Emirates Old Trafford’s Most Memorable International Moments
With the 2024 international ticket ballot now open for the exciting return of England Cricket next summer, we take a trip down memory lane to recall some of the most unforgettable and important moments at Emirates Old Trafford since the first international fixture took place at the ground 139 years ago.
1884: The First Test Match to be played at Old Trafford. Lancashire’s A.N. Hornby captains England and three other Red Rose players feature in the team: A.G.Steel, R.G.Barlow, and R.Pilling.
1896: Ranjitsinhji dazzled for England on his debut during the 1896 Ashes series as he scored a valiant 154 in the second innings. Despite Ranjitsinhji's efforts, England lost the match against Australia.
1902: Victor Trumper hits an extraordinary century before lunch to propel Australia to a dramatic three-run victory over England, famously marred by Fred Tate's dropped catch, forever remembered as "Tate's Match."
1912: The Manchester-based stadium stages a Triangular Tournament with Jimmy Mathews taking two hat-tricks for Australia against South Africa on the same day.
1938: The Test Match against Australia is washed out without a ball being balled but is immortalised in the film The Lady Vanishes.
1956: In the Fourth Test of the summer’s Ashes series, Jim Laker took 19 wickets as Australia were humbled by an innings and 170 runs. The off-spinner’s figure remain a world record for Test Matches to this day.
1959: In the Test against India, Geoff Pullar becomes the first Lancashire player to score a Test Century at Old Trafford as England win by 171 runs.
1961: A record-breaking crowd of 120,417 spectators gather at Old Trafford over five days to witness the Ashes Test Match against Australia, marking the largest-ever attendance in the ground’s history.
1964: In a memorable Test Match, Australia's Bobby Simpson notches 311 runs, while England's Ken Barrington added 256, resulting in a draw.
1972: Old Trafford stages England's inaugural home ODI against Australia, with the visitors emerging victorious by five wickets.
1976: Gordon Greenidge becomes the first batsman to make a century in both innings of a Test Match at Old Trafford as the West Indies win by 425 runs.
1979: England beat New Zealand by 9 runs in the semi-final of the second edition of the ODI World Cup. England would go on to lose the Final to the West Indies who retained their title.
1981: Ian Botham's 118 powers England to a 103-run win over Australia, while Lancashire legend Paul Allott, makes 52 on his Test debut.
1983: India beat England by 6 wickets in the World Cup semi-final on their way to winning the tournament for the first time.
1984: Viv Richards scores a magnificent 189* for West Indies in a ODI to win by an innings and 64 runs. The innings overtakes Kapil Dev’s 175 as the highest individual score in ODIs.
1990: Mike Atherton becomes the second Lancashire player to score a century for England at Old Trafford with 131 in the drawn Test against India. The match also marked Sachin Tendulkar’s maiden Test century, the first of a record 51 he would go on to make.
1993: With his first ball in Ashes cricket, Shane Warne's delivers the “Ball of the Century" dismissing Mike Gatting as England lose by 179 runs.
1995: Dominic Cork takes a hat-trick to help England to a six wicket win over the West Indies.
1999: Old Trafford hosts a memorable India v Pakistan World Cup match and hosts another semi-final where Pakistan beat New Zealand by 9 wickets.
2000: Old Trafford hosts England's first-ever home floodlit day/night match against Zimbabwe. Andrew Flintoff shone as the Man of the Match as England bowled out the visitors for 114 and secured a comfortable 8-wicket victory.
2001: Michael Vaughan and Graham Thorpe add 267 runs for the third wicket v Pakistan – the highest partnership in Old Trafford Test history.
2004: England achieve their highest-ever fourth-innings total at Old Trafford, reaching 231-3, to secure a seven-wicket victory over West Indies. Home-ground hero, Flintoff, with 57*, hit the winning runs in a memorable match.
2005: In a thrilling Third Ashes Test, Flintoff's all-around brilliance saw him take five wickets and score 46 runs for England. The match ended in a dramatic draw, with Australia managing a remarkable 24-ball final wicket partnership between Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath to save the game. 20,000 people were left ticketless as fans flocked to Old Trafford to watch the last days play.
2019: Emirates Old Trafford hosts a record six World Cup matches, including a world-record fourth semi-final, the most of any ground in world cricket. New Zealand defeated India in a thrilling two-day match, while the Ashes Test at the venue attracted the second-largest-ever crowd of 116,857 spectators.
2020: Amid the Covid pandemic, Emirates Old Trafford made history by hosting an unprecedented line-up of three Test matches, three ODIs, and three International T20s, all behind closed doors.
2023: Zak Crawley scores a memorable 189 as England rack up a commanding first innings lead in the Fourth Ashes Test, only to be thwarted by the weather enabling Australia to retain the Ashes.
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England Cricket will host Sri Lanka (Test Match: Wednesday 21 - Sunday 25 August 2024) and Australia (IT20: Sunday 15 September 2024) at Emirates Old Trafford next summer with the ticket ballot now open and seats in high demand.
If you want to beat the ballot, 2024 Memberships are on sale now and give you instant access to secure your tickets today! Click here to find out more.
The Ballot will close on Thursday 5 October 2023.