TRISTAN LAVALETTE

In his pomp: Alan Mullally celebrates a wicket for England against New Zealand at the Oval in 1999. Inset: Mullally’s new book
PICTURE: Getty Images

The hapless England cricket teams of the Nineties were the butt of many a joke as a worldwide punchline. With continual Ashes thrashings and humiliating defeats to supposedly inferior opponents, it quite clearly was a dark period for English cricket.
As tough as it was to stomach those pitiful losses, the era still endures for many because it represented a time when England’s Test team were national figure...