Best ever test series IYO?

[Lillian Thomson]

At the time, I managed to miss all the best bits of 1981 as my travels around Europe started on the rest day of the Leeds test and ended after the Manchester one. The only English paper I could find in Zurich was the Financial Times, whose coverage of the 4th day at Leeds was rather brief.

Playing devil's advocate, I have previously argued that although the best bits of that series were extraordinary, they only amounted to about three days in total. The last two and a bit sessions at Leeds, the last couple of sessions at Edgbaston and Botham's innings at Old Trafford. The rest of 1981 wasn't great, whereas nearly all of 2005 was unmissable.

From a quality of cricket point of view that's true, but it misses most of the point of the plot. Botham was having a hard time as captain. How a good a captain he might have been we'll never know as he was thrown in against the West Indies home and away and lost both series, as any captain would have. It also seemed to affect his performances. The First Test was lost in 81 and the second drawn after which he resigned about 10 seconds before he was due to be sacked. There's the famous (almost infamous) moment at Lords where he got a pair and as he walked off the members ignored him completely. Botham himself tells of how they were reading papers and doing up their shoe laces and just generally deliberately not acknowledging him. He says he never raised his bat to them again in the future, but I'm not convinced about that. The cricket in the next three Tests was completely freakish. Certainly not high quality, in fact much of it pretty poor. Much of the story is behind the scenes stuff with the Botham turmoil, the checking out of the hotel, the Marsh and Lillee 500-1 bets against their own team. If you reduce the 81 series to a Botham slog and Willis spell at Headingley, a Botham spell at Edgbaston and innings at Old Trafford I guess it wasn't that great.

 

[TheGreatest]

For me it was the 1992-93 Aus vs W.Indies series. This was a series which I followed very closely. It had quality fast bowling, some wonderful batting (Lara's 277) the arrival of Warne at the world stage and one of the greatest combacks by W.Indies.

 

[Moss]

Totally agree about 1992-93 Aus vs Windies. Another series which closely mirrored that one was South Africa in England 1998. Those last three tests - Croft/Fraser (I think) holding out for a draw in Old Trafford, Athers vs Donald in Trent Bridge, and the nail biting decider in Headingley with all those umpiring decisions.

Favourite series as a NZ supporter was the 2-1 win against England in 1999. Though the quality of cricket was pretty bad, those bowler friendly pitches made for compelling viewing and that final test at the Oval in particular see-sawed like anything. That series was the making of Fleming as captain IMO.

 

[The Battlers Prince]

It wasn't a series, but I would love to have seen the match and some of the tour of 1882. The routing of England by Spofforth, the Runout of Jones by the Doctor. Just how much sportsmanship was displayed then, and how much did England care? The remnants of that match are still fought for today, so it would be good to be there.

 

[Zinzan]

When I was a kid I remember NZ's 1-1 draw with the Windies - 1986/7

Gordon Greenidge got a double in one test and they had Haynes, Richie Richardson, Viv, Marshall and the other quicks

against Hadlee, Martin Crowe, John Wright, Coney, Ian Smith & co.
Perhaps the two greatest bowlers of all time along the master blaster, NZ's best ever bat and a few other top players.

The 2 best teams of the 1980s (although Pakistan were close to NZ for 2nd)

This is the one I was thinking of.

Martin Crowe was in the form of his life against Marshall, Garner, Holding, Walsh etc. From memory, he scored hundreds in the 1st and 2nd tests and an 80 in the 3rd.

And remember this was the series following Somerset's controversial dropping of Richards & Garner for Crowe.

 

[OverratedSanity]

No matter what happens in the next few hours, this India-SL series a very worthy mention in this thread. It's been phenomenal.

 

[Gob]

Aus vs Ind 7 match OD series

 

[Dan]

May we let the record show that no less an authority than Andrew Flintoff has admitted that England cheated in the 2005 Ashes:
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GIMH, you cannot deny the word of Freddie, surely?

 

[GIMH]

We also cheated by fielding a superhuman batting at six and bowling seam, what's your point?

 

[Dan]

Ashes '05 is invalid. Hand 'em back, ****.

 

[Ikki]

Anyone who doesn't answer 2005 Ashes is wrong ftr

Would have been even better if Australia won.

 

[nightprowler10]

Ashes '05 definitely up there as one of the best in my lifetime.

Two of my favorite series were also from the same year. England in Pakistan '05 was probably the first series I watched almost every ball. If not for Inzamam going for his last century we may have won 3-0, so not a great series for English fans but there were some great performances and drama along the way. The first 2 Tests were especially stress inducing.

My other favorite, and this one rarely gets mentioned when talking about India/Pakistan matchups, was Pakistan in India '05. The 1-1 result was a huge moral victory for us and I firmly believe it was the turning point for that team and Inzi's captaincy.

 

[GIMH]

Would have been even better if Australia won.

A bit like saying Istanbul 05 would have been better had Milan won

 

[fredfertang]

A bit like saying Istanbul 05 would have been better had Milan won

1995 play-off final springs to mind as well - terrific game, wrong result

 

[GIMH]

1995 play-off final springs to mind as well - terrific game, wrong result

**** off

 

[fredfertang]

**** off

works every time

 

[Hurricane]

Bodyline and 60-61 Series Aust vs WI

Has to be bodyline.

 

[SteveNZ]

I'd be thrilled to be wrong but I can't see 2005 beaten as a assembly of 22 or so cricketers, with near half of them at the top of their games, totally committed to being the best Test cricketers they can be and doing battle over a five-match series. It's just not foreseeable that we'll get that going forward.

Not to mention the level of public inebriation afterwards.

 

[honestbharani]

Yeh, look, fair enough, but...



2/1 India's way is hardly "destroyed" especially in Indian conditions, although India's wins in the first two tests were fairly comprehensive.



Once again, 2/1 in India. But yeh, fair point.



Yeh, we won those.


I think of the Australian period of dominance beginning in 95 in the Windies series and going through til around the end of Ponting's captaincy. I get that we lost a few series in that time, but what I meant was we were the clear #1 side in the world for a long time. I might've been clearer in what I meant I guess.

No you didn't. The 2003-04 serieswas tied 1-1.

 

[honestbharani]

1999 Aus Vs WI (Lara and Ambrose and Walsh Vs Aus TBF)
2001 Aus Vs Ind (What.A,Series)
2005 Ashes


In that order, for me.