Wisden Trophy
The Wisden Trophy is a Test cricket series, played between England and West Indies and dates back to 1963 when John Wisden & Co presented it to mark the centenary edition of their Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.[1] It is currently played alternately in England and West Indies. A series of "The Wisden Trophy" now comprises four Test matches, two innings per match, under the regular rules for international cricket. If a series is drawn then the country holding the Wisden Trophy retains them.
England currently hold The Wisden Trophy, after beating West Indies 3-1 to regain the trophy in 2000 after a period of 31 years.[2] The next Wisden Trophy series will be held in the West Indies.
History of the Wisden trophy
The first trophy (1963)
The inaugural test series took place in England and consisted of a 5 test series. The first test took place at Old Trafford which the West Indies won by ten wickets. [3] The second test was a closer contest with England requiring only five runs to win before the test ended in a draw. [4] The third test resulted in England winning by 217 runs [5] while the final two test were won by the West Indies and the series finished 3-1.[6]
Early series
The next series would be in 1966 which the West Indies won 3-1. The first Wisden Trophy in the West Indies took place in 1967-68 season were the fourth Test at Queen's Park Oval was the only test with a conclusive result which England won to win the series 1-0. The 1969 tour was won comfortably by England and it seemed that England would begin to dominate the West Indies but Ray Illingworth would be the last England captain to win the Wisden Trophy for 31 years.
West Indies revival 1973
Viv Richard series 1976
1984 The blackwash
Summer of four captains 1988
Saw the beginning of a bowling partnership of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose that would trouble English batsmen for the next 13 years. England on the other hand had entered the series on poor form and little was expected of them.
In the series England had four captains but each test ended in more or else the same result of West Indian dominance. All tests ended in West Indies wins except the first test which was drawn due to rain[7] and the series finished 4-0. The main highlight of the series was the young Curtly Ambrose who claimed 22 wickets. After this series both teams would see a decline with many of the great players (Viv Richards and Malcolm Marshall) retiring soon after in 1991[8] [9], and the West Indian dominance of the test stage was coming to a end. England on the other hand would slide down the test rankings.
Lara's Explodes onto the world stage (1994)
Lara's 400 (2004)
Results table
| Season | Host | Tests | England | W. Indies | Draw | Tie | Series result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | England | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | West Indies |
| 1966 | England | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | West Indies |
| 1967–68 | West Indies | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | England |
| 1969 | England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | England |
| 1973 | England | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | West Indies |
| 1973–74 | West Indies | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Series drawn, trophy retained by West Indies |
| 1976 | England | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | West Indies |
| 1980 | England | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | West Indies |
| 1980–81 | West Indies | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | West Indies |
| 1984 | England | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | West Indies; the first of the "blackwashes" |
| 1985–86 | West Indies | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | West Indies; the second "blackwash" |
| 1988 | England | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | West Indies; infamous as "Summer of four captains" |
| 1989–90 | West Indies | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | West Indies |
| 1991 | England | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Series drawn, trophy retained by West Indies |
| 1993–94 | West Indies | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | West Indies |
| 1995 | England | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Series drawn, trophy retained by West Indies |
| 1997–98 | West Indies | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | West Indies |
| 2000 | England | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | England; first English win since 1969 |
| 2003–04 | West Indies | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | England |
| 2004 | England | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | England; the first "whitewash" |
| 2007 | England | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | England |
[10] Cricinfo]
Notes and references
- ^ "Wisden Trophy - Eyes on prize". BBC Sport. 2000. Retrieved 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Wisden Trophy - 31 years of hurt". BBC Sport. 2000. Retrieved 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Wisden Trophy - 1963 1st test". Cricinfo. 1963. Retrieved 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Wisden Trophy - 1963 2nd test". Cricinfo. 1963. Retrieved 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Wisden Trophy - 1963 3rd test". Cricinfo. 1963. Retrieved 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Wisden Trophy - 1963 5th test". Cricinfo. 1963. Retrieved 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Wisden Trophy - 1988 1st test". Cricinfo. 1988. Retrieved 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Viv Richards - Great retirements 1". Cricinfo. 1991. Retrieved 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Malcolm Marshall - Great retirements 2". Cricinfo. 1991. Retrieved 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Wisden Trophy - Wisden Records". Crcinfo. 2007. Retrieved 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help)