Warne was back to his best against England

He may not have had the armoury of old on display, but it was enough to account for four English batsmen late in the day.

Michael Atherton was the first to go, victim of a doubtful edge to the wicketkeeper.

Alec Stewart dragged his second ball onto his stumps and a rush of blood prompted Mark Ramprakash to charge down the wicket only to be comfortably stumped.

Craig White fell to the penultimate ball of the day to a bat-pad catch and England had lost four wickets for 28, stumbling to 144 for six at stumps and never to recover.

Warne's eventual six for 33 was his best innings haul outside Australia, sweeping the tourists to seven wicket win and securing the Ashes urn with two matches to play.

Chaminda Vaas vs West Indies

The one-dimensional Sri Lankan attack was changed completed by the rich vein of form enjoyed by left-arm pace man Vaas towards the end of the year.

Vaas had already taken seven for 120 in the West Indies first innings, as the tourists looked to avert a series whitewash in Colombo.

Vaas ended the year in fine form

He would go on to take a one-day best eight for 19 as Zimbabwe were bowled out for just 38 the following week.

But his best performance was the second innings seven for 71.

After accounting for openers Daren Ganga and Chris Gayle on the fourth day, the Caribbean side were allowed to mount a fightback, reaching 145 for two at the close.

But Vaas broke through early next morning, having Ramnaresh Sarwan caught behind by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara.

He returned later to wipe up the tail thanks to prodigious swing.

Four wickets fell for just four runs, three of them leg before without scoring, condemning the tourists to a 10-wicket thrashing.

Ashley Giles vs Sri Lanka

Twenty-two wickets fell on the third day in Colombo as England clinched the third Test, and with it a miraculous come-from-behind series victory.

Giles did not even get five of them but his efficiency in clearing up the tail, combined with the headiness of the occasion, must rate his figures of four for 11 as some of the finest of the year.

Giles put England on track for a famous victory

The home side were already in trouble at 59 for five, but the Warwickshire left-armer finished them off with ruthless efficiency.

First was Mahela Jayawardene, lbw sweeping for 11 and Chaminda Vaas followed 10 runs later, caught by Michael Atherton at slip.

Tillekaratne Dilshan - the last recognised batsman - was bowled and Muttiah Muralitharan lbw reverse sweeping.

Sri Lanka's 81 all out was their second lowest total ever but it took Giles to knock the winning runs as England successfully chased 74 for victory.

Courtney Walsh vs South Africa

He took just three second-innings wickets - those of Daryll Cullinan, Justin Kemp and Allan Donald - in the fifth Test at his home ground of Sabina Park, Kingston.

But when Walsh had Kemp lbw and scattered Donald's stumps in consecutive overs, he extended his career haul to a massive 519 Test scalps - still 85 more than his nearest rival.

Walsh finished his career with victory

And it brought to an end a career that spanned 18 years and 132 Tests.

Having already won the series 2-0, the tourists were in danger of ruining Walsh's farewell as they made good progress in their quest for 386 prior to lunch.

But wheels fell off for South Africa in the afternoon session.

And Walsh's final two wickets, in his final spell, salvaged his side's first Test win in 14 matches.