User:Nine Tail Fox/English cricket team in the 2000s

The 2000s saw a resurgence for the English cricket team after the poor performances and internal wrangling of the 1990s, and by 2004 they were ranked the second best team in Test cricket.

1999–2000
As the 1990s ended England were ranked bottom of the Test-playing nations after a a wholesale change of management, including the appointment of Duncan Fletcher as coach and Nasser Hussain as captain, had failed to fend off defeat at home to New Zealand.

The new millennium began on off-season tour to South Africa and Zimbabwe &mdash; the team's longest foreign tour for nine years &mdash; and the winds of change in English cricket were reflected in the selection of a highly experimental touring squad: several longstanding players such as Graham Thorpe were left in England and the squad included a large number of inexperienced players and debutants (including future England captain Michael Vaughan, who made his Test debut in the series). Despite victory against the Zimbabweans the tour was a disappointment as South Africa, the stronger opponents, achieved a comfortable 2-1 victory in the Test series and beat England in the triangular one-day cricket tournament. However, hope for the future could be found for England supporters in the steely performance of Hussain as captain and the early signs of a renaissance in coaching spearheaded by Fletcher.

England in South Africa, November 1999 – February 2000
See England cricket team in the 1990s for coverage of the Test series.

Standard Bank Triangular Tournament, January – February 2000
  South Africa won the tournament

England's first series in 2000 was the triangular tournament fought between them, South Africa and Zimbabwe. For this series the Test team was largely replaced by specialist one-day players including Graeme Hick and Vikram Solanki, who made his international debut.

England gained a comprehensive nine-wicket victory in their first game of the series against South Africa at Bloemfontein. South Africa's early batting collapsed to some fine new ball bowling from Darren Gough (4 for 29) and their innings never truly recovered. The England opening batsmen Nasser Hussain (85) and Nick Knight (71 not out) capitalised by recording the highest opening partnership against South Africa in one-day internationals, 165, from where it was short work to the target of 185.

The team's second match, also against South Africa, was a much more closely fought affair as South Africa successfully defended a total of 204 (Jacques Kallis 43, Lance Klusener 42 not out) to win by one run. Darren Gough's three wickets in the match took his total in one-day internationals to 115, behind only Ian Botham among England bowlers. England's innings started confidently but after losing Nick Knight (36) and Graeme Hick (25) in successive overs the run chase stalled and late runs from Chris Read (26) and Mark Ealham (25) were not enough to avoid defeat by the narrowest of margins.

England v. Zimbabwe

England v. Zimbabwe

England v. South Africa

Though their final match against Zimbabwe was abandoned without a ball bowled due to bad weather, England nevertheless progressed to the final against South Africa. Nasser Hussain won the toss and sent the opposition in to bat, a decision that looked strong as England's seam bowlers (Caddick 4 for 19, Gough 3 for 18) knocked over the South African openers to leave them at 21 for 5. However, the pressure was taken off as slower bowlers were introduced and South African captain Hansie Cronje (56) was allowed to consolidate the innings, eventually setting a target of 150. Not repeating England's mistake, South Africa's Shaun Pollock bowled his available overs in one spell and returned matchwinning figures of 5 for 20 as England were dismissed for 111, losing the game and the tournament by 38 runs.

England in Zimbabwe, February 2000
  England won the series 3-0

The final series of England's African tour was a set of four One-day Internationals against Zimbabwe, which England duly won 3-0 (bad weather caused the fourth match to be abandoned without a ball bowled).

1st ODI

2nd ODI

3rd ODI

2000
The two Test-playing nations to tour during the English summer of 2000 were Zimbabwe and the West Indies.

Zimbabwe in England, May - July 2000
  England won the series 1-0

The Zimbabwean team arrived for their first tour of England since their elevation to Test status in 1992 in less than ideal circumstances. Civil unrest was rife in their homeland, affecting many of the touring players' families, and they were themselves pursuing a long-running dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union over pay and benefits.

Against this background the Zimbabweans plunged to a crushing defeat in the first Test at Lord's, losing by an innings and 209 runs after putting on just 83 and 123 in their two innings. This compared to England's 415 which, adding insult to injury, featured a century from ex-Zimbabwe player Graeme Hick. The widespread feeling among commentators was not that the Zimbabwe team lacked talent, despite the amateurish performances of their batsmen, but that they had been outclassed psychologically.

However, Zimbabwe fought back to draw a rain-affected second Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. England made a strong 374 in the first innings but strong batting from Murray Goodwin (148 not out) carried the Zimbabweans to a declaration at 285 for 4 at the end of the fourth day. From then on the game was destined for a draw: England batted out a low scoring second innings of 147 and Zimbabwe reaching 25 for 1 by the close.

Despite failing to finish off the Zimbabweans in the second Test, England's performance in the series was generally encouraging for fans. Hussain's captaincy and the general sense of team spirit were both praised by commentators, with Wisden commenting that 'for the first time the notion of "Team England" seemed more than simply jargon'.

NatWest Series, July 2000 (England, West Indies, Zimbabwe)
A triangular series of One-day internationals between England, the West Indies and Zimbabwe was next on the menu.

England in Australia, October 2002 – January 2003

 * Main article: England in Australia in 2002-3

Bangladesh in England, May – June 2005

 * Main article: Bangladeshis in England in 2005

Australia in England, June – September 2005

 * ''Main article: Australians in England in 2005