OTD | Ian Botham’s fifer at Edgbaston helps England outsmart Australia in Ashes 1981

It was on this day, August 2, in 1981 when Ian Botham showed the world his bowling might in the fourth Test between England and Australia during the 1981 Ashes series as his fifer in the second innings helped England defend a meagre target of 151 runs. 

Australia won the first game in Nottingham by four wickets before England won the third game in Leeds by 18 runs to tie the series as the second game had ended in a draw.

Ian Botham was named Player of the Match for his brilliant bowling and batting performances. He smashed 149 runs in the second innings after grabbing a six-fer and scoring 50 runs in the first. After Botham’s masterpiece, England appeared fired up, but the Australians were determined to persevere.

In the fourth Test at Edgbaston, England captain Mike Brearley won the toss and chose to bat first. England made 189 runs in the first innings, with captain Brearley top-scoring with 48 runs as Terry Alderman picked up 5/42 for Australia while Dennis Lillee and Ray Bright took two wickets each.

Australia replied with 258 runs, with captain Kim Hughes (47) and Martin Kent (46) being the top scorers. John Emburey (4/43), and Chris Old (3/44) were the stars with the ball for England.
England scored 219 runs in their second innings, with Mike Gatting and Emburey scoring in the 30s, while Geoff Boycott (29), David Gower, and Chris Old made 23 runs each. For Australia, Bright took 5/68 and Alderman added three wickets to go with his first-innings fifer.

Australia were set to chase 151 runs and ended Day 3 on 9/1. However, by dismissing both of their openers early on, Chris Old and Bob Willis gave the visitors a terrible start. With three wickets down, Allan Border and Graham Yallop put an end to the rot and led Australia past the halfway point.

But England was still a long way from winning, and they required a spectacular display. Australia needed 46 more runs to win, even though they were 105 for 5. At this point, Botham demonstrated why he is regarded as one of the all-time great all-rounders.

It was quite astonishing what happened next as Botham got the final five wickets for one run in 28 deliveries. Bright was leg-before to a ball that stayed low after Rod Marsh had his middle stump removed.

After some juggling by Taylor off a ball from Botham, Dennis Lillee narrowly avoided falling to the hat-trick delivery. The ball grazed the batter’s pad and struck the off stump when he attempted to clip Botham into a space on the leg side.

Then Alderman was clean bowled and beaten for pace, and Botham needed three more balls to finish the match. The audience roared with excitement, as Botham grabbed a stump and ran off the field before they could catch up. He finished with a 5-4-1-5 spell and innings figures of 5/11. England eventually won the match by 29 runs and led the 6-Test series 2-1. Botham was named Player of the Match for his six wickets and 26 runs.

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