English cricket team in Australia in 1958–59 but that would have damaged Anglo-Australian cricketing relations. After the Australian tour May beat New Zealand 1-0, India 5-0 and led England to its first series victory in the West Indies 1-0. He lost 2-1 to the 1961 Ashes series and retired due to ill-health having been captain in a then record 41 Tests, Richie Benaud being the only man to defeat him in a Test series. The English bowling was obviously of great strength, but their batting was not far behind. The slightly-built left-handed Peter Richardson looked set for a long career for England; he had a Test average
English cricket team in Australia in 1970–71 in the 1970s he would become a leading England runmaker. Basil d'Oliveira was the best of the strokemakers, making 369 runs (36.90) in the series with a century at Melbourne. He was a brilliant Cape-Coloured batsman who qualified for England by residence in his mid-thirties, an unflappable player with a low backlift and powerful arms whose gentle, smiling face concealed a very determined man. His match-winning 158 against Australia at the Oval in 1968 led to his selection for the 1968-69 tour of South Africa and a cricketing crisis. John Hampshire was a dashing Yorkshire batsman who is the only