As I am English, I couldnt help but put this at number one in my countdown. 1981, Bothams Ashes. After Beefy was stripped of the captaincy in favour of the inspirational Mike Brearley to end a 12 match spell as captain for the all-rounder, Botham would go on to showcase his heroics for the rest of the series. England were 1-0 down going into the third test at Headingley, and Australia had seemingly gained the initiative by reducing England to 105-5 in the second innings, with the host nation needing another 122 to simply avoid an innings defeat. Enter Ian Botham. With too much time left to play conservatively, Botham smashed the ball to all parts and left England with a chance of victory after the follow-on with a sensational 149*. England subsequently bowled the Aussies out for 111 with Bob Willis starring with the ball to record figures of 8 for 43, to hand England one of the most memorable test wins of all time. Why It Was Amazing At tea-time on Saturday, England were 500/1 with Ladbrokes to complete the victory, which really shows how amazing the feat was. This was the last time any team has won a match after being made to follow on, and the performances of Botham and Willis were absolutely sensational to hand England the most unlikely of victories. Could It Happen Again? Possibly, but it would take an exceptional set of circumstances. A captain would have to wrongly enforce the follow on, then see his side devastatingly collapse on a mine-field of a pitch. So there are my 5 feats. Is there anything else youd have liked to see on this list? Or do you agree with me? Please feel free to comment
20 year old Sport Development an Coaching student who is a self confessed sports fanatic. Lifelong Bradford Bulls and Newcastle United fan who spends far too much time on the internet searching pointless sporting information, Sean is a 50 year old man in a much younger body, and particularly shows a passion for Rugby League.
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