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I agree with you on all points. Easy to say but I remember these like yesterday. But Adelaide probably tops the lot. An Ashes sentiment perhaps. Jo'burg was enormous. Adelaide humungous. (Is enomity a greater value than humungosity?!!) Last word.....too close to call for me. Thanks.

Good choices, although I rather enjoyed the first time England beat West Indies after all those years of domination and whitewashes.

This was one of my favourites!



The way England ripped through that SA second innings was fantastic - and any post match interview where GSmith has to congratulate England is always fun...

Excellent choices Oliver, all chart the milestones from the depths of despair back in 99 - I was at the Oval (day 2 if memory serves correctly) when NZ finished us off in 99 and since then Nass and Fletch, followed by Vaughan have done a very good job of building England into a team that is very difficult to beat.
Winning in 3 days in Bridgetown in 2004, and seeing a Hoggard hat-trick is also one of my personal favourites.
I think being an England Cricket fan is going to be an enjoyable experience for some time to come!

Sorry, but thé trip down Memory Lane has got me lamenting the sad end to Trescothick's international career. What a legend. And Strauss/Tresco....maybe not as enduring as Hayden/Langer but RIGHT up there (in my book). A change of subject perhaps, but brought on by memories of classic & successful encounters against a top-notch S. African team. Genuinely feel for Tres. Thanks.

All of the matches that you have described are marked in my memory and I can remember where I was/what I was doing whilst listening or watching the victories. One that you have not mentioned but sticks in my mind when I had Sky was the final test victory against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 2001 with Ashley Giles and Graham Thorpe edging England over the line for a 2-1 series win.

Worryingly I remember the first two like yesterday but the others are hazy!

All excellent games though now you've reminded me! This one tops the lot though, so long as we clinch the series win!

4 epic away displays in the last year: 2 x great escapes from Graham Onions, the T20 World Cup win, and Adelaide. Beating the Aussies by an innings is priceless!

I was at the Mumbai win in 2006. At the start of day 5 all 4 results were possible. Was a strange game - Jimmy Anderson's comeback (Harmison injured), Cook had just made his debut at Nagpur, but was ill, so Ian Bell opened with Strauss. Owais Shah batted really well on debut - till he got cramp. Dravid's decision to field first was bizarre. Sachin had a shocker in front of his home crowd, and the Indian guy next to me burst into tears when Udal got him in the second innings. Monty dropped a sitter off of Dhoni, absolutely dreadful shot that he repeated 2 balls later and Monty clung on. It was a fantastic victory - my daughter's favourite moment was Flintoff getting caught at deep square-leg by Munaf Patel, but he'd hit the ball so hard that Munaf stepped back over the boundary - SIX! During the evening session on day 4 we spotted a couple of chaps clinging to thin branches at the top of a very tall tree outside the ground, very precarious, but a great view. Morning of day 5 they were up there again - never figured out if they'd climbed all the way down then back up again, or just stayed in the tree all night...

What about the series in Sri Lanka which we won 2-1 after improbably bowling out Sri Lanka for under 80?

Oliver, You are quite right about the "great win" in Kingston in 1990. That stands out for me as one of our greatest triumphs in recent years.

To put it into context, we had been soundly thrashed at home by Border's Australians the previous summer. Nevertheless, after snippets of news had emerged during the autumn of 1989 about England's preparations in a quest to improve , I became convinced that we would not only win the first Test in the Windies but that we would go on to win the series. At first, at Sabina Park, things semed to be going well for the hosts but then Greenidge was run out. My memory of that incident is that he and Haynes decided to run on a fumble by Malcolm at fine leg only for Greenidge to be beaten by a whizz-bang throw from Devon. Then in the Windies 2nd innings Malcolm and Small just blew the home team away.
We would have gone on to win the series, too, had it not been for blatant time wasting by Haynes, as skipper, in the 2nd Test, and for injuries incurred by a battering from the likes of Walsh and Marshall.

Almost forgot....I was at the SCG for the '98/99 Test and saw Gough get his hattrick. Special moment.

What about the wins in India in 1984? Hammered in the first test with Sivaramakrishnan taking 12 wkts in the match (I think). Great comeback in the next test at Delhi, with Tim Robinson getting a big score. Two tests later, Fowler and Gatting getting double tons.

England beating South Africa in the 1998 series is probably a bit of a standout from the 90's................

Good old Gus Fraser having a quality series with some outstanding swing bowling. Also the classic Donald vs Atherton duel from the 4th test.

Never forget Jim Laker v.Australia in 1956. He finished the match with 19w.for 90 runs. Lock taking the other.

The Zimbabwe v England test that ended in a draw with the scores level was a memorable match, albeit for the wrong reasons...kind of summed up England at the time. The '90s were a terrible decade for England, burdened by appalling management and mediocre players - the fabulous win in Kingston in 1990 was a real false dawn. Since 2000, it has been a joy and a pleasure to be an England fan, and the team now is as good as I've ever known it. Feels like payback for those dark days and months and years...

I remember staying at work listening to the TMS commentators trying to describe the ball-by-ball commentary of Englands victory in Pakistan - it was a fantastic achievement. Its amazing how those moments, like Edgebaston 95, Adelaide 2010 can wipe all those other horrible memories!

This current England side has been doing justice to its enormous potential. Coach Andy Flower has been getting out the maximum from his hugely talented bunch of cricketers. Bowlers, fielders and batsmen have thrived under the guidance of the hardworking and insightful man manager.
Good going for Strauss and his centurions, double centurions and his band of takers of five wickets.


Dr. Cajetan Coelho

I remember watching the climax of the Karachi test in an Indian hotel hotel room. Happy memories, but was it 10 years ago!!!

The best result for me may have been a draw, but I Cannot for the sake of me remember the opposition. It was definately a one day game - abroad and England were in Blue. It was approximately 5 years ago and I Remember the joy on the English players when they secured the draw because I think at one point it was very unlikely.

I remember the England wicketkeeper Gerraint Jones celebrating on the shoulders of Other players and I think Sky sports used this as advertising. Although not a massive cricket fan I remember being absolutely over joyed with the result and the way the players celebrated. I think the opposition was Australia or South Africa can some one enlighten me please, It was amazing at the time.

I can't remember many away wins for England during the 80s and 90s of any note.The one stand out whole tour of that period for me was India in 84/5 under David Gower.We went 1-0 down and came back to win 2-1.

Karachi has to be my favourite, it was not just the time wating that got up the umpires noses, but the constant desperate appealing for anything that was within 2 inches of the edge of the bat. Still can picture vivedly Thorpe's eyes like gimlets on the gloom. By the end he was the only one to see the ball.

That final ball went for 4 runs, straight past a fielder in the deep by only a few feet, who had his arms in the air back to his team as he had no idea where it had gone.

Not "a great win" but Atherton's rearguard in SA still gives me a tingle down the spine.

How can no-one have mentioned Edgbaston or Trent Bridge in 2005?

Thanks Ollie,

The ´óÏó´«Ã½ should bring back - great sporting moments and show highlights of this match.
The never say die attitude of the players and the way they celebrated and cared about the result was incredible, the footage should be showed to every England team (whatever the sport) before they take to the field.

Agree with all four of these Oliver, but what about Edgbaston 2005? Unless you missed it out deliberately as it has been written about ad verbatim.

Here are our 10 best England wins of the noughties:

England's 10 best Test wins of the noughties

Re Edgbaston 2005 etc.

"Since the dawn of the millennium there have been some splendid victories for England on foreign soil across the globe, and here follows a selection of some of the best."

The focus of this article is England Test match wins on foreign soil around the World.

Have to say I think you have pulled out some good ones there, where we managed to win where draws or defeat seemed likely. Adelaide 2010 is a different beast though. Right from ball 1 (ok ball 3) of the game we were all over the Aussies, stuffed 'em. They were never in the game for even a mini-session.

The fact is there are no examples of England being so superior in a Test match abroad in my time following cricket, the mid 80s.

One impressive away win from the 90s was the Test at Bridgetown, Barbados where the Windies had been unbeaten for donkeys years. Stewart scored centurys in both innings against Walsh, Ambrose and Benjamin while Fraser got 8 fer in the first innings and Caddick a 5 fer in the second. Although England couldn't win the series it was a great comeback after being 46 all out in the previous Test!

I have to agree with you Oliver regarding the 4 victories you've mentioned. However my favourite noughties overseas victory was at the Kensington Oval in 2003/4 when Thorpe scored a brilliant 119*, Hoggard got a hat-trick, and England took a series clinching victory. I have the DVD and I love the bit where David Gower goes into the dressing room to interview the team and is attacked by flying muffins from a jubilant Flintoff.

It's hard to think of a great overseas victory in the 90's, most came after the series had gone dead. Probably the 13 run victory over the Aussies at the MCG when Dean Headley produced the best spell of his career.

Before this series I thought it might have the feeling of 04/05 in SA, both teams really close in ability & no clear winner, but if Australia fail to get it together at Perth it could be more like the 03/04 series in WI; an England team coming of age and realising their potential.

Let's hope so anyway.

England vs West Indies, 2000 at Headingley. Andy Caddick 4 wickets in one over. An innings victory and a crucial match that lead us to our first victory over the Windies for who knows how many years! That series was a classic thanks to Walsh and Ambrose terrorising our batsman, but at the same time our boys knowing that once we saw them off we could cash in. It was a real series of mind games.

Also, the 2004 tour to the Windies, while the Harmison 7-12 game will always be the one remembered as the greatest game, spare a moment for the game at Kensington Oval. I'll always remember Graham Thorpe's amazing effort to shephard the tail with an amazing ton that lead us from 100 ish for 6 to a lead of a few runs, thus totally demoralising the Windies and giving Hoggard a chance for a classic hat-trick.

All the four games you have listed above may be considered significant wins where England have surpassed both themselves, and the expectations of the ever-doubting English media. However, in terms of a true landmark win, none of them can compare to the enormity of the events that have transpired in the South Australian city of Adelaide.

Stats alone do not portray the whole story, but there re-telling in this match provides a narrative of total dominance: Australia won the (all important?) toss but were skittled out for a paultry 245 runs on a wicket, described pre-match by the Austrailian media, as a road. In reply, England posted a mammoth 620-5 dec. scored at greater than 4 runs per over; could their dominance over the clueless Australian attack have been more complete? Autralia followed up with 305 in their 2nd innings and hence ensured their first innings defeat on home soil since 1993. They had, in fact, batted twice to England's once; lost 4 times as many wickets in the match compared to England, and had been left to rely on the whims of the weather as their hopes of savaging a draw slowly faded away. - WOW! The stuff that dreams are made of - if you are an England fan. How many of us pinched ourselves when reminded of the early morning score? Now that is what I call a landmark performance!

The next test moves onto the WACA with its oddly named wind called the Freemantle Doctor. However, this may not be the only hint of wind that is starting to blow. The winds of change are a foot. With the change being one of a shift in dominance between the cricketing powers that are Australia and England.

So to answer the question you first posed - while the other victories were exciting and unexpected, this victory may prove to be a truely landmark one where something that was lost has now been re-discovered - and England find themselves in a place where they have rarely been in recent times against the old enemy; in ascendancy!

31. At 4:51pm on 08 Dec 2010, Kentbred wrote:

One impressive away win from the 90s was the Test at Bridgetown, Barbados where the Windies had been unbeaten for donkeys years. Stewart scored centurys in both innings against Walsh, Ambrose and Benjamin while Fraser got 8 fer in the first innings and Caddick a 5 fer in the second. Although England couldn't win the series it was a great comeback after being 46 all out in the previous Test!

Forgot about Bridgtown in 98! Another great game, although finished a draw because of the rain.
batting firs, we were effectively 5/55 at one point as Thorpe had to retire hurt with a bad back. What followed was an amazing fight back, firstly by Jack Russell who frustrated Walsh and Ambrose (who were at their absolute prime) for long enough for Thorpe's back to recover, and then Thorpe and Ramprakash (I think it was Ramps debut 100) batted for nearly a day and we ended at 403, and got a 141 first innings lead and set the WI 375 to win when it rained....Great match, Russell, Thorpe and Ramps were superb in the face of some very hostile bowling

Does anyone else think Trott is the new Thorpe?

Yes, he's right-handed and bats at 3, but his style of nudging and nurdling, hitting the ball in strange places and being someone you know can grind out long innings to get us out of trouble makes him a total Thorpe-alike for me. All Strauss needs to do is get him under a tin at short-leg instead of Cook!

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Can't remember the year but it was on Sky fro sure England Pakistan or India and England win the series its nearly pitch black.
Help me out here guys!

Roberts answered it for me Karachi vs Pakistan

No idea when it was, 1970's? In Australia, Australia needing 74 to win the test. They knocked of half the total before close of play. The next day Jeff Thompson helped them add 34 of the 37 runs required. 3 short when England got the last wicket. I was sitting in the living room with my dad, listening to the radio commentary at what must have been 1 in the morning. Our shouting woke my mum who wondered what all the commotion was about :)

Fourth Test, Melbourne, 1982/83

Thompson and Border.
Australia were 2-0 up in the series and went on to win 2-1 after the 5th test in sydney was drawn.

One of the few memorable England overseas wins in the nineties was the Barbados test on the 1994 tour. It was Atherton's first tour as captain.

England had been humiliated in the previous test in Trinidad. After fluffing a good chance of winning the match by an innings after Hick dropped Chanderpaul (on debut), England found themselves with a still gettable run chase, until blown away for 46 runs by Curtly Ambrose.

No one gave England any chance going into the Bridgetown match. It was Fortress Barbados, where the Windies had never lost a test.

But thanks largely to a century in each innings by Alec Stewart, eight wickets in the first innings by Angus Fraser, and five in the second by Andy Caddick, England won a famous victory. They finished the tour in style in the next test, managing to draw comfortably despite Lara's then-record 375.

Your choices are great Oliver and I was lucky enough to be there for the last 3 of them plus this Adelaide one, which I think is the best of the best, especially after 2006! Otherwise I go for Mumbai - the locals piled in expecting an India win but melted away as the wickets tumbled. I just remember how tough the conditions were even as a spectator and had nothing but admiration for the way England performed. Was this Fred's finest moment as captain that led to him getting the nod for the last Ashes tour? The only other one I would mention is England's win in Durban at the end of last year but I wouldn't put it ahead of your selection.

Do you dare do a 5 worst overseas performances or would that be too painful?

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