ISLAMABAD: The Ashes Test in Perth has entered the record books as one of the shortest ever played, ending within two days and becoming the briefest Ashes contest on Australian soil in over a hundred years.
The match lasted 847 balls, making it the third-shortest Ashes Test in history.
The only Tests shorter than this were played during the 1888 Ashes series in England, 788 balls at Old Trafford and 792 balls at Lord’s.
The previous shortest Ashes Test in Australia was played in 1894-95 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which lasted 911 balls.
England struggled throughout the match, facing just 405 deliveries across two innings, their third-shortest combined effort in a Test where they were bowled out twice. Only the 1904 Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (325 balls) and the 1888 Lord’s Test (388 balls) were shorter.
Australia completed the chase in dramatic fashion, scoring at 7.23 runs per over, the highest run rate ever recorded in a successful chase of 200 or more in Test history. The hosts needed just 28.2 overs to overhaul the target of 205.
The rapid finish, however, has had major financial consequences for Cricket Australia. The match did not extend to the third day, forcing the board to refund all tickets for Days 3 and 4.
Initial estimates suggest a loss of at least AUD2 million, with some reports placing the total loss at up to AUD3 million.
Broadcasters also suffered reduced revenue due to shorter telecast hours and fewer advertising slots.
Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg expressed concern over the financial impact, saying the early finish would affect broadcasters, commercial partners, and overall series revenue. The board was already under pressure after reporting an $11.3 million deficit last year.
The abrupt end to the Perth Test has added to Cricket Australia’s mounting financial challenges, with analysts warning of further strain on the domestic cricket market.
List of men's Test matches to finish in two days
The Perth Test is one of the shortest Test matches in the world. Below is the list of Test matches that concluded within two days:
| Date | Match Summary |
|---|
| Aug. 28, 1882 | Australia 63 (Barlow 5-19) & 122 (Massie 55) beat England 101 (Spofforth 7-46) & 77 (Spofforth 7-44) by 7 runs |
| Jul. 16, 1888 | Australia 116 (Peel 4-36) & 60 (Peel 4-14) beat England 53 (Turner 5-27) & 62 (Ferris 5-26) by 61 runs |
| Aug. 13, 1888 | Australia 80 (Briggs 5-25) & 100 (Barnes 5-32) lost to England 317 (Abel 70) by an innings and 137 runs |
| Aug. 30, 1888 | England 172 (Turner 5-86) beat Australia 81 (Peel 7-31) & 70 (Peel 4-37) by an innings and 21 runs |
| Mar. 12, 1889 | South Africa 84 (Smith 5-19) & 129 (Fothergill 4-19) lost to England 148 (Rose-Innes 5-43) & 67-2 (Abel 23*) by 8 wickets |
| Mar. 25, 1889 | England 292 (Abel 120) beat South Africa 47 (Briggs 7-17) & 43 (Briggs 8-11) by an innings and 202 runs |
| Aug. 11, 1890 | Australia 92 (Martin 6-50) & 102 (Martin 6-52) lost to England 100 (Ferris 4-25) & 95-8 (Read 35) by 2 wickets |
| Feb. 13, 1896 | England 185 (Middleton 5-64) & 226 (Woods 53) beat South Africa 93 (Lohmann 7-38) & 30 (Lohmann 8-7) by 288 runs |
| Mar. 21, 1896 | South Africa 115 (Lohmann 7-42) & 117 (Hill 4-8) lost to England 265 (Hill 124) by an innings and 33 runs |
| May 27, 1912 | Australia 448 (Bardsley 121) beat South Africa 265 (Faulkner 122*) & 95 (Kelleway 5-33) by an innings and 88 runs |
| Aug. 12, 1912 | South Africa 95 (Barnes 5-28) & 93 (Barnes 8-29) lost to England 176 (Hobbs 68) & 14-0 (Hobbs 9*) by 10 wickets |
| May 28, 1921 | England 112 (Gregory 6-58) & 147 (McDonald 5-32) lost to Australia 232 (Bardsley 66) & 30-0 (Macartney 22*) by 10 wickets |
| Feb. 13, 1931 | West Indies 99 (Ironmonger 7-23) & 107 (Fairfax 4-31) lost to Australia 328-8d (Bradman 152) by an innings and 122 runs |
| Feb. 15, 1936 | South Africa 157 (O'Reilly 5-20) & 98 (Grimmett 7-40) lost to Australia 439 (Fingleton 108) by an innings and 84 runs |
| Mar. 29, 1946 | New Zealand 42 (O'Reilly 5-14) & 54 (O'Reilly 3-19) lost to Australia 199-8d (Barnes 54) by an innings and 103 runs |
| Aug. 17, 2000 | West Indies 172 (White 5-57) & 61 (Caddick 5-14) lost to England 272 (Vaughan 76) by an innings and 39 runs |
| Oct. 11, 2002 | Pakistan 59 (Warne 4-11) & 53 (Warne 4-13) lost to Australia 310 (Hayden 119) by an innings and 198 runs |
| Mar. 4, 2005 | Zimbabwe 54 (Kallis 4-13) & 265 (Ebrahim 72) lost to South Africa 340-3d (Smith 121) by an innings and 21 runs |
| Aug. 7, 2005 | New Zealand 452-9d (Vettori 127) beat Zimbabwe 59 (Franklin 3-11) & 99 (Vettori 4-28) by an innings and 294 runs |
| Dec. 26, 2017 | South Africa 309-9d (Markram 125) beat Zimbabwe 68 (Morkel 5-21) & 121 (Maharaj 5-29) by an innings and 120 runs |
| Jun. 14, 2018 | India 474 (Dhawan 107) beat Afghanistan 109 (Ashwin 4-27) & 103 (Jadeja 4-17) by an innings and 262 runs |
| Feb. 24, 2021 | England 112 (Patel 6-38) & 81 (Patel 5-32) lost to India 145 (Root 5-8) & 49-0 (Sharma 25*) by 10 wickets |
| Mar. 2, 2021 | Afghanistan 131 (Muzarabani 4-48) & 135 (Zadran 76) lost to Zimbabwe 250 (Williams 105) & 17-0 (Kasuza 11*) by 10 wickets |
| Dec. 17, 2022 | South Africa 152 (Verreynne 64) & 99 (Cummins 5-42) lost to Australia 218 (Head 92) & 35-4 (Rabada 4-13) by 6 wickets |
| Jan. 3, 2024 | South Africa 55 (Siraj 6-15) & 176 (Markram 106) lost to India 153 (Kohli 46) & 80-3 (Jaiswal 28) by 7 wickets |
| Nov. 21, 2025 | England 172 (Brook, Starc 7-58) & 164 (Boland 4-33) lost to Australia 132 (Stokes 5-23) & 205-2 (Head 123) by 8 wickets |
Stats: Wisden Cricket
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