Michael Henderson

One day at Headingley

A mellowed Bob Willis reflects on the 30th anniversary of a previous moment of triumph for English cricket

The cyclist sipping wine on the terrace of a Thames-side pub may not look much like an English hero, but anybody who loves cricket knows that he ranks only slightly lower than the angels. Thirty years ago Bob Willis bowled England to the most astonishing victory in the history of Test cricket, taking eight for 43 on a mad Monday in Leeds that held the nation entranced. Three decades later, not even the superb performances of the current England players, who are facing India at the Oval this week as the No. 1 team in the world, can efface the memories of ’81.‘Botham’s Ashes’, they call that series, with reason. The great all-rounder, stripped of the captaincy after the second Test of that summer, responded so mightily with bat and ball that nobody who saw him cart the Aussies to all parts will forget the majesty of his cricket. But his mate ‘Bobby’ was with him every step of the way, marching towards a career haul of 325 Test wickets, more than any other English fast bowler (Botham, the all-rounder, took 383). Now, friends off the field as they were comrades on it, they belong to the game’s immortals. A film about the ’81 series, From The Ashes, was released earlier this year and next month MCC are hosting a dinner in the Long Room at Lord’s to honour the men who were there.

‘As the film showed,’ says Willis, a youthful 62, ‘that summer was pretty messy, with riots all over England, alleviated somewhat by the royal wedding. But the 30th anniversary celebrations reflect in part the way that the media has changed. I can barely remember the 20th or the 25th anniversaries getting much of a mention. People seem to be besotted with nostalgia, and elements of the popular press kowtow to that desire.

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