The Advertiser ranks the Adelaide Test matches of the decade from 1-10
Adelaide Oval has risen to become Australia’s premier cricket ground over the past decade. During that time there has been some incredible Test matches played at the venue. WE RANK THEM.
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What a decade of Test matches it has been at Adelaide Oval.
Adelaide has delivered so many great cricket moments over the past 10 years - whether it be brilliant batting performances, lethal bowling spells, or exciting finishes.
It’s no wonder, with the introduction of the innovative day/night Test format, it has risen to become Australia’s premier cricket venue.
To celebrate the end of the decade, we’ve ranked all the Adelaide Test matches from the 2010s.
We’ve tried to look at each game through a neutral lens, and order them according to the sheer cricketing spectacle that the games delivered - as such, we’ve put a premium on close finishes as opposed to individual brilliance.
Do you think we got it right? Let us know in the comments!
10. POMS PULVERISE AUSSIES (2010)
Australia 245 & 304 lost to England 5/620
After drawing the First Test in Brisbane, the Old Enemy arrived in Adelaide and quickly put Australia to the sword.
Simon Katich was run out without facing a ball, and Ricky Ponting got a golden duck as the hosts were rolled for 245 - Michael Clarke’s 93 the only highlight.
England then put on a batting masterclass, led by Kevin Pietersen (227) and skipper Alistair Cook (148), to declare at 5/620.
Australia didn’t fare much better in the second dig, skittled for 304 to lose by an innings and 71 runs.
9. PUNTER, PUP PILE ‘EM ON AGAINST INDIA (2012)
Australia 7/604d & 5/167d defeated India 272 & 201
By the time India arrived in Adelaide for the Fourth Test it was already 0-3 down in the series, including two losses by more than an innings.
With no life left in the visitors’ bowling attack, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke smelt blood in the water and treated themselves to a runs feast.
‘Punter’ and ‘Pup’ both hit double centuries (Ponting 221, Clarke 210) to put Australia in the position to declare at 7/604.
Virat Kohli announced himself as a star of the future with 116 in India’s first innings of 272, as Peter Siddle took five wickets.
The Aussies batted again to build a 499-run lead before sending India back in and rolling them 298 runs short of victory.
8. KHAWAJA CRUSHES SOUTH AFRICA (2016)
Australia 383 & 3/127 defeated South Africa 9/259d & 250
The day/night Test wasn’t overly memorable for Australian fans, given it was a dead rubber after South Africa won the preceding Perth and Hobart matches in the three-Test series.
However, Australia’s first innings included an impressive 145-run knock from Usman Khawaja.
The left-hander’s hundred guided the hosts to 383 in reply to South Africa’s first innings 259, giving Australia a handy 124-run lead at the halfway point of the match.
Faf du Plessis’ 116 bankrolled the visitors’ score.
The Proteas fared little better in their second dig, with opener Stephen Cook’s 104 the only real highlight in the 250 total.
Australia comfortably chased the runs three wickets down to win back some pride.
7. MARSH, STARC FIRE AGAINST OLD ENEMY (2017)
Australia 8/442d & 138 defeated England 227 & 233
After winning the First Test by 10 wickets, Australia was keen on keeping its foot on England’s throat under lights in Adelaide - and it did just that.
Shaun Marsh produced a classy 126 to give the hosts a commanding declaration total of 8/442.
While the pink ball is renowned for swinging, it was spinner Nathan Lyon (4/60) who ripped through the Poms for 227 in their first innings.
However, Jimmy Anderson kept the door ajar for England after a clinical 5/43 dismantled Australia for just 138 - leaving the Old Enemy 354 runs for victory.
But speedster Mitchell Starc (5/88) stood up when Australia needed him most, bowling England out 120 shy of its target.
6. WARNER BETTERS BRADMAN (2019)
Australia 3/589d defeated Pakistan 302 & 239
This Test will be remembered for one thing, and one thing only - the day David Warner surpassed the great Sir Donald Bradman.
Oh, and also Marnus Labuschagne’s 162 - let’s not forget that.
The pair batted for what seemed like forever in the day/night match in Adelaide, Warner going on to amass 335 not out - after being caught off a no-ball in the late 200s - to sit behind Matthew Hayden (380) on the list of top knocks by an Aussie.
Skipper Tim Paine declared at 3/589 and sent Pakistan in under lights where they lost six wickets to all but end the contest.
The visitors clawed their way to 302 thanks to legspinner Yasir Shah scoring his maiden Test century in entertaining fashion.
But they couldn’t avoid the follow-on, and were rolled for 239 in the second dig - 48 runs from making Australia bat again.
5. SOUTH AFRICA HOLDS ON FOR DRAW (2012)
Australia 550 & 8/267d drew South Africa 388 & 8/248
Normally, a drawn Test match isn’t anything memorable - but that wasn’t the case when South Africa arrived in Adelaide for the second match of the series.
Australia grabbed the ascendancy early as Michael Clarke (230) and Michael Hussey (103) bankrolled the team’s first innings score.
The Proteas batted well in reply, led by skipper Graeme Smith (122), but still found themselves 162 runs in arrears at the end of their dig.
After the Aussies declared their second innings at 8/267 - with a lead of 429 - South Africa, after losing early wickets, went into survival mode in an effort to save the Test.
AB de Villers played an uncharacteristically dour innings, taking 220 balls to make 33 runs, but it was Faf du Plessis’ gritty 110 not out off 376 balls that defied the Australians.
The Proteas faced 148 overs in total in their second innings to see out the final day with two wickets remaining.
4. INDIA WINS A THRILLER (2018)
Australia 235 & 291 lost to India 250 & 307
You couldn’t really ask for a better start to a Test series.
Played in the traditional daytime timeslot, due to India’s opposition to day/night Test matches, the contest was relatively low-scoring compared to many previous encounters at the City of Churches.
India batted first and Cheteshwar Pujara anchored the innings with a patient 123, batting for over six hours.
Australia got within 15 runs at the close of its first dig, before the visitors piled on 307 to set the hosts 323 for victory - Nathan Lyon’s 6/122 giving his team a fighting chance.
The Aussies lost regular wickets in their chase as Ravi Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah took three apiece - giving them six each for the match - to give India a 31-run win.
It was the decade’s closest result at Adelaide Oval.
3. JOHNSON TERRORISES ENGLAND (2013)
Australia 9/570d & 3/132d defeated England 172 & 312
The 2013 Ashes encounter shall forever be known as ‘The Mitchell Johnson Test’, such was the display of fast bowling he treated Adelaide fans to.
After Michael Clarke (148) and Brad Haddin (118) put Australia in a commanding position to declare at 9/570 to begin the Second Test, Johnson was then unleashed on the Englishmen.
He set the tone early by cannoning into the off peg of skipper Alistair Cook, before returning to dismantle the middle and lower order with arguably the most lethal spell of bowling since Bodyline.
The stare he gave Jimmy Anderson after castling the England swing king was one for the ages.
His 7/40 set the tone for the rest of the match, which the Aussies won by 218 runs.
2. AUSSIES SCRAPE HOME UNDER LIGHTS (2015)
Australia 224 & 7/187 defeated New Zealand 202 & 208
History was made when the Third Test against New Zealand became the first-ever to be played with a pink ball, under lights.
And after all the hype about the day/night fixture in the lead up, the game certainly delivered.
The Black Caps batted first, but Tom Latham (50) was the only one to reach a half century as the team succumbed for 202.
The Aussies fared little better, as the pink ball began to swing under lights, with Steve Smith (53) and Peter Nevill (66) hitting the bulk of the 224-run reply.
A Josh Hazlewood masterclass, in which he took 6/70, in the second innings left Australia needing 187 runs for victory.
The Aussies lost seven wickets in pursuit of the total, in an exciting finish, before Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc put an end to the nervy chase, much to the relief of home fans.
1. THE PHIL HUGHES TEST VERSUS INDIA (2014)
Australia 7/517d & 5/290d defeated India 444 & 315
The tragic death of former Australian Test player Phil Hughes, after he was struck while batting during a Sheffield Shield game in November 2014, rocked the cricket world.
Less than a week after farewelling their mate at his funeral, the Aussie team had to front up in Adelaide to face India - and never in recent memory has there been a more emotionally-charged game of cricket.
David Warner (145), Michael Clarke (128) and Steve Smith (162 not out) - all close friends of Hughes - posted hundreds.
Warner upon reaching 63 not out - the score Hughes was on when he was felled at the SCG - gestured towards the sky, while Smith raised his bat alongside the 408 (Hughes’ Test cap number) imprinted on the outfield when hitting his century.
A masterful first innings 115 from Virat Kohli kept India in the hunt, before a second Warner century (102) allowed Australia to declare with a 363-run lead.
India - again led by Kohli (141) - looked almost certain of victory before Nathan Lyon (7/152) spun Australia to a 48-run triumph late on the final day.
