Special moment
The 1982-83 Melbourne Ashes Test is special to me for several reasons. I was 15 years old and it was the only time my Dad took me to the city alone for consecutive days.
We stayed at a motel in Carlton and made our way to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) each day for five days of gripping action.
The scores were fairly even and below 300 for each team on every day. The crowds were large throughout.
Towards the end of the fourth day Australia looked certain to lose. Allan Border, who was in poor form at the time, was batting with the tail.
Australia needed more than 70 runs to win when fast bowler Jeff Thomson joined Border for the last wicket. They surprisingly batted through to stumps.
With England capable of winning from a single ball, the gates were opened for free on the final day. More than 20,000 people including me and Dad rocked up. The game could have been over in a single minute.
It turned out to be one of the most abosrbing sessions of test cricket ever played. Border and Thomson inched their way towards the target and looked destined to make it.
Unfortunately, with a boundary required to win, Thomson edged the ball to slips and a juggled catch was taken to give England victory.
The atmosphere was amazing. I will remember it forever. Here are some of the final moments on YouTube.
I'm a 41-year-old father of four working as a newspaper editor at Mount Gambier in South Australia.
