England's 1992 Cricket World Cup semi-finalists: Where are they now?

On Thursday England will play their sixth World Cup semi-final, a reprise of their first against Australia in 1975 which also breaks a last-four duck stretching 27 years. Their first four campaigns ended either at the semis or in the final itself and 1992 proved the fifth successive and, until now, last run to the final four of the tournament.

England finished second in the nine-team round robin stage in 1992 and played third-placed South Africa in their inaugural World Cup following the National Peace Accord in 1991 which began the formal process to end Apartheid.

The group game at the MCG was hit by rain and England successfully chased a revised total to win by three wickets. In the semi-final  rain struck again and notoriously bit South Africa on the backsides for their pathetically slow over rate which reduced the match to 45-overs per side, ruining England's chances of kicking on in the late overs when the field was spread. Two overs were lost to rain during South Africa's innings leaving them 22 runs off one ball. England won by 19 runs and qualified as favourites for the final to play Pakistan at the MCG where they were blown away by reverse swing.

What became of England's last semi-finalists?

Graham Gooch

Resigned as England captain in 1993 and retired from international cricket in January 1995 with 8,900 Test runs and 4,290 in ODIs, Gooch served as a tour manager, selector and caretaker coach over the rest of the decade before returning to Essex as head coach in 2001. Four years later he stood down to focus on the batsmen, serving as specialist batting coach and took a part-time role with England in that role under Andy Flower, going full-time in 2012. Sacked after the 2013-14 Ashes whitewash, he continues his lifelong involvement with Essex and, at the age of 65, works as a broadcaster, public speaker and as president of the players’ union, the PCA.

Ian Botham

England’s great all-rounder was knighted in 2007 for services to cricket and for the millions he has raised for leukaemia research with his series of 12 epic, marathon walks which began with John O’Groats to Land’s End in 1985. Retired from first-class cricket in 1993, a year after his 102nd and final England Test cap, he has continued his media work as a newspaper pundit and a Sky Sports commentator.

Regarded in the game as about the firmest friend a man could have - and the enemy one would wish for least - he continues to enjoy (and espouse the causes) of field sports and fishing, plays a lot of golf, launched a range of ‘All-rounder’ and ‘Series’ Australian wines last year, campaigns for Brexit and is chairman of Durham CCC.

Alec Stewart

Became England captain in 1998 and led them during the last home World Cup in 1999, a farcical campaign ruined by fragile batting. Retired from international cricket in 2003 at the age of 40 and subsequently worked as a consultant, in player management and representation and broadcasting with Radio 5 Live, Test Match Special and Channel 5. In 2013 he took over as Surrey coach on an interim basis after Chris Adams was sacked and was appointed Director of Cricket a year later, a position he still holds. After the indiscipline and failed policy of recruiting ageing stars during the Adams era, his leadership has transformed Surrey with a core of young players and a strong team ethic. They won the championship in 2018 for the first time since 2002 when Stewart was still playing for them

Graeme Hick

After being dropped for the 11th and final time by England in 2001, Hick played on for seven more seasons with Worcestershire and retired in 2008 to coach at Malvern College. He subsequently emigrated Down Under and in 2013 was appointed high performance coach of Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence after a year working as a consultant to Australia A and the Under-19 set-up. In 2016 he was promoted to serve as batting coach with the senior team and is currently focusing on preparations for the Ashes after Rick Ponting was brought in to coach the ODI and T20 batsmen in January.

Allan Lamb

Played his last ODI in the summer of 1992 and retired from first-class cricket in 1995 after 17 years with Northamptonshire, taking the county who have yet to win a championship to third place in his final season as captain. Founded Allan Lamb Associates, a corporate hospitality, sports marketing and travel company and is often to be seen in the smarter boxes at Lord’s and Newlands. Has a ‘full house’ of appearances as a charity quiz or challenge show competitor, advertised British meat with SIr Ian Botham in the ‘Beefy and Lamb’ campaign, raises money for prostate cancer research in cycling races and works the after-dinner circuit with a high-spirited routine.

Neil Fairbrother

Earned a surprise recall after two years out to the ODI side in 1998 as England prepared for a home World Cup and were desperately short of a ‘finisher’ but in crunch games, all of them leaving England gettable totals to chase, his team-mates could not put him in a position from which his uber-nurdling approach was an adequate response.

Left Lancashire in 2002 at the age of 39 to become Director of Cricket at ISM, Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler’s agency, where at one point he handled the careers of Andrew Flintoff, Micahel Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Geraint Jones, Steve Harmison, Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes, Joe Root, James Anderson et al.  Set up his own agency Phoenix Management last year which represents Vaughan, Root, Stokes, Jos Buttler, James Vince, Broad, Mason Crane et al.

Chris Lewis

Played his last ODI in 1998 and the selectors - Gooch, Mike Gatting and David Graveney - refused the requests of David Lloyd, the coach, and captain Stewart to pick him for the 1999 squad. Made a comeback at 40 in 2008 to play T20 cricket for Surrey but later the same year was arrested at Gatwick Airport trying to smuggle £140,000 worth of cocaine into the country from St Lucia.

Convicted and sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment, he was released on licence in 2015, wrote his autobiography and his life is the subject of a 2019 play, The Long Walk Back. Has worked with the PCA to help prepare cricketers for the sense of isolation and grief retirement can evoke.

Dermot Reeve

Captained Warwickshire to six trophies in three seasons from 1993 including a domestic treble in 1994 and was recalled by England for the 1996 World Cup squad before he retired later that year. He left Edgbaston to become Somerset’s director of cricket and moved into broadcasting with Channel 4 in 2000 but was forced to quit the commentary team before the Ashes in 2005 after a newspaper confronted him with its knowledge of his cocaine habit and he made the conventional tell-all confession.

Has switched between coaching jobs and commentary since and has been clean, he says, since 2013. Sold his memorabilia when he fell into financial hardship following his divorce but remains in the game. He served as a coach at  Subiaco Floreat CC near his home in Perth, Western Australia until earlier this year when he moved back to the UK and remarried.

Phil De Freitas

Finished his 103rd and final ODI in 1997 but carried on in first-class cricket until 2005 when he retired at 39. Having coached at Oakham School and Magdalen College School, he runs his own cricket coaching business, works as a motivational and after-dinner speaker and still turns out for the PCA Masters XI.

Gladstone Small

Replaced the injured Derek Pringle for the semi-final but missed out when the Essex all-rounder recovered to play Pakistan in the final. Won the County Championship in 1994 and 1995 with Warwickshire and retired to work full time for the players’ union. He still acts as an ambassador for the PCA as well as working as a consultant and tour guide for ITC Sports for whom he hosts supporters’ trips following England around the world.

Richard Illingworth

Currently at his third World Cup, the last two of them as an umpire since being promoted to the ICC elite umpire panel in 2013. Has stood in 42 Tests and 65 ODIs, the latest of them the India v New Zealand semi-final at Old Trafford.

The former left-arm spinner played his final ODI in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final defeat by Sri Lanka and retired from first-class cricket after two seasons with Derbyshire in 2002. He carried on playing for Wiltshire in the Minor Counties Championship while moving up the umpiring ranks and lists his hobby, as he follows the sun around the globe to officiate, as golf.