Bevan's best

Never was a target too far or a run rate too steep for the game's greatest limited-overs closer, Michael Bevan.

The New South Wales and Tasmanian left-hander turns 44 today, almost 20 years to the day when he first wore the green and gold pyjamas of his country.

We've complied five of his best matches to commemorate Bevan's milestone, unsurprisingly the majority when he was batting second and remaining not out.

5. 65 (101), 1 catch, 1 run out v South Africa, 1999 at Lord's
In arguably the greatest One-Day international of all-time, Bevan help Australia post a competitive, if not below-par, score in the 1999 World Cup semi-final. It turned out to be enough, just, as Bevan endured the hostile early spells of Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald, grinding through the middle overs as wickets tumbled around him to be last man out with four balls remaining. Effecting the run out of Daryll Cullinan to stamp the Proteas collapse of 4-13, Bevan took the catch to remove Jonty Rhodes to once again swing the momentum Australia's way before the most chaotic end in ODI history. 

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4. 85 not out (263), 10-113, 1 catch v West Indies, 1997 at Adelaide Oval
Selected primarily as lower-order batsman, Bevan's unorthodox left-arm wrist-spin became a handy asset for Australia captain Mark Taylor, employing his Blues team-mate as the second-spinner behind Shane Warne. Not only did he compliment Warne, he out-bowled him, capturing 10 West Indian wickets including six in the second innings to give Australia a whopping victory an innings and 183 runs.

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3. 102 not out (95), 1 catch v New Zealand, 2002 at Melbourne Cricket Ground
Already established as the premier closer in world cricket, Bevan's reputation grew even greater with another successful salvage mission in 2002. Walking out to bat at 4-53 in the 15th over, Bevan lost captain Steve Waugh and allrounder Ian Harvey in his first seven overs to leave the run chase is tatters. But the harder the task the more likely Bevan was to pull his side out of the mire, combining with Shane Warne, Brett Lee and Andy Bichel to sink the BLACKCAPS, scoring the last of his six ODI centuries to add the icing on the cake. 

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2. 185 not out (132), v Asia XI, 2000 at Dhaka
Not his most known innings, Bevan took a Rest of the World side captained by Mark Waugh to within one run against an Asia XI featuring names like Tendulkar, Akram, Muraltharan and Jayasuriya. Set 320 to win, the ROW were seemingly out of the contest at 7-196 after 37 overs. Naturally, Bevan led a one-man resurrection mission, joined by an unlikely hero in England's Andy Caddick to put on 119 for the eighth wicket to take the match into the final over. Caddick would turn villain though, run out off the penultimate delivery with his bat over the line but not grounded, changing the equation to six required off the last ball instead of five. It didn't cost them the win but the tie, Bevan hitting the last ball for four to fall agonisingly close, finishing 185 not out in front of more than 50,000 fans. 

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1. 78 not out (88), v West Indies, 1996 at Sydney Cricket Ground
The match that made the man. Bevan brought in the new year with what is considered one of the greatest run-chases of all-time. Reduced to 43 overs per side, Australia was set 173 to win under the lights of the packed SCG. Intimidating West Indies fast bowler Curtly Ambrose and Ottis Gibson crippled the host's top order to 6-38 with only the tail left to bat, and Bevan. With a mind like an abacus, Bevan calculated his scoring options and set about chipping away at the looming total. The wickets of Shane Warne and Paul Reiffel failed to deter Bevan, whose mind was solely focused on the required run rate and who to target next. Noted as a batting bunny, Glenn McGrath miraculously stole a single to give Bevan the strike in the last over, resulting in four needed from the final ball. The rest, as they say, is history. 

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