Border recalls the one theyy almost snatched

A GREAT game of cricket, just the wrong result.

That is how Allan Border recalls one of the most remarkable Test matches of all time.

The Boxing Day Test of 1982 was always destined to be a classic after the two first innings left Australia three runs ahead of the Old Enemy.

England set the hosts 292 to win after their second innings and no one gave the Aussies much hope despite a century stand between the late David Hookes and Kim Hughes.

With just over 30 minutes left on day four, Border, the last batsman standing, was joined by Jeff Thomson with the Aussies still 74 runs short of their target at 9- 218.

All Border was thinking was getting through to stumps.

“My neck was on the chopping block,” he recalls. “I just wasn’t in the best of form.

“The thought was to try to get Tommo through to stumps, it pisses down with rain all day ( on day five), game saved.

“It is Melbourne, the weather can do anything.

“I suppose that freed me up a little bit ... if I see it I am going to hit it.

“I started to get my feet going a bit, started to play a few shots and we put on 37 runs before the close.”

If Border had faith in Thomson, who had a Test average of 12.91, the same could not be said for a few of the Australian team .

Border said Rod Marsh and a few of the players did not want to see Ian Botham and co take the final wicket and witness the celebrations.

“They went downstairs into the change rooms,” Border recalls. “They decided ‘ our game’s finished, we might as well have a few beers’. So they cracked a few open while we were still out there playing, expecting the worst.

“We got through to stumps which was a miracle in itself.”

With no charge on the gate, a crowd of 18,000 turned up on day five hoping for a Christmas miracle.

“Tommo and I were out for a few warm- ups and we said ‘ bloody hell look at all these people turn up for one ball’,” Border laughs.

“As soon as we got out there, Marsh said ‘ we can’t break the spell from last night’, they got through OK so we have to repeat what we did’, so whoever was upstairs stayed there and whoever was downstairs went there and I think they did open a beer as the game started,” he adds.

As the target for an improbably victory slowly dropped, the game became more frantic. England captain Bob Willis threw the ball to Botham, Australia’s tormentor two years earlier in the Ashes series in England.

Needing four to win, Thomson tried to get a single to get Border on strike but could only edge the ball into the slips cordon.

Chris Tavare dropped the ball but it bounced off his chest to Geoff Miller, who snaffled the rebound.

“Who else was to take the wicket but Botham,” Border says of his old mate.

“It was one of those great Boxing day Test matches, low- scoring ebbed and flowed and kept England in the series at 2- 1 but we drew in Sydney and regained the Ashes.”