What was the closest parallel to common assault prior to CJA 1988?

Question

Common assault appears to have been defined by statute in the criminal Justice act 1988. How were comparable incidents prosecuted before this?

Answer 1

The Criminal Justice Act 1988 didn't "define" common assault, it made common assault and battery summary offences (s39 Criminal Justice Act 1988).

In england-and-wales common assault is an offence at common law, it isn't defined by statute.