Shane Warne delivered the ‘Ball of the Century’ to Mike Gatting. (Source: AP)
The first Test of the Ashes series begins on August 1 and given the rich history of the series, here’s a look back at some of the most remembered moments from it:
The Bodyline Series: England’s tour of Australia in 1932-33 is one of the most of talked about series ever. To counter the phenomenal batting skills of the legendary Don Bradman and his Australian side, England led by Douglas Jardine bowlers devised a strategy to bowl at the body. This was to get batsmen to fend it off to a close-by fielder while trying to protect themselves with the bat. Despite loud boos by a partisan Australian crowd, the English bowling attack led by Tomas Larwood implemented the tactic and thumped Australia 4-1 at home. As a direct consequence of the 1932–33 tour, the MCC introduced a new rule to the laws of cricket for the 1935 English cricket season.
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Botham’s Ashes: Ian Botham cemented his place as one of the best all-rounders in world cricket after a sensational performance during Australia’s tour of England in 1981.
Australia were leading the five-match series 1-0 after the first two Tests. But in the end Botham’s 399 runs and 34 wickets (including thee fifers) in the series took England to a 3-1 series win and retain the Ashes.
After the two tests, England beat Australia in the third Test, with Botham smashing a magnificent 149. ‘Beefy’, as he was nicknamed, then engineered a second-innings collapse in the next match as Australia failed to chase down 161 runs. Botham was lethal with the ball picking 5 wickets for just 1 run. England went on to win the match by 39 runs, taking a 2-1 lead in the series and then eventually winning it 3-1. The series is now known as ‘Botham’s Ashes’.
Shane Warne’s Ball of the Century: On June 4, during the 1993 Ashes, Shane Warne bowled a magical delivery to dismiss Mike Gatting which was thereafter widely considered as the best ball ever bowled in the history of Test cricket.
Defying all laws of gravity, Warne’s leg-spinner pitched outside the leg stump and then turned almost square – first going past the willow of Gatting and then knocking off his off stump. The batsman wasn’t the only one stunned, even umpire Dickie Bird was impressed by the delivery.
The Greatest Series Ever: The 2005 series between England and Australia may be one of the greatest Ashes Test series for one simple reason: it was a classic contest between bat and ball in a period where the stakes were so much higher. If the 1981 series was Botham’s Ashes, Andrew Flintoff was the hero in the 2005 Ashes series.
With 402 runs (one hundred and three fifties) and 24 wickets (one fifer), Flintoff came up with a terrific all-round show to help England end their 16-year wait to lay their hands on the urn.
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Don Bradman’s 974 runs in 5 Tests: Sir Donald Bradman was unstoppable in the 1930 Ashes series in England. He amassed 974 runs at an average of 139.14, which included four hundreds – 131 at Trent Bridge, 254 at Lord’s, 334 at Headingley and 232 at The Oval.
Bradman’s efforts in 1930 helped the Australian surpass Walter Hammond, who earlier held the record for most runs in an Ashes series. In 1928-29, Hammond was the first to cross the 900 barrier, scoring 905 runs which included four centuries – 251 at SCG, 200 at MCG, 119 and 177 at Adelaide. Bradman’s record is something that hasn’t been surpassed to this day.
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