The English and the Australians face off each other in a bilateral series once every 18 months to see who reigns supreme.
www.parkviewortho.com/wp-content/languages/new/singulair.html
The Ashes as this bilateral series is named, is one of the most prestigious trophies and is something every player representing either of these two countries dreams of winning.
The first game of this prestigious series dates way back to 1861 when the series was not named. But in 1882, Australia’s first victory on English soil with a full strength squad is what gave this series the name ‘The Ashes’. Since then, it has produced some great cricketing moments and remains one of the most riveting encounters in the longest format of the game even in the modern times when it is losing its viewership.
With the next series of Ashes set to begin in a few days time, we have compiled for you the 5 highest scores achieved by these teams in all Ashes series.
England 903/7 (dec)
In August 1938, history was made as England chose to bat at the Oval on a warm day. Sir Leonard Hutton scored an 847 ball 364 and took the home teams score to 903 before they declared in the middle of the third day. The Australians who were not a big entity in the sport at that time tumbled down for 201 in the first innings and for 123 in the second. Bowes and Farnes picked 12 wickets between them as England won by a whopping 579 runs in just 4 days. This remains the highest score by a team in an innings in the history between the two teams.
Australia 729/6 (dec)
The second match of the series in 1930 was played at Lords as England won the toss and chose to bat. They reached a respectable total of 425 before being bowled out on the second day. Australia then went on to play a mammoth innings scoring 729 runs for the loss of six wickets before declaring their innings. Sir Donald Bradman scored a sizzling double century and gave the travelling team a healthy lead. England came back and could score 375 runs only and gave Australia a target of 72 runs which they scored with ease and ran away with the game with 7 wickets in hand. This remains the second highest score in the Ashes series.
Australia 701
The first innings in the 5th test of the series between England and Australia in 1934 at the Oval in London saw Australia pile up a huge score. They were bundled out on the second day, but not before double centuries from Bradman and Ponsford, who shared a 451 run partnership between them, took Australia to 701. England was bowled out for 321 in the first innings and Australia piled on the misery scoring 327 runs in their second innings. England who was all out for just 145 runs on the 4th day gave the Australian team a massive 562 run victory. This is one of the most memorable matches between the two teams.
Australia 695
The 5th match in the 1930 series was played at the Oval in London. England won the toss and was all out for 405 in their first innings. Australia came in positively and scored 695 runs by day 4 and was leading by 266 runs by the end of day 4. Bradman scored another double century and Ponsford also scored a ton for the Aussies. England however, were bundled out for 251 on the 5th day and lost the game by an innings and 39 runs. This game saw the tourists win the 5 match series 2-1 which made it even more historic.
Australia 674/6 (dec)
A more recent game in Cardiff in the year 2009, the 1st test of the series, saw the teams square off on equal notes. England chose to bat after winning the toss and managed 435 runs on the board. Australia however, scored 674 runs for the loss of 6 wickets and declared the innings with a lead of 239 runs. Skipper Ricky Ponting, Simon Katich, Marcus North and Haddin all scored centuries in the game which saw England play out all the over’s on the last day with 252 runs and just a wicket in hand. A gritty innings from the last pair Anderson and Panesar saved the hosts some blushes on the first test on the tour.
Leave a Reply