The Ashes fever has gripped not only Australia and England but also other cricket-crazy nations across the globe. The fierce battle between the two nations has always been fascinating and produced some jaw-dropping and wow moments. Whether it is the “Bodyline” tactics of England to stifle the run flow from the willow of the Don Bradman or the match-winning efforts of Ian Botham and Ben Stokes, the Ashes encounters have got several interesting and timeless tales. So, let us relive some of the memorable moments that made the Oz-England cricket duel very very special.
Bradman’s Zero, 1948
How something that happened in the 20th century, that too a duck, would interest anyone in the new millennium? People might wonder. Don Bradman was, without a shred of doubt, the GOAT in cricket and his records prove the same. Not many can even think of achieving a fraction of what he has during his active years as a cricketer. In his last appearance for Australia, he needed just four runs to take his batting average to 100, however, he got out to leg spinner Eric Hollies for zero. Resultantly, he fell short by a whisker (99.94) however, the record remains unbroken to this day. As a matter of fact, this was only his seventh duck in his glittering international career.
Botham All The Way, 1981
Well, players struggling to find a perfect balance between captaincy and consistency could take a cue from one of the greatest all-rounders of the game, Ian Botham. After losing the first game, the England all-rounder relinquished captaincy to focus on his performance. Following this, he had a dream run with the bat, the highlight being the 149 at Headingley, which helped England to claw their way back into the series. Botham deservedly won the player of the series for his exemplary performance throughout the coveted event.
Triple Bonanza For Warney, 1994
Unarguably the greatest leg spinner the game has ever seen, Shane Warne weaved his magic at the MCG in 1994. After enduring a below-par opening spell that hardly fetched him any wicket, Warne struck three times in succession in the 13th over. His victims were Phil DeFreitas (LBW), Darren Gough (caught behind) and Devon Malcolm (snared at slips). This happened to be the first hat-trick in the Ashes after Huge Trumble’s magic in 1904. What made the feat all the more special was that it came exactly a year after Warne made several heads turn with the “Ball of the Century” in 1993.
Johnson Annihilates England, 2013-14
This series is remembered for two things: the resurgence of Mitchell Johnson and the disappearance of Kevin Peterson from the international arena. Apart from inflicting critical blows to England with the ball, Johnson also took his team to a respectable total by putting a significant 132 runs stand with Brad Haddin in which he contributed 64 runs. When he got the ball in his hand he made the English batsmen run for the cover with figures of 4/62 and 5/42 in the series opener. Overall, Johnson took 37 wickets in the five-match series in which England were blanked 5-0 by the “merciless” Australians.
The Miracle Man (Stokes’ coup), 2019
With the series in Australia’s favour (2-1), England had everything to play for in the final Test at Headingley. Australia would have easily taken the urn back home from England had it not been for the scintillating display by Ben Stokes (135*) in the last Test at Headingley. Chasing 359 on the final day is never easy, but the masterclass by Stokes turned the impossible mission possible. With wickets falling in heaps at one end, the English all-rounder batted with dogged determination, even put up the last wicket stand of 76 with Jack Leach, to take England home and level the series 2-2.
