There’s the World Cup final at Lord’s in 2019 where New Zealand nurdled their way to a competitive score before Ben Stokes – with a bit of help from Trent Boult’s right heel and the wrong side of his GM bat – levelled the scores to set up a super-over victory by the barest of margins.
That triumph, lovingly dubbed the ‘438 game’ by South Africans, partially made up for the tied World Cup semi-final in Birmingham seven years earlier, itself a contender for the most thrilling game in the sport’s entire history.
In 2006 Ricky Ponting’s 164 pulverised South Africa at the Wanderers to steer Australia to a record total of 434, only to watch Herschelle Gibbs clobber 175 as the Proteas chased their target down with a ball to spare.
One-day internationals have produced some of the game’s greatest matches but context is key for a sustainable future.
Perhaps you’d like to offer a Test that spanned all five days and reached a crescendo in the final session.
