After 26 Tests without a hundred, Steve Waugh made an unbeaten 177 at Headingley in the first Ashes Test of 1989, kicking off a series in which he averaged 126.50 and announcing himself as the next great Australian batsman.
Waugh had played 26 Tests without a century but Border had backed him publicly throughout the rebuilding period.
Australia 273-4 when Waugh joined Allan Border on day two; the partnership turned into 138.
Waugh had been a Test cricketer since 1985 and was widely seen as a fine prospect, but he came into the 1989 Ashes with no Test centuries to his name in 26 matches. At Headingley in the first Test of the tour, Australia batted first; Mark Taylor made 136 on debut and Waugh came in at six. He scored an unbeaten 177 from 242 balls — chanceless, technically pristine, ending only when Allan Border declared. Australia made 601 for 7 declared, dismissed England twice and won by 210 runs. Waugh followed it with 152 not out at Lord's a fortnight later — meaning his first 329 international Test runs after his maiden hundred were all unbeaten. He averaged 126.50 in the series. Australia won the rubber 4-0, and the line that links the 1989 Ashes to the Australian dynasty of the 1990s and 2000s passes squarely through this innings.
Mark Taylor 136 on debut
Waugh joins Border at 273/4
Maiden Test hundred from 169 balls
Border declares with Waugh 177*
Australia win the Test by 210 runs
Day 1
Australia bat; Taylor 136 on debut
Day 2
Border-Waugh partnership; Waugh maiden 100
Day 3 morning
Australia 601/7 declared (Waugh 177*)
Day 5
Australia win by 210
“Tugga finally got the monkey off his back. The rest is history.”
“I had been waiting four years for that hundred.”
Waugh followed Headingley with 152* at Lord's; Australia won the series 4-0 to regain the Ashes.
The arrival of one of the great Australian batsmen, after a long wait — and the foundation of a 4-0 series win.
His 1989 series of 506 runs at 126.50 launched the career that would end with 168 Tests, 41 Test hundreds and a 16-Test winning streak as captain.
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.