Prior to England’s World Cup heroics of 2019, their run to the 1992 final was the last time their men’s team came close to lifting the World Cup trophy before that glorious day at Lord’s last summer.
In the final, they came up against a buoyant Pakistan side who had put together a late charge for the title after a tricky start to the tournament that left them on the brink of elimination. Imran Khan, Wasim Akram & co. consigned England to a third World Cup final defeat; it’s a game that’s part of both English and Pakistani cricketing folklore.
What’s slightly lesser known though, are the events of the eve of the final. In 2015, John Stern, the current Wisden Cricket Monthly editor-at-large, wrote a piece for All Out Cricket, telling the inside story of England’s campaign through interviews with three members of England’s 1992 World Cup squad – Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart and Derek Pringle – as well as the journalist David Lloyd.
In the piece, Pringle, Gooch and Stewart recounted a formal dinner attended by both sides on the eve of the final where, in the words of Stern, “All was going swimmingly until a comedian, Gerry Connolly, in drag, started poking fun at the Queen.”
Remembering the dinner, Gooch said: “The Pakistanis were in their traditional dress and it was all very grand. Then out of the blue this comedian came on and started to take the mick out of the Queen. Ian and I felt it was out of order. We’re not prudish but we just felt it was in bad taste given the occasion. So we just got up and said to [coach] Micky Stewart, “Sorry we’re out of here”.”
Stewart added: “Firstly, you have to question why we were at a big dinner the night before the World Cup final. I guess it was the Australians’ attempt at humour. It was just unnecessary but I didn’t get uptight about it.”
Pringle had less of an issue with Connolly’s routine, remarking: “If you were a dyed-in-the-wool royalist I could imagine it being offensive but it washed over me. After Goochie and Beefy stormed out, Imran leaned over and told his team: ‘Look, it’s only the colonials left.’ There were seven or eight of us who weren’t born in England.”
Lloyd, a journalist with Press Association at the time, recollected his experience of finding out what happened the night of the final. “Somehow word got out that Both and Goochie had left the dinner and I remember going up to the manager Bob Bennett’s room to get the explanation,” said Lloyd. “It must have been well past midnight. It was a good story – even if I didn’t really appreciate it at the time.”
