 reputation of English cricket has seldom been as severely bruised as it was during the 1988 Cornhill Insurance Test series against West Indies".[14]The notability of there being four captains in just five Test matches can better be understood with context. The captain of a cricket team performs a vital role. Unlike many other team sports, the captain makes crucial decisions regarding on-field tactics, and may also have an important say in team selection. Traditionally, captains of international teams are not changed frequently – for example, between 1977 and 1988 (comprising 104 Test matches), only seven different men captained England, yet there were four captains in just a few weeks in the summer of 1988.CaptainedNameAgeCountyTests as captainFirst TestMike Gatting31Middlesex23Second TestThird TestJohn Emburey36Middlesex2Fourth TestChris Cowdrey30Kent1Fifth TestGraham Gooch35Essex34The many changes of captain over the summer 