Everything You Need to Know About the Lowest victory margins for England

This was England’s joint-tenth lowest margin by runs, but let’s dig deep and find out those top five games where England were mighty close to losing. Spoiler alert—all those matches came against their biggest rivals, Australia!

Who can forget this match! The scenes from Edgbaston would perhaps live with every cricket fan through their life. The drama began even before the toss when Glenn McGrath hurt his ankle and was ruled out. When Australia were 132 for 7 in their pursuit of 282, it looked like England would find their way, especially at 175 for 8.

What’s an Ashes Test without a fight! The famous Aussie fightback turned the tables as Australia moved closer, inch by inch. When they were 62 runs away and the last pair of Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz started edging closer, Edgbaston felt the heat – run by run.

Eventually, the two runs ended up lifting England to a win, keeping the Ashes alive ahead of making this one of the best Ashes series ever!

Long before Edgbaston was the classic thriller of MCG! Australia were chasing 292, and at 218 for 9, it looked like the writing was on the wall. The Poms in the stands were getting ready to celebrate, but Allan Border in the middle had other ideas.

With no. 11 Jeff Thompson for company, Border wasn’t just playing to save the Test for his team. He was out of form and looked out of place in the side, so he could have soon been out of the playing XI!

Yet, England played to Border’s strengths by spreading the field and not attacking him. He turned down a lot of singles but still kept the scoreboard running, and as the target narrowed down, Australia looked like the favourite. Only for a certain Ian Botham to lure Thomson to play his first expansive shot with just four needed.

A target of 177 and 130 for 2? Australia would have been forgiven for thinking they had this match in the bag. Yet, overnight heavy rain on the fifth day made the sixth day of the game a bowler’s dream. That’s despite the beautiful sunshine that welcomed the players!

Bobby Peel (6 for 67) peeled the Aussies off, one by one, and the target ended up being 10 runs too much for the shocked home players. This made England the first Test team to win after being forced to follow-on!

Wally Hammond’s centuries in each innings set Australia a target of 349, and at 308 for 6 with Donald Bradman at the crease, it looked like a cruise for the Aussies.

When Bradman was run out with the score reading 320 for 8, the target looked out of reach, and Jack White’s 8 for 126 ensured a win for England.

The Ashes had already gone by the time they reached Melbourne; the only thing up for grabs is to draw the series. The Aussies grabbed a 70-run lead in the first innings, and when the last English pair added 23 runs to push the target to 175, it looked like extending a lost cause.

At 130 for 3, Australia looked on course to win the game, and reportedly Michael Slater wanted to get the champagne out! The tables turned, and the score quickly became 140 for 7. Yet, with Steve Waugh in the middle, Australia were still the favourite to win.

So much so that Australia wanted the extra 30 minutes, feeling confident they could win. Alas! Dean Headley (6 for 60) scripted a tale that he would live to tell his grandchildren.