Almost 150 years of England-Australia Test match history adds up to an awful lot of the greatest Ashes rivalries: here are five of the very best.
The Ashes: England v Australia, 5 Greatest Ashes Rivalries
Greatest Ashes Rivalries: Spofforth v Grace
And it all started back in the mists of time, courtesy of the unintended consequences of the legendary WG Grace winding up Australian pace bowler Fred Spofforth. Spofforth and several Australian players had been enraged by Grace’s illegal pitch rolling when they turned up to play Gloucestershire in 1880.
Two years later, Spofforth was even angrier when he returned to England, this time to The Oval, to take on England, and Grace ran out Sammy Jones who was gardening outside his crease. “This will cost you the match” seethed Spofforth, aka The Demon, to the England dressing room and, true to his word, took seven-for-44 as England, chasing 85 to win, were skittled for 77. An urn was duly burned, the Ashes were duly born.
Greatest Ashes Rivalries: Bradman v Larwood
“There’s never been a lot of love between us,” said England pace ace Harold Larwood of Sir Donald Bradman, two bitter rivals forever divided by the infamous Bodyline Series of 1932-33. Larwood had five years of resentment building up by the time of Bodyline, furious that Bradman hadn’t walked for nought at Headingley in 1930 – “you could hear the nick all over the ground”, fumed the Englishman – and being on the receiving end of six Sir Don centuries in seven previous meetings.
England decided the only way to unsettle Bradman – and therefore beat Australia – in 1932 was to end the gentleman’s creed and play dirty. And that meant Bodyline. And the short-pitched barrage worked. In eight innings, Larwood got Bradman four times, England won the series 4-1 – and the two men would never speak again.
Greatest Ashes Rivalries: McGrath v Atherton
Former England skipper Michael Atherton loved a battle more than anyone – but he met his match in Glenn McGrath. Atherton and McGrath played against each other in every Ashes from 1994-2001 and it was a battle the Aussie won hands down. McGrath dismissed Atherton an astonishing 19 times in just 34 innings, the most times any batsman has been dismissed by one bowler in Test history.
It prompted this memorable sledge. McGrath: “Athers you need to get rid of that rubbish from the end of your bat.” Atherton studies the bottom of his bat. McGrath: “No mate, at the other end.”
Greatest Ashes Rivalries: Warner v Broad
David Warner’s self-proclaimed “hatred” of England meant he had a real love-hate relationship with Ashes crowds – which is shorthand for Aussie fans loved him, English fans loathed him.
Those England fans absolutely adored it then when Warner was brought down a peg or two and taking the responsibility of doing that more than most was Stuart Broad, proud patriot and merciless tormentor of the Baggy Green opener. Broad dismissed Warner 17 times over the years, a rivalry that ended in 2023 when Broad retired and Warner followed soon after.
Greatest Ashes Rivalries: Chappell v Botham
There hasn’t been a feud in cricket that has lasted longer than the spat between former Australia skipper Ian Chappell and his ex-England opposite number Ian Botham. It started in a bar at the MCG in 1977, almost ended in a fight then and has prompted claim, counter-claim and even a TV documentary.
And almost 50 years later the two men have still not got a nice word to say to each other. The irony is surely that they never actually played against each other in an Ashes Test, yet it’s a story that encapsulates just what one of the world’s great sporting rivalries is all about.
Please note that the information provided in this Freddie Flintoff article is for entertainment purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided. Any action you take upon the information on this article is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of our article. We do not encourage gambling and remind you to gamble responsibly.
18+ | BeGambleAware.org
