Current England team could learn a lot from the gutsy captain who triumphed against the odds in 1970-71
As Joe Root has discovered, an Ashes tour to Australia can unspool as precipitously as a ball of wool bounding down a fire escape. Five England teams have won since Bodyline: Andrew Strauss’s sprinkler squad in 2010-11, Mike Gatting’s 1986-87 “can’t bat, can’t bowl, can’t field” crew, Mike Brearley’s 1978-79 outfit who beat a Packer-weakened Australia, Len Hutton’s 1954-55 side spearheaded by Frank Tyson and the team led by Ray Illingworth, who regained the Ashes in 1970-71.
Illingworth, who died on Christmas Eve at the age of 89, was one of England’s shrewdest leaders, tactically brilliant and able to coax brilliance from tricky customers such as Geoff Boycott and John Snow.