Where does Edgbaston ’23 rank? The eleven best Ashes Tests of all time

There are too many matches to consider, so we shall consider at most one Test match from each Ashes series. That means leaving out Old Trafford 1902, Melbourne 1907/08, Old Trafford 2005, Trent Bridge 2005… but the pool is enormous.

This also does not consider England-Australia Test matches that were not contested for the Ashes.

11. 1st Test, 2023: Edgbaston, Birmingham

To avoid recency bias, let us put the Edgbaston classic at 11th – the bottom of this list, but 11th out of a pool of 341.

England’s much-debated first-day declaration and breathtaking, high-risk approach was combated by Australia’s adherence to convention, and the fascinating contest culminated in a final day’s cricket that might easily have gone the other way, had England snaffled every chance that came their way.

10. 1st Test, 1907/08: Sydney Cricket Ground

Just ahead of Edgbaston 2023 is one from the greatest, and most curiously forgotten, Test series of all time. This was the first of four classic matches in the series.

After four days of cricket in this timeless Test match, Australia were 63-3 in the fourth innings. They needed another 212. Then it rained for more than a day and a half. But when play resumed, the pitch remained surprisingly firm.

Still, England had a very good bowling attack – Syd Barnes, Wilfred Rhodes, Len Braund, Arthur Fielder, Colin Blythe, Jack Crawford, the who’s who of England cricket of the era. They got wickets fell at regular intervals.

At 124-6, Australia’s batting was all but over, but wicketkeeper Sammy Carter then added 61 with Peter McAllister and another 34 with fast bowler Tibby Cotter.

Cotter was a curious case. He was a genuinely quick bowler, and like most fast bowlers, he was a slogger. But on this day, he blocked and blocked and blocked, letting Carter score. “No better exhibition of restraint have I ever seen than that of Cotter on this occasion,” Charles Macartney, who debuted for Australia in that Test match, later said.

Carter, an innovative batter who played all round the wicket and was an early exponent of the scoop shot, made 61 before Fielder had him caught-behind. Australia still needed 56.

Gerry Hazlitt, a teenager with no reputation for batting, now joined the slogger-turned-defender Cotter. No.11 was Jack Saunders, a walking wicket who would finish with a first-class batting average of under five.

But Cotter still chose to defend, letting the teenage Hazlitt play the shots. Hazlitt was dropped once, survived two close run outs, and almost played one on, but he stayed put.

With seven to make, Cotter straight-drove Fielder and ran three. Young Hazlitt came on strike. As a last-ditch effort, Fielder bowled a bouncer, but this was Hazlitt’s day. He calmly swung the ball to the leg-side for four to seal the match.

Cotter and Hazlitt added an unbroken 56, a run more than what Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon got in Edgbaston in 2023. This remains the highest ninth-wicket partnership in a successful chase in the Ashes.

9. 4th Test, 1982/83: Melbourne Cricket Ground

Australia had taken a 2-0 lead, but England could still level the series and retain the Ashes. For that, they needed to defend 292.

Norman Cowans took six wickets, and Australia became 218-9, but by stumps on the fourth day, Allan Border and Jeff Thomson erased exactly half the remaining runs. They needed another 37.

England kept attacking Thomson, but they kept the field spread out for Border, even with the new ball. With no entry fee, 18,000 turned up for the last day’s play. As Border and Thomson kept pushing the score, they cheered every run.

Seventeen overs passed by, but England could not take the last wicket. Australia now needed just four. Thomson, the No.11, had faced 61 balls to make 21 runs.

First slip Geoff Miller and second slip Chris Tavare had noticed the low bounce. They moved forward by a couple of yards ahead of the next over.

Ian Botham bowled short, outside off. Thomson tried to push the ball for a run. He probably wanted to give the strike to Border.

The ball flew to Tavare, but since he had moved closer, he had less time to react. It somehow ricocheted off his hands and ballooned behind him. Miller ran in from first slip to complete the catch.

8. 1st Test, 1950/51: The Gabba, Brisbane

It is not your fault if you come across this scorecard in 2023, do a double-take and try to figure out what happened: Australia 228 and 32-7 declared, England 68-7 declared and 122.

It is not your fault. You will not see a result like this today.

The first day was ‘normal’, and Australia made 228. Then it rained for two and a half days. The pitch was covered, but the water seeped in. When England began their innings, it became clear that this was one of the infamous Brisbane sticky wickets where batting often became a lottery.

England captain Freddie Brown declared at 22 minutes past three, on 68-7. England were 160 runs behind, but Brown wanted to put Australia in before sun dried the wicket.

Australian captain Lindsay Hassett was in no mood to play into England’s hand. He declared an hour later, on 32-7. England’s target was 193. Their only chance was to push the match into the next day. If it did not rain overnight, they might win it.

Brown pushed his best batters, Len Hutton and Denis Compton, as far down the order as possible. By stumps, England were 30-6, but Hutton and Compton were left to bat. Twenty wickets had fallen on that day, for 130 runs.

On the next morning, Brown came early to the ground with a stopwatch, to make sure the Gabba horse pulled the roller for the stipulated time. When play began, Godfrey Evans went soon, and Compton fell first ball. England were a hopeless 46-8. Another 147 were needed.

Australia only two wickets, but the win, to quote the Wisden Almanack, “was not theirs until Hutton had given yet another exhibition of his wonderful batsmanship on tricky turf”.

Hutton added 31 for the ninth wicket and 45 for the tenth before he ran out of partners. He was left stranded on 62. Australia won by 70 runs.

7. 5th Test, 1902: The Oval, London

Australia had already won the Ashes and even here, they took a lead of 141, but England bowled them out for 121 early on the final day.

England needed 263 and on a wicket fresh after rain, the Australian bowlers moved the ball around. At 48-5, the Test match seemed done and dusted.

Stanley Jackson was at one end, and England had a long line of all-rounders. Even No.11 Rhodes would open batting for England in a few years – but it was still a steep task.

Gilbert Jessop walked out now. One of the greatest hitters of all time, he had been a last-minute addition to the Test match.

The biggest threat was off-spinner Hugh Trumble, who had bowled unchanged to take 8-65 in the first innings, and would take four more wickets in the second. In Saunders, he found an excellent support. There was not long to go before lunch.

But Jessop decided to take them on, and England were 87-5 at lunch. Very few people left the ground, but one of them was PG Wodehouse. Some suggest that he quit his job at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and took up writing because he did not want to miss cricket.

Jessop continued with the onslaught. Warwick Armstrong replaced Saunders, Jackson fell after an uncharacteristically restrained 49, but none of that mattered to Jessop.

George Hirst survived an lbw appeal, but at the other end, Jessop reached his hundred in 76 balls, still the fastest for England. He fell for 102. England needed another 76, but their all-rounders now rose to the task. Hirst added 27 with Bill Lockwood and 34 with wicketkeeper Dick Lilley.

England needed 15 when last man Rhodes joined his Yorkshire teammate Hirst. All eyes were on the two men from the village of Kirkheaton.

Hirst got his fifty. Rhodes edged one for four. He edged again, and Armstrong dropped the catch. He then nearly hit one back to Trumble.

Singles came. There was an overthrow and they ran two. With three runs left, it began to rain, but the match continued. Hirst kept the strike, and ran another single to level the score.

A spectator invaded the ground. He had thought England had won. He had to leave. Three more balls passed. Then Rhodes pushed to mid-on and completed the winning single.

6. 1st Test, 1894/95: Sydney Cricket Ground

The first five days of this match were dominated by legendary South Australian all-rounder George Giffen. He made 161 and took eight wickets, and England had to follow on.

Australia needed only 177 to win. After the fifth day, they were 113-2, only 64 away from a win. The ubiquitous Giffen, 30 not out overnight, was obviously in high spirits when he woke up to a bright, sunny day.

But outside the room, he met his captain Jack Blackham, who broke the bad news: it had rained through the night.

The mood in the England camp was completely different. Left-arm spinner Bobby Peel was a master on wet wickets, but he had probably given up hope and had spent the night drinking. Captain Andrew Stoddart made him stand in a cold shower.

It worked. “Give me the ball, Mr. Stoddart, and I’ll have the buggers out before lunch,” said the sobered-up Peel.

Of course, Peel could not do it alone. He bowled in tandem with Johnny Briggs, the other great left-arm spinner of the side. Australia lost both not out batters early. Giffen finished his outstanding Test match with 41, but it was not enough.

With 30 to win, Australia were still in it, but the last six wickets went down for only 19. England became the first team to win a Test match after following on.

5. 3rd Test, 2019: Headingley, Leeds

So synonymous is Ben Stokes to the chase that Marnus Labuschagne’s twin fifties, England’s 67 all out, Jofra Archer’s scorching spell, Josh Hazlewood’s counterpunches, even the crucial third-wicket stand between the two Joes, Denly and Root, that lifted England from 15-2 when they set out to chase 359, have all started to fade from our memories in less than four years.

At stumps on day three, England were 156-3. Three runs into the morning, they lost Root. Tim Paine claimed the second new ball. But there was hope, for they had Stokes, and this was 2019, the summer when Stokes could do no wrong.

Jonny Bairstow helped Stokes bring the target down to 109, but then the wickets fell one by one. England needed 73 when last man Jack Leach walked out.

Leach could bat, there was no doubt about that. Earlier that summer, he had made 92 while opening the batting. For Stokes, however, there was little to decide. He tried his best to retain the strike, and in the balls in between, he aimed for the mountains.

He hit Lyon for three sixes in eight balls. When Cummins replaced Lyon, Stokes lofted him for six as well. When Hazlewood returned, Stokes went four, six, six.

Marcus Harris dropped a hard chance. Stokes followed up with two fours. Cummins appealed against Leach, the umpire said no, so they burnt a review.

Australia could have got Stokes next over, had they gone for the DRS. But they could not, for they had used up their last one on Leach.

England needed two. Nathan Lyon fumbled at the non-striker’s end after a mix-up. Leach, who had somehow retained his calm amidst the carnage, took his time out to wipe the sweat off his glasses. Off the third ball of Cummins’s over, he finally got off the mark after an hour’s batting.

The scores were levelled, but a nudge for a single would not have been a Ben Stokes thing to do. He smashed the next ball for four through cover, and celebrated, his hands spread wide.

4. 5th Test, 1968: The Oval, London

The 1968 Oval Test is one of the most significant in history, but it was a great cricket match as well.

The Ashes were gone, but England could still level the series. They were defending 352, and at stumps on day four, they had Australia at 13-2, and by lunch, at 86-5. It seemed like an easy win.

But then it rained, not just a drizzle but a heavy downpour that lasted for half an hour. The sun came out, but by then the grass was barely visible, even on the outfield. The Oval resembled an enormous lake.

England captain Colin Cowdrey waded his way to the middle, trousers folded, to discuss the matter with head ground staff Ted Warn: there were just not enough people to dry a full cricket ground in time for England to take those five wickets.

So Cowdrey took over the PA system to request the spectators to help. The Oval crowd rose to the occasion with blankets, handkerchiefs, their clothing, whatever they had, to work under Warn’s experienced instructions. It took them two and a half hours to prepare the ground.

England needed five wickets in 75 minutes. Runs were of no consequence.

Minutes passed by. John Inverarity and Barry Jarman could not be dislodged. With 40 minutes left, Cowdrey turned to Basil D’Oliveira. Jarman left a straight ball that hit the off stump.

The stage was set for the genius of Derek Underwood and all nine fielders around the batter. Standing very close to the batter at short leg, the enormous David Brown scooped up very low catches to claim Ashley Mallett and Graham McKenzie.

Underwood then clean bowled John Gleeson with only 10 minutes left. Australia’s hopes rested on opener Inverarity, who had been glued to the crease for over four hours.

It took another five minutes, but Underwood eventually trapped Inverarity leg-before with his famous arm ball to finish with 7-50.

But the result is only the cricketing story of this epochal Test match. Its impact was far-reaching.

D’Oliveira had made 158 out of a total of 494 in England’s first innings. When he had reached his hundred, umpire Charlie Elliott had uttered “oh Christ, you’ve put the cat among the pigeons now” before going on to congratulate D’Oliveira.

England were supposed to tour South Africa later that year, and the South African government had made it clear that no coloured cricketer would be allowed to tour the country.

Years ago, the Cape Coloured D’Oliveira had escaped South Africa to find a home in, and play Test cricket for, England. He had been struggling with form for some time, but this Oval hundred was almost certain to have brought him back into contention again.

A day after the great Oval win, the MCC named their 16-man squad for the South Africa tour. D’Oliveira was not there. The decision was met with an outrage at various levels in England, from teammates to media to fans.

Not too long afterwards, Tom Cartwright of Warwickshire pulled out of the tour with a shoulder injury. This time the MCC had to include D’Oliveira.

The South African government retaliated. Prime minister BJ Vorster was clear in his stance: “We are not prepared to receive a team thrust upon us by people whose interests are not in the game but to gain certain political objectives which they do not even attempt to hide. The MCC team is not the team of the MCC but of the anti-apartheid movement.”

The tour was called off. Within a year and a half, South Africa were ostracised by the rest of the cricketing world. The Gleneagles Agreement of 1977 put the official stamp on their ban.

3. 2nd Test, 2005: Edgbaston, Birmingham

Mike Gatting’s England had retained the Ashes in 1986/87. Those born during that series had turned 18 by the time the 2005 series began – without having known what it is like to see England win an Ashes.

The Australian side was among the greatest of all time, but this was an excellent England unit as well. If the series wins in Pakistan and Sri Lanka seemed in the distant past, beating the West Indies away and home, sweeping New Zealand, and winning a series in South Africa had all happened less than a year ago. They were also bolstered by the arrival of Kevin Pietersen.

Australia had shown the first signs of fallibility even before the Ashes began. In the NatWest Trophy, they lost to Bangladesh, ICC’s newest Full Member. In a Twenty20 International, cricket’s newest format, England had bowled them out for 79.

Yet, England’s hopes were crushed at Lord’s. Glenn McGrath claimed 9-82 and Shane Warne 6-83, and Australia won by 239 runs inside four days. A familiar feeling crept in.

Then, something went England’s way… though perhaps not what they had expected. On the morning of the Edgbaston Test match, McGrath twisted his ankle standing on a cricket ball while playing tag rugby and was ruled out of the Test match.

The English camp’s relief was summarised by Andrew Flintoff’s confession: “I was smiling, ecstatic. The coaching staff told us to think nothing’s happened, don’t react. I think I went out the back cheering, singing Christmas carols.”

Asked to bat on a flat pitch, England made 407 – all of it on day one. Pietersen made 71 in 76 balls. Flintoff 68 in 62. Australia responded with 308, and England made 182. This time Flintoff made 73 in 86, adding 51 for the last wicket.

Australia needed 282. Flintoff then knocked back Justin Langer’s off-stump, brought four balls into Ricky Ponting before taking his outside edge – all in the same over.

Michael Clarke put up a fight, but Steve Harmison bowled him with a slower ball – “one of the great balls”, as Mark Nicholas put it – to end the day. Australia needed 107 to win. Two wickets remained.

Over half an hour into the next morning, Warne trod on to the stumps too. Another 55 to go. But the last pair clung on. They ran singles. They picked up the odd boundary. Simon Jones dropped Michael Kasprowicz. Brett Lee kept playing his shots. The target came down to three.

Then Harmison bounced. Kasprowicz perhaps considered the pull but was left indecisive, and the ball touched his glove. His hand was off the bat, but the umpire hadn’t spotted that fact. Wicketkeeper Geraint Jones dived to take an excellent catch.

England levelled the series. Regaining the urn was some distance away, but it was a start. “I knew that if they had got over the line, it would have been Ashes over. We now knew we could win,” England captain Michael Vaughan later said.

Three Test matches later, Australia had to surrender the urn.

2. 3rd Test, 1932/33: Adelaide Oval

England won this one-sided affair by 338 runs and inched closer to getting their hands on the urn. Yet, there has been no Ashes Test match like this one, for this was perhaps the closest cricket came to threatening Anglo-Australian diplomatic relationships.

Douglas Jardine had arrived in Australia with a plan. He wanted to win the Ashes. For that, he had to stop Don Bradman. For that, he used a group of bowlers who would bowl fast, short-pitched balls at the body of the batters with six to eight close-in fielders on the leg-side.

The media and fans would call it Bodyline.

England made 341 in this Test match, and Bradman joined his captain Bill Woodfull after Australia lost Jack Fingleton early.

Harold Larwood bowled a very fast ball – the last ball of his second over – that hit Woodfull just above the heart. Jardine did not show any concern. Instead, he said “well bowled, Harold,” loud enough for Woodfull and Bradman to hear.

When Larwood returned for his next over, Jardine switched to the Bodyline field.

That evening, England manager Plum Warner visited the Australian dressing-room for updates on Woodfull. Woodfull’s response is part of cricket folklore: “I do not want to see you, Mr Warner. There are two teams out there. One is trying to play cricket and the other is not. It is too great a game to spoil. It is time some people get out of the game. The matter is in your hands. Good afternoon.”

The next day, Australian wicketkeeper Bert Oldfield ducked into a bouncer from Larwood. The ball took the top edge and hit him on the temple. Oldfield just had time to say “not your fault, Harold” before collapsing. Woodfull walked out in a suit to take Oldfield away.

The crowd erupted. The South Australia Cricket Association called the Angus Street Police Headquarters. A force arrived on motorbikes. The barracking and booing continued for much of the rest of the Test.

The day the match finished, the Australian Cricket Board decided to send a cable to the MCC: “Bodyline bowling assumed such proportions as to menace best interests of game, making protection of body by batsmen the main consideration. Causing an intensely bitter feeling between players as well as injury. In our opinion is unsportsmanlike. Unless stopped at once likely to upset friendly relations existing between Australia and England.”

The MCC’s response was just as direct: “We, Marylebone Cricket Club, deplore your cable. We deprecate your opinion that there has been unsportsmanlike play … We hope the situation is not now as serious as your cable would seem to indicate, but if it is such as to jeopardise the good relations between English and Australian cricketers, and you consider it desirable to cancel remainder of the programme, we would consent with great reluctance.”

It was too big a risk for the ACB to take. In the subsequent cable, they did call Bodyline “opposed to the spirit of cricket and unnecessarily dangerous to cricketers”, but they ended with “we do not consider it necessary to cancel remainder of programme.”

The tour continued. But cricket had been changed forever.

1. 3rd Test, 1981: Headingley, Leeds

The tail can perform a miraculous rearguard act to achieve a miracle. A bowler can defend a paltry score on their own. A cricketer, just sacked from captaincy, can perform miraculous deeds.

All that, and more, have happened throughout the history of cricket. Just not in the same Test match. Definitely not in the space of two days.

Already one Test up in the series, Australia declared on 401-9, bowled out England for 174, enforced the follow-on, and had England at 135-7.

Three wickets in hand, 92 just to make Australia bat again with a day and a half left. Little children dream of winning Test matches from these situations. It does not happen in real life.

Two Test matches into the series, Australia were 1-0 up. England had sacked their new captain Ian Botham and recalled Mike Brearley to the XI. They asked him to lead the side.

Botham had failed in these two Test matches. At Lord’s, he had scored a pair. But now, relieved of captaincy, he took 6-95 in the first innings at Headingley, and made 50 in 54 balls with the bat. Glimpses of the old Botham were back, but the most celebrated performance was yet to come.

“You don’t fancy hanging around on this wicket for a day and a half, do you?” he asked as Graham Dilley walked out. Dilley agreed.

“Right. Come on, let’s give it some humpty.” – Ian Botham.

So it began. Dennis Lillee, Terry Alderman, Geoff Lawson formed a strong pace attack, but Botham and Dilley were in no mood to defend. As Australia captain Kim Hughes kept his only spinner, Ray Bright, out of harm’s way, Botham took 87 balls to reach his hundred, while Dilley played his part with 56 in 75 balls.

The pair added 117 in 80 minutes before Chris Old then came and blasted 29 in 31. Botham eventually remained unbeaten on 149 from 148 balls.

He hit 27 fours and a six – 114 runs in boundaries. He took risks that seemed outrageous even by his standards. When they came off, the ball went far. When he edged, the ball flew – but invariably landed safe. “Bloody lucky innings. I expected to get him virtually every ball,” Lillee later reminisced.

Yet, the job was only half done, because England now had to defend only 130 on the last day. Botham and Dilley, the batting heroes, opened the bowling. Botham even got a wicket, but the runs came too quickly, and the target was too small.

Bob Willis replaced Dilley. Trying to bowl uphill, he could not find his rhythm. He wanted to bowl with the wind. Brearley initially refused, but eventually replaced Botham with Willis at the Kirkstall Lane End.

Australia were 56-1. By lunch, Willis took three wickets, and they were 58-4. After the break, Old got Allan Border for a duck. Willis kept hitting the pitch just short of a length. Some balls rose steeply, causing the batters to hurry.

Australia were soon 75-8, but Bright and Lillee played their shots and found the boundary five times to push the the score to 110-8. They needed only 20, but Willis aimed for the stumps. This time Lillee mistimed, and Mike Gatting caught him brilliantly at mid-on.

Botham immediately found Alderman’s edge, but Old dropped him at third slip, not once but twice. Then Willis had the final say, when he knocked out Bright’s middle stump out of the ground,

England had pulled off the greatest of miracles.