The worst tourists ever? How Zimbabwe rate

Steven Lynch, editor of Wisden CricInfo


1. 1958 New Zealanders: Lost 4-0, one drawn.

"England won 4-0 but it would have been all five had it not rained so much at The Oval. Tony Lock took 34 wickets at 7.47 with his leg-spinners. It was a damp summer and some thought he chucked his quicker ball, but even so . . . The Kiwis were bowled out for less than 100 on four occasions, twice in the match at Lord's on a rain-affected pitch. They had this fellow [Trevor] Meale who couldn't get into Ealing's 1st XI, but went to New Zealand and got into the Test side."

2. 1959 Indians: Lost 5-0.

"All the really bad sides came in the late 1950s - that's why Peter May's record as England captain looks so good. This was the first time that England had achieved the clean sweep. India were having problems with the captaincy - Datta Gaekwad was a bit too self-effacing for the job. Fred Trueman and Brian Statham found it all too easy."

3. 1960 South Africans: Lost 3-0, two drawn.

"I did look at the '57 West Indians, who played awfully despite some big names, but this lot were worse. Geoff Griffin was called for throwing at Lord's and was so vexed that he later did the hat-trick, one presumes legally. When they came back in 1965, only one player had survived. That's an unusually rapid turnover."

4. 1967 Indians: Lost 3-0.

"India had some charming spin bowlers but no new-ball attack to speak of - not an advisable tactic in England. In the final Test at Edgbaston, they opened the bowling with their reserve wicketkeeper, Budhi Kunderan. When the Nawab of Pataudi, the skipper, was asked what he bowled, he replied: 'Let's wait and see.' It was the only time he bowled all tour."

Verdict: "The Zimbabweans will do well to escape this sort of company. Only one batsman, Grant Flower, has made a Test century, and he managed 18 in four knocks on their last tour. But England are weakened, which could spare them."

Peter Wynne-Thomas, secretary of the Association of Cricket Statisticians


1. 1978 Pakistanis: Lost 2-0, one drawn.

"Some might question my choice at No1, but Pakistan were a right shambles. They couldn't pick Zaheer, Asif, Mushtaq, Imran and Majid because they had all been engaged for Kerry Packer's rival TV circus. They lost two Tests by an innings and the third was largely washed out. I can't choose the 1968 United States team instead, can I?"

2. 1965 New Zealanders: Lost 3-0.

"This lot were pretty boring. Their top batsman was Bert Sutcliffe but he was hit on the head by Fred Trueman at Edgbaston and never recovered. John Edrich finished things off with 310 not out at Head ingley. John Read - used to rescuing lost causes - was skipper but he was never fit."

3. 1952 Indians. Lost 3-0, one drawn.

"Fred Trueman had his Test debut at Headingley and had India 0-4 in the second innings. There's never been a worse start to a Test innings. They didn't select Lala Armanath or Vijay Merchant - they were both 40 - and they only won four tour matches out of nearly 30 all summer."

4. 1959 Indians: Lost 5-0.

"It's got to be the Indians again. The 1959 lot. Clean sweep. Their fielding was said to be deplorable. Diabolical lot they were."

Verdict: "You can't compare Zimbabwe to this lot. They haven't done badly in the warm-ups. Some say England should win both matches by an innings, but you can never tell with England."