Cometh the hour, cometh Travis Head. The always swashbuckling but recently out-of-sorts middle-order batter put his hand up and said, “I’ll do it”, as Australia were again left scrambling to find an opener to step in for Usman Khawaja in the first Test. The last-minute decision for Head to partner debutant Jake Weatherald at the top of the order and begin the fourth-innings run chase with England in command is the sort of after-the-fact masterstroke that fills the pages of Ashes history. But even with a backstory of heroic and match-defining knocks, few could have expected Head to flip the script in a Test that had seen just 468 runs scored as 30 wickets fell, with an onslaught that immediately etched its place in Ashes folklore as one of the great innings.
Head rocketed to his 10th Test century from 69 balls – the second fastest in Ashes history, the third quickest by an Australian in Tests, and the most rapid in a fourth innings – and celebrated with a few casual twirls of his bat and a half-hearted fist pump. When the 31-year-old was eventually caught in the deep for 123 from 83 deliveries with four sixes and 16 boundaries, emotion flowed in an embrace with Marnus Labuschagne with Australia then just 13 runs from sealing what, 136 minutes earlier, had seemed like an improbable Test victory.
The left-hander has an ever-expanding catalogue of heroic knocks for Australia against different opponents and in all formats – including 152 in the opening game the last time England toured for Tests – but was one of several notable absentees from the Guardian’s list of the 100 best players in the history of the men’s Ashes. Head may well have paid the price for a career still to be completed and the guardrails put in place to ensure cricketers from eras now only remembered in the record books were suitably considered.
Even accounting for recency bias, Head’s barnstorming innings at Perth Stadium would likely be enough for him to force his way into any future editions of the survey. For now, it is too late for Head to leap into the list of the top 100 players – but his latest knock deserves to be ranked among some other great men’s Ashes innings.
(Listed in reverse chronological order)
Steve Smith, 211 at Old Trafford, 2019
Smith had returned to international cricket in extraordinary form after serving a 12-month ban for his role in “sandpapergate”. His twin hundreds in the Ashes opener at Edgbaston deserve a special mention but it is the double ton in the fourth Test that is among Smith’s best and helped lift Australia to a rousing victory. Smith had missed the third Test after being ruled out with delayed concussion symptoms from a head knock when facing Jofra Archer at Lord’s, but returned with the sort of controlled innings off 319 deliveries and across 513 minutes that defined the peak of his career and ensured Australia retained the Ashes.
Ben Stokes, 135 not out at Headingley, 2019
Stokes’s Headingley heroics are recent enough to still give Australia players and fans nightmares, while filling England followers with reason to hope that their inspirational skipper will again drag them from the depths of despair and across the line. The tourists were within reach of retaining the urn when England needed 73 runs with one wicket in hand before Stokes’s counterattack combined destructive power-hitting with masterful farming of the strike. The all-rounder’s guttural roar and arms-held-out celebration delivered an iconic image to stand alongside one of the all-time great Test innings.
Adam Gilchrist, 102 not out at the Waca, 2006
Not even Head at Perth Stadium could match the blistering pace set by Gilchrist as the keeper-batter put England to the sword with what remains the fastest century in Ashes history. Australia were chasing quick runs to take them to within reach of a win in the third Test that would ensure they regained the urn after a shock defeat 18 months earlier. Even an out-of-form Gilchrist was just the player to put the foot down. He reached his century from 57 balls with Australia able to declare from a position of strength in the middle of what turned into a series sweep.
Kevin Pietersen, 158 at the Oval, 2005
In a series filled with twists and turns and magical moments, it was Pietersen’s first Test century that sealed England’s historic series victory and wrested back the urn after 16 years of misery. Australia entered the final day still with some hope of snatching a win in the fifth Test and retaining the Ashes, especially with leg-spinning great Shane Warne in full flight. But Pietersen’s devastating knock from 187 deliveries with seven sixes and 15 boundaries took the game away from the tourists and ensured England held on for a famous draw.
Ian Botham, 149 not out at Headingley, 1981
The series that would become known as “Botham’s Ashes” was flipped on its head as England recovered from being forced to follow on and their imperious all-rounder ensured Australia were set a challenging chase in the third Test. With the shackles of the England captaincy thrown from his shoulders, Botham unleashed an innings that blended beauty and the beast with 27 boundaries and a single six in the 148-balls faced. When Australia fell 11 runs short of their 130-run target, England had levelled the series at 1-1 and would go on to win two more matches and retain the urn.
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Len Hutton, 364 at the Oval, 1938
In an era of timeless Tests that could hardly differ more from the new age approach of all-out attack, Hutton batted for more than 13 hours in a record-breaking knock to guide England to an eye-popping total of 903-7. Even with Australia already assured of retaining the Ashes, the England opener wore down the wounded tourists with an 847-ball knock that set up an innings victory and tied the four-Test series at 1-1.
Don Bradman, 270 at the MCG, 1937
Bradman fell one place short of being ranked top of the Guardian’s list of the 100 best men’s Ashes players but could easily have filled the majority of the spots in the best innings of all time. The Don’s double hundred at the MCG stands out among his 19 Test tons against England after he came to the crease and took control even with the tourists holding a 2-0 lead in the series. Bradman famously flipped the batting order in the hope that a sticky wicket in the years before pitches were covered would have time to recover, then took the third Test away from England to all but turn the tide as Australia won the series 3-2.
Don Bradman, 334 at Headingley, 1930
Bradman truly broke out during the 1930 Ashes and his triple century to begin the third Test rubber stamped his status at the top of the game. The No 3 was largely untroubled in the record-breaking knock that would become the highest score in an innings until Hutton bettered the mark eight years later, with 46 boundaries from 448 deliveries. Bradman’s historic innings remained the Australian benchmark for 73 years and sparked a contentious tactical revolution two-and-a-half years later that still defines the rivalry.
Victor Trumper, 104 at Old Trafford, 1902
An innings from another time might now only be remembered in the record books but jumps off the page for being the first century scored before lunch on the opening morning of a Test – a feat since matched by only five men. Trumper carved England open with stylish cuts and cover drives and was undefeated on 103 as Australia went to the break on 173 for one, before eventually winning an early Ashes classic by three runs.
