I played in England Ashes win at Old Trafford - now Stokes must end 42-year wait
England will need to summon the spirit of 1981, and the glorious chaos of four wickets in seven balls, to break their 42-year Ashes hoodoo at Old Trafford.
In a summer synonymous with Ian Botham's assorted miracles, seven minutes of “madcap mayhem” on Paul Allott's Test debut effectively sealed Australia's fate. And a mixed weather forecast over the coming week means England will have to rattle the Aussies' cage again if Ben Stokes and his men are going to take the series to a decider at The Oval.
Allott was 24 when he was called up to supplement Bob Willis and Botham's firepower on his home ground after the old enemy had twice bottled meagre run chases at Headingley and Edgbaston. He never imagined how quickly he would find himself centre stage, rescuing England with a crucial maiden half-century at No.10 before helping Willis to demolish the Aussies' top order.
Nor did the former Sky Sports commentator and Lancashire director of cricket realise that would be the last time the Baggy Green would be worn at a funereal tilt in Manchester - and he says it's high time their crown topper was dislodged again.
“That 42-year gap is surprising and we need to do something about it this week,” said Allott, now 66. “The pitches we have become used to seeing at Old Trafford of late have generally been devoid of grass and quite bare slabs if you like. But I think this one will have a bit of grass on it and could go through with good carry, at least from the start, and provide a decent contest between bat and ball - as all Test wickets should.”
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Allott said: “I walked to the crease as a genuine tail-ender at 137-8, having never scored a half-century of any description in first-class cricket, and walked off 52 not out after putting on 56 for the last wicket with Bob (Willis).
Ben Stokes knows England will miss out on the Ashes if they fail to win at Old Trafford (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)Do you think England will retain the Ashes? Let us know in the comments below!
“Then we bowled out the Aussies in just 30 overs of madcap mayhem including an insane burst of four wickets in seven balls at the top of the order. Bob took three wickets in one over (John Dyson, Kim Hughes and Graham Yallop) before I took my maiden Test wicket (Graeme Wood) with the first ball of the next over. That reduced the Aussies to 24-4 and you can imagine the atmosphere was quite extraordinary.
“Then Beefy scored that magnificent hundred – we had been so watchful, if not painfully slow, that the Aussies took the second new ball when we had scored only 150-odd, but suddenly he cut loose and thrashed it to all parts. He hooked Dennis Lillee for six onto the platform at Warwick Road station and we set Australia 500 to win. They were never going to reach that target, although Allan Border made an undefeated century batting with a broken finger.
“You never forget your Test debut and mine happened to be in an iconic series where I scored a maiden fifty, took four wickets, we won the match, won the Ashes, happy days.
“It was never going to get much better than that, so it was all downhill from there, but it is surprising to think that was the last time we beat Australia at Old Trafford.
“There have been moments of promise, like Peter Such taking 6-67 on his debut and being dubbed the new Jim Laker in 1993, but then along came Shane Warne to steal his thunder. And of course, we were very close in 2005, but Australia's last pair hung on for the draw.”
Even more scandalous than England's 42-year wait to beat the Aussies at Old Trafford is that this week's game will be the last Ashes Test in the north until 2031. Somebody at Lord's needs a good slap with a wet fish.
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