5 great Ashes knocks which went in vain

#1 Sir Len Hutton - 156* at Adelaide (1951)

Hutton single-handedly defied Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller at the Adelaide Oval

Aside from being the first professional to lead England in Tests, Sir Len Hutton also carved a niche for himself in the upper echelon of the country's pantheon of batting greats. He was a prolific run-scorer against varied attacks on myriad pitches. While the vast majority of his knocks were renowned for their quality, the right-hander reserved his best for the toughest of bowlers under challenging circumstances.

When the list is filtered to encompass only centurions, Hutton remains the only opener in Test cricket to carry his bat on two different occasions. The second such instance came in Adelaide during the 1950/51 Ashes series. With Arthur Morris' scintillating double ton propelling Australia to 371, the visitors needed their star batsman to rise to the occasion.

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In what was a delectable display of pristine batting, Hutton absorbed everything that Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller threw at him. Even as his batting partners kept deserting him, he carried on in an obstinate manner. The Yorkshireman's unbeaten 156 brought the deficit down to 99. But the Australian batsmen piled on the runs in their second essay and left England with an unenviable target of 503. Upon being shot out for 228, the visitors suffered their fourth defeat in as many matches in the series. Nevertheless, Hutton's masterful first-innings knock continues to be among the abiding memories in Ashes history.