by Abhishek Mukherjee

1953.

England were determined to wrestle the Ashes back for the first time, after conceding it in 1934.

Chasing 132, they were 38/1 at stumps.

A boy, all of 14, boarded the last bus from Sittingbourne to London after the day's play got over.

He slept outside The Oval that night, and witnessed history the next afternoon when Compton hit the winning runs.

The moment left a mark on the boy.

England conceded the Ashes again in 1958-59 and did not regain it till 1970-71.

To bolster their top order on that tour, England used three openers, with John Edrich batting at 3. Opening batting with Boycott was that teenager from 17 years ago, now 31.

He scored 455 runs at 56.87 in that series including the first ever Test hundred at the WACA.

Like Compton, he struck the hit that won them the Ashes, replicating a childhood memory with his own hands. Unlike Compton, however, he was batting with a broken finger that day.

Brian Luckhurst was born Feb 5, 1939.