Ashes 1986-87: Allan Border and Greg Ritchie put Adelaide to sleep

The 1960s had witnessed perhaps the most boring days in the history of the sport, even Ashes contests. Things changed in the 1970s and 1980s, more so following the advent of limited-overs cricket. There was, however, the occasional yawnathon, but few as bizarre as what happened on December 16, 1986, when Allan Border and Greg Ritchie put Adelaide Oval to sleep despite the fact that they were trailing in the series. Abhishek Mukherjee recollects a morbid day of Test cricket.

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Ashes 1975: Vandals dig up Headingley pitch to ruin thrilling climax

August 19, 1975. Australia needed 225 to win on the final day with seven wickets remaining. And the spectators were robbed of a promising thriller when a group of vandals dug holes on the wicket and poured oil on the pitch. Arunabha Sengupta looks back at the incident in Headingley which cost £8,000 in gate receipts and scorecard sales.
It had all the makings of a fifth day thriller. And instead of an epic climax unfolding on the pitch, what ensued was a curious tale of knives, holes and oil.

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Ashes 1926: Charlie Macartney's century before lunch

July 24, 1926. After England captain Arthur Carr put Australia in to bat at Headingley, Maurice Tate dismissed Warren Bardsley with the very first ball; and then transpired a phase of play that remained a lifelong nightmare for the captain. Arunabha Sengupta writes about the day when Macartney was dropped by Carr off the fourth ball he faced and raced to a hundred before lunch.

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