This Black History Month, Surrey County Cricket Club are looking back and celebrating some of the finest performances to take place at the Kia Oval in its fabled history.
The month of October is dedicated in the UK to celebrating the contributions of the Black community in our society and to raising awareness.
This year’s theme for Black History Month is ‘Reclaiming Narratives’, which underscores a commitment to correcting historical inaccuracies, honouring heroes from the Black community, and showcasing their success stories.
Richard Spiller recalls a few of the best performances at our famous old ground over the years.
Alvin Kallicharan: 78, West Indies v Australia, World Cup 1975
It was the first men’s World Cup, staged in England, and the final qualifying match between Australia and West Indies would decide who finished top of their group.
The bare result – West Indies easing to victory by seven wickets, with a massive 14 overs to spare – hid a magnificent piece of theatre.
The Oval was full to bulging, the crumbling perimeter walls and rusting turnstiles of the time proving no barrier to those determined enough to enter, and West Indies were on top from the start. They dismissed Australia for 192 and even that seemed unlikely until Ross Edwards and Rodney Marsh gritted their teeth in a sixth wicket stand worth 99.
But the attack of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, having terrified England the previous winter, had sent a couple of Sri Lankan batters to hospital in their group match four days earlier.
Lillee needed no second invitation to pull back the throttle. After Max Walker removed Gordon Greenidge for 16, Alvin Kallicharan joined fellow left-hander Roy Fredericks.
The little Guyanese – just 5ft 4in – was in mesmerising form and his duel with Lillee proved to be spectacular. The Western Australian speedster’s run-up started somewhere near the Vauxhall Stand but it didn’t seem to matter where the ball was pitched, Kallicharan had an answer to it. One sequence of 10 balls cost Lillee 35 runs, a series of stunning hooks, pulls and cuts racing to the boundary.
Lillee finally removed him for 78, made from just 83 balls with 14 fours and a six, but the cost had been great and West Indies cruised home. The teams would meet again in the final, where once again West Indies would prevail although in a thrilling match.
Viv Richards 291 and Michael Holding 14-149: England v West Indies Test 1976
Just a year later, West Indies were back in England for a full Test series. The intervening period had not gone smoothly, being thrashed 5-1 in Australia, which left captain Clive Lloyd determined to refashion the team. Just in case they were not sufficiently motivated, England captain Tony Greig’s derogatory comment that his men were intent on making their opponents “grovel” did Lloyd’s job for him.
By the time they came to The Oval for the final Test, the series was already won, draws at Trent Bridge and Lord’s followed by an overwhelming victory at Old Trafford and much closer contest at Headingley.
Viv Richards, one of the few successes in Australia, had already made his mark with a double-century at Trent Bridge. The Antiguan was in by the third over, Bob Willis trapping Gordon Greenidge for a duck, and instantly looked at his commanding best on the sort of pitch for which batters pray. An England attack missing injured quicks John Snow and Alan Ward from Headingley knew they were in for a pounding, the record draught of the 1976 summer leaving an arid outfield with little to stop the ball rushing to the boundary.
Richards reached his double-century in the closing moments of day one, his side on 373-3, and looked set for a triple-hundred – perhaps even eclipsing Len Hutton’s 364 in 1938 – before he was finally bowled by Greig on 291. His innings had lasted 386 balls, over 472 minutes, and included 38 fours.
Backed up by Roy Fredericks (71), Lawrence Rowe (70), Clive Lloyd (84) and Collis King’s 63, West Indies finally declared at 687-7 late on day two. They had much the stronger attack but would they fare much better on such a flat surface?
Michael Holding made sure of that. While even the great Andy Roberts, Wayne Daniel and Vanburn Holder could extract little life, the Jamaican’s sheer speed was allied to relentlessness as he worked through England’s batting order. Cruising in off his long run, Holding claimed an astonishing 8-92 from 33 overs, bowling six of his victims and trapping two LBW. The one major obstacle was Dennis Amiss, making his comeback after a miserable time against the Australian pair of Lillee and Thomson, using a new technique which took him back and across the stumps before the ball was bowled. His courageous 203 – the next best was Alan Knott’s 50 – took England to 435 all out.
Lloyd opted to give the bowlers a rest rather than enforce the follow-on, this time Richards not even getting in as Fredericks (86no) and Greenidge (85no) crashed the bowling around for 182-0 in 32 overs.
Setting England an unlikely 435, it was back to the Holding show. This time he had more assistance both with the ball – Holder took two wickets with one apiece from Roberts and off-spinner Richards – and from the fielders, openers Bob Woolmer and Amiss both falling to catches behind. But it was fast and straight which did the business, castling Greig for a second time, as he claimed another six wickets for 57 to finish with 14-149, West Indies winning by 231 runs to begin their domination of the world game for almost 30 years.
Devon Malcolm: 9-57: England v South Africa Test 1994
It’s 30 years since Devon Malcolm blew away South Africa but unlikely anyone present will forget his awesome display.
England’s fastest bowler over a lengthy period, his radar didn’t always match his speed but on the third day of the final Test against South Africa, everything synchronised perfectly and the South Africans were helpless to prevent it.
They had won the opening Test at Lord’s, the second at Headingley being drawn. England knew there would be pace in the pitch at The Oval and that the visitors had looked a little shaky at times when confronted with speed.
Malcolm’s return to the side did not go smoothly initially, finishing the first innings with 1-81 from 25 overs but also delivering Jonty Rhodes a fierce blow on the head, sending him to hospital for checks. South Africa were dismissed for 332 and despite the Surrey pair of Graham Thorpe (79) and Alec Stewart (62) leading the response, it seemed England would fall well behind until Phil DeFreitas (37) and Darren Gough (42) added a buccaneering 70. Their dismissal early on the third day, followed by a duck for debutant Joey Benjamin, sent tailender Malcolm to the crease and he was soon in trouble, struck by Fanie De Villiers.
Whether Malcolm – born in Jamaica and moving to England when he was 16 – uttered the words “you guys are history” or not has been much debated but it would soon have a ring of truth.
England were soon all out for 304 and Malcolm, with ball in hand, went steaming in from the Pavilion End. The first two deliveries were quick enough but the third leapt at Gary Kirsten’s throat, the left-hander able only to parry the ball vertically for Malcolm to take a return catch.
Soon Peter Kirsten was hurriedly pulling another short ball to DeFreitas down at fine leg and Hansie Cronje’s distaste for Malcolm’s pace was quickly obvious, being comprehensively bowled as the scoreboard read a barely believable 1-3.
Everything went quiet while Kepler Wessels and Darryl Cullinan were putting on 70 but Malcolm’s return changed that, having the former caught behind. South Africa rebuilt again, reaching 137, Malcolm’s third spell seeing Brian McMillan pouched by Thorpe at slip, wicketkeeper David Richardson trapped LBW and Craig Matthews caught behind, making it 143-7.
His monopoly was finally broken when Gough ended Cullinan’s spirited fight, six runs short of his century, but Malcolm had Rhodes – batting down the order – caught behind and castled last man Allan Donald for a duck.
South Africa were all out for 175 and Malcolm walked off with the extraordinary figures of 16.3-2-57-9 – still the best in the ground’s long and famous history – before England hurtled to a memorable victory which left the series 1-1.
Sylvester Clarke 4-10: Surrey v Middlesex, NatWest Trophy semi-final 1982
For a decade it was advisable to pack extra protection when heading to The Oval. On the quick and bouncy pitches which Harry Brind had relaid, Sylvester Clarke frequently terrified opposition batters, having arrived at Surrey in 1979.
Frustratingly, the side reached one-day finals in each of his first three seasons but lost them all. The path to a fourth was blocked by Middlesex, cruising to the County Championship title and hoping to mark Mike Brearley’s final season as captain by repeating their double of 1980.
Sent in on a cloudy day, the hosts had barely started their innings before rain arrived and had to restart the next morning, battling through 60 overs to reach 205-9, for which they owed much to opener Alan Butcher (53) and David Smith (43).
Middlesex looked favourites now but knew Clarke presented a formidable obstacle. And it was obvious that something had irked him. Whether it was being caught and bowled by Wayne Daniel for just four – his fellow Barbadian had finished with 4-24 – or something else, the first ball of the innings whistled past Brearley’s chest. Moments later the former England captain did well to get an inside edge to a similar delivery, wicketkeeper Jack Richards taking an acrobatic catch flying to his left, while next man Keith Tomlins was palpably LBW to the following delivery.
Wilf Slack, the other opener, provided Richards with a second catch and Mike Gatting soon followed. Middlesex were 17-4, all to Clarke, who rested with 4-10 from seven ferocious overs. Soon after, he clung on to a fierce catch in the gully to see off John Emburey as Middlesex crumbled to 80 all out, even taking the final catch – off Daniel, appropriately – and Surrey were through to the final, where they would hammer Warwickshire by nine wickets.
Alex Tudor 7-48: Surrey v Lancashire, County Championship 2000
Fast bowlers are at their best when they work in pairs – but there’s always a competitive element to them as well.
When Surrey took on Lancashire in 2000, there were just four points dividing the sides but victory by 272 runs – their sixth successive victory, overcoming a slow start to the defence – ensured they were heading for a second County Championship title in as many seasons.
In the previous match, crushing Leicestershire by 10 wickets at Guildford, Martin Bicknell had taken 16 wickets in a virtuoso display.
Back at The Oval, Alex Tudor was back to share the new ball with him, following an injury, and relished the opportunity to show what he was about.
Surrey’s 310 all out was built around skipper Adam Hollioake’s 80, Tudor making a typically aggressive 35 down the order before being bowled by Andrew Flintoff.
Bicknell trapped John Crawley LBW at the start of the reply but then Tudor had makeshift opener Glen Chapple caught in the slips, new India skipper Saurav Ganguly was out hit wicket to his first delivery while Neil Fairbrother and Graham Lloyd soon followed to catches by Mark Butcher in the slips and wicketkeeper Jon Batty respectively.
Lancashire were in strife at 33-5, down to what Wisden described as Tudor’s “exemplary fast bowling”. It needed Flintoff (36) and Joe Scuderi (25) to give the innings some respectability, both falling to off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq but Tudor – whose parents had moved to the country from Barbados – wrapped up the innings for 120, walking off with a career-best 7-48 from 15.1 overs. Tudor took two more wickets in the second innings.
