Test Cricket Tours - Australia to India 1996-97

 

 

Tour of  India 1996-97               Captain: Mark Taylor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

62nd Test tour

 

Seventh Test-playing tour of India by Australia

 

 

 

(October - November 1996)

 

The tour was arranged to coincide with a trade festival in India celebrating links between the two countries. However, cricket relations between the two nations were strained as the Australian Board opposed Jagmohan Dalmiya’s attempt to become Chairman of the I C C.

Australia’s position as ‘world champions’ after beating West Indies in the Caribbean in 1995 was weakened by a seven wicket defeat in the only Test played on this tour.

Captain Mark Taylor felt that the Australians were not ready to play a Test match because they had been playing only one-dayers since March and had not practised the longer game.

This argument was soon undermined when the Australians joined South Africa and India in a tri-series and lost every match.

 

 

Other Australian Tours

 

Previous tour

West Indies 1994-95

 

Next tour

South Africa 1996-97

 

 

Next tour of India

1997-98

 

 

 

 

Members of the Test tour party  (14)

 

 

 

Opening batsmen  Michael Slater, Mark Taylor.

Middle-order batsmen: Michael Bevan, Stuart Law, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Stephen Waugh

Wicket-keepers  Ian Healy

Spin bowlers  Brad Hogg,  Peter McIntyre.

Fast bowlers : Damien Fleming, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Paul Reiffel.

 

 

 

 

M G Bevan

N

26

LHB       SLA unorthodox

ODI

 

D W Fleming

V

26

RFM

ODI

 

J N Gillespie

S

21

RF

ODI

 

I A Healy

Q

32

WK          vice-captain

ODI

 

G B Hogg

W

25

LHB        SLA unorthodox

ODI

 

S G Law

Q

27

RHB

ODI

 

G D McGrath

N

26

RFM

ODI

 

P E McIntyre   added

S

30

LBG

ODI

 

R T Ponting

T

21

RHB        (RM)

ODI

 

P R Reiffel

V

30

RFM

ODI

 

M J Slater

N

26

RHB  opener

ODI

 

M A Taylor

N

31

LHB  opener             captain

ODI

 

S K Warne    w/d

V

27

LBG

 

 

M E Waugh

N

31

RHB

ODI

 

S R Waugh

N

31

RHB        RM

ODI

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

State representation

  Sheffield Shield teams

 

N   New South Wales (6)

Q  Queensland (2)

S   South Australia (2)

T   Tasmania (1)

V   Victoria (2)

W  Western Australia (1)

 

 

 

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

   (10 October 1996): 

    27 yrs 10 months

 

 

 

 

ODI - member of the squad for the Titan Cup tri-series

 

 

 

 

 

Test Appearances made before the tour

 

 

S R Waugh 81,  Healy 79,  Taylor 72,  M E Waugh 54,  Slater 33,  Reiffel 21,  McGrath 19,  Bevan 6,  Fleming 4,  Ponting 3,  Law 1,  McIntyre 1,  Gillespie 0,  Hogg 0.

 

 

 

 

Tour Officials

 

Cam Battersby

Tour manager

Geoff Marsh

Coach

Errol Alcott

Physiotherapist

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selectors

 

 

Trevor Hohns (chairman),   Andrew Hilditch,  Steve Bernard,  Geoff Marsh (coach).

 

 

 

 

Selection

 

Unavailable :  Craig McDermott (retired after failing to regain fitness)

Tour Party announced:   x  September 1996

Steve Waugh was the only player who had been on Australia’s previous tour of India in 1986-87, but twelve of the squad had played in the 1996 World Cup  in India earlier in the year.

Not selected:  x

Withdrawal:  Shane Warne, to allow more time for healing after surgery on his spinning finger. He was replaced by Peter McIntyre. 

Skipper Mark Taylor who had back surgery passed a fitness test under the supervision of physiotherapist Errol Alcott in Sydney on Wednesday morning 25 September.

 

 

 

Time between selection and departure from Australia            

       x days

    (-  29 September)

 

 

 

 

Travel

Sydney   Q  Bombay

 

 

Left Sydney on Sunday 29 September 1996.  Arrived in Bombay on Monday 30 September.

Training session at the Wankhede Stadium, Bombay, and went on to Patiala on Wed 2 October 1996..

 

Time spent in Inida

   x days

(30 September -  4 November?)

 

 

 

 

On-tour selection panel

 

 

 

 

 

Reinforcements

 

A C Gilchrist

W

24

WK      LHB

ODI

 

Ian Healy intended to miss only two matches and did not return home after being injured in the Bangalore ODI but next day (Tuesday 22 October) Adam Gilchrist was called on to join the team as stand-in for the injured wicketkeeper.

Gilchrist departed from Perth on Wednesday and landed in New Delhi on Thursday 24 October.

 

 

 

 

 

Fixtures/Results

 

a

Patiala

Indian Board President’s XI

Drawn

b

NEW DELHI

INDIA  Test Match

LOST 7 w

c

Indore

South Africa  (1st tri-series ODI)

Lost 7 w

d

Bangalore

India  (2nd tri-series ODI)

Lost 2 w

e

Faridabad

South Africa  (3rd tri-series ODI)

Lost 2 w

f

Cuttack

India  (4th tri-series ODI)

Abandoned

g

Guwahati

South Africa  (5th tri-series ODI)

Lost 8 w

h

Mohali

India  (6th tri-series ODI)

Lost 5 r

 

 

 

† not first-class

§ one-day international (Titan Cup)

 

Time spent in India before First Test:      10 days

(30 September  -  10 October)

 

 

 

 

Test appearances on tour

 

1   -  Bevan,  Healy,  Hogg,  McGrath,  McIntyre,  Ponting,  Reiffel,  Slater,  Taylor,  M Waugh,  S Waugh

0   -  Fleming,  Gillespie,  Law.

 

 

 

 

 

Highlights

 

•   Mark Waugh took 6-68 in the pre-Test first-class match at Patiala

•   Mark Taylor scored 105 in the Titan Cup match at Bangalore (his maiden ODI century in his 98th match)

•   Michael Bevan struck 79 from 70 balls at Guwahati but it was not enough and Australia lost again

 

 

 

 

 

Tour Summary

 

 

P

W

L

D

Aban

Test Matches

1

0

1

0

-

Other first-class matches

1

0

0

1

-

ϯ Minor matches

0

-

-

-

-

§ One-day internationals

6

0

5

0

1

All Matches

8

0

6

1

1

 

 

 

 

Return to Australia

?   Q  ?   Q  Sydney

 

 

 

Lost in Mohali on 3 November  Not in Final  held on 6 November

 

Time away from Australia 

x days  

(29 September  -  x November)

 

 

 

 

Finances

 

…..

 

 

 

 

Written accounts of the tour

 

……..

 

 

 

 

 

Postscript