From Ian Botham to The Don and that Gatting delivery from Shane Warne
Nothing stirs the blood like an Ashes Test. Here’s five of the finest to kick off the lively debates.
In the first Test of the 1974-75 series at the Gabba, the English batsmen were given a brutal introduction to the ferocious pace of Jeff Thomson. The 24-year-old tearaway quick ambushed England in Brisbane with his back-bending action that produced frightening, if occasionally erratic results. Batsmen simply didn’t know what to expect.
In the first Test of the 1974-75 series at the Gabba, the English batsmen were given a brutal introduction to the ferocious pace of Jeff Thomson. The 24-year-old tearaway quick ambushed England in Brisbane with his back-bending action that produced frightening, if occasionally erratic results. Batsmen simply didn’t know what to expect.
His opening barrage on day two reaped two wickets and a broken thumb for Dennis Amiss.
But it was the final day, with England chasing 333 to win, that really belonged to Thommo.
John Edrich, batting with a fractured finger courtesy of Thomson in the first innings, was beaten for pace. Amiss got another snorter that he could only fend to third slip. Mike Denness got hit on the shoulder. But the key wicket was first-innings centurion Tony Greig. Charging in with the wind at his back, Thomson speared in a yorker that shattered the stumps via Greig’s pads.
England slumped to 166 all out, and Thomson finished with 6-46 and nine wickets for the match.
The Don digs in
Australia’s victory by 365 runs suggests a rout but for a while it was a close-run thing at the MCG.
Australia had lost the first two Tests of the series and the pressure was growing on the captain, Don Bradman, amid rumours of discontent in the dressing room.
When the heavens opened at the MCG leaving the teams to play on a sticky wicket, Bradman gambled by declaring Australia’s first innings closed, bowling out England cheaply and then stacking his top order with tailenders to give the wicket time to dry out before the recognised batsmen came in.
Bradman himself came in at No 7 and batted for seven hours and 38 minutes to score 270.
Australia won the Test and then the series 3-2 — the only time a team has come back from a 2-0 deficit to win a series.
Fiery Freddie
Glenn McGrath rolled his ankle stepping on a cricket ball in the warm-up as the stars aligned for England to win a thriller played at a frenetic pace at Edgbaston in the second Test in 2005.
By stumps on day two, both sides had batted once and England led by 124 with nine wickets in hand. Seventeen wickets fell on day three and a brutal 73 by Andrew Flintoff was the only England score over 25 in the innings, leaving Australia to chase 282 to win.
Things looked good at 0-47. Enter Flintoff — who sent down a ferocious seven-ball over that claimed both Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting.
Come day four and Australia needed 107 with two wickets remaining. Shane Warne and Brett Lee added 45 for the ninth wicket. Lee and Michael Kasprowicz then edged the Aussies closer until, with just three needed to win, Kasprowicz fended a short ball from Steve Harmison down the leg side that was pouched by keeper Geraint Jones.
The image of Flintoff consoling Lee as England celebrated will never fade. But should it have ended when it did? Kasper gloved the ball behind but replays show his hand was off the bat. What say you, umpire Billy Bowden?
That ball
“Gatting has absolutely no idea what happened to it!”
That was Richie Benaud’s reaction in the commentary box to Shane Warne’s first ball in an Ashes series, in the first Test at Old Trafford in 1993, which bamboozled England batsman Mike Gatting.
Yes, that ball, the “ball of the century”, a drifting leg break that pitched outside leg stump before fizzing off the pitch to remove the bemused Gatting’s off bail. The ball that made Warne a superstar. Still beautiful to watch.
A quarter of a century later Warne reflected: “That ball changed my life, on and off the field, completely.”
“The ball” has its own page on Wikipedia.
Beefy and Bob show
Couldn’t look back at the Ashes without mentioning Ian Botham and the miracle of Headingley in 1981, could we?
Botham had stood down as captain after the Lord’s Test to be replaced by Mike Brearley.
Following on 227 behind, England looked dead and buried at 7-135 until Botham and Graham Dilley went for broke. They had added 117 when Dilley was out for 56. Chris Old then played the supporting role as Botham bludgeoned on, flashing hard to an unbeaten 149, to set Australia 130 to win.
At 1-56 Australia still looked good to go 2-0 up until Bob Willis began charging into the breeze like a man possessed. In 15.1 ferocious overs Willis took 8-43, smashing Ray Bright’s stumps to seal an 18-run victory as Australia were skittled for 111.
England went on to win the series 3-1.
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