Top 20 in 2020: The best Test moments, 20-18

There are moments in cricket, as in all sport, that are so memorable you can recall exactly where you were and who you were with when they happened.

Be they back-to-the-wall hundreds or feats of individual brilliance, they are the moments you’ve re-watched countless times in the years since and still get chills every time.

To begin our daily countdown 20 in 2020 series, we’re looking back at the 20 most memorable moments from Test matches played on Australian soil in the past 20 years.

They might not be the best innings ever played, or the perfect bowling performance, but rather moments that are quite simply unforgettable.

We start today with the first three in our Top 20 countdown of the best Test moments and we will take a look at the top batting and bowling performances in the coming weeks as well.

Make sure you return to cricket.com.au and the CA Live app every day this week as we continue the countdown all the way to No.1

20) Legends bid farewell

Sydney Cricket Ground, 2007

Image Id: C1133CF1FAFF436C9993F54FE37C3998

By Martin Smith

‘Mate, harden up! I’ve gotta go and bat’

It was as Justin Langer strapped on his pads in the SCG dressing room on January 7, 2007 that the emotional magnitude of a memorable week began to crystallise.

As Langer was making his final preparations to walk out to bat for the 182nd and final time in his Test career, an historic 5-0 drubbing of England just 46 runs away, he was embraced by long-time state and national teammate, Adam Gilchrist, who tearily expressed his disbelief that the opener's glorious career international career was about to come to an end.

As Langer walked towards the dressing room exit that takes players down the stairs in the famous Members' Stand, there were more stoic glances and knowing looks from teammates, acknowledging the end of the much-loved left-hander's time in his precious Baggy Green cap.

And as Langer began the descent down those famous steps and towards the SCG turf, he was greeted by his father Colin over the fence in the adjacent Ladies' Pavilion, the pair exchanging a quick handshake before the opener completed his walk to the middle.

Langer was one of a trio of Australian legends who would bid a fond farewell to the game on that day, with Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath also following Damien Martyn into retirement as Australia swept England in a memorable summer.

And as more than 15,000 Test runs and 1200 wickets headed towards the exit, leaving behind a hole in the Australian side that would never be filled, the departing trio were given the perfect send off.

McGrath took a wicket with his final delivery in Tests, Langer was at the crease when the winning runs were scored, and the trio were given a rousing reception during an extended lap of honour around the SCG, where the sold-out crowd got more than their money's worth despite just 25 overs being bowled in the day due to one final England capitulation.

"It was the fairytale ending, and not many sportspeople get that," Langer reflected of the moment he embraced long-time ally Matthew Hayden after the winning runs had been hit.

"Most people retire when they get injured or they get dropped. This is 5-0, against England, at the SCG, with my best mate."

19) Warner dines out before lunch

Sydney Cricket Ground, 2017

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By Sam Ferris

Australia were at a low ebb in the back-half of 2016 due to five consecutive Test defeats, but David Warner handed them the perfect start to 2017 by smashing a century before lunch on the first day of the SCG Test against Pakistan.

Warner became the first batsman to achieve the feat since Pakistan's Majid Khan 40 years earlier, the first Australian to do so in almost 90 years and the first man ever to do so on Australian soil.

The left-hander wasted no time in putting his stamp on the new year, sending his second, fourth and fifth balls to the boundary to automatically put Australia on the front foot and Pakistan firmly on the back.

He dominated his opening partnership with Matthew Renshaw, contributing 44 from 28 balls as the first wicket raced to 51 in the ninth over, when Renshaw was on just six.

When the 100-run stand was brought up from the last ball of the 21st over, Renshaw had moved to 19 while Warner was on 80.

As time ticked closer to the lunch break at 12.30pm, and Warner approached a historic milestone, each Renshaw block or leave brought a groan from eager fans, unless it came from the final ball of an over.

A squirt to the leg-side moved Warner to 97 before a glide to third man and a fumble in the outfield produced the final three runs he needed, sparking a vigorous celebration and his trademark leap in the air.

Image Id: EE04158454E846D4893EC0F18818701C Image Caption: Warner salutes his ton before lunch // Getty

At lunch, Warner walked off the ground with 100 runs from 78 balls and 17 fours next to his name.

"I only began to think about (getting the hundred) when I was on about 80 and there were 25 minutes to go before lunch," he later reflected.

"Basically I thought I'd just keep working hard to get us into a great position.

"But with the adrenaline pumping, you ride the wave and getting to the hundred was the result."

18) Smith's brave last stand

Sydney Cricket Ground, 2009

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By Adam Burnett

Mitchell Johnson could just about pinpoint the location of each voice echoing out from the SCG concourse.

Hit the stumps, bowl it straight.

The 2009 Sydney Test had come down to the final session of the final day, and the historic old venue was a vacuum of eerie tension.

Australia had just claimed a ninth South African wicket, and for an uncertain 60 seconds, players and patrons suspected it was game over; in the first innings, a searing Johnson delivery had broken a bone in Graeme Smith's left hand, and it appeared unlikely the Proteas skipper would bat again.

And while the Sydney crowd had come to life with the fall of the ninth wicket, the roar that followed soon after was positively deafening.

Making his way to the middle, his team needing to block out another 50 balls to survive, was Smith.

"We couldn't believe it," recalls Johnson. "We saw him walking out – and we weren't sure what was going to happen.

"I thought about maybe trying to get him on the hand again, but he had a fair bit of padding on and the game was quite tight … we felt like we couldn’t waste too many balls."

Image Id: F6BF456245B9426DAB7B04A834A2C29A Image Caption: Australia celebrate their last-gasp win // Getty

Smith stood unconquered for 16 balls, bravely defending with tailender Makhaya Ntini, before Johnson changed ends in order to target the cracks outside the left-handed Smith's off stump.

The five-day contest had been whittled down to the final 11 balls when Johnson finally hit his target, delivering a searing 145.7kph inswinger that cut dramatically off the pitch and clattered into Smith’s stumps.

"It probably would have got me if I had both arms available," Smith conceded afterward.

Johnson remembers the aftermath, during which the Australians simply had to acknowledge their opponent's bravery.

"It shows how courageous he is and what kind of person he is," he says.

"How many people would do that for their team?"

Top 20 in 2020: Best Test moments countdown (so far)

20) Legends bid farewell

19) Warner dines out before lunch

18) Smith's brave last stand

Make sure you return to cricket.com.au and the CA Live app every day this week as we continue the countdown all the way to No.1