Test cricket in all of its 130 year history has produced some fantastic cricketers, exceptional athletes, outstanding performances, mouth watering contests and immortal moments overall. Of course it is almost impossible to select a set of moments which is acceptable to everyone as the greatest in the history of the game. But I stick my neck out and embark on a venture back in time through the annals of the great game to select what I believe are the events, matches and moments that have shaped the game's glorious history. This involves players, achievements, matches, many a memorable series and so on..I shall come up with eleven such choices (surely the number is not a coincidence!)..I might definitely have missed some great ones in the course of this all too difficult endeavor but maybe you can fill them in..!
Photo below: The Ashes urn
1. The Ashes (1882)--> What started as a satirical journalistic criticism of England's inept performance against a not too strong Australian team in 1882 has gone on to become the most talked about and legendary contest between the two teams. It has produced innumerable classic moments not to mention some everlasting memories of great players. The Ashes urn is still the most famous trophy in the game and widely respected. Some glorious moments and players in the 120+ year history of the Ashes include the legendary pre war English pairing of Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe, the greatest batsman of all Don Bradman, Wally Hammond's legendary exploits, Douglas Jardine's unforgettable Bodyline series, Len Hutton's masterpiece at the Oval, Bradman's 'Invincibles' laying siege to England, Fred Truman and Frank Tyson terrorizing the Aussies, Jim Laker's 19/90 including the first all 10 wicket haul in a single innings, Lillee and Thomson destroying England, Botham's Ashes of 1981, Australia's dominance for 16 years, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath combining to pulverize England, the most memorable Ashes 2005, the whitewash in 2006...
Photos below:
Left- Sir Jack Hobbs- one of England's greatest pre war batsmen.
Right- Len Hutton, who scored 364 against Australia in 1938.
2. Birth of the Don (1908)--> In every sport there come along players who during their day and much after leave behind such an impact that they always seem larger than life and the game. Pele and Maradona in football, Micheal Jordan in basketball, Michael Schumacher in F-1 are examples. Don Bradman is one such player who has made everyone else look puny in cricket. He was born in 1908 in Cootamundra, Australia. His achievements and statistics are mind boggling to say the least. His unparalleled and never to be matched average of 99.94 is still the most famous and well known statistic in the game. 29 centuries in just 52 games with twelve 200+ scores and two triple centuries demonstrate his genius and insatiable appetite for runs. The very fact that England had to resort to the most controversial tactic of Bodyline to try and restrict this one man shows how he played on opposition minds. He captained a legendary team known as the 'Invincibles' in 1948 which toyed with a very good England team..The Don continues to be the name that pops up first when cricket and batting in particular is discussed as he set many a mark that are unlikely to be emulated ever...
Photos below: Sir Donald Bradman- The greatest batsman ever
3. Bodyline series (1932-33)-->England had suffered many a bout of 'Bradman bashing' in the preceding years, nothing more than in 1929 when he scored 974 runs in the series, still a record. Douglas Jardine, England's captain, who incidentally was born in Bombay, decided that playing the normal way would only get them butchered further. He devised a tactic known as 'leg theory' or colloquially as 'Bodyline'. This involved getting his fast bowlers to bowl from around the wicket on the body of the batsman whilst having upto 7 men catching on the leg side close to the batsman. The batsman either had to play the ball and risk getting caught or be ready to take the hit on the body which was not a very good idea considering that Jardine had at his disposal one of the fastest bowlers around in Harold Larwood. Larwood predominantly and his partner Bill Voce terrorized the Australians with some deadly attack on the body. Despite some heroic efforts from Stan McCabe, who made a glorious 187 at Sydney, the Aussies were routed 4-1. Bradman was kept down to an average of 56. But during the course of the series, there were numerous injuries which were very serious and threatened to disrupt the game. Bill Woodful, the Aussie captain remarked rather famously after being hit on the head. "There are two teams playing out there, Only one is playing cricket!". Bert Oldfield was struck on the chest and many more such injuries left a bad taste. Douglas Jardine, much to the annoyance of players and people said " I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to win the Ashes". After a lot of discussions and meetings, the tactics were banned and it was decided that there would be no repeat. The series still remains fresh in people's minds after many years for all the drama, the passion and not to mention the controversy surrounding the very theory of 'Bodyline'.
Photos below:
Left: Douglas Jardine, the controversial captain who devised Bodyline tactic.
Right: Bill Woodful, the Australian captain hit by Larwood.
4. The greatest test series ever (1960)--> By 1960 , Australia under Richie Benaud was a very formidable team and possessed some of the greatest players in Alan Davidson, Norman o'Neill and they played host to Frank Worrell's West Indian team. The West Indies till then had been on and off and occasionally produced some exceptional talents who could single handedly win games. Worrell, Walcott and Weekes or the three W's as they were known were world class players and in Garry Sobers, they had the man who would go on to become the game's finest all rounder. Their bowling, led by the fearsome Wes Hall made them extremely dangerous opponents.
Sobers initially in the tour games seemed to struggle against spin and people started thinking that the series was easy for the Aussies. The first test began at the Gabba in Brisbane and this would go on to become the greatest test ever. West Indies made 454 on the back of a glorious 132 from Sobers. Australia not to be intimidated replied with a monstrous 505. The Windies folded up for 284 leaving the Aussies to score 234, a seemingly easy task. But they collapsed in the wake of some hostile fast bowling by Wes Hall and Benaud and Davidson spared the blushes by putting on a century stand. Wickets fell regularly and at the end, in a dramatic last over bowled by Hall, there was a wicket, a drop catch and a quite remarkable run out effected by the brilliant Joe Solomon to seal a tie. This was the first ever tie in the history of the game and took its place rightfully as the finest test. Greater things were to follow. The Aussies won the next test in Melbourne and the Windies leveled at 1-1 in Sydney. The Aussie last pair held on for almost a full session to help them survive the next test at Adelaide and in the final test, the Aussies squeezed home by 2 wickets in another thriller. Thus concluded the greatest test series ending 2-1 in favor of Australia, but the real winner was cricket and this was definitely a shot in the arm for the game.
Photos below:
Left: Sir Frank Worrell, the legendary WI captain after whom the WI-Australia trophy is named.
Centre: Image of the run out that resulted in the tied test.
Right: Sir Garfield Sobers: The greatest all rounder to grace the game.
5. South Africa's ban (1969-70)-->According to many, the South African team of the late 1960's could have easily gone on to become the greatest of all time but for the country's policies. They had amongst other stars, the brilliant Barry Richards who made batting ridiculously simple, the divine southpaw Graeme Pollock, the wonderful allrounder Mike Procter, Eddie Barlow and their captain Ali Bacher. They had just thrashed a very good Aussie team led by Bill Lawry 4-0 and just before they were duee to play England, the selection of one man Basil D'Oiviera (he was colored) for England led to a very big racist controversy and South Africa made a big hue and cry about this leading to the tour being scrapped and the South Africans being banned from cricket. Numerous greats lost their chance to play the game and had to seek a chance to play in leagues and rebel tours. What might have been the truly glorious phase of South African cricket had been nipped in the bud.
Photos below: Members of the unfortunate SA team
Left-The sublime and immensely talented Barry Richards
Centre- The elegant southpaw Graeme Pollock
Right- Wonderful all rounder Mike Procter
6. The glorious 70's-->The 1970's according to me and a lot more people was probably the most interesting decade of cricket. Many legends came to their own in these years and quite a few extraordinary performances were witnessed. India's conquest of England and the West Indies was a great beginning to the decade. India, under Ajit Wadekar, never quite dreamt of being able to compete, let along defeat the English and the West Indians in their own backyard. Aided by the legendary Bhagwat Chandrasekar's 6/38 at the Oval, India pulled off a remarkable win. In the West Indies series, a young man by name Sunil Gavaskar made his debut and left an indelible mark on the game. He scored an astonishing 774 runs at an astounding average of 154.8 and announced his arrival. India won at Port of Spain and this was truly a big boost for Indian cricket.
Photos below: Two legends of Indian cricket
Left: The technically perfect Sunil Gavaskar
Right: The great allrounder Kapil Dev
The 1970's also marked the debut of the Master Blaster Viv Richards and the great opener Gordon Greenidge at Bangalore in 1974. Also, other greats who made their entry were Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Malcolm Marshall and a galaxy of stars which is what makes the 1970's the most exhilarating.
Photos below: The Aussie pace legends
Left: The complete fast bowler-Dennis Lillee
Right:The quickest-Jeff Thomson
The mighty Australians led first by Ian and then Greg Chappell dominated world cricket in the early to mid 70's. They had at their disposal two outstanding quicks in Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. They destroyed England in 1974 and also wreaked havoc on the West Indies in 1975 when they triumphed 5-1. West Indies also lost to India in 1976 and then realized that spin was not the way to go. Clive Lloyd assembled a pace battery which has never been rivaled in the game's history.
Photos below: The great West Indians
Left: The scourge of bowlers the world over- Viv Richards
Right: 'Whispering death'- smooth n deadly Michael Holding against England 1976
The West Indies, especially Viv Richards and Michael Holding who was rightly known as 'Whispering Death' were rather incensed by a couple of comments of the English captain Tony Greig's comments which had a racist touch and they took it upon themselves to destroy England. Richards batted fantastically for 829 runs in the series and set a then record for the record number of runs in a calendar year. But the series will br remembered for Michael Holding's chilling hostility and deadly bowling which left England's players running for cover. His 14/147 on an Oval featherbed (Windies made 687 on that track) mus go down as one of the greatest fast bowling performances in history.
Photos below:
Left: Dennis Lillee appeals in the Centenary test at the MCG in 1977
Right: Kerry Packer, the man who changed cricket.
The centenary test was played the the MCG to commemorate test cricket's 100th anniversary. In a fantastic test remembered for Dennis Lillee's bowling, the five fours hit off Tony Greig hit by the fearless debutant David Hookes and Derek Randall's fighting 174, the match finished by the exactly same margin as 100 years earlier- victory by 45 runs to Australia.
The media tycoon Kerry Packer revolutionized the game by luring most of the greats to play a breakaway league after he was not given rights to telecast the cricket in Australia. Finally, the issue was settled and cricket resumed normally with players back to their countries. This had left quite a few teams totally weakened for 3 years though. The 1970's set the tone for another great decade of cricket.
7. Botham's Ashes (1981)-->Australia arrived in England in 1981 a much stronger outfit than the one England had walloped in 1980. Australia had most players back from the Packer years and were a very formidable unit. They took the lead in the first test and England managed to hold on to draw the 2nd test at Lords. Ian Botham, never the man who was inclined to captaincy resigned after an inglorious pair in the 2nd test. Mike Brearley, who many regard as the finest man manager and shrewdest cricket brain was recalled from retirement to captain his team. The return didn't begin well. The Aussies made 401 and bowled England out for 174 and enforced the follow on. Ian Botham had made 50 in the first innings. After following on, Botham was left standing alone when at 135/7, it seemed all over for England. Graham DIlley joined Botham and started playing a few shots and this seemed to fuel Botham and he proceeded to play one of the finest counter attacking innings under pressure. He had made a superb 149 n.o when the innings ended. The Aussies were set 130 to win and it seemed rather too low a target. Botham picked up the first wicket and after that, Bob Willis bowled the spell of his life picking up 8/43 and in quite remarkable circumstances bowled out Australia for 111. England had won after following on and this ahd turned the Ashes on its head. Botham's confidence was back and the morale of the Aussies was down. Yet, they were in a position to win the next test when they required about 30 runs with 5 wickets in hand when Ian Botham bowled a great spell grabbing 5/1 and snuffed out all the hopes of Australia. He then played a blinder at Old Trafford scoring 118 and starred in another win. The Ashes had been won from a near impossible situation and he was the toast of the nation. Not for nothing is this known as Botham's Ashes.
Photos below: Ashes 1981 heroes
Left: Ian Botham after his heroics at Headingley
Right: Bob Willis enroute to his 8/43.
8. The West Indian hegemony (1980's)--> By the mid-late 70's the West Indian's had discovered a pace battery that could terrorize rival teams and only the Packer drama came in between and slowed the onset of their dominance of world cricket. In the 1980's they were virtually unstoppable and destroyed anybody who played them. None more so than the hapless Englishmen in 1984 and 1985. They were blanked 5-0 both in England and in the West Indies. The highlights of these series were Greenidge's glorious double hundreds in England, West Indies chasing down 340 as if it were a stroll, Malcolm Marshall bowling with a fractured hand and annihilating England with 7/53, Viv Richards lashing England in an audacious display of batting to score the fastest hundred ever in tests at his home ground. The only real resistance the Windies had was from Pakistan who drew three test series 1-1 against them. Pakistan were also playing brilliant cricket and thrashed India and Australia in the early 1980's and they were led by the charismatic Imran Khan. The West Indies though had a steady supply of great fast bowlers including Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh who led their attack well into the next decade.
Photos below:
Left: Gordon Greenidge- one of the finest openers
Right: Malcolm Marshall-arguably the greatest fast bowler ever
Centre: Imran Khan, the dashing and charismatic Pakistani captain
9.Lara, Sachin, Warne and a change of guard at the top (1990's)--> By the 1990's, the game had become quite fast. The influence of ODI cricket was seen in the pace of the game and the athletic saves on the field. The 1990's also saw the rise of three of the greatest players of all time. Brian Charles Lara of Trinidad and Tobago and the West Indies rose to prominence with a sublime 277 at Sydney. This was followed by a glorious run in 1994 when he made the record score of 375 eclipsing the 365* set by Sir Garry Sobers in 1958. He then scored 7 hundreds in 8 innings in first class cricket and a mammoth 501* for Warwickshire against Durham which is till the highest first class score. He had his fair share of ups and downs in the following years but rose when it mattered the most. In 1999, after capitulating 0-5 to South Africa and being bowled out for 51 against Steve Waugh's marauding Aussies, he proceeded to score 213 to win the next test at Kingston. Then, in an immortal display, he shepherded the tail including the notoriously inept Walsh, scoring a classic 153* and chasing down 308. He also played a glittering knock in the next test scoring a 100 off just 84 balls and had single handedly ensured that the West Indies were not embarrassed. Some more glorious performances of his in the next decade include scoring 688 runs ina 3 match series against Sri Lanka where he mastered the great off spinner Muralitharan, reclaiming his test record which had been eclipsed by Matthew Hayden by scoring a jaw dropping 400* against England.
Sachin Tendulkar had long been touted as India's next Gavaskar. But he did far more than that. He announced himself by playing two dashing innings against the powerful Aussies in 1991-92. His innings of 114 on a Perth flyer mus rank right up there in terms of skill. A remarkable figure of consistency and poise, he played great knocks everywhere and his mastery of Shane Warne in 1998 left watchers bewildered. Holder of the record for most 100's in tests and odi's, the highest aggregate test runs when he went past the West Indian genius Brian Lara, he has achieved almost everything there is and his simplicity on and off the field has been a revelation.
Shane Warne made his debut in rather forgettable circumstances with 1/228 at Sydney in 1991-92 when Ravi Shastri and Sachin Tendulkar put him to the sword. He turned it all around in the Ashes 1993 when he picked up 34 wickets including a bemused Mike Gatting with the 'ball of the century'. He made a fool of many a batsman with his outstanding repetoire of leg breaks, wrong un's, flippers and other variations. He proved to be a great match winner and appeared in the Wisden top 5 within 10 years of his debut which is testimony to his greatness and influence on the modern game.
Photos below: The 3 modern day legends
Left: The thrilling and mercurial Brian Lara essays a classic cover drive during his immortal 153* against Australia in 1999.
Right: The Little master Sachin Tendulkar acknowledges the cheers for yet another milestone in a glittering career.
Centre: Shane Warne celebrates after bowling a bemused Mike Gatting with the 'Ball of the century'.
The 1990's also saw a change of guard at the top of the world standings when Australia who had risen from the depths of the mid 1980's put it across the West Indians in 1995. Aided by a glorious 200 by Steve Waugh and 126 from his twin Mark Waugh, they went on to triumph in the unofficial test championship and ever since went on to dominate world cricket well into the 2000's. Led by Mark Taylor and then Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, they played an aggressive brand of cricket characterized by ruthless efficiency and boasted of a galaxy of match winners such as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and the exciting keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist. they took the world by storm and ruled the world for well over a decade. In a decade of great bowling performances, Anil Kumble's historic perfect 10 at the Kotla against Pskistan in February 1999 must rank as the finest performance by an Indian bowler.
Photos below:
Left: The Aussie juggernaut keeps rolling on..
Right: The entertainer par excellence Adam Gilchrist
10. Australia in India (2001)--> Steve Waugh's mighty Aussies had won 16 tests in a row and wanted to cap it off in India where they did not have a great record. Waugh called it the 'final frontier' and by the time the matches started their intensity was visible. They won the first test at Mumbai by 10 wickets after a stupendous innings from Adam Gilchrist. The 2nd test started at the Eden Gardens and in response to Australia's 445 India had been bowled out for 171 and were asked to follow on. It seemed like curtains for the Indians, when one VVS Laxman who had been promoted to number 3 after he made 50 in the first innings started timing the ball quite beautifully. Joined by Rahul Dravid who had till then been mesmerized by Shane Warne, the pair set about playing some gorgeous strokes. The Aussies tried everything but to no avail. The pair batted through the entire 4th day unbeaten and when Laxman finally fell for an unforgettable 281, the match ahd been turned head over heels. Rahul Dravid made a brilliant 180 and the Aussies were stunned by what had happened. They collapsed against Harbhajan Singh who bowled a dream spell and lost by 171 runs. The teams moved onto Chennai where the master Sachin Tendulkar played a great knock setting it up for India. Matthew Hayden was the sole performer for the Aussies and India had to chase just 165 to win. In a match full of twists and turns, the Indians showed their nerves and finally the unlikely heroes were Samir Dighe and Harbhajan himself who managed to get India past the line by 2 wickets in a humdinger. The win at Calcutta had shades of Botham's Ashes in 1981 when the team had come from follow on to win the match and then the series. It was undoubtedly one of the greatest test series of all time and stands firmly etched in the memory of all cricket lovers.
Photo below: Laxman and Dravid walk off after their historic partnership at the Eden Gardens against Australia 2001.
11. The Ashes 2005--> Australia had dominated England ever since 1989 in the Ashes and English fans feared yet another repeat when the mighty Australians reached the shores of the Old Blighty. England made a fascinating start by bowling the Aussies out for 190 at Lords. Hopes were raised but were also brought down quickly to earth by the metronome Glenn Mcgrath. He destroyed England with a spell of 5 wickets as they folded up for 155 with only debutant Kevin Pietersen providing any resistance. Normal service resumed in the second innings with Michael Clarke making 91 and the Aussies set England a target of 420 and bowled them out for 180 winning by 239 runs.
The second test started at Edgbaston and England were granted a life line when Glenn Mcgrath was declared unfit to play because of a twisted ankle. The England openers made hay and only Shane Warne stood in the way. England made 407 and in a brilliant display of reverse swing bowling, the Aussies were bowled out for 308. England were then bowled out for 182 leaving the Aussies to get 282. At the end of the 4th day, England seemed to have the match in the bag with the Aussies tottering at 175/7. But England's nemesis Shane Warne had other answers. He in partnership with Brett Lee took Australia closer. Harmison removed Warne but Lee and Kasprowicz kept going and the situation became grim for England. They were just praying for a miracle when it came. Kasprowicz tried to get out of the way of a bouncer from Harmison but gloved it to a gleeful Geraint Jones. England had won by 2 runs in a fantastic game!!...But..this was only the precursor to a classic nail biting series.
At Old Trafford , McGrath was back but no where near his best and England piled on the runs scoring 444. They bowled the Aussies out for 302 with Simon Jones picking up 6 wickets. They then scored 280 setting an unlikely target of 423. Australia made a good start but soon the pressure was telling on them. The wickets continued to fall but the captin Ricky Ponting stood firm. He made an excellent 156 before being dismissed with 24 bals to spare. With just Glenn Mcgrath to come, the English thought they had it sealed. But Lee and Mcgrath resisted and held firm taking blow after blow for 4 overs and the Aussies lived to fight another day!..England were by now the more confident team and with Mcgrath missing again, they posted 477. They bowled superbly and bundled the Aussies for 218 and enforced the follow on. It was the first time in 17 years that Australia had followed on and England were right on top. Australia responded with 387 but England just had to chase 129. Enter Shane Warne, he flummoxed the batsmen with some quite brilliant leg spin bowling and England were staring down the barrel at 4 down for 57. Pietersen and Flintoff combined to raise the score past a 100 when Brett Lee struck twice to remove both. Warne removed Geraint Jones and it seemed like England didn't have it in them to win. Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard combined pluck with some luck and took England past the finish line albeit only just and the nation erupted. In the final test at the Oval, weather played a major part and Pietersen's lucky breaks when he was dropped thrice eary helped him score a superb 158 and save the test thus enabling his team to regain the Ashes. This was one of the most closely contested series and could have gone either way and left one hungry for more!...
Photos below: Ashes 2005 scenes
Left: Euphoric England after their fantastic win
Right: Amazing scene at Edgbaston. Amidst all the celebration, Flintoff consoles a valiant Brett Lee after the Aussies fall just short.
Ok then I have completed compiling my set of the greatest moments, episodes, players and matches from the glorious history of test cricket..Do have a read and let me know what can be included and your own list as well..!
Disclaimer: All images shown are for informational purposes only.
