Boasting one of the oldest sporting traditions globally, the Ashes are one of the sport's most significant battles.
The birth of the Ashes has been passed down through families for generations, and it all started in 1882 when Australia defeated a full-strength England XI for the first time on English soil. As is a common trend in the 21st century, the English media condemned their chargers for such a catastrophic failure, publishing a satirical obituary in the Sporting Times.
'In affectionate remembrance of English cricket which died at The Oval, 29 August 1882'.
-N.B. The body will be cremated, and the Ashes taken to Australia'.
With the sudden death of English Cricket, one man was hell-bent on reclaiming the urn, and his name was The Hon. Ivo Bligh. Akin to King Arthur searching for the Holy Grail, Bligh embarked on the noblest sporting quest and captained England to the 1882/83 Ashes victory on down under.
As the story goes, Bligh was celebrating Christmas at the Rupertswood Manor, the elaborate home of Sir William Clarke, when he was presented the burnt bails of the Third Test in a tiny terracotta urn by his future wife, Florence Morphy.
Australian sports journalist Clarence Murphy revived the concept of 'The Ashes' in the 1890s. It became an integral part of the Australian/England rivalry when English captain Pelham Warner published a novel after his resounding 1903-04 Tour win titled 'How We Recovered the Ashes.'
Specific Tests have been played that will go down in the annals of the long history. Some have shocked us, some have enthralled us, some have devastated us. Let's look into the Top 10 Greatest Ashes Tests in History and dive into the players who created their own history.
2. 1981
Third Test, Headingley, 16-21 July (England won by 18 runs)
Australia 9/401 (155.2) dec 111 (36.1) & England 174 (50.5) 356 (87.3)
Botham's Test.
Not many cricketers in history have bounced back considerably after being sacked of Test Captaincy, yet few cricketers like Sir Ian Botham have graced the cricket field. Botham resigned as captain after a 0-8-4 record from his 12 tests at the helm. Australian Captain Kim Hughes won the toss, elected to bat, and Australia put 401 on the board to make matters worse for the English.
Botham, who struggled in his first 13 overs, leaking 61 runs, bounced back the next day, bowling a longer spell (26.2 overs), taking 5/35. On day three, England was in licorice all-sorts, making 174 runs and lasting 50.5 overs (Botham was the only one to look comfortable at the wicket with 50 off 58 balls). Knowing his bowlers wouldn't bowl on Sunday, Hughes enforced the follow-on.
500:1.
These were the odds for an unlikely English victory, and the odds only became higher when Bob Taylor departed, leaving the scores 7/135, still 92 runs behind Australia.
Botham, who had slowly moved to 39, was inspired by his free-swinging teammate Graham Dilley and used his devastating power-hitting to a masterful century. When Dilley fell with a lead of 25, the number 10, Chris Old put on 67 vital runs with Botham and number 11, Bob Willis survived long enough for Botham to leave one last assault on the tired Aussie bowlers (fast-bowler Terry Alderman bowled 34.3 overs for the day). 'Beefy' had raced to 149, not out off 148 balls.
Australia now required 129 for victory and found themselves in a precarious position of 4/59 at Lunch. Botham and Old bowled fast spells, yet that pales into insignificance compared to Bob Willis's six-wicket, six-over spell after Lunch. With Australia reeling at 8/75, Dennis Lillee and Ray Bright added 35 for the ninth wicket until Lillee miscued a drive to mid-off, and Bright was comprehensively bowled by Willis, giving him his eighth wicket. England had pulled off the most remarkable Test heist victory imaginable.
