10 greatest Ashes Tests of all time

#2 Headingley, 1981

Ian Botham counter-attacked with 149* after John Dyson got 102 in the first innings for Australia. England, despite following on, went on to win the Test

Australia 401/9 declared & 111 lost to England 174 & 356 by 18 runs

Opener John Dyson set the base for Australia with a calm 102 as they aimed to build on the 1-0 lead they had obtained after the first two Tests. Skipper Kim Hughes chipped in with 89 before Graham Yallop got a vital 58 for which he batted for three-and-a-half hours. Hughes and Yallop got the only notable partnership of 112 before Ian Botham wiped out both batsmen and the lower half of Australia’s batting.

Botham got 6/95 and then a quick 50 off 54 balls when England batted, but sadly, had to follow on after seeing his side folding up for a disappointing 174. Then came the counterattacking innings for which Botham will be remembered forever: accompanied by number nine Graham Dilley, Botham ruthlessly destroyed the Australian bowling to finish on 149* with as many as 27 fours and a six. Dilley played his part in getting to 56 as the score boomed to 356 from 133/6 at one stage.

Terry Alderman’s 6/135 would go unnoticed in a brutal display of power-hitting which meant Australia required only 130 to win. What, on most days, would have been a cakewalk turned out to be a nightmare for Australia. Bob Willis, that tall fast bowler, turned the screws with 56/1 soon becoming 75/8. His magical figures of 8/43 took England home as Australia slipped to 111 all out.