Well, I have decided to do a blog about the developing stories of the greatest cricket tests of all time but 1st it was way back in 1992 that Australia beat Sri Lanka in the 1st test in Colombo in one of the most dramatic test. And the reason why Sri Lanka lost to Australia? They were defeated by a mere 16 runs & lost their last 8 wickets for 37 runs & suffered one of the biggest humiliations & launched Shane Warne on the glory path in cricket - he took the last 3 wickets for 11 runs in 5.1 overs.
And in 1999, the Bridgetown drama one must first understand the disastrous condition of West Indies Cricket at the time. The boys had just returned from a nasty 5-0 licking in South Africa and just did not seem to be able to put up a challenge but leave alone mighty Australia. The Caribbean people wanted Brian Lara's head, but because there really was no one else to take the mantle, the selectors reappointed him captain. The entire team was on "two-Test probation".
The first went as expected as the West Indies were bowled out for a record low of 51, but the genius of Lara emerged in the second Test as his 213 ensured an amazing 10-wicket win in Jamaica. Nothing prepared the cricketing world for the drama to follow. The 3rd test was one of the greatest battles the cricketing world has ever seen. Amazing performances abounded, with heroic knights fighting for the supremacy of their kingdom. Steve Waugh's brave 199 was ably supported by Ricky Ponting's 104. Then Sherwin Campbell's 105 still left the Windies 161 behind at the end of the first innings.
It was Ambrose and Walsh who gave us a semblance of a chance bowling the Aussies out for 146, leaving an improbable 308 to win. Enter Lara. The man whom everyone wanted out of cricket a few weeks earlier mastered the mighty Shane Warne, a nasty McGrath and an unplayable Gillespie before the drama unfolded when he was hit on the head by a nasty McGrath bouncer - the 2 icons had to be separated by the umpires - and the sound of the next ball as it crashed into the midwicket boundary. When Lara truck the winning four to the cover fence to carry him to 153, he was proclaimed by Tony Cozier as the "Prodigal son turned Messiah". The last 63 runs came with Ambrose and Walsh at the wicket.
Sydney 1994, The first Test was a washout and this game wasn't going our way at all. The South Africans were inexperienced and were totally outplayed for the first 4 days. Shane Warne took 12 wickets in the game and it looked as if he would take one with every ball he bowled to us.
In the end, they set Australia 117 runs to win. On that 4th afternoon, Australia were cruising on 51 for 1. And then Fanie de Villiers came back to bowl. He had this irrepressible spirit, and 3 quick wickets later, Australia closed the day with four down and about 60 runs to get. The odds were still heavily with them. On the fifth morning, Fanie bowled from the start. And this time, Allan Donald joined him, taking three wickets of his own. Australia were wilting under the intensity. They just couldn't score any runs. Damien Martyn looked like a hare caught in the headlights, and got out to perhaps the only stroke he played all morning, having faced almost 60 balls for his 6.
Fanie just kept pegging away. At last, he bowled to Glenn McGrath. This was back when McGrath had no illusions about his ability with the bat and a tentative prod from him sent the ball looping gently back to Fanie, who grabbed it with glee. Australia were short by five runs, and it felt as if Fanie's sheer force of will beat them.
And in 1997, it was in Edgbaston in Birmingham, England that the likes of of Atherton, Hussain and Caddick hammer the Aussies.
Dunedin, circa 1980, West Indies and their famed and feared foursome - Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft - had breezed past Australia 2-0 in a three-match series and probably viewed New Zealand as an unwanted and unworthy addendum to their tour. Indeed, Viv Richards was given dispensation to skip the New Zealand leg of the tour and Roberts missed the first Test. However, New Zealand, led by county pro Geoff Howarth and spearheaded by Richard Hadlee, were in the process of gathering the self-belief to become one of the hardest teams to beat at home during the '80s.
This Test was the spark that ignited that belief. Played at Carisbrook, dreary and cold, the Windies were bundled out for 140 with only a Desmond Haynes half-century saving complete embarrassment. Bruce Edgar played a similar role for New Zealand with Hadlee's hitting at the end providing a 109-run lead. Haynes scored a gritty 300-ball century in the second but when West Indies were again bundled out cheaply, New Zealand needed just 104 to win.
Suddenly, it seemed to dawn on West Indies that they might lose to this bunch of predominantly part-timers, and they bowled with a fury never seen on these shores. Howarth had his helmet knocked off twice and wickets tumbled regularly. Just three fours were scored as New Zealand inched their way to glory. Lance Cairns top-scored with 19, though he was bowled without the bail dropping much earlier, but was the ninth man dismissed with four needed. Gary Troup and Stephen Boock, one of the world's great bunnies, eked out three singles before Boock's front pad provided the most cherished leg bye - via a missed run-out opportunity - in New Zealand cricket history.
And way back in 1997, as far as see-sawing action goes, few Test matches can compare to the thriller at Port Elizabeth in 1997. On what was an extremely green pitch, South Africa struggled to 209 in their first effort, with Australia apparently on top. The next day, the Aussies crumbled to 108, and the South Africans proceeded to march to a 184-run advantage, with all second-innings wickets intact. Mark Taylor - himself in the middle of a horrific run of form - and his men were staring down the barrel, but incredibly, they staged a valiant recovery, leaving themselves a target of 270.
Few gave them a chance, but nobody told Mark Waugh. He produced a classic of elegance and poise - 116 of the finest on a minefield against the might of an Allan Donald-led pace attack, in a match where there was only one other half-century. When Healy slogged Cronje over square leg, they had closed out a two-wicket win, replete with some of the most exciting cricket ever seen in South Africa.
Lord's, 2000, England's recent revival can be traced back to one of the most extraordinary wins ever. They trailed 1-0 to a weak West Indian side coming into the second Test at Lord's and had already pressed the panic button (remember that?) by making four changes, including the recall of Dominic Cork.
The first day, which the West Indies closed on 267 for nine highlighted their batting frailties but no one was prepared for the incredible events of day two. The crowd saw play from all four innings as Caddick knocked over the last man with the first ball of the day. Ambrose and Walsh then put their side's total into perspective by taking four wickets each as England conceded a lead of 133.
If England had gone on to lose the match, and with it probably the series, who knows where they might be now? Before Caddick between innings because he produced an unstoppable spell of hostile fast bowling that left West Indies all out for 54.
Remember that this was a team England hadn't beaten since 1970. There was still time for England to start their run-chase, which culminated in Saturday's diabolically nervous crawl to the depths of 160 for eight, from where Cork's penchant for limelight-stealing rescued them.
Thrilling, emotional stuff.
And in November 1989, New Zealand played Australia in a one-off Test at the WACA. New Zealand were without Richard Hadlee and Andrew Jones, and were expected to lose heavily against an Australian team that had been rampant in England. The game started predictably enough when Australia won the toss and ground out 521/9. David Boon scored a double-century and Dean Jones was given out to an appallingly bad lbw decision on 99.
New Zealand started day three with nothing ahead of them except for the distant hope of a draw and the more obvious prospect of a heavy defeat. Terry Alderman bowled Robert Vance almost as soon as play got underway and that brought Mark Greatbatch to the crease.
Carl Rackemann was ferocious and had the ball bouncing and screaming from the hard and fast WACA pitch, but each of his rockets was met by a Greatbatch defensive stroke which dropped the ball, quiet and dead, to the ground. There were no flashy strokes and no prospect of a New Zealand victory, just a solid forward-defensive shot that acted like a hypnotist's charm, a buzzsaw of tension and a building realisation that there was a damn sight more to cricket than jeering at Dean Jones.
Karachi, circa 1994, Australia had not won a Test match in Pakistan for more then three decades and were looking to break the jinx with their inexperienced bowling attack led by the two future greats, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. The Aussies had the upper hand in the first innings getting an 81-run lead but the real drama started in the second innings.
Australia started disastrously with Mark Taylor, captain for the first time, gone for his second duck of the match. David Boon played a classy and courageous knock to hold the innings together but the 2 W's, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, started an all-too-familiar collapse with the last 4 wickets adding just 26. Pakistan required 314, and ended the fourth day still requiring 159 with 7 wickets in hand.
On the 5th day, Warne weaved his magic, rattling the home team with his vicious leg breaks. Pakistan slumped to 258 for 9 and were staring at defeat, but a brilliant rearguard led by Inzamam-ul-Haq kept them in the hunt. In the end, with three runs still needed, it came down to the battle of three legends - Ian Healy, Warne and Inzamam. Warne's leg break pitched on middle stump, turned a little, touched Inzi's pads and skidded along the ground. Inzamam was out of his crease but Healy missed the stumping much to the joy of home crowd. Pakistan were gifted the winning runs, and Inzamam was the saviour, adding 58 for the last wicket with Mushtaq Ahmed.
So ended one of the great Test matches of all time, one that was never out of reach of either side but never in the firm grasp of one or the other. The Aussies were made to wait another four years to win a Test in Pakistan, and Dickie Bird, the legendary English umpire, termed it the best match in which he stood.
So that is my 289th blog of the year 2019 (MMXIX) & my 29th of this year.
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