Sometimes the greatest performances owe everything to fate. Andy Bichelalmost certainly wouldn't have played against England if Jason Gillespie had been fit, but he did and his 7 for 20 storms in at No. 3 in the Wisden 100 list of the greatest bowling performances in one-day international history.

When Bichel came on, England had roared to 66 for 0 after only nine overs. He left them battered and bruised after his first spell, and then returned to feast on the lower order at the death. His figures were 7 for 20; the rest of the Australian bowlers managed 1 for 181 between them. It was a staggering performance.

Bichel couldn't overhaul the Aussie at the top of the list, though: Gary Gilmour's 6 for 14 in the 1975 World Cup semi-final at Headingley still leads the way. There were more than a few similarities between the two: both overshadowed more illustrious colleagues - for Glenn McGrath, read Dennis Lillee; for Brett Lee, Jeff Thomson - both demolished the England top order single-handedly.

And more importantly, both finished with the bat what they had started with the ball, their lusty lower-order biffing at a time when Australia looked to be sliding to defeat. Bichel will hope that's where the comparison ends, though. Gilmour only ever played two more one-dayers for his country.

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