Shortly before the start of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, England had just completed another ritual hammering at the hands of vastly superior West Indian opposition.

It was only the light and rain effected draw in the first Test Match at Trent Bridge that prevented them for having to endure their second consecutive clean sweep from a West Indian touring side.

However, defeats at Lord’s (134 runs, Marshall 6/32); Old Trafford (an innings and 156 runs, Marshall 7/22) and Headingley (ten wickets, Marshall with match figures of 6/102) had once again put the series well beyond their grasp by the time it reached The Oval in early August.

At Seoul later in the summer, Great Britain celebrated five gold medals from rower Steve Redgrave, swimmer Adrian Moorhouse, shooter Malcom Cooper, a pair of sailors and the men’s hockey team. Alongside a host of silver and bronze – including good results for athletes such as Linford Christie, Fatima Whitbread and Colin Jackson – this represented an impressive haul.

That is far more than can be said for what was yet another men against boys affair at The Oval. Graham Gooch – one of few players to emerge from the 1988 series with a vast amount of credit – won the toss and opted to bat.

Whilst things did not go entirely to plan for his team, it could have been far worse. With Gooch dismissed for just nine, the vultures were beginning to circle but gutsy efforts from Rob Bailey and Robin Smith – who shepherded the tail all afternoon under a barrage of aggressive bowling – helped them to 203/9 at the close.

Very early on the second morning, that became 205 all out when Neil Foster became Malcolm Marshall’s third wicket of the game and the tourists set about chasing the total down.

What they hadn’t reckoned with though, was Essex man Foster – who ran in from the Vauxhall End like a man possessed to take the wickets of Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Carl Hooper, Viv Richards (for a duck no less) and Gus Logie, who were all back in the pavilion before the score topped 126.

Derek Pringle and John Childs accounted for the rest of the tail, with only Geoffrey Dujon adding a semblance of respectability, scoring 64 out of 183 all out. Even though it was only 22, England had a lead and – at mid afternoon on day two – the game was on.

The hosts lost Tim Curtis, Rob Bailey and Robin Smith before the end of the day, but going in at 64/3 with Graham Gooch still at the crease, were very much in with a chance.

As day three unfolded, England slowly but surely began to build on their lead, with Foster – coming in as nightwatchman – enduring an even more relentless barrage from Marshall, Curtley Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Winston Benjamin before departing for a brilliant 34.

Sadly for Gooch, nobody else was able to match his abilities against the violent attack and partner him for long enough to set a decent total. Matthew Maynard and David Capel at least made it into double figures but with the tail folding like a Japanese origami festival, the skipper was left high and dry, eventually loosening his arms and becoming the last man out for 84.

The final total of 202 all out left the West Indies just 225 to win. Not a huge amount, but in the context of the game, quite a big score.
Bearing in mind their first innings performance and the fact the tourists were only playing to make their Wisden Trophy victory even more crushing, England would have been optimistic as they walked out on Saturday afternoon, smelling their first home Test victory against the West Indies since the last decade.

However, after just seven balls, an air of depressing inevitability seemed to pervade The Oval. Gooch had gone off the pitch after dislocating his finger attempting to catch a Haynes flyer off a no ball from Phil Defreitas and Derek Pringle had stepped in as skipper, in just his eighteenth Test Match.

Greenidge, Pringle’s West Indian opposite number as vice captain, spent all afternoon flaying the English attack to all ends of south London, ruthlessly bringing up his half century before the end of play.

After taking a rest day on the Sunday, Haynes and Greenidge walked out on Monday morning to finish the job. Needing 154 with all ten wickets remaining, the pair batted until lunch, removing any last semblance of doubt as to the result.

Even Greenidge going to John Childs from the first ball after lunch couldn’t stop the party and Haynes, Carl Hooper and then Gus Logie finished the job, bringing up 226 with just two wickets down.

Once again, a quite brilliant West Indies team had spent a summer basically emaciating their hosts.

Surrey’s overseas game in 1988 was again against a young Sri Lanka side rather than the fearsome West Indians.

In a relatively uneventful match, Sri Lanka were put in and made 219 all out on the first day, Surrey replying with 242 on the back of late order fifties from Keith Medlycott and Chris Bullen, who passed 500 first class career runs during his innings.

Sri Lanka then came back out and – fancying batting practice over forcing a result – progressed to 300/6 declared by the end of the final day, the only notable landmark in the innings being future Surrey great Martin Bicknell making Amal Silva his hundredth first class wicket.

With the Test schedules changed again, the next Olympic year saw The Oval get a break from crushing West Indian victories, instead hosting a dangerous Pakistan side featuring the likes of Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad and Waqar Younis. Come back tomorrow to find out more.

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