Iconic Matches

The match was the opening Test of the 1960-61 series, played at the Gabba in Brisbane. Australia, chasing 233, were bowled out for 232 as the last ball produced a run out.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

West Indies captain Frank Worrell handed the last over to Wes Hall. Hall's over brought three wickets, including two run outs, and the scores finished level.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

Solomon threw down the stumps side-on from square leg, with a single stump to aim at, to dismiss Ian Meckiff. It was the first time a Test had finished tied.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

Davidson scored 44 and 80 and took 5 for 135 and 6 for 87. No one had previously managed both 100 runs and 10 wickets in a single Test.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

The tie came in the first Test of the 1986 series at Chepauk in Madras. India, needing 348, were bowled out for 347 with two balls to spare.

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Jones vomited repeatedly at the crease and was put on a saline drip that night. His 210 was made in humidity and heat that left him barely able to stand.

Source: Wisden · applied

Matthews trapped Maninder Singh lbw with two balls left, his tenth wicket of the match. He had bowled almost unchanged through the final day in a jumper.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

A tie needs the aggregate scores exactly equal with the team batting last dismissed. If the scores are level but that side is not all out when time expires, the match is a draw.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Only the 1960 Brisbane and 1986 Madras Tests have ended tied. Tied Tests are far rarer than tied one-day games because two innings a side make an exact aggregate match unlikely.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Brisbane 1960 opened a five-Test series and Madras 1986 a three-Test one, so each tie was the first match of its series. In both cases the sides went into the last over of the game level.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

England made 174 against Australia's 401 for 9 declared and followed on 227 behind. Only once before, in 1894, had a side won a Test after following on.

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Ladbrokes put England at 500 to 1 on the Headingley scoreboard. Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh placed small bets at those odds and collected when England won.

Source: Wisden · applied

Botham came in with England close to an innings defeat and made 149 not out from 148 balls. He had stepped down as captain after the previous Test at Lord's.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Dilley struck 56 in a stand of 117 for the eighth wicket, freeing Botham to attack. Old then added 29 as England set Australia a target at all.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

Willis took 8 for 43 in 15.1 overs, charging in from the Kirkstall Lane end. Australia lost their last nine wickets for 55 runs and fell 18 short.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

The only earlier case was England beating Australia at Sydney in 1894-95 after following on. Headingley 1981 made it two, and Kolkata 2001 later made three.

Source: Wisden · applied

Kim Hughes captained Australia at Headingley and enforced the follow-on with a lead of 227. The decision looked routine until Botham and Willis turned the match.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Ian Botham gave up the captaincy after scoring nought in each innings at Lord's. Mike Brearley returned at Headingley and led England to three wins in the last four Tests.

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England won the series 3-1 after being one down, with Botham decisive at Headingley, Edgbaston and Old Trafford. It has been called Botham's Ashes ever since.

Source: Wisden · recall

Australia, needing just 151, collapsed from 105 for four as Botham took 5 for 1 in 28 balls. England won by 29 to lead the series 2-1, just over a week after the Headingley escape.

Source: Wisden · recall

Australia had won 16 Tests in a row, a record, and had also won at Mumbai to open the series. Kolkata broke the streak.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Australia made 445 and India replied with 171, so Steve Waugh enforced the follow-on with a lead of 274. India then batted for almost two days.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Laxman made 281 batting at three, then a record for India, adding 376 with Dravid for the fifth wicket. India turned a deficit into a lead of over 380.

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Harbhajan Singh took 6 for 73 on the last day, with Tendulkar removing Hayden, Gilchrist and Warne. Australia lost by 171 runs.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

Harbhajan removed Ponting, Gilchrist and Warne with successive balls. No India bowler had taken a Test hat-trick before.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

The three sides to win after following on are England in 1894-95, England in 1981 and India in 2001. Australia have been on the losing side in all three.

Source: Wisden · applied

The semi-final was at Edgbaston on 17 June 1999. Australia made 213 and South Africa were bowled out for the same score off the fourth ball of the final over.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Klusener drove to mid-on and set off; Donald, backing up, dropped his bat and could not get back. The scores were level, so the match was tied.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

The rules sent through the side placed higher in the Super Six table. Australia had beaten South Africa in that round, so the tie was enough to eliminate South Africa.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

In the final at Lord's, Australia bowled Pakistan out for 132 and knocked off the runs in 20.1 overs. It was Australia's second World Cup title.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

McGrath rolled his ankle on a ball left lying during fielding practice and was withdrawn. Ricky Ponting then won the toss and put England in to bat.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

England were bowled out for 407 inside the first day, scoring at more than five an over. Ponting's choice to bowl was questioned from that point on.

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Australia, needing 282, were bowled out for 279. The two-run margin is the smallest by runs in any Ashes Test.

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Kasprowicz gloved a Harmison lifter to the keeper and was given out by Billy Bowden. Television showed his bottom hand had left the bat, so he should have survived.

Source: Wisden · applied

As England celebrated the two-run win, Flintoff went straight to the crouching Brett Lee to commiserate. The photograph became the symbol of the series.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Australia made 434 for 4 and South Africa replied with 438 for 9 to win. The match is named after the higher of the two totals.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Ponting made 164 from 105 balls, with Mike Hussey (81) and Simon Katich (79) keeping the rate up. Australia's 434 broke the one-day record by more than 30.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

Gibbs made 175 from 111 balls after Graeme Smith's quick 90 at the top. Boucher was 50 not out when the winning runs came with a ball to spare.

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Boucher hit the winning runs off Brett Lee with one ball remaining and nine wickets down. It was the highest successful one-day chase made anywhere.

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Mick Lewis went for 113 runs without taking a wicket in his ten overs. No bowler has conceded more in a one-day international innings.

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England met New Zealand, led by Kane Williamson, at Lord's on 14 July 2019. It was New Zealand's second final in a row after 2015.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

New Zealand made 241 for 8, with Henry Nicholls top-scoring on 55. On a used, sluggish pitch it proved far harder to chase than it looked.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

England were bowled out for 241 off the last ball, exactly matching New Zealand. It was the first tie in a men's World Cup final.

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Stokes was diving for his ground when Martin Guptill's throw ricocheted to the rope. The umpires gave two for the run plus four for the boundary; a former umpire later said five was correct.

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England had hit more fours and sixes across the final and super over combined, 26 to New Zealand's 17. The rule was scrapped soon afterwards.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

From October 2019 the ICC ruled that tied super overs would be followed by further super overs until one side won. Boundary count was no longer a tie-breaker.

Source: ICC · recall

England, needing 359, were 286 for 9 when Stokes farmed the strike to reach 135 not out. He and Jack Leach added 76 for the last wicket.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

England were bowled out for 67 in 27.5 overs, Josh Hazlewood taking 5 for 30. It was their lowest total against Australia since 1948, yet they still won.

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Australia had spent their final review on an lbw appeal against Leach that stayed not out. When Stokes was struck plumb in front next over, they could not challenge it.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · applied

Australia won at Old Trafford to go 2-1 up, and England's 135-run win at The Oval made it 2-2. As holders, Australia retained the Ashes; it was the first drawn Ashes since 1972.

Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall