Sixty years go this week England embarked on their first ever overseas tour and it remains a splendid exercise in both madness and false optimism.
A squad of 24 players were tasked with playing six matches in 18 days including three Tests, two against New Zealand, and a tour concluder against Australia. Five of the team played in all six games.

The bold adventurers took 36 hours getting there, economy all the way – London, Amsterdam, Vancouver, Hawaii, Auckland – and a handful of the squad arrived in New Zealand burnt to a cinder and hors de combat after a boozy stopover in Hawaii when the ...