I know the Third Ashes Test is only two days old, but England's chances of winning look rather slim after the performances of Michael Clarke, Smith, Rogers, Haddin and the latest late-order batting sensation Mitchell Starc! Whichever direction the pitch faces, Australia haven't lost an Ashes contest at Old Trafford since 1981, although it wasn't one of the venues four years ago.
In the '70s and early '80s it was all England in Manchester when it was all pavilion and railway wires in the background. In 1972, John Snow and Tony Greig starred in an 89-run triumph, despite the efforts of Aussie legends Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh. Five years later, Lillee was badly missed although it proved more of a spinner's wicket. Bob Woolmer's 137 and Derek Underwood's 6-66 in the second innings set up a nine-wicket victory. In 1981, of course, Ian Botham was on fire. He and Bob Willis helped dismiss Kim Hughes' side for 130 , but Lillee and Terry Alderman restricted the home side's lead to 101. Botham's sensational 118 in 102 balls, daring to thump Lillee's bouncers into the stands, extended the margin to more than 500. Despite Graeme Yallop and Allan Border scoring centuries, that proved 103 too many.
Four years on and the Green Baggies were beginning to rebuild under Border's captaincy. Nevertheless, Old Trafford saw them suffer another first innings mauling thanks largely to Mike Gatting's 160. However, Captain Grumpy produced one of his trademark rearguard actions, his unbeaten 146 staving off all that spinners Emburey and Edmonds could throw at him. In 1989, international cricket was changing, and Australia were challenging the West Indies for top dog status, and England were in the firing line.
At Manchester David Gower chose to bat but, despite Robin Smith's defiant century, England were bowled out for under 300. A solid Aussie batting line-up laid the foundation for an easy win, but a heroic 142-run seventh wicket stand between Emburey and Jack Russell almost saved the match. Almost. The 1993 Old Trafford Test was the Ashes opener, and was to become famous for not one, but two dismissals in particular. Gatting b Warne 4 doesn't quite tell the whole story, but that was the moment the cricketing world recognised the genius of a new leg-spinner as he delivered the Ball of the Century! Shane took anoher sevcen wickets in the game, and Merv Hughes claimed eight for himself, too. Facing a target of 500+ in almost two days, Graham Gooch advanced to 133 when he was given out 'handled ball', still one of the few instances in Test history. England finally succumbed by 179 runs as the Aussie attack fought against the clock to bowl them out.
The winning margin was even greater in '97, when Steve Waugh's two hundreds almost beat England on their own. Oh, and we shouldn't forget the seventeen wickets shared by that wonderful pairing of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Eight years passed before the nations met once more under Lancastrian skies. Despite Manchester's reputation, rain hadn't seriously threatened results, and so it proved again, but this was to produce a memorably tight finish in a series renowned for them. Michael Vaughan's 166 and Simon Jones' 6-53 put the home team inthe driving seat before Strauss and co rubbed Aussie noses in it even further, declaring with the visitors 422 in arrears. Batsmen came and went but Ricky Ponting held firm. Harmison, Hoggard, Flintoff and Giles tried their best but Ponting's 156, then the last-wicket pairing of Brett Lee and McGrath, did enough to secure a draw, 52 runs short of an improbable victory.
So, moving on to this week and in the era of my cricketing interest, the Old Trafford roll call reads 3 wins apiece with 2 draws. Michael Clarke must hope that the unbeaten record at this grand old ground extends well beyond three decades.
