With the 2000th Test fast approaching, we look back on some classic Tests of the past for each of the major countries, starting with England
v Australia, The Oval, 1882
The match that spawned the Ashes. The full might of England – WG Grace and all – needed only 85 to beat Australia. Amid great tension, in which one man reportedly suffered a heart attack and another chewed right through his umbrella handle, the home side succumbed for 77, with Fred “The Demon” Spofforth taking 7 for 44. A sporting newspaper printed a mock obituary bemoaning the death of English cricket… and an enduring legend was born.
The match that spawned the Ashes. The full might of England – WG Grace and all – needed only 85 to beat Australia. Amid great tension, in which one man reportedly suffered a heart attack and another chewed right through his umbrella handle, the home side succumbed for 77, with Fred “The Demon” Spofforth taking 7 for 44. A sporting newspaper printed a mock obituary bemoaning the death of English cricket… and an enduring legend was born.
v Australia, Sydney, 1894-95
An Australian victory looked certain after they made 586 and bowled England out for 325. But the follow-on produced 437 runs, and Australia needed 177 to win: thanks to the Yorkshire slow left-armer Bobby Peel, who took 6 for 67, they didn’t quite get there. This was the first Test won by a side that followed on, something that has happened only twice since (Australia being on the receiving end each time). This was the opening Test of the first great Ashes series: England won the next match as well, then Australia won two in a row, before England clinched the rubber with a six-wicket victory in Melbourne.
An Australian victory looked certain after they made 586 and bowled England out for 325. But the follow-on produced 437 runs, and Australia needed 177 to win: thanks to the Yorkshire slow left-armer Bobby Peel, who took 6 for 67, they didn’t quite get there. This was the first Test won by a side that followed on, something that has happened only twice since (Australia being on the receiving end each time). This was the opening Test of the first great Ashes series: England won the next match as well, then Australia won two in a row, before England clinched the rubber with a six-wicket victory in Melbourne.
v Australia, Old Trafford, 1902
This fourth Test of the summer – and the fifth, which England won by one wicket – provided an exciting climax to a wet summer. England looked set to square the series in Manchester when, chasing only 124, they reached 92 for 3. But wickets tumbled to the tall offspinner Hugh Trumble and left-armer Jack Saunders, and when the ninth wicket fell there were still eight runs needed. England’s No. 11, Fred Tate, was making his debut: probably overawed, he swiped a four, then was bowled trying another big hit. Tate – who never played another Test – was inconsolable, but said he had a son at home who would make up for his shortcomings. He did: Maurice Tate was a mainstay of the England team in the 1920s.
This fourth Test of the summer – and the fifth, which England won by one wicket – provided an exciting climax to a wet summer. England looked set to square the series in Manchester when, chasing only 124, they reached 92 for 3. But wickets tumbled to the tall offspinner Hugh Trumble and left-armer Jack Saunders, and when the ninth wicket fell there were still eight runs needed. England’s No. 11, Fred Tate, was making his debut: probably overawed, he swiped a four, then was bowled trying another big hit. Tate – who never played another Test – was inconsolable, but said he had a son at home who would make up for his shortcomings. He did: Maurice Tate was a mainstay of the England team in the 1920s.
v Australia, Adelaide, 1932-33
I suppose if a cricket fan was given a free ride in the TARDIS they would probably revisit the Bodyline series in Australia, to see what all the fuss was about. The third Test, which England won by 338 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the bad-tempered rubber, was probably the tensest of the lot: this was the one in which Bert Oldfield, the popular Australian wicketkeeper, had his skull fractured when he ducked into a shortish ball from Harold Larwood. The crowd – even in genteel Adelaide – was seething, but something kept them the right side of the boundary; one onlooker thought that if one man had hurdled the fence then thousands would have followed in a full-scale riot.
I suppose if a cricket fan was given a free ride in the TARDIS they would probably revisit the Bodyline series in Australia, to see what all the fuss was about. The third Test, which England won by 338 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the bad-tempered rubber, was probably the tensest of the lot: this was the one in which Bert Oldfield, the popular Australian wicketkeeper, had his skull fractured when he ducked into a shortish ball from Harold Larwood. The crowd – even in genteel Adelaide – was seething, but something kept them the right side of the boundary; one onlooker thought that if one man had hurdled the fence then thousands would have followed in a full-scale riot.
v Australia, The Oval, 1953
England regained the Ashes in the final Test of the 1953 series after what remains the longest gap in history – Australia, mainly thanks to Don Bradman, had held the urn since 1934. The England team that clinched victory at The Oval (after the previous four Tests had produced much seesaw cricket and four draws) was studded with great names: Hutton, Edrich, May, Compton, Graveney, Bailey, Evans, Lock, Laker, Trueman and Bedser.
England regained the Ashes in the final Test of the 1953 series after what remains the longest gap in history – Australia, mainly thanks to Don Bradman, had held the urn since 1934. The England team that clinched victory at The Oval (after the previous four Tests had produced much seesaw cricket and four draws) was studded with great names: Hutton, Edrich, May, Compton, Graveney, Bailey, Evans, Lock, Laker, Trueman and Bedser.
v Australia, Old Trafford, 1956
Jim Laker’s 19 wickets in this Ashes Test remains a seemingly unassailable bowling landmark. Aussies still mutter about the dusty Manchester pitch, but Laker’s offspin mesmerised their batsmen – and his fellow spinner, Tony Lock, who amazingly managed only one wicket in the match on the helpful surface.
Jim Laker’s 19 wickets in this Ashes Test remains a seemingly unassailable bowling landmark. Aussies still mutter about the dusty Manchester pitch, but Laker’s offspin mesmerised their batsmen – and his fellow spinner, Tony Lock, who amazingly managed only one wicket in the match on the helpful surface.
v Australia, Melbourne, 1976-77
The special match to mark the centenary of Test cricket lived up to all the hype – and entranced the ranks of distinguished former players invited to grace the occasion. It’s best remembered in England for Derek Randall’s superb 174, while Aussies prefer Dennis Lillee’s 11 wickets. And historians and statisticians on both sides rejoiced in the fact that the result – an Australian victory by 45 runs – was exactly the same as in the 1876-77 inaugural encounter that this match celebrated.
The special match to mark the centenary of Test cricket lived up to all the hype – and entranced the ranks of distinguished former players invited to grace the occasion. It’s best remembered in England for Derek Randall’s superb 174, while Aussies prefer Dennis Lillee’s 11 wickets. And historians and statisticians on both sides rejoiced in the fact that the result – an Australian victory by 45 runs – was exactly the same as in the 1876-77 inaugural encounter that this match celebrated.
v Australia, Headingley, 1981
When England were 135 for 7 in their follow-on, those famous odds of 500/1 flashed onto the Leeds sightscreen. And everyone knows what happened next: Botham. The man now known as Sir Beefy bludgeoned 149 not out, England managed to set a tricky target of 130, and Bob Willis (8 for 43) tore into the shell-shocked Australians, hustling them out for 111. Botham dominated the rest of an unforgettable series as England came from behind to win.
When England were 135 for 7 in their follow-on, those famous odds of 500/1 flashed onto the Leeds sightscreen. And everyone knows what happened next: Botham. The man now known as Sir Beefy bludgeoned 149 not out, England managed to set a tricky target of 130, and Bob Willis (8 for 43) tore into the shell-shocked Australians, hustling them out for 111. Botham dominated the rest of an unforgettable series as England came from behind to win.
v West Indies, Lord’s, 2000
When England conceded a first-innings lead of 133, it looked as if yet another defeat to West Indies was on the cards. But then the Windies folded for 54. England needed only 188 to win – and only just squeaked home, despite the determined efforts of those old campaigners Courtney Walsh (6 for 74) and Curtly Ambrose (1 for 22 from 22 overs). This result effectively brought down the curtain on West Indies’ supremacy over England, which had lasted for around 25 years.
When England conceded a first-innings lead of 133, it looked as if yet another defeat to West Indies was on the cards. But then the Windies folded for 54. England needed only 188 to win – and only just squeaked home, despite the determined efforts of those old campaigners Courtney Walsh (6 for 74) and Curtly Ambrose (1 for 22 from 22 overs). This result effectively brought down the curtain on West Indies’ supremacy over England, which had lasted for around 25 years.
v Pakistan, Karachi, 2000-01
By December 2000, Pakistan had played 34 Tests at the National Stadium in Karachi and never lost one. And their captain Moin Khan did his best to extend that record as England chased a modest target of 176, managing a funereal over rate that ensured the match ended in almost total darkness. Moin tried appealing against the light – but the umpires let England bat on to clinch a notable victory that also gave them the series.
By December 2000, Pakistan had played 34 Tests at the National Stadium in Karachi and never lost one. And their captain Moin Khan did his best to extend that record as England chased a modest target of 176, managing a funereal over rate that ensured the match ended in almost total darkness. Moin tried appealing against the light – but the umpires let England bat on to clinch a notable victory that also gave them the series.
v South Africa, The Oval, 2003
England needed to win the final Test to square a hard-fought series, but this looked a pipe dream when South Africa amassed 484. England replied with 604, though; Marcus Trescothick making 219 and Graham Thorpe 124. The most memorable innings came from Andrew Flintoff, who hammered 95, including a flat six – off a surprised Makhaya Ntini – that was still rising as it thumped into the wall under the dressing rooms in the Bedser Stand. Steve Harmison and the old Oval favourite Martin Bicknell then bowled the Proteas out for 229, and an energised England charged to victory at five an over.
England needed to win the final Test to square a hard-fought series, but this looked a pipe dream when South Africa amassed 484. England replied with 604, though; Marcus Trescothick making 219 and Graham Thorpe 124. The most memorable innings came from Andrew Flintoff, who hammered 95, including a flat six – off a surprised Makhaya Ntini – that was still rising as it thumped into the wall under the dressing rooms in the Bedser Stand. Steve Harmison and the old Oval favourite Martin Bicknell then bowled the Proteas out for 229, and an energised England charged to victory at five an over.
v Australia, Edgbaston, 2005
The most nail-biting England Test in living memory ended when Michael Kasprowicz gloved one down the leg side and was caught by the keeper with Australia just three runs short of the victory that would have given them a 2-0 lead in the series. Instead it was all square, and England went on to reclaim the Ashes after 16 years, following a nervy three-wicket win at Trent Bridge and a weather-affected draw at The Oval, where unusually the showers got a cheer (England only needed a draw to take the series). The whole of the Edgbaston game was absorbing, though – it was dangerous for spectators to leave their seats at any time, such were the swings of fortune, many of them engineered by the peerless Shane Warne, who wheeled away for 10 wickets in the match.
The most nail-biting England Test in living memory ended when Michael Kasprowicz gloved one down the leg side and was caught by the keeper with Australia just three runs short of the victory that would have given them a 2-0 lead in the series. Instead it was all square, and England went on to reclaim the Ashes after 16 years, following a nervy three-wicket win at Trent Bridge and a weather-affected draw at The Oval, where unusually the showers got a cheer (England only needed a draw to take the series). The whole of the Edgbaston game was absorbing, though – it was dangerous for spectators to leave their seats at any time, such were the swings of fortune, many of them engineered by the peerless Shane Warne, who wheeled away for 10 wickets in the match.
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