Bradman's 173* — Headingley 404 Chase, July 1948

Australia were 2-0 up in the series with two to play. England had pushed hard at Headingley with a first-innings 496 (Washbrook, Edrich) and replied to Australia's 458 (Harvey 112 on debut, Loxton 93) with a positive declaration. Yardley had assumed the worn pitch would do enough to make a chase impossible.

Bradman went into the Headingley Test having already played in Ashes hundreds at Worcester and Trent Bridge on the tour. Morris had a Test century (105) at Lord's. Both men were in the form of their lives. Yardley's declaration, leaving Australia 404 in 345 minutes, was framed by an over rate that Yardley pushed beyond 21 an hour — relying on spin to do the work.

England, set up by Cyril Washbrook (143) and a Compton century, declared their second innings closed at 365/8 on the morning of the fifth day, leaving Australia 404 to win in 345 minutes. The Headingley pitch was worn and dusty, and most observers — including the radio commentary team of John Arlott and Rex Alston — assumed England were playing for the draw and a result favourable to themselves through the spin of Jim Laker, Denis Compton and Yardley.

Norman Yardley's tactic was to push the over rate hard and use spinners almost from the start. With nightwatchman not used and Bill Brown gone for 0, Bradman walked in at 1/0 and Arthur Morris settled at the other end. The Headingley wicket turned, but slowly, and the Australian pair simply attacked. Morris drove handsomely; Bradman, in what would prove to be his last great Test innings, used his feet to the spinners with the certainty of a much younger man.

The pair added 301 in 217 minutes, scoring at over 80 runs per hour. Morris fell for 182 with 47 needed; Bradman, on 173 not out, hit the winning runs with 12 minutes to spare. The chase of 404 stood as the highest successful Test fourth-innings target until the West Indies passed it in 1976; even now it is one of only a handful of 400-plus chases in Test history.

Laker, who finished with 0/93, called it 'the most painful day of my career'. Wisden 1949 wrote: 'It was almost certainly the greatest Test match of recent years, and Bradman's batting on the last day was as great as anything he had done in his life.'

“It was almost certainly the greatest Test match of recent years, and Bradman's batting on the last day was as great as anything he had done in his life.”

“The most painful day of my career.”

Australia took an unassailable 3-0 series lead. The chase stood as a Test record until West Indies chased 406 against India at Port-of-Spain in April 1976. It is still the highest successful chase in an Ashes Test.

Bradman's 173* was his last Test century. He made 0 in his next and final Test innings at The Oval.