything they can to help accommodate the fixtures, including moving the fixtures back or even hosting them in the West Indies. A revised tour schedule, with the first Test starting in July, was proposed at the end of May 2020. The fixtures were confirmed the following month, with the matches all played behind closed doors. The Test series formed part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship.
In January 1990, a representative team of English cricket players undertook the final so-called "Rebel tour" to South Africa, to play a series of matches against the South African team. At the time, the International Cricket Council had placed a moratorium on international cricket teams undertaking tours of the country, due to the South African government's policy of apartheid, leaving South Africa with no international competition.
The South Africa cricket team toured Pakistan in January 2021 to play two Test matches and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches against the Pakistan cricket team. The Test series formed part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship. It was the first time in fourteen years that South Africa toured Pakistan.
The England cricket team toured Sri Lanka in January 2021 to play two Test matches. The Test series formed part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship. Originally, the tour was scheduled to take place in March 2020, but the series was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the dates for the tour, with both Test matches played in Galle.
