In the first of three instalments running throughout the New Zealand-England Test series, we delve into the Wisden Almanack archive to pick out a memorable Test match between the sides. Here we go back a decade, to the first match of the 1991-92 series, which was also played at Christchurch The current England management may be concerned about the fitness levels of their late arrivals, but at least they haven't had a pantomime season to contend with. In 1991-92 Ian Botham was given special dispensation to miss the early weeks of the tour, to complete his stint as The King in Jack and the Beanstalk.

But Botham, as ever, was the exception rather than the rule. The rest of the squad arrived in New Zealand at the peak of their form and fitness, after six weeks of training at Lilleshall. It was no coincidence that the tour was an unqualified success, marred only at the very end by a horrific knee injury to David Lawrence. England won the Test series 2-0 – and the one-dayers 3-0 – and were simply too strong for a New Zealand side still coming to terms with Life After Hadlee.

Mike Atherton missed the trip because of injury, but Alec Stewart stepped up to join Graham Gooch at the top of the order with impressive results. He scored 330 runs in the Tests, including two centuries, and he went on to captain England for the first time, at Christchurch in the third one-dayer.

Chris Lewis did his standard impression of a promising allrounder, Dermot Reeve acquitted himself well in his only Test outings, and Botham himself made it onto the field in the final match, for his 100th Test cap.

But the star of the tour, if only for his mesmeric display on the final afternoon at Christchurch, was one Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell ...

Almanack report
Scorecard

Andrew Miller is on the staff of Wisden.com.

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