John Snow 7/40 — England Regain the Ashes, Sydney 1971

England had not held the Ashes since Peter May's side won in Australia in 1958-59. The 1961, 1964, 1965-66 and 1968 series had all been drawn or lost, and the 1970-71 tour was Illingworth's last realistic chance as captain to break the run. The Australian side, captained by Bill Lawry until his sacking after the sixth Test, was in transition: Ian Chappell took over for the Sydney decider, and Dennis Lillee — selected for his Test debut at Adelaide — was the only obvious replacement for an ageing pace attack of McKenzie and McLeod.

Snow, fast, awkward and sometimes difficult, had been the spearhead of the tour. He had taken 7/40 at Brisbane and 4/68 in Perth, and was central to England's narrow first Test victory and to the rear-guard draws that had preserved their lead.

Australia's selectors, looking for a younger team, had brought in Lillee for the sixth Test at Adelaide, where he took 5/84 in his first Test innings — figures still regarded as one of the most striking debuts by a fast bowler in Ashes cricket. Greg Chappell, who had made 108 on debut at Perth in the second Test in November, was now the senior batsman in the middle order alongside his brother Ian.

England's tactics for Sydney were straightforward: bat once, then unleash Snow on the wearing pitch. Boycott made 58 in the second innings before injury forced him out; Illingworth's 42 was the difference between a defendable target and a generous one.

The seventh and deciding Test of the 1970-71 series — extended from six matches after the Melbourne washout had been replaced by the inaugural one-day international — produced one of the most ill-tempered and consequential days in Ashes history. Snow had taken 31 wickets in the series at 22.83, the most by an England bowler in Australia since Larwood in 1932-33, and at the SCG in February 1971 he produced his series-defining return: 7/40 in Australia's second innings as the home side, chasing 223, were bowled out for 160.

The flashpoint came in Australia's second innings when a Snow short ball struck the tail-ender Terry Jenner on the side of the head. Jenner collapsed and was helped from the field. The SCG hill, already restive, erupted; cans and bottles were thrown, one spectator grabbed Snow at the boundary, and Illingworth led England from the field until order was restored. Umpire Lou Rowan warned Snow for intimidatory bowling, a ruling Illingworth contested in some of the bluntest exchanges then recorded between an England captain and an Australian umpire.

“I have just one thing to say. We are not coming back.”

Lawry's sacking — the first time a serving Australian captain had been removed in mid-series — was confirmed before the Sydney Test and ushered in the Ian Chappell era. Lillee, having signalled his potential at Adelaide, would within three years be the most feared fast bowler in the world. Snow, denied a place on the 1971 tour of India for disciplinary reasons, would never again play a full Ashes series; his 31 wickets in 1970-71 remain a benchmark.

Illingworth's victory — bluff, tactical, and eked out across seven Tests — preserved his captaincy through the 1972 home Ashes and confirmed the legitimacy of a professional, non-amateur leadership style that had been doubted when he succeeded Colin Cowdrey.