Forced to follow on and at one stage 500-1 against by the Ladbrokes board, England were rescued by Ian Botham's 149 not out and Bob Willis's 8 for 43 to win a Test no team has ever logically come back from.
Botham had resigned the captaincy after a pair at Lord's; Mike Brearley was recalled and immediately handed Botham a free role.
England were dismissed for 174, conceded 401-9 declared and were 135-7 in the second innings still 92 behind.
Botham, who had resigned the captaincy after the previous Test, came in at 105 for 5 in the second innings still 122 runs behind. With Graham Dilley as his unlikely partner, he counter-attacked the Australian bowlers Lillee, Alderman and Lawson with such ferocity that he reached his hundred from 87 balls. He finished 149 not out off 148 balls with one six and 27 fours; Dilley made a career-best 56 and Chris Old chipped in with 29. England set Australia 130 to win and were quickly 56 for 1. Then Bob Willis, switched to bowl down the hill at Mike Brearley's instruction, ran in like a man possessed and took 8 for 43 — Australia all out 111. England won by 18 runs, only the second team in Test history to win after following on. Ladbrokes had famously offered 500/1 against England during the second innings; the team coach paid out a small fortune to Lillee and Marsh, who had bet a tenner each on a lark.
Ladbrokes post 500/1 against England
Botham counter-attacks with Dilley
149* off 148 balls including a six and 27 fours
Brearley moves Willis to the Kirkstall Lane end
Willis 8/43; Australia all out 111
Day 3
England follow on
Day 4 morning
England 135/7, Ladbrokes post 500/1
Day 4 afternoon
Botham 149*; Dilley 56
Day 5
Willis 8/43; Australia all out 111; England win by 18
“Let's give it some humpty.”
“I gambled on Willis. I owed him one.”
Botham followed up with 5/1 at Edgbaston and 118 at Old Trafford; Brearley's England won the series 3-1.
The defining Test of the 1981 'Botham's Ashes' and one of the great comebacks in any sport.
The match is the centrepiece of the 'Botham's Ashes' mythology and is taught in management seminars on captaincy and momentum.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.