For the kids who got in free, the vivid lasting memorywill be Headingley '01, and England's unexpected win over Australia by no less than six wickets. Older spectators with memories to cherish will say that this victory was not quite as great as Headingley '81, but it gave them no less pleasure, and the crowd that filled the ground will be able to boast that they were there for England's most improbable victory.

There were 13,100 boys, girls, men and women - one of them in a sari - at Headingley. They clearly knew something the commentators and critics did not. The smart money was on another England defeat, but the crowd kept on filing in during the morning session, and when they sat down they watched attentively. The queues for pints behind the new West Stand were shorter than usual and moved a lot quicker.

Nasser Hussain's dismissal informed us about the composition of the crowd. As he walked disconsolately towards the dressing room the Australians rose in clumps to cheer, but as he approached the boundary the whole ground stood and cheered their brave captain, who had withstood some more frightful blows to his fragile fingers.

On Saturday night Mark Butcher was bemoaning his inability to build a big innings in his series. Today he built one of the finest ever played by an Englishman against Australia. As the winning runs were hit, he took off his helmet and raised his arms to the players' balcony, as if he had lived through a fairy story. Adam Gilchrist grabbed a stump and thrust it on Butcher as he walked away.

But the Australians had been extraordinarily generous. Their declaration left England plenty of time to get the runs, even after the loss of 18 overs on Sunday night. So much indeed, that some sceptics in the press box thought the target displayed a kind of contempt for England. After the way the team had played for most of the first four days, this would be understandable.

Even harder to explain was the attacking field that Gilchrist stuck with throughout the day (apart from a couple of overs when Michael Slater was exiled to third man). The fourth Test went pear-shaped for Gilchrist - his second attempt at the captaincy - at 4.45pm. The fielding lost its sharpness, the bowling changes did not work. Shane Warne, who was supposed to win the game for Australia on the fifth day, was innocuous. Their heads did not fall exactly, but they folded their arms in a collective gesture of resignation.

Stephen Fay is the editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly. The September issue has just reached the shops (click here for more details)

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd