As England make it to the top of the tree in fine style, people are looking back to other occasions when they seemed invincible. Frankly there aren't any in my living memory but times a-plenty when they showed courage in adversity, particularly against the Australians. 2009, 2005, 1986 and of course 2001, 'Botham's Ashes'.
Out come the video clips of the bearded all-rounder, knowing his side had nothing to lose in the face of an innings defeat at Headingley, slogging the ball to all corners. Not a lot of finesse, just head up, have-a-go joie-de-vivre which could have ended up in Sehwag-esque disaster. His unbeaten 149 was followed by Bob Willis' amazing 8-43 and the series was level.
However, that wasn't really Botham's finest hour in that series. The innings may have changed the course of the match and the series but Headingley didn't witness the best of his bowling and batting. The following game, at Edgbaston, was a low-scoring affair in which nobody managed even a 50. England struggled to 189 against Terry Alderman, but Kim Hughes' Aussies took a lead of only 69, with John Emburey's off-spin doing most of the damage. The home side fared little better second time around, and Australia needed just 151 to win. Surely they wouldn't blow such an easy target twice running?
Allan Border, then aged 26, was at his most miserly, but even after he departed on 40 with the score on 105-5, Australia must still have been favourites to go 2-1 up. Enter Botham. He steamed in, that wide chest delivery and whoosh - he took the last five wickets for 11 runs and it was England who won by 29 runs and now led the series.
Two weeks later, the action moved north to Old Trafford and the Fifth Test began thirty years ago this week. It was a good August. I remember seeing bits of the game live, some on highlights, from a family holiday in SW Wales. Coe and Ovett were swapping middle-distance world records seemingly every other day, Sussex and Notts were slugging it out for the County Championship and now Brearley's England were confident of winning the Ashes. However, the previous two victories had been very tight so anything could happen.
Mike Brearley won the toss and decided to bat. However, Lillee and Alderman each claimed four wickets and only a gritty 69 from Chris Tavare and an unbeaten half-century by debutant bowler Paul Allott enabled England to pass 200. Botham was out first ball. However, Australia's batting was more like India 2011, and were all out for 130, blitzed early on by Bob Willis. England's second innings slipped to 104-5 and things were not looking too rosy.
The Aussies had only four front-line bowlers, including the then unknown Mike Whitney, called up in desperation from club cricket. Lillee, one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, had to bowl 46 overs in that innings, and Alderman trundled in for 52, but they seemed to be doing their jobs well until Ian Botham came in at his usual number seven. At Leeds, his batting had been all brute force and large dollops of luck. This time, his strokeplay was both exhilarating and classical. Ably supported by Tavare (three boundaries in seven hours!!) 'Beefy' scored 118 in only 102 balls, then almost unheard of in Test cricket. He struck six sixes, including audacious hooks off the masterful Lillee before succumbing to a caught-behind off Whitney. The pair had put on 149 for the sixth wicket, and then Knott and Emburey advanced the score beyond 400, setting the Aussies more than 500 to win, with almost two days remaining.
It sounded impossible - and was - but this time the tourists didn't fold up and die like Dhoni's lot this week. The openers may have gone cheaply but Graeme Yallop in particular was in an adventurous mood, making 114 in 125 balls. At the other end, Border got his head down and defended brilliantly for seven hours while plundering seventeen fours when the ball dropped slightly wide or short. Unfortunately for the Aussies, nobody could stick with him long enough to achieve the draw or even an unlikely victory. They managed 402 all out, losing by 103 runs.
The Sixth Test at The Oval was a closer affair with centuries scored by Border (again), Boycott and Australian newcomer Dirk Wellham, and 'ten-fors' for both Lillee and that man Botham.
Those two players, with Allan Border and top wicket-taker Alderman, were the stars of a truly memorable Test series, up there with the 2005 Ashes as a thrilling clash of two well-matched sides. However, when remembering 1981 and watching footage of Headingley, fast forward to Edgbaston and Old Trafford to see the very best of Ian Botham. You won't be disappointed.
