On January 26, 1993, West Indies beat Australia by one run at Adelaide — the narrowest victory by runs in Test history. Australia, chasing 186, were 102 for 8 when Tim May (42 not out) and Craig McDermott (18) added 40 for the ninth wicket and then 42 for the tenth before McDermott was given out caught behind off a Courtney Walsh bouncer with two runs needed.
Series 1-1 going into Adelaide. West Indies were defending the Frank Worrell Trophy they had held since 1976; Australia had not won it for 17 years. The Sydney Test (2nd) had been drawn; Brian Lara had scored 277 in Sydney, his maiden Test hundred and his then-highest score.
The series was 1-1 going into the fourth Test at Adelaide. West Indies, missing the captaincy of Richie Richardson for parts of the tour, scored 252 in their first innings. Australia replied with 213 — Tim May taking 5 for 9 in West Indies' second innings (146 all out) to give Australia a target of 186. The chase began calmly. By tea Australia had reached 102 for 8 and the game looked over. Curtly Ambrose had 5 for 32 and was the Man of the Match in waiting. Then May (the No. 9) and Justin Langer (last specialist bat) added briefly; when Langer fell for 54 off 146 balls (his Test best at the time, on debut), Craig McDermott walked out with 84 needed. May and McDermott added 40 for the ninth wicket. May was unbeaten on 42 from 50 balls — square cuts, late drives and one cover drive off Walsh that almost went for six. The total reached 184 for 9 — two runs needed. Walsh bounced. McDermott ducked but the ball brushed his glove and looped to Junior Murray behind. Umpire Darrell Hair raised the finger. Australia 184 all out, beaten by one run. Curtly Ambrose collapsed to his knees. Some Australians believed McDermott did not glove the ball; Wisden's later assessment was the decision was correct.
Tim May 5/9 to dismiss WI for 146
Australia 102/8 at tea; game seemingly over
Langer 54 (Test debut innings) — added briefly with May
May (42*) and McDermott added 42 for the 10th wicket
184/9 — two runs needed
Walsh bounces McDermott — caught behind given by Darrell Hair
WI win by one run; Ambrose collapses to his knees
Jan 23, 1993
Day 1 — West Indies 252 all out.
Jan 24
Day 2 — Australia 213, trail by 39.
Jan 25
Day 3 — May 5/9; West Indies 146; Australia 31/3 chasing 186.
Jan 26
Day 4 — Australia 102/8; May-Langer rebuild; McDermott c Murray b Walsh; Australia 184; lost by 1 run.
“I knew I'd hit it. He was a great bowler bowling a great delivery. I'm just sorry it ended that way.”
“I'd never felt anything like it. We knew if we lost there, we'd lose the trophy.”
West Indies took the series 2-1 by winning the final Test at Perth (Ambrose 7 for 1) by an innings. McDermott always maintained the ball did not touch his glove; Wisden and TV replays largely supported the umpire. Tim May's 5 for 9 and unbeaten 42 in the same Test made him a folk hero in Australia. Justin Langer's gutsy 54 on debut started a 105-Test career.
The narrowest victory by runs in Test history (a record that stood until New Zealand beat England by one run at Lord's, 2025). The most heart-stopping finish of the 1990s.
For 32 years, the narrowest Test victory by runs in history. The match is routinely cited in lists of the greatest Test finishes alongside Edgbaston 2005, Brisbane 1960 (the tied Test), and Karachi 1994. The Adelaide Oval scoreboard photograph showing 'AUS 184 WI 252 & 146 — WI WON BY 1 RUN' is one of the most reproduced images in Test cricket.
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.