Follow UsThe Ashes 1956 was hanging 1-1 in balance when England and Australia arrived at Manchester for a potential series decider. And to a pace-heavy Australian team's delight, the newspapers had labelled the pitch "true and lasting", assisting the seamers.
Hence, one could imagine the visitors’ shock and dismay when they lost the match, and the series, by an inning and 170 runs with an English spinner wreaking havoc. On July 31, 1956, English spinner Jim Laker destroyed the Australian batting line-up by claiming 19 wickets across two innings, a record that stands even today.
Both the English and Australian players had found a decent grass top covering the 22 yards, which had them mentally prepared accordingly. However, Manchester's groundsman Bert Flack would later reveal that he was ordered by Gubby Allen, the chairman of England's selectors, to shave off the track before the match.
After winning the series in 1953 and 1954-55, a win in Manchester would have helped England retain the Ashes. And the conditions were more than perfect for the hosts to get the job done. Having won the toss, England skipper Peter May decided to bat first.
With the Aussies lacking spin in their arsenal, it was the right decision, as was reflected by centuries from Peter Richardson (104) and David Sheppard (113). Colin Cowdrey (80) and Richardson had set up the stage for a huge first innings total by putting up a 174-run opening stand, and significant contributions by May (43) and Godfrey Evans (47) saw England scoring 459 runs.
While the English batsmen added 152 runs in the first few hours of Day 2, the pitch threw puffs of dust every now and then. And by the time the visitors came to bat, the track had become impossible to bat on, with the Australians struggling to touch the cherry.
Australia put up a battling 48-run opening stand, but once Jim Laker dismissed opener Colin McDonald there was no looking back. The Yorkshire lad would go on to take an unbelievable seven wickets in his next 22 balls. Laker would eventually return with figures of 16.4-4-37-9 to wrap up the Aussies for just 84 runs. Barring MacDonald (32) and Jim Burke (22), no batsmen reached double figures for Australia.
While everyone remained in awe of Laker, some dismissed it as a one-time affair as well. However, Laker further turned on the heat in the second innings. The first inning had Tony Lock getting a scalp for England, and Laker seemed to have taken it personally.
With England forcing a follow-on, Australia had one last chance to save the series, but Laker remained invincible for the remaining three days. The visitors took it extremely slow this time, and the weather also looked in their favour. A draw was looking increasingly probable, with the remaining three days expected to be a washout.
Day 3 saw Australia bat for only 45 minutes, and Laker sneaked in a scalp in that window. Heavy downpours continued over the weekend (rest day), resulting in the fourth day being a washout. Playing conditions resumed only on the fifth and final day when the extremely windy conditions saw the wet track dry up quickly and conveniently for the hosts.
Laker was handed the ball almost two days and a few hours after he had dismissed Neil Harvey on Day 3, but he looked to be in impeccable rhythm. He took four wickets in quick succession after lunch before bundling the Aussies for 205 runs in the second innings by taking a 10-wicket haul.
Interestingly, Laker had achieved a 10-wicket haul on Australian soil as well, when he had toured down under with Surrey a few months back. He had helped Surrey become the first County side to beat Australia since 1912.