Australia vs West Indies, Brisbane,1960: It's a tie!

The Australian and West Indian cricketers that played in the first ever tied Test match at The Gabba in 1960 return for a reunion and pose for a team picture

The tide turned in favour of the Australians when Davidson, in an inspired spell of fast bowling, grabbed 6/87 in WI’s second innings. It was a memorable display, made more so by the fact that he played with a broken finger on his bowling hand.

Rival skipper Worrell stood tall among the ruins with another 65-run knock, while Rohan Kanhai (54) and Joe Solomon (47) also contributed to the eventual total of 284, setting the home team a target of 233 to win in the remaining sessions of the fifth day’s play.

However, Australia ran into deep trouble in their second innings, with Wes Hall breathing fire as he wreaked havoc on the top order. Simpson and Harvey fell cheaply, McDonald was castled by Worrell, and O’Neill and Les Favell were also removed by the charged-up Hall to leave Australia reeling at 57/5.

Off-spinner Sonny Ramadhin then winkled out “Slasher” Mackay to make it 92/6, leaving only Davidson, Benaud and the tail to score the remaining runs and steer their side to victory. And what followed was an exemplary display of Test cricket at the highest level.

Benaud and Davidson forged a fighting, counter-attacking partnership for the seventh wicket, adding 134 runs largely by running hard between the wickets and punishing loose balls. The score reached 226 when Davidson was run-out by a direct hit from Solomon after Benaud called him for a risky single.

Wicket-keeper Wally Grout joined the captain at the crease, leaving the home side to score six runs from the last eight-ball over of the day, bowled by Hall. Grout was struck on the thigh first up, but hobbled through for a single.

Benaud was out the next ball, a wild hook shot producing a thick edge to the keeper. Ian Meckiff came in, blocked the first ball, and ran for a bye off the next, leaving Grout on strike. He sent the next delivery into the air, but the catch was dropped due to a misjudgment from both Hall and fielder Rohan Kanhai.

The WI fielding came alive when Conrad Hunte ran out Grout after the batsmen stole two runs and crossed for the winning run, despite Grout’s valiant dive.

Last man Lindsay Kline played the ball to the leg side, but Joe Solomon sprang after it and threw down the stumps from 12 metres out, running out Meckiff and ending the game in a tie. This marked the first instance of a Test match with both teams ending on equal scores.

What the game produced was cricket of the highest quality. The two sides played four more Tests, with Australia winning the last one to take the series 2-1.

Throughout the sojourn, the West Indies won the hearts of many Australian supporters, both by the way they played and also the way they carried themselves – relaxed, jovial and happy. At the end of the tour, Conrad Hunte brought tears to many in the audience when he said: “This tour of Australia has not only brought cricket out of the darkness into the light, but also, I hope, international amity“.

And for the first time ever, a ticker-tape parade was accorded to the visitors as they departed the country that had come to admire them immensely. In the context of the game, however, the first tied Test will go down in history as one of the most fiercely-contested games ever played.