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Body will be cremated and The Ashes taken to Australia .”
The English media then dubbed the next English tour to Australia ( 1882-83 ) as the quest to regain The Ashes . Turns out the Poms have a pretty good sense of humour .
2 1960 : BRISBANE , AUSTRALIA THE FIRST TIED TEST MATCH The year was 1960 . The day : 14 December . It will forever be remembered as the first tied Test match in cricket history that was played between Australia and the West Indies .
The Aussies were chasing the target of 233 runs . At 109 for 6 , with 120 minutes on the clock , Australia was on struggle street . Then captain Richie Benaud stepped in . Supported by stellar all-rounder Allan Davidson , the pair notched up a speedy 134 run association for the seventh wicket .
By the time the last over rolled around , the Aussies needed six runs . Having just lost three wickets in seven deliveries , confidence wasn ’ t exactly at an
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all-time high . The seventh bowl saw Ian Meckiff tied for a single and ultimately got out by Joe Solomon ’ s throw from the square leg .
In a whopping 83 years , that right there was the first time the cricket world witnessed a tied Test .
3 1995 : KINGSTON ,
JAMAICA THAT TIME THE WAUGH BROTHERS WHIPPED THE WINDIES The year was 1995 . Australia hasn ’ t beaten the West Indies in a Test series for 20 years . Then Mark Taylor took one-hell-of-a-squad to the
Caribbean . The series was locked at one-all . It was now or never . The West Indies racked up 265 runs in the first innings and had the Aussie team in early strife at 3-73 . That ’ s when Steve Waugh came in . With a reputation as world cricket ’ s most uncompromising batsman , Steve teamed with brother Mark to smash out 231 runs over four hours . The twins ’ aggressive batting left the Windies dazed and confused ;
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They lost their footing and secured just 67 from the first 11 overs after lunch on day two .
Later that afternoon , Mark was knocked out at 126 . But Steve kicked on from his 110 overnight . The end result ? A maiden double century the next day . He was the last man out , after running four to reach 200 and his epic 555-minute , 425-ball session guided Australia to a total of 531 and a lead of 266 .
4 2003 : MELBOURNE , AUSTRALIA PONTING VS INDIA The year was 2003 . Despite Ricky Ponting tallying up a double century , India had snatched victory in the second Test in Adelaide . The third Test wasn ’ t looking great either , when on the opening day Virender Sehwag smashed out a mega 195 runs . All of a sudden , India was in prime position to secure a 2-0 series lead .
But day two rolled round and they were all out for 366 . The Aussies took to the crease .
Sure , they were without their usual swagger in the form of Warne and McGrath , but Ponting was on the case . He partnered with Matthew Hayden ( 136 ) and occupied the crease for 10 minutes short of 10 hours . His efforts had well and truly turned the tables .
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Australia led by almost 200 .
India was all out for 286 in their second innings and Australia easily secured the required 95 with nine wickets spare . In short , the Aussies won . And Ponting ’ s stellar performance avoided a Test series win for India in this great southern land – something they ’ re yet to achieve to this day .
5 2014 : CAPE TOWN , SOUTH AFRICA MICHAEL CLARKE TAKES ON SOUTH AFRICA The year was 2014 . The No . 1 Test ranking was up for grabs and the series level at 1-1 . Aussie captain Michael Clarke won the toss and chose to bat . He took to the crease and weathered a sustained storm of brutal fast bowling from Morne Morkel . Clarke copped that cricket ball around the ribs , arms , shoulders and back – but he kept going and eventually secured a century in next-level challenging conditions .
His efforts set Australia up for a return to the world No . 1 ranking .
Clarke later took himself off to the doctor . Scans revealed a fractured shoulder and a heavily bruised forearm . Deadset . Aussie . Legend . His performance wrapped up a classic summer series and was the highest point the national side reached since their history-making 2006-07 Ashes .
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