Test cricket's top 10 dead rubber victories

#8 England beat Australia by 6 wickets - Leeds, 2001

Australia seemed to have taken their battered Ashes rivals too lightly, considering how they outclassed them to retain the urn within the first 3 Tests itself. So coming into the 4th Test seemed like a formality. Not for the English though, who were intent on making a strong statement.

Ricky Ponting returned back to form after a horrendous tour of India earlier that year, with a top-notch 144. This was the match that convinced Australia to make him bat at No.3 in the future as well, paving the way for a glorious career. Apart from Ponting, Martyn also chipped with 118 runs to eventually give the Aussies a 138-run lead.

Surprisingly, the stand-in skipper, Adam Gilchrist declared in the second innings, setting England 315 runs to win the game. However, Mark Butcher starred again in an Ashes Test, scoring an unbeaten 227-ball 173 to take the Englishmen to the winning line. Perhaps, it proved to be the first upset in an Ashes series during the 2000s, sparking many more to come.