What have been the best Test matches ever?
Roar Guru By Jason Cave, 10 Dec 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Guru
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- Australian Cricket, Cricket, Test cricket
Seeing as we had a good, but not great, Test match in Adelaide between Australia and the West Indies, it made me wonder: what were the best Test matches I’ve seen in my time watching cricket?
Here are my selections:
1. Centenary Test 1977 Australia v England (Melbourne)
2. 3rd Test 1981 England v Australia (Headingley)
3. 4th Test 1982 Australia v England (Melbourne)
4. 2nd Test 1994 Australia v South Africa (Sydney)
5. 4th Test 1993 Australia v West Indies (Adelaide)
6. 2nd Test 2005 England v Australia (Birmingham)
7. 2nd Test 2006 Australia v England (Adelaide)
8. 3rd Test 1987 Australia v New Zealand (Melbourne)
9. 2nd Test 2001 India v Australia (Kolkata)
10. 3rd Test 2005 England v Australia (Nottingham)
Which Test matches are the best you’ve seen, either live or on TV?
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December 10th 2009 @ 11:02am
vinay verma said | December 10th 2009 @ 11:02am | Report comment
For all those roarers that missed the Austalian and West indies Tests and Super Tests between 1975 and 1990 grab hold of the old tapes and maybe later CD’s. Some of the best cricket ever pllayed was between these two sides in that 15 year period. Waugh, Border and Taylor growing up would have had their heroes as the Chappells,Lillees,Walters,lloyd,Holding and marshall. You cant really appreciate what is happening now without the Historical perspective.
December 10th 2009 @ 1:27pm
sheek said | December 10th 2009 @ 1:27pm | Report comment
There were some cracking games in my early years of following the game, apart from those mentioned by Jason.
5th test v England at The Oval, 1972.
3rd test v Pakistan at Sydney, 72/73.
4th test v Windies at Georgetown, Guyana (I think), 1973.
1st, 2nd & 5th tests v India Brisbane, Perth & Adelaide, 1977/78.
After this memory fades…..
December 10th 2009 @ 2:01pm
vinay verma said | December 10th 2009 @ 2:01pm | Report comment
Sheek..In the 60′s and early 70′s there was a primal air about the cricket. No helmets,unlimited bouncers,toothpick bats and brave shortlegs. This was high theatre. There was danger and the smell of cordite. Roberts and Holding to the Chappels and Redpath was like Gunfight at the OK Corall, Big bad patterson was like the Raging Bull. The chant of Lillee! Lillee! and the thumping of the signs on the fence was a crescendo as every delivery was hurled at the batsman.
An esky full of beer and Xmas Ham..as someone sang..those were the days. I recall one day when Greg Chappel got a fifty and I jumped up and cheered. I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder and this great big Jamiacan lilted: ” Man,you some kind of Australian?” But he had a great big smile on his dial.
December 10th 2009 @ 7:04pm
sheek said | December 10th 2009 @ 7:04pm | Report comment
Vinay,
Quite by accident I cam across a Foxtel special earlier this week on the famous tied-test series between Australia & Windies 1960/61.
Man, you have to admire the batsmen of those days – no helmets, only rudimentary padding. You lived or died (literally sometimes) by your wits, quick eye & feet & hand movements.
When considering players from different generations, it is necessary to take into consideration how helmets may have helped many modern batsman, just as ‘sticky’ (uncovered) wickets worked against batsmen of prior generations.
December 10th 2009 @ 3:53pm
drewster said | December 10th 2009 @ 3:53pm | Report comment
Who can forget the 1999/2000 Pakistan Vs Aust. Test in Hobart when Aust. needed 369 to win and were 5/126 when Gilchrist (playing in his 2nd test) joined Langer at the crease. Facing Akram, Younis, Shoab Akhtar and Mushtaq, Langer made 127 and Gilly peeled off a lazy 149no to win the game by 4 wickets. As good a comeback win as I have seen especially against such a strong bowling attack as that. Even more enjoyable if you are a West Aussie!.
December 10th 2009 @ 4:00pm
Fisher Price said | December 10th 2009 @ 4:00pm | Report comment
Ah, yes. I recall Langer getting a big nick behind to one but the umpire was unmoved.
December 10th 2009 @ 4:05pm
Freud of Football said | December 10th 2009 @ 4:05pm | Report comment
That was the beginning of their dominance for mine, they were an excellent team but winning that match in the way they did sort of seemed unreal, like it just couldn’t happen – at least not amongst mere mortals.
December 11th 2009 @ 5:57pm
Jez said | December 11th 2009 @ 5:57pm | Report comment
Without a doubt the best thing about that game for mine was Langer getting hit in the head by a bouncer and then smiling back at Akram revealing a recently dislodged tooth!
December 10th 2009 @ 4:18pm
GaryGnu said | December 10th 2009 @ 4:18pm | Report comment
I recall sitting at the Coogee Bay Hotel watching India being forced to follow on and losing early wickets at Kolkatta in 2001. I turned to my mate and siad “well thats that series over then”. Spent the next two days listening/watching a Laxman batathon. I had to work on the final day of that Test and only found out the result later and to this day I’m still astonished by it.
The majority of my test match watching time has been while Australia has been clearly ascendant through the Border, Taylor and Waugh eras. As such the best matches have generally been the ones where Australia have been pushed to the limit and more often that not lost the match.
Hourable mentions go to the WACA 2008 test. SAF chased the 4th highest 4th innnings score to win and made it look easy following all round classy cricket. The 5th Oval Test in 2005. The only time I have heard a crowd who paid 50-60 quid per person cheer loudly when the English took the light midway throught the fifth day. The drama and noise as Billy Bowden tipped the bails was something to remember. Also the Sydney test of 2008 was something special especially given the tumult that followed. So often it is the context surrounding it that makes Test cricket so memorable.
Ian W, love that description of the Bang vs Aus test.
December 10th 2009 @ 5:47pm
Freud of Football said | December 10th 2009 @ 5:47pm | Report comment
Yes, I have to admit that while I find some of Ian’s reminiscing nauseating especially of such a mediocre cricketing nation it is nice to know they have a supporter in him, adds a little bit of diversity to The Roar.
December 10th 2009 @ 6:58pm
Jason Cave said | December 10th 2009 @ 6:58pm | Report comment
That 1977 Centenary Test was probably the best Test match seen here in Australia, after the Tied Test in 1960-61 in Brisbane: 5 days of ever changing fortunes; 200 greats of the game, from Bradman to Dexter, from Simpson to Alec & Eric Bedser were present; Randall’s 174; Lillee’s 11 wickets, including 6 wickets in the first innings; England bowled out for 95 in the first innings; the late David Hookes hitting Tony Greig for 5 fours off 1 over; Rod Marsh recalling Randall when Randall was thought to be out on 161 after Marsh inidicated he didn’t take the catch cleanly; the raw courage of Rick McCosker; and Australia winning by exactly the same margin as in the first-ever Test 100 years ago: 45 runs.
December 10th 2009 @ 10:17pm
Ian Whitchurch said | December 10th 2009 @ 10:17pm | Report comment
Freud,
As a Manure supporter, you may not understand teams that are unable to go and buy the talent they need, and instead do the best with what they’ve got.
But deny me that Fatuallah in ’06 was one of the finest Test matches ever played. Tell me what it didnt have.
Ian Whitchurch
December 10th 2009 @ 10:22pm
Freud of Football said | December 10th 2009 @ 10:22pm | Report comment
We’re talking about cricket. Does Australia buy their cricketers?
December 15th 2009 @ 10:21pm
Brian said | December 15th 2009 @ 10:21pm | Report comment
The game was only competetive because of Australia’s limited preparation. Nothing against Bangladesh but if Australia had played two warm up games instead of flying in a couple of days beforehand, the test would probably have been over in 3 innings