1. Headingley 1981: England seemed to be heading into a innings defeat and the betting odds were 500-1 against them. Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh sent the Australian bus driver around to the betting tent to place £10 and £5, and then watched as Ian Botham and Bob Willis pulled off the greatest Ashes comeback in history.
4. Edgbaston 2005: The moment when Andrew Flintoff went over to congratulate Brett Lee on his heroic innings in England's two-run victory showed the good sportman side of the game and proves that winning isn't everything.
7. The Oval 2001: When Steve Waugh ripped his calf muscle at Trent Bridge, the initial diagnosis suggested that his tour was over. Refusing to belive it Steve Waugh spent three weeks in intensive rehab, then returned to play the final Test at the Oval, despite being only half-fit.He went on to make an innings of 157 not out.
10. The Oval 1985: Ian Botham, wearing a dodgy blond mullet, was at his fastest and most irresistible. As the team pushed towards a declaration at the Oval, he came out and smashed his first ball – from Craig McDermott – back over the bowler's head and into the pavilion for a six.
13. Southend 1948: It wasn't a Test match, but Australia's feat of scoring 721 in day against Essex would become one of the most famous moments of the "Invincibles" tour. Still, the lack of any real competition failed to stimulate Keith Miller. Miller stood aside to let himself be bowled first ball, and said to the wicketkeeper "Thank God that's over".
16. The Oval 2005: The urn at stake. And after a Glenn McGrath double-strike had ripped out two wickets in consecutive balls, England were wobbling 68 for three. Kevin Pietersen walked out to the middle, gathered 15 runs in comparatively leisurely fashion, and then edged a dolly of a catch to Warne at slip. Who dropped it. In the next over, Pietersen slog-swept two sixes off Warne and England were away.
19. Lord's 1993: Mike Atherton was at his best at Lord's as England battled for survival in the second Test. After making 99 off 215 balls in the second innings, Atherton was sent back by partner Mike Gatting, lost his footing, and was run out by Ian Healy. England lost their last four wickets for four runs and were beaten by an innings. That was the as close as Atherton came to a Lord's century.
22. Sydney 1998-99: Darren Gough would get his revenge four years later, when he dispatched Ian Healy, Stuart MacGill and Colin Miller with a brilliant piece of bowling at the end of a long day. It was 100 years since England's last Ashes hat-trick.
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2. The Oval, 1948: Bradman's second ball duck is one of the most unforgettable moment in Ashes history. For more info see the 'Bradman's Invincible's' page on my website.
5. Old Trafford 1956: Jim Laker's match haul of 19 for 90 comes close to being the greatest statistical feat of all time. In all the games of Test and first-class cricket, no one else has managed more than 17 wickets in a game.
8. Brisbane 2006/7: Steve Harmison's first ball in the 2005 Ashes series would be remembered for one specific reason – it almost missed the wicket and was fielded by Andrew Flintoff at second slip. Arguably the worst ball ever bowled under pressure.
11. Melbourne 2006-07: Warne's final Test at his home ground, the MCG, in 2006 was definetly a memorable one. Warne took his 699th Test wicket in the third Test at Perth, then announced he would retire at the end of the series. The Boxing Day Test became the stage for Warne to make history in front of his home city by becoming the first bowler to take 700 wickets. Shortly before tea on the first day he clean bowled the England opener Andrew Strauss.
14. Edgbaston 1981: At 105 for five, Australia needed just 46 wins to win the fourth Test at Edgbaston. But in just 28 balls, Botham took five wickets for one run to give England the win. Swinging the ball at pace, Botham ripped through the Aussies even though he initally had to be persuaded to bowl by captain Mike Brearley.
17. Sydney 2002-03: In his final Ashes Test, Waugh entered the final over of the second day on 95 noit out. The bowler was off-spinner Richard Dawson. Waugh square-drove the fourth ball for three, received the strike back from Adam Gilchrist, and crunched the last one through extra-cover for 4 to make a hundred on the last ball of the day. He recieved perhaps the loudest ovation ever heard at the SCG.
20. Adelaide 2006-07: England began day five on 59 for one, a lead of 97, with a draw the only possible outcome. Ian Bell's run out sent panic surging through the England side, with Warne taking four wickets to bowl out the tourists for 129. Australia still needed 168 to win with time running out, but a rapid 66 from Mike Hussey guided them home with room to spare, setting up a series whitewash.
23. Perth 1979-80: The Ashes may not have been at stake in this series, but when Dennis Lillee walked out to bat with an aliminium metal bat Mike Brearley complained to the umpires that it was damaging the ball.Dennis Lillee then hurled the bat theatrically across the outfield. The MCC would change the
Laws as a result of that. |
3. Old Trafford 1993: Shane Warne's entry to international cricket started with the ball of the centuary on the first ball of the first over. The ball ripped sideways across Mike Gatting's defensive shot, and removed the off-bail so delicately that it made no sound. Gatting had to check with the umpire that he really had been bowled.
6 Sydney 1954-55: England were 1-0 down when Ray Lindwall hospitalised their un-known fast bowler Frank Tyson with a bouncer. He recovered quickly and proceeded to destroy the Aussies with some of the fastest bowling ever seen.
9. Another man injured by a Lindwall bouncer, Denis Compton had to be helped off the field with blood dripping from his forehead. Three hours later – after a few stitches, two drinks of brandy, and a quick net session to see if he could still see the
ball – he returned to strike an undefeated 145. 12. Lords' 1975: David Steele, a hardworking batsman from Northamptonshire, was an unlikely call-up to face Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. He proved surprisingly effective, despite running down one flight of
stairs too many and finding himself in the lavatories of the Lord's Pavilion while coming out to bat. 15. Headingley 1997: Australia were 50 for four in their first innings when Matthew Elliott edged a head-high catch to Graham Thorpe at second slip. Thorpe dropped it, and
Elliott went on to make 199, sharing a huge stand with Ashes debutant Ricky Ponting. England captain Mike Atherton said: "Don't worry, Thorpey, you've only dropped us the Ashes." 18. Perth 2006-07: Gilchrist is probably the purest striker of a cricket ball ever. That was proved when Monty Panesar was hit for 24 in one over as Gilchrist completed a 57-ball hundred at the WACA. Gilchrist had not been in great form, but he cut loose against England's ragged attack. After reaching 50 with some delightful off-side shots, Gilchrist went through the gears with devastating effect to record the second fastest Test ton ever.
21. Melbourne 1994-95: The great Australian off-spinner Hugh Trumble had a thing for hat-tricks, claiming two of them in the space of nine Tests in the early years of the 20th Century. But no one else could manage the feat in an Ashes contest until Warne removed Phil DeFreitas, Darren Gough and Devon Malcolm in successive balls, fully 91 years later.
24. Perth 1994-95: Glenn McGrath was wicketless in his first Ashes Test at Brisbane, but in his second, at Perth,the scoreboard showed the following:
First innings: Atherton-caught Healy-bowled McGrath-runs=4. Second innings: Atherton-caught Healy-bowled McGrath-runs=8. In total, Glenn McGrath would dismiss Mike Atherton 19 times. No Test batsman has ever been dismissed more often by an individual bowler ever in the history of cricket. |