Fourth Test, 1995, Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

West Indies 265 (Richardson 100, Reiffel 3-48) & 213 (Reiffel 4-47, Warne 4-70) lost to Australia 531 (S Waugh 200, M Waugh 126) by an innings and 53 runs

May 3, 1995 was the day when West Indies’ 15 years of dominance of world cricket unofficially came to an end. A 231-run stand between the Waugh twins was the backbone of a dominant victory that saw the Frank Worrell Trophy return to Australian hands for the first time since 1977-78. In a series featuring only one other century, Steve’s double-hundred and Mark’s innings of 126 silenced the Kingston crowd on days two and three, and brought Windies quick Winston Benjamin to tears. Even the weather gods were on Australia’s side, with rain falling on the scheduled rest day between days four and five. The skies cleared the following morning, allowing the Aussies to take the seven wickets they needed and claim the unofficial mantle as the best team in the world.

Fourth Test, 2003, Antigua Recreation Ground, St John’s, Antigua

Australia 240 (Lawson 7-78) & 417 (Hayden 177, Langer 111) lost to West Indies 240 (Lara 68) & 7-418 (Sarwan 105, Chanderpaul 104, Banks 47 not out, Drakes 27 not out) by three wickets

After both teams were bowled out for 240 in their first innings of the fourth Test in Antigua, with Windies paceman Jermaine Lawson grabbing career-best figures of 7-78, Australia took control thanks to a 242-run opening partnership between Matthew Hayden (177) and Justin Langer (111). Despite a dramatic collapse that saw the tourists lose all 10 wickets for 175 to be bowled out for 417, the victory target of 418 seemed unlikely when key man Brian Lara was dismissed for 60 to reduce the Windies to 4-165. But quickfire centuries from Ramnaresh Sarwan (105 from 139 balls) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (104 from 154 balls), and an unbroken stand of 46 between tailenders Omari Banks and Vasbert Drakes secured the highest successful run-chase in Test history and sparked wild celebrations in St John’s.

First Test, 2012, Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

West Indies 9-449 dec (Chanderpaul 103) & 148 (Hilfenhaus 4-27, Harris 3-31) lost to Australia 9-406 dec (Clarke 73, Harris 68 not out) & 7-192 (Watson 52, Hussey 32) by three wickets

Seven wickets down, 200 runs behind and with less than two days to go, Australia’s chances of victory seemed doomed on the fourth morning of the first Test of the 2012 series. But brilliant batting from tailenders Ryan Harris (68 not out), Ben Hilfenhaus (24) and Nathan Lyon (40 not out), an aggressive declaration from captain Michael Clarke, a polished bowling performance and a well-paced run chase on the fifth day secured a famous victory by just three wickets. Having declared 43 runs behind on the first innings, Australia skittled the Windies for just 148 and chased down the target of 192 in 47 overs. As shadows lengthened across Kensington Oval late on the fifth day, a dicey single to Ben Hilfenhaus and a tense video review confirmed the victory with just minutes to spare.

First Test, 1960-61, Gabba, Brisbane

West Indies 453 (Sobers 132, Davidson 5-135) & 284 (Davidson 6-87) tied with Australia 505 (O’Neill 181, Simpson 92, Hall 4-140) & 232 (Davidson 80, Benaud 52, Hall 5-63)

Regarded by Wisden as the greatest Test match ever played, the first Test of the 1960-61 series set the tone for a memorable summer that would wake Test cricket from a slumber caused by the low scoring rates of the 1950s. Australia held a slight advantage at the end of the third day after the Brisbane crowd had been treated to equally brilliant hundreds from Windies allrounder Garry Sobers and dashing Australian No.4 Norm O’Neill. Set 233 for victory, the Aussies were in deep trouble when Wes Hall reduced them to 6-92, before a 134-run stand between NSW teammates and close friends Richie Benaud and Alan Davidson brought them to within seven runs of victory with four wickets left. But when Davidson was run out, Benaud caught behind on the hook and wicketkeeper Wally Grout caught short turning for a third run that would have won the match, scores were tied with just one wicket and two balls remaining. When Joe Solomon caught Ian Meckiff short of his ground to complete the third wicket of a chaotic final over that lasted nine minutes, the Windies fielders celebrated wildly in the belief that they had won the match. It wasn’t until later that players from both sides came to the realisation that they had played a role in the first tie in Tests and a special moment in sporting history.

Third Test, 1999, Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

Australia 490 (S. Waugh 199, Ponting 104) & 146 (Walsh 5-39) lost to West Indies 329 (Campbell 105, McGrath 4-128) & 9-311 (Lara 153 not out, McGrath 5-92) by one wicket

The third Test of the 1999 series will not be remembered for Steve Waugh’s innings of 199, Ricky Ponting’s century or five-wicket hauls from Courtney Walsh and Glenn McGrath. This was Brian Lara’s Test, with the Windies maestro steering his side to an incredible victory with just one wicket to spare. After Australia claimed a 161-run lead on the first innings, Walsh teamed with Curtly Ambrose and Pedro Collins to rout the tourists for 146 to give the Windies an outside chance of victory. Australia were in control when the home side slumped to 5-105 in pursuit of 308, but Lara produced a one-man show that Wisden would later rate as the second-best innings in the history of Test cricket. The skipper finished unbeaten on 153, securing the win with his 19th boundary and celebrating with No.11 Walsh, a well-known batting bunny who had survived five nerve-rattling deliveries in the closing overs.

First Test, 1992-93, Gabba, Brisbane

Australia 293 (Border 73 not out, Hooper 4-75) & 308 (Boon 111, Ambrose 5-66) drew with West Indies 371 (Arthurton 157, Reid 5-112) & 8-133 (Richardson 66, McDermott 4-35)

Australia had a stubborn West Indies tail, a monumental hail storm on the third afternoon and some contentious umpiring decisions to blame when they fell just two wickets short of victory in the opening Test of the 1992-93 series. After Keith Arthurton’s maiden Test century had guided the tourists to a 78-run first-innings lead, David Boon survived an early life to post 111 and help Australia set the Windies a victory target of 231 to win in a minimum of 63 overs. After Craig McDermott and Bruce Reid had reduced them to 4-9 just after lunch, captain Richie Richardson was seemingly all that stood between the Aussies and a 1-0 series lead. Richardson provided solid resistance and only gave up on the victory target when the Windies slumped to 6-96 early in the final session. Even when Merv Hughes had the skipper caught behind for 66, the Aussies couldn’t get rid of No.8 Ian Bishop, who survived 82 deliveries to secure a draw in the dramatic final overs.

Third Test, 1995, Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Australia 128 (S Waugh 63 not out, Ambrose 5-45) & 105 (Ambrose 4-20) lost to West Indies 136 (McGrath 6-47) and 1-98 by nine wickets

The infamous showdown between Steve Waugh and Curtly Ambrose caught the cricket world’s attention and was indicative of an Aussie side that would no longer take a backward step against the fearsome West Indians.

On a green seamer designed to negate Shane Warne’s influence, Ambrose quickly reduced the Aussies to 3-14. Waugh, struggling to lay bat on ball, resorted to a verbal offensive to put Ambrose off his game. A few choice words ignited the fast bowler’s temper and he was dragged away from a stony-faced Waugh by skipper Richie Richardson.

Waugh made 63 not out off 101 balls of Australia’s 128 (David Boon and Paul Reiffel were the only other batters to last more than 30 balls). And on the Port of Spain pitch that had been juiced up further by rain on the opening day, Ambrose signalled he was far from past it as he completed his 12th career five-wicket haul.

Glenn McGrath proved just as much as a handful as Ambrose, snaring 6-47 for his second five-wicket haul in three Tests to have Australia right in the mix, trailing by just eight runs after an innings each. But the pitch had quickened up over the two days and was all but unplayable for the Aussies as they were bundled out to set the Windies a target of just 98, which Brian Lara cantered towards.

Fourth Test, 1960-61, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

West Indies 393 (Kanhai 117, Alexander 63 not out, Benaud 5-96) & 6-432 dec (Kanhai 115, Alexander 87 not out) drew with Australia 366 (Simpson 85, Gibbs 5-97) & Australia 9-273 (Mackay 62 not out, Kline 15 not out)

Just months after the Tied Test in Brisbane, Australia and West Indies met again and played out an equally thrilling draw at Adelaide Oval. The match had almost everything; a hat-trick to Windies spinner Lance Gibbs, a century in each innings from Rohan Kanhai and a dogged final-wicket partnership from Ken Mackay and Lindsay Kline that lasted almost two hours and secured a draw for the home side. After Kanhai’s second century had put the tourists in a position from which they could not lose, skipper Frank Worrell set Australia 460 in just over six and a half hours of play. They were 3-31 at stumps on the fourth day, but Norman O’Neill provided strong resistance before Mackay and Kline came together for their memorable partnership. In a courageous final act of defiance against Windies speedster Wes Hall, Mackay opted to shoulder arms and cop the final ball of the match on the body to ensure he wouldn’t provide a catch to one of the 10 fielders that surrounded the bat.

Fourth Test, 1992-93, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

West Indies 252 (Hughes 5-64) & 146 (Richardson 72, May 5-9) beat Australia 213 (Ambrose 6-74) & 184 (May 42 not out, McDermott 18, Ambrose 4-46) by one run

Second Test, 1999, Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

Australia 256 (S Waugh 100) & 177 (Perry 5-70) lost to West Indies 431 (Lara 213, Adams 94, McGrath 5-93) & 0-3 by 10 wickets

The significance of West Indies’ easy win in the second Test of the 1999 series is only fully understood when compared to their performance in the first Test, which Australia had won by 312 runs just a week earlier. Australia’s bowlers had routed the Windies twice in that match, for 167 and a record-low score of 51, led by match figures of 10-78 from Glenn McGrath. So the Windies were a broken side as they headed to Kingston, but Brian Lara managed to snap his unprecedented form slump to single-handedly drag them back into the series. After Steve Waugh had posted an even 100 in Australia’s first innings of 256, Lara blasted his way to 213, his first Test century in almost two years. Australia’s bowlers went wicketless on day two as Lara and Jimmy Adams (94) defied them with a record fifth-wicket partnership of 322 to lead the hosts to a total of 431. Off-spinner Nehemiah Perry, playing the first of his four Tests, then claimed five wickets as Australia were dismissed for just 177, but it was Lara’s innings, rated by respected broadcaster Tony Cozier as the most significant ever from a West Indian, that turned the match and series around.

Second Test, 2024, The Gabba, Brisbane

West Indies 311 (Da Silva 79, Starc 4-82) and 193 (Hazlewood 3-23) beat Australia 9-289dec (Khawaja 75, A Joseph 4-84) and 207 (Smith 91no, S Joseph 7-68) by eight runs

Without a win in Australia since 1997, an inspired performance by rookie quick Shamar Joseph led the West Indies to storm the once impenetrable Gabba fortress for what was truly one of Test cricket’s most remarkable upset victories. Australia, the reigning World Test Champions, had cantered to a 10-wicket win in little more than two days the previous week in Adelaide, and in Brisbane looked well-placed to chase down their fourth-innings target of 216 at 2-113 in the 31st over.

Enter Joseph, who had begun the fourth day off the field after copping a Mitchell Starc thunderbolt on the big toe the previous evening.

The 24-year-old, in his second Test, produced a 10-over spell that ranks among the finest seen at the Gabba. In the space of 16 balls, as he reached speeds of 149kph, he accounted for four of Australia’s lauded middle order. Steve Smith, in his second Test in a new role as opening batter, was defiant, nursing the tail as best he could towards the target and, with nine wickets down, was down on one knee to ramp the quick over fine leg for six. Joseph’s final wicket saw him flatten the stumps but lift the spirit of cricketers across the globe as he sprinted across the Gabba outfield.