Cricket: When test cricket got its mojo back

Where were you when Stephen Harmison chipped out Michael Kasprowicz? Picture / Reuters

It's hard to imagine a more dramatic week for international cricket, initially sparked by the enthralling scenes at Birmingham, and then by the fascinating spectacle of Zimbabwe's two-day nadir against New Zealand.

From the sublime at Edgbaston, as Australia fought back from an overwhelmingly hopeless position to nearly snatch victory, to the ridiculous scenes at Harare, the great game was seen at its best and worst within the space of 24 hours.

In the first instance, a high-quality contest involving the two best teams in the world went down to the wire on one of the most tension-filled days of Ashes history, renewing interest in the ancient series virtually overnight.

Not only was the match acclaimed as among the most riveting, it also prompted much reminiscing about previous close finishes, the two tied tests, and where people were when Steve Harmison chipped out Michael Kasprowicz to cement the result.

Hours later, the discussion had swung to Zimbabwe's test status after New Zealand dismissed them twice inside the space of two days, only second time the feat has been achieved in test history.

To be fair, much of the talk initially centred on New Zealand's impressive batting on the first day, when they recovered from 113 for five to post 459 for nine declared, on the back of aggressive centuries from Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori.

But any thoughts of New Zealand's run-scoring capabilities were quickly forgotten the next day by the sheer awfulness of Zimbabwe's batting line-up, described in a Harare newspaper as hopeless, clueless and useless.

One wonders if we will ever again see two such contrasting test finishes is as many days.

AT BIRMINGHAM

1. An astonishing 65 boundaries (55 fours and 10 sixes) were struck on day one as England posted 407 in 79.2 overs - a scoring rate of 5.13 an over.

2. England opener Marcus Trescothick, who hammered 90 in his team's first innings total, scored 80 per cent of his runs in boundaries - 14 fours and two sixes.

3. In total, 1176 runs were scored throughout the match, more than 700 of them in boundaries (143 fours and 18 sixes), and 40 wickets were taken.

4. Australian spinner Shane Warne took 10 wickets for the match, to boost his test-taking and world record tally to 599.

5. England's two most maligned players - Ashley Giles and Geraint Jones - had the last laugh, Giles taking five wickets for the match, and Jones the last-gasp catch that won the match.

6. The win was England's narrowest in terms of runs in test history, eclipsing their three-run thriller at Melbourne in 1982-83

AT HARARE

1. New Zealand scored 452 for nine on the opening day, easily their most productive run-scoring effort in a single day, helped by hard-hitting centuries from Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori.

2. Vettori's century arrived off 82 balls, the fastest in New Zealand test history, and McCullum was only slightly slower, his milestone coming off 94 deliveries.

3. The healthy total was posted after skipper Stephen Fleming lost the toss and was inserted, and after New Zealand initially slumped to 113 for five.

4. Zimbabwe were routed for 59 in just 29.4 overs, as five of their batsmen were dismissed without scoring, and only two managed to make it to double figures.

5. James Franklin and Chris Martin both sit on hat-tricks after taking wickets with consecutive balls. Franklin went on to take three in four deliveries.

6. Invited to follow-on, Zimbabwe fared only slightly better in the second innings, being dismissed in 49.5 overs as Vettori takes four for 28.