Australian cricket team in England in 1981
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The tour by the Australian cricket team in England in 1981 included the 59th Ashes series of Test matches between Australia and England.
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[edit] Test series
Although the two teams were generally disappointing by the world standards being set by West Indies at that time, the 1981 Ashes is nevertheless widely regarded as one of the most entertaining Test series ever due to the see-sawing nature of both the individual games and the series as a whole.
England won the series 3-1 despite being 1-0 down after the first two Tests and seemingly well beaten in the third. The turnaround followed the reappointment of the inspirational Mike Brearley as England captain before the third Test at Headingley. Thanks to a fine innings by Ian Botham and an outstanding spell of fast bowling by Bob Willis, England became only the second team in Test Match history to win a match after being made to follow on [1].
The fourth Test at Edgbaston was a similarly inspired comeback victory for England. Ian Botham took five for 11, including a spell of five wickets for a solitary run to end Australia's second innings at 121 and give England victory by 29 runs.
England also went on to win the fifth Test at Old Trafford to retain the Ashes, including another century for Botham (in 86 balls). Botham was ultimately out for 118, including 6 sixes in the innings, which was an Ashes record until Kevin Pietersen's innings of 158 at The Oval in the 2005 Ashes series.
The sixth Test at the Oval was drawn, with Botham taking 10 wickets in the match.
[edit] One-day International matches
Three ODI's were played on this tour. Australia took the series 2-1, winning at Edgbaston and Headingley, after losing the first match at Lord's.
[edit] Visit to Sri Lanka
The Australian team visited Sri Lanka in May 1981 en route to England. They played three limited overs matches and one first-class match against the Sri Lanka national cricket team, which at that time was on the eve of achieving Test status.
The first-class match was played at Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo and ended in a draw after being badly affected by the weather.
[edit] References
[edit] External sources
[edit] Further reading
- Playfair Cricket Annual 1982
- Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1982
