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The six greatest performances in Ashes history

21st November, 2017
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Mitchell Johnson may not have been the best ever, but did he bowl the best over ever? (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
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21st November, 2017
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The Ashes is, without a doubt, the greatest Test series on the international cricket calendar. It has more history than any other around the world and speaking generally, it’s the grand final for both Australia and England.

As they say, the best players stand up on the biggest occasions, and there have been some monumental efforts over the 150 years of Ashes history since that famous poem announcing the death of English cricket was written in 1882.

Today, we count down the best individual performances in Ashes history. From match-turning innings to series destroying performances, only the best make it to this list.

6. Captain Cook scores 766 to guide England to their first away series win in 25 years (2010-11)
The 2010-11 Ashes series was painful for Australian fans, to say the least. Having not tasted defeat on home soil for 26 years, expectations were high that they would regain the urn after losing 2-1 in England during 2009.

Instead, Alastair Cook happened. He produced the fifth highest amount of runs in an Ashes series, scoring 766 at 127.66.

He didn’t do it all on his own, but he was superb. With three centuries and another score over 50 with a highest of 235 not out, he was faultless throughout the series, those runs coming in just seven innings.

In the end, England won the series 3-1 and a huge part of that was the doing of Cook. There’s no question he deserves his spot on the list because while it wasn’t a single match, he strung together back-to-back-to-back Tests to thwart the Aussies on home soil where they hadn’t lost for two decades.

England's Alastair Cook celebrates his double century during day two of the First Investec Test match at Edgbaston, Birmingham. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday August 18, 2017.

(Nick Potts/PA Wire).

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5. Bob Massie takes 16 on debut (1972)
Bob Massie still holds one of the greatest Test match debuts of all time. The second Test of the 1972 series saw Australia already reeling, down 1-0, but it didn’t phase Massie in the slightest.

The debutant ruined England not once, but twice as he took eight wickets in each innings, ending with match figures of 16 for 137 from 60.1 overs. England would be knocked over for 272 and 116 as Australia won the match by eight wickets to level the series.

In truth, Dennis Lillie with 31 wickets dominated the series, but Massie set the ball rolling in that second Test and it proved to the catalyst for the Aussies to escape England with a 2-2 draw.

4. Mark Taylor comes of age (1989)
When the 1989 Ashes series in England began, Mark Taylor had just 67 Test runs to his name from four innings after a difficult induction against the West Indies.

Press clippings from before the series will show Taylor was going to be an easy target for England at the top of the order and it would allow the old enemy to get on top early in each match.

What followed was completely against the run of Taylor’s career so far, as he amassed an awesome 839 runs in 11 innings (these were the days when the series were played over six Tests).

Five 50s and a couple of centuries, as well as a top score of 219, marked the arrival of Taylor as an international cricketer.

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He went on to have a long career, skippering Australia for a number of years, and it’s little surprise considering the temperament he showed during the ’89 Ashes.

Taylor was a huge part of Australia’s 4-2 win, and it kicked off a run of eight straight series victories, only broken in 2005 after Glenn McGrath stood on a cricket ball and was ruled out of the series.

3. Mitchell Johnson destroys England (2013-14)
When you think of genuinely exciting cricket highlights, you normally think of a batsman scoring hundreds and bludgeoning a bowler to all parts. Not in this case.

Mitchell Johnson was the star attraction of the 2013-14 Ashes series. He bowled with real fire, raining down on England at every opportunity with a great mix of yorkers and bouncers. There were times when it looked like the English batsmen – especially those down the order – were genuinely scared of the left-arm quick.

He ended the series with 37 wickets at 13.97 – the third best bowling average in Ashes history – with the best figures of 7 for 40.

It was consistency which puts this performance at the top of the charts, with Johnson leading Australia to a 5-0 series victory. Even more impressive was the limitation of Cook, who made just three half centuries after his nearly 800-run series during 2010-11.

Only Ryan Harris and Stuart Broad took more than 20 wickets for the series, so for Johnson to end up with 37 shows exactly how dominant he was.

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Johnson-Ashes

(AFP, Ian Kington)

2. 19 for 90. Jim Laker spins a web to destroy the Aussies (1956)
In 1956, Jim Laker almost bowled the perfect Test. While Tony Lock took the third wicket of that fourth Test, Laker would take the next 16 in a row. As it stands, his 19 for 90 are still the best figures in the history of Test cricket.

The first innings figures of 9 for 37 were an absolute destruction of the Australians before Laker took 10 for 53 in 51.2 overs during the second innings after the follow-on was enforced.

Out of that, he bowled a ridiculous 23 maidens as Australia were knocked over for 205.

While that Test is, for obvious reasons, the memorable one from Laker’s point of view, he also set the record during that 1956 series for most wickets, picking up 46 across the five Tests at an average of just 9.60.

It’s one of the greatest bowling performances in history, and if it wasn’t for the greatest cricketer of all time, he would be No.1 on this list.

1. 309 runs in a day, 334 in an innings and the greatest batting performance in history (1930)
Sir Donald Bradman is the greatest cricketer in history. There is no disputing it, whether you’re an Aussie, Englishman or anything else.

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There has never been anyone like him. A Test average of 99.94 should probably allude to that. You could write a list based on the Don’s greatest performances, and it would still be probably just as good, and it goes without saying he could have been on this list multiple times.

Alas, we will keep it to one, and how can you go past him scoring 309 runs in a day? Bradman came in with Australia sitting 1 for 2 and proceeded to bat the entire day, going to stumps on 309.

He came back the following day and ended with 334.

Australia went on to draw that match, but Bradman had another two double centuries throughout the most prolific Ashes series in history, guiding the visitors to a 2-1 lead.

In the end, he finished with the incredible numbers of 974 runs at an average of 139.14, despite failing with the bat three times. He also hit 98 boundaries in 1580 balls faced – one every 16 balls – which is the highest number of fours scores in an Ashes series.

On top of the 1930 tour, Bradman has four entries in the top ten list for most runs scored in an Ashes series.

Amazing.

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Roarers, what do you reckon? What are the best performances in the history of the Ashes?

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