Jim Laker only bowled 19 overs in the fourth Test at Sydney – in part due to the hand injury he sustained in the second innings - but in that time he played a massive part in England's victory. Laker's match figures of 5 for 33 included a crucial spell on the first day when he gutted the Rest of the World's middle order by dismissing Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Garry Sobers in quick succession. The World never really recovered, and Laker nabbed Tendulkar in the second innings for good measure as well.

He was aided by some tentative batting from the Rest of the World. As our graph shows, they played back to nearly half Laker's deliveries, when really they should have been getting forward to smother the spin. Tendulkar paid the price in the second innings when he went back to cut and saw the ball scuttle under his desperate defensive shot.

In all, it was masterful stuff. A staggering 92% of Laker's deliveries pitched on a good length. Couple that accuracy with some typically prodigious SCG turn, and it's easy to see why the World batsmen had no answer.

Rob Smyth is on the staff of Wisden.com.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd