When was the last time Australia successfully chased down a total in an Ashes Test in England?
A thrilling Ashes encounter is unfolding at Edgbaston. England’s free-stroking batters batted for two sessions on the fourth day, setting Australia a challenging target of 281 runs to secure victory in the opening Test.
Australia were humming along when Stuart Broad charged in and broke open the match when he accounted for Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith late in the day. The match is now on a knife edge and Australia still need 174 runs and have seven wickets in the shed.
This is a good place to pause and revisit the last match where Australia chased down a total successfully on English soil.
Ashes 2001, Nottingham – As it happened
Back in 2001, a clinical Australia emerged victorious in the third Ashes Test match when they reached the target of 158 runs on the third day. This win secured their series victory and helped them retain the Ashes.
The day began with England at a score of 144-6. However, their hopes were quickly dashed as Jason Gillespie claimed the wickets of Ian Ward, Robert Croft, and Andrew Caddick.
Gillespie reached the 100-Test wicket milestone in this innings and found good support from Shane Warne at the other end. Warne chipped in with the wicket of Alex Tudor. Tudor's mistimed shot found Ricky Ponting at point, resulting in his dismissal.
With a modest total to defend, England had to get into the Australian middle order as soon as possible. They believed they had Matthew Hayden dismissed lbw in the first over, but their appeal was rejected by umpire S Venkataraghavan.
The breakthrough finally came when Andy Caddick induced an edge from Michael Slater, who had only scored 12 runs. Marcus Trescothick at third slip took the catch and he had another chance to repeat the feat, but he shelled a tough chance of Matthew Hayden.
Rain interruptions frequently disrupted the day's play. However, immediately after lunch, England saw a glimmer of hope as Robert Croft dismissed Ricky Ponting in his solitary over. Ponting had started the session with a powerful boundary through extra cover but then his innings came to an end when he edged behind to wicketkeeper Alec Stewart.
Hayden, however, was in no mood to hand around. He stroked his way to 42 when he was taken out by Alex Tudor. It was a tough decision as he was adjudged LBW by umpire Venkataraghavan even when the ball seemed to pitch well outside the leg stump.
Australia faced a setback when their captain, Steve Waugh, suffered a calf injury while attempting a run. He had struck Tudor to the leg side but had to be carried off the field in visible discomfort.
Mark Waugh and Damien Martyn then formed a resilient partnership, denying England any further breakthroughs and bringing the scores level. England's misfortune was compounded when the Ashes slipped away due to an Andy Caddick no-ball.
This was the last time that Australia chased down a total in the Ashes in England and it remains to be seen if they break all records when Usman Khawaja and Scott Boland resume their innings on Day 5 in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.