Ashes Tests Trivia

1. Which English all-rounder was vastly responsible for the "Miracle at Headingley" in 1981 with his undefeated innings of 149?

From Quiz Livin' on the Edge of Glory

Answer: Ian Botham

On the cricket field Ian "Beefy" Botham was mercurial, he was charismatic and a force to be reckoned with. But in 1981 he really established his legend. England were down and almost out. After the first two Tests of that series they trailed Australia 1-0. In the Third Test at Headingley Australia had made 401 in their first innings and then ripped through England to roll them for 174. Forced to follow on they had slumped to 7-135 in their second innings - still 92 runs behind and with only three tail-end batsmen to support Botham. "Beefy" opened his shoulders (and rode his luck) to smash the vaunted Australian attack to all parts of the Leeds ground. The last three wickets added 231 runs, leaving Australia with only 130 to chase to complete the victory. Australia would collapse in the face of a searing Bob Willis attack, who took eight wickets and saw England home to a 19 run victory. From this point on Botham was unstoppable. He claimed five wickets for eleven runs in the next Test, which saw Australia bundled out for 121 and another loss. He sealed the series with a century in the Fifth Test and then closed out the series by taking ten wickets in the drawn last Test.

From Quiz England vs. Australia 2015 3rd Test

Answer: Edgbaston

Clarke was still smiling profusely after the previous test match hammering of his counterpart (check second test quiz)in London two weeks earlier. On that occasion, Australia won the toss and decided to bat. However, the cricket gods were not going to give the visitors any chance of emulating that awesome first day. When only one wicket fell at Lords on the first day, an astonishing 13 fell at Edgbaston, a wicket known for swing bowling. Jimmy Anderson bowled with serious control and swing which saw Australia blown away for not much more than a hundred. Had Chris Rogers not scored a well crafted 52, Australia would have been in even more trouble. However, the Aussies managed to snaffle three England wickets with a lead of three runs at close of day one.

From Quiz Ashes to Ashes - Burning for Revenge

Answer: The Australian side was made up of 22 players against England's 11

During March of 1862 HH Stephenson was in charge of the first English team to tour through Victoria and New South Wales. They arrived at Wattle Flat where a rag tag bunch of 22 cricketers was brought together to represent Castlemaine. Their combined tally of 150 runs outweighed that of the 11 experienced Englishmen by two runs. However, it was the result not the margin that was significant. So significant was it that almost a century later there was a plaque opening ceremony conducted on the site so that the world would not forget. In what is often described as the "sweetest of wars" the need for Australians to beat England at cricket (or anything else for that matter) is almost a national obsession. A colony cobbled together with free spirited adventurers, ambitious settlers who were fleeing poverty and exported convicts has thrived in its remoteness and constantly belts out a war-cry for independence. This is a debate that continues to cause angst between monarchist and republicans. The First Fleet arrived in 1788 and it is said that they used a blue gum sapling on which to erect their Union Jack. That sapling remains as a symbolic middle stump the Antipodeans have been trying to knock out of the ground ever since. This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

From Quiz 1945 Victory Test Series

Answer: Two-all

Australia won the first(Lord's) and third (Lord's) with England winning the second (Sheffield) and fifth (Manchester) with the fourth (Lord's) drawn.

From Quiz The Ashes Down Under: 2010-11

Answer: Alastair Cook

England ended their first innings at 260 all out, with Peter Siddle taking a rare Test hat-trick, his victims being Cook, Prior, and Broad. Despite being 143 for five wickets at one stage, Australia's first innings amassed 481, with Michael Hussey making 195. In England's second innings, Strauss and Cook scored 188 to establish a new opening partnership record. When Strauss was out, for 110, Cook was joined by Trott to continue the high scoring. The innings was declared at 517-1, with Trott on 135 not out. Cook's 235 broke the record for the highest score at the Gabba, in Brisbane, which had been held by Don Bradman.

From Quiz 1977 Centenary Ashes Test: Eng vs Aus

Answer: Hans Ebeling

Hans Ebling, at the time, was the Vice President of the Melbourne Club. He had had the privilege of representing Australia in one Test match, ironically, against England in 1934. He was successful in taking the wickets of the great Walter Hammond, Gubby Allen and Hedley Verity. He capped off a fine match by scoring a well made 41 runs in Australia's second innings. Part of his vision for this anniversary match was to bring every living Test player from the two nations to the game. Incredibly, 224 accepted and only 26 declined due to age or infirmity.

From Quiz Classic Ashes Battles: 1970-71

Answer: Derek Underwood

Derek Underwood turned a ball quite sharply to get the edge of Paul Sheahan's bat, and a level of panic seemed to overtake the Australian batsmen. However, whilst Underwood may have been the trigger, John Snow was the bullet as he began his dominance over the Australians that summer, with six wickets in the innings and a match tally of eight wickets for 162 runs.

From Quiz The Boxing Day Test

Answer: Melbourne

The Boxing Day Test is played each year in Melbourne at the MCG from December 26th (Boxing Day) to December 30th.

From Quiz Bradman's Last Test

Answer: 1948

Bradman's final test was the fifth Ashes test of 1948, played at the Kennington Oval in London between 14-18 August.

From Quiz The 1989 Ashes Tour

Answer: Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor's performance was punctuated by one double century, one century and five half centuries. He finished the tour with an average of 83.9 and consolidated his place in the test team for years to come.

From Quiz Third Ashes Test: July 1981

Answer: Headingley

Headingley is in Leeds, Yorkshire, the home ground of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

From Quiz England vs Australia

Answer: 1882

The sporting times carried a mock obituary notice stating that the body of English cricket would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.

From Quiz England v. Australia Test History

Answer: 7 for 903

England batted first and dominated every session.

From Quiz Livin' on the Edge of Glory

Answer: The Bodyline Series

This series is probably the most famous of Ashes battles in the history of the game. The English team devised the theory of "Bodyline", alternatively known as "Leg Theory", that involved stacking the legside with fielders and having a fast bowling battery that aimed short, fast pitched deliveries at the bodies of the Australian batsmen. If the batsman were to attack the bowling, it dramatically increased the risk of being dismissed but the alternative, being struck on the body, was far less palatable. After the Third Test in Adelaide, during which the Australian captain Bill Woodfull was struck above the heart and the Australian wicketkeeper, Bert Oldfield, had had his skull fractured, the relationship between the two countries had soured so much that there were angry cables being sent between the Boards of Control of the two nations and threats were raised over the cancellation of the tour. England did curtail their activities in this respect, however, the shell-shocked Australians were still beaten in the final two tests to lose the series 4-1. The laws of the game were soon amended to outlaw the practice of leg theory.

From Quiz England vs. Australia 2015 4th Test

Answer: 60

This was a shambles for the Aussies and a real shock to the world of cricket. Broad was superb, bowling with line and length that led to edge after edge. The English slip cordon dropped nothing and the rate of wickets that fell, made for arguably one of the most incredible opening mornings play in the history of the game. The visitors faced 111 deliveries, a world record for a completed first innings.

From Quiz England vs. Australia 2015 1st Test

Answer: Hazelwood

Adam Lyth faced 10 balls, and having scored 6 runs, faced the pace of Hazelwood. In the third over Hazelwood delivered a superb ball that was edged to fourth slip where Warner took a superb low catch. The first wicket of the 2015 Ashes belonged to Hazlewood with just 7 on the board. The second wicket fell when Cook tried to cut Lyon who sent a devilish spinning delivery down that clipped the top of the England captain's bat. Haddin, keeping behind the stumps, snaffled the ball and a score of 20 off 40 balls saw Cook heading back to the pavilion. England were 42-2. It got worse. Only one more run was added when Starc sent a left hand swinger into the pad of Ian Bell who had only just come to the crease. The umpire raised his finger and England were in disarray on 43-3 with just over an hour played.

From Quiz Aussies Win The Ashes 2013-14

Answer: Scheduling issues with the World Cup

The scheduling of players the World Cup every four years means the cup is scheduled around the the time the Ashes is played (every two years but every four years in each country). By bringing forward the the Ashes series scheduled for Australia in 2014-15 by 12 months, the cycle of playing an Ashes series directly before a World Cup was broken.

From Quiz 1945 Victory Test Series

Answer: K. R. Miller (AUS)

Keith Miller scored 105 in Australia's first innings. Robertson top scored for England with 84 in their second innings. Miller also scored 118 in the fourth Test being the only player to score two centuries in the series.

From Quiz The Ashes Down Under: 2010-11

Answer: Graeme Swann

Australia made a disastrous start to their first innings, with Katich being run out without facing a ball, Ponting out first ball, and Clarke out for two. The score at this stage was 2 runs for 3 wickets, but they recovered to make a total of 245. Despite another early departure by Strauss, Cook went on to make 148 runs and Pietersen scored 227, which allowed England to declare on 620-5. On the final day, England needed to take six wickets. Finn and Anderson took three between them, with Swann cleaning up the tail to finish with 5 for 91. The rain duly arrived but too late to save the match for the home team.

From Quiz 1977 Centenary Ashes Test: Eng vs Aus

Answer: Benson & Hedges: Cigarette advertising in sport had been banned

During the 1970s, the Australian government began a concerted push to inhibit the sale of tobacco products. Part of this strategy involved banning cigarette advertising in sport. Existing sponsorship deals were allowed a period of rationalisation, however, any new sponsorship deals that were struck were to rule out advertising in any form. Eventually a limited agreement was agreed to as a 'one-off' for this Test match.

From Quiz Classic Ashes Battles: 1970-71

Answer: (Sir) Donald Bradman

Stackpole's innings was not without its good fortune. When on 18, he was clearly run-out by a direct hit from Geoffrey Boycott, and umpire Lou Rowan inexplicably gave him not out. Sadly by the last day, all evidence of a genuine contest had evaporated from this match, as had much of the public's interest. A draw ensued and journalists were left wondering if anyone cared.

From Quiz The Boxing Day Test

Answer: 1950

Test cricket was first played on Boxing Day in 1950. Australia defeated England by just 28 runs. There were no Boxing Day Test matches from 1953 to 1967 and, for the 1984 test match, Boxing Day was Day 4. In 1989, Australia played an ODI against Sri Lanka on Boxing Day instead.

From Quiz The 1989 Ashes Tour

Answer: Terry Alderman

Combined with his record 42-wicket haul in his previous tour of England in 1981 Terry Alderman became the only bowler to date to claim 40 or more wickets in two series. Bowling patient probing medium pace in the "corridor of uncertainty" combined with a well disguised off cutter helped "Clem" claim 19 lbw wickets.

From Quiz Third Ashes Test: July 1981

Answer: David Evans and Barrie Meyer

Barrie Meyer was a former Gloucestershire player. David Evans played for Glamorgan, and this was his first test as an umpire.

From Quiz England vs Australia

Answer: Australia won both by 45 runs

Both matches were played at the Melbourne cricket ground.

From Quiz Interesting Ashes Facts

Answer: Sir Len Hutton

This match Len scored 364 in England's 7d-903, when Len kicked the ball over the boundary the umpire awarded 5 runs and the better batsman retained the strike.

From Quiz England v. Australia Test History

Answer: Douglas Jardine

Jardine developed bodyline, or 'leg theory' as he liked to call it, to counter the brilliance of Australia's Don Bradman.

From Quiz Livin' on the Edge of Glory

Answer: England had won the Test by two runs

When Australia arrived in England for the 2005 Ashes series, they boasted a team full of legends. They had won the previous eight Ashes rubbers and were outrageous favourites to do so again. After England were savaged in the First Test by 239 runs it seemed like cycle was, once again, running its course. The teams arrived at Lords, a ground on which the Australians had not lost in over 100 years. England, however, were not to be denied and the two arch-rivals produced one of the most intense contests in their history. The home side had secured a 99 run lead after the first innings, but a Shane Warne masterclass, that netted him six wickets in the second innings, left Australia needing a gettable 282 in the last innings to win. All seemed lost when Australia found themselves 9 wickets down for 220. However, Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz produced a remarkable backs-to-the-wall fightback that saw Australia get within three runs of victory, at which point Kasprowicz was dismissed when he gloved a catch to wicketkeeper Geraint Jones. A shattered Brett Lee sank onto his haunches, at which point he was consoled by Andrew Flintoff, producing one of the most enduring Ashes moments of all time. England would go on to win the series 2-1 and regain the Ashes.

From Quiz England vs. Australia 2015 4th Test

Answer: Extras/sundries

This was the first time in Ashes history that extras or sundries top scored for either team. Extras consisted of 3 no balls and 11 leg byes. The card was sorry reading for the Australians: Rogers 0 Warner 0 Smith 6 Marsh 0 Clarke 10 Voges 1 Neville 2 Johnson 13 Starc 1 Hazlewood 4 Lyon 9

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:47 AM

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