Cricket: 4th Test - England batting `beyond belief'

ENGLAND OFFICIALLY became the worst Test cricket team in the world yesterday when they fell to an 83-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand at The Oval and lost the four-match series 2-1. It meant their standing in the Wisden table, which is regarded by many as the barometer by which the standard of a Test team is measured, slipped below that of their opponents, leaving them rock bottom.

The England chairman of selectors, David Graveney, yesterday described the batting collapses which led to England's defeat as "beyond belief". England's batsmen failed to reach 200 in either innings at The Oval and went down by 83 runs to lose the series 2-1. Graveney admitted that the team's batting had been a headache throughout the summer.

"Our batting has failed to function all the way through the series and that is the thing that has to be addressed," he said. "The past couple of years have been littered with collapses that sometimes are beyond belief. We just lose wickets in a rush. We were 143 for 3 today and 162 all out. New Zealand were 104 for 7 and 39 for 6 in their respective innings but their tail has wagged during this series. In terms of the runs that have to be got from the whole batting order - that's high on the agenda. It's about the ability to stand up and be counted and change the course of the game. [Chris] Cairns did that on Saturday. It's those match-winning performances we need."

Graveney admitted that he and his fellow selectors now face a tough task in choosing a party for the forthcoming tour to South Africa and Zimbabwe. "We meet tomorrow to do that," he said, "but it probably won't be announced until Wednesday. It will probably take a bit more time now after the events of today."

Asked about his own future, Graveney, who has lost 13 of the 26 Test matches in which he has been in charge, replied: "I was re-appointed at the beginning of the series for two years. I still wish to continue the job but if the Board [England and Wales Cricket Board] feels otherwise that's their decision."

Stephen Fleming, New Zealand's captain, celebrating only his country's second success on English soil - the other was a 1-0 series win in 1986 - said: "It's been a huge project for 18 months and this is a reward for a lot of hard work by a lot of people.

"This is the home of cricket and you're judged on the strength of your performances against England and Australia. It's a dream for all of us. A lot of us have been over here and played poorly, and to etch our names in New Zealand history is something we all wanted.

"It's just a huge relief because we planned for such a long time for this, we had videos made, looked at their players all the time, basically had history lessons on past players and past tours. It meant so much to us to perform well."

Derek Pringle, page 12