Benson & Hedges Challenge
| Administrator | Australian Cricket Board |
|---|---|
| Format | One Day International |
| Tournament format | quadrangular round robin followed by a final |
| Number of teams |
 Australia England Pakistan West Indies |
| Current champion |
England |
| Most runs |
Dean Jones (227) |
| Most wickets |
Wasim Akram (8) |
The Benson and Hedges Challenge (also known as "The Perth Challenge" or simply "Perth Challenge" by non-commercial broadcasters such as ABC Local Radio) was a one-off one-day international cricket tournament played at the WACA Ground in Perth, Western Australia from 30 December 1986 to 7 January 1987 as part of the 1987 America's Cup Festival of Sport.
The tournament was won by England who defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets in the final. The West Indies and host nation Australia also took part.
This tournament saw the first matches played under floodlights at the WACA Ground with four of the seven matches being day/night games. In addition, the pitch square had been relaid prior to the 1985-86 season and had a full year to settle. The seating areas had been redeveloped with concourse seating installed and a new two-tier grandstand was under construction at the Swan River end of the ground.
The team uniforms for the tournament were based on the official shirts for the 1986-87 America's Cup being held concurrently in Fremantle. Each team's main colour made up the bottom half of the shirt, their secondary colour made up the top half and a white stripe surrounded the shirt over the chest. The official logo of the tournament was based on a 12-metre class yacht with a white cricket ball half doubling as the spinnaker.
Prize money for the tournament was $3,000 for winning and $1,500 for losing in the group stage, $10,000 for finishing runners-up and $20,000 for winning the tournament, making a total of $61,000.
Television coverage was provided by the Nine Network, while commercial free radio broadcasts were provided by ABC Local Radio.
Playing Squads
Australia
Allan Border (captain), Glenn Bishop, David Boon, Simon Davis, Dean Jones, Craig McDermott, Ken MacLeay, Geoff Marsh, Greg Matthews, Simon O'Donnell, Bruce Reid, Steve Waugh, Mike Whitney, Tim Zoehrer
England
Mike Gatting (captain), Bill Athey, Ian Botham, Chris Broad, Phillip DeFreitas, Graham Dilley, Phil Edmonds, John Emburey, Neil Foster, David Gower, Allan Lamb, Jack Richards, Gladstone Small
Pakistan
Imran Khan (captain), Asif Mujtaba, Ijaz Ahmed, Javed Miandad, Manzoor Elahi, Mudassar Nazar, Qasim Omar, Rameez Raja, Saleem Jaffar, Saleem Yousuf, Shoaib Mohammad, Wasim Akram
West Indies
Viv Richards (captain), Winston Benjamin, Jeff Dujon, Joel Garner, Larry Gomes, Tony Gray, Gordon Greenidge, Roger Harper, Desmond Haynes, Michael Holding, Gus Logie, Malcolm Marshall, Richie Richardson, Courtney Walsh
Match results
All matches played at WACA Ground, Perth. For full scorecards, follow this link
- Pakistan v West Indies - 30 December 1986 (day/night)
- Pakistan 199-8 (Javed Miandad 53, Tony Gray 4-45) (50 ov); West Indies 165 (Richie Richardson 38, Mudassar Nazar 3-36) (46.2 ov). Pakistan won by 34 runs.
- Australia v England - 1 January 1987 (day/night)
- England 272-6 (Chris Broad 76, Ian Botham 68 (39), Allan Lamb 66, Bruce Reid 2-46) (49 ov); Australia 235 (Dean Jones 104, Phillip DeFreitas 3-42) (48.2 ov). England won by 37 runs.
- Australia v Pakistan - 2 January 1987 (day/night)
- Australia 273-6 (Dean Jones 121, Steve Waugh 82, Imran Khan 2-43) (50 ov); Pakistan 274-9 (Qasim Omar 67, Asif Mujtaba 60*, Manzoor Elahi 48, Steve Waugh 4-48) (49.5 ov). Pakistan won by 1 wicket.
- England v West Indies - 3 January 1987 (day)
- England 228-9 (Allan Lamb 71, Jack Richards 50, Joel Garner 5-47) (50 ov); West Indies 209 (Gus Logie 51, Graham Dilley 4-46) (48.2 ov). England won by 19 runs.
- Australia v West Indies - 4 January 1987 (day)
- West Indies 255-8 (Gordon Greenidge 100, Michael Holding 53* (35), Simon O'Donnell 4-65) (50 ov); Australia 91 (Steve Waugh 29, Tony Gray 3-9, Michael Holding 3-32) (35.4 ov). West Indies won by 164 runs.
- England v Pakistan - 5 January 1987 (day/night)
- Pakistan 229-5 (Shoaib Mohammad 66, Javed Miandad 59, John Emburey 2-65) (50 ov); England 232-7 (Chris Broad 97) (49.4 ov). England won by 3 wickets.
Final
- England v Pakistan - 7 January 1987 (day)
- Pakistan 166-9 (Javed Miandad 77*, Gladstone Small 3-28, Ian Botham 3-29) (50 ov)
- England 167-5 (Mike Gatting 49, Allan Lamb 47, Wasim Akram 3-27) (40.1 ov)
- England won by 5 wickets.
Javed Miandad was named by Rod Marsh as the Benson and Hedges Challenge Champion (the name given to the Player of the Match in the Final) and was awarded an 18ct gold Longines Conquest watch, then valued at $15 000.
Tournament Highlights
- Pakistan's shock win over the West Indies in the opening match of the Challenge
- Ian Botham hitting Australian fast-medium bowler Simon Davis for 26 runs in an over
- John Emburey catching Ken MacLeay at long-on overhead, one-handed and falling backwards. The catch was named as Channel Nine's Classic Catch of 1986-87
- Dean Jones scoring centuries on consecutive days against England and Pakistan
- Dean Jones and Steve Waugh adding 173 for the 4th wicket against Pakistan, then an Australian ODI 4th wicket record
- Asif Mujtaba guiding Pakistan from 6 for 129 to 9 for 274 against Australia
- England defeating a full-strength West Indies side to ensure an England-Pakistan final with two group matches to spare
- Gordon Greenidge scoring his first international century in Australia
The Challenge was England's second tournament victory of the 1986-87 Australian summer. They had retained The Ashes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 28 December 1986 and would go on to win the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup against Australia and the West Indies.