England have won 36.1% of their 61 matches at Trent Bridge and 36.4% of their 77 Tests at Old Trafford; they have played 55 times at the MCG and won 36.4% of those. If it does not feel quite as homely as Nottingham or Manchester, Melbourne has been the site of many great English moments – as well as, inevitably, a few grisly nightmares.
Perhaps the greatest of those 55 Tests, and surely the most thrilling, came in 1982, with England 2-0 down after three matches but the destination of the urn still undecided. It was, the England spinner Geoff Miller said, “the best and most exciting Test match I ever played in”.
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