Hobbs and Sutcliffe — 283 on a Sticky at Melbourne, 1924-25

Hobbs at 42 was already England's greatest batsman; Sutcliffe was the new Yorkshire star who had impressed in domestic cricket but never opened a Test innings. Their first partnership had come at Sydney three weeks earlier — a modest 36 — but at Melbourne the chemistry crystallised.

England, having lost the first Test at Sydney by 195 runs, came to Melbourne under Arthur Gilligan with the new opening pair of Hobbs and the 30-year-old Yorkshire stylist Herbert Sutcliffe. Australia batted first and made 600 — Bill Ponsford 128, Vic Richardson 138 — and England's task in reply was already daunting before light rain made the wicket awkward on the third morning.

Hobbs and Sutcliffe walked out to face Gregory and Mailey shortly after lunch on the third day. They were still together at stumps with 283 on the board — Hobbs 154, Sutcliffe 123*. The pair's contrasting methods — Hobbs's wristy off-side strokes against Sutcliffe's compact, leg-side accumulation — disorientated even Mailey's leg-spin. Sutcliffe ended the innings with 176, his maiden Test hundred; Hobbs was caught at slip soon after the 283 stand finally broke.

England still lost the Test by 81 runs — Ponsford and Collins built another big total in Australia's second innings — but the partnership of 283 had eclipsed the previous Ashes opening record of 221 by Hobbs and Wilfred Rhodes at Melbourne in 1911-12. Hobbs and Sutcliffe would go on to put on 15 century partnerships for England's first wicket in Tests, including the famous 172 on the Oval sticky in 1926 that regained the Ashes.

“He was the perfect partner. He never spoke unless I spoke first, and when he did speak it was always to the point.”

Sutcliffe finished his first Ashes series with 734 runs at 81. England lost the series 1-4 but the opening partnership was now the central pillar of English Test batting and remained so until Hobbs's retirement after the 1930 Ashes.