1 One man and his dog

If Mike Atherton's sheer bloody-mindedness was summed up by one innings, it was his unbeaten 185 at Johannesburg in 1995-96. South Africa delayed their declaration to allow Brian McMillan to reach a century, but they still had more than five sessions to bowl England out and move into a 1-0 series lead. At 232 for 5 with most of the final day to go, England were gone, but Atherton teamed up with the equally obdurate Jack Russell to keep out Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock in a stand that lasted more than four and a half hours. By the time an exasperated Hansie Cronje offered his hand, Atherton had been batting for 10 hours 43 minutes and faced 492 balls. Rarely has a draw felt so much like a win.

2 For duck's sake!

This was the draw which should never have happened. At 142 for 9 shortly after lunch on the last day of the first Test against England at Auckland in 1996-97, and arch-rabbit Danny Morrison striding to the crease, New Zealand were dead and buried. Oh no they weren't! Somehow Morrison kept Nathan Astle company until deep into the final session, at which point a plainly embarrassed Mike Atherton conceded the draw. Astle's resilience was understandable. But Morrison already had a then-world-record 24 Test ducks to his name, and later issued a commemorative tie to celebrate his incompetence. To show their gratitude, the New Zealand selectors promptly dropped him for the second Test - and never picked him again.

3 Extra padding

The concept of pad-play is often regarded as a modern evil, but it was invented way back in 1957 during a remarkable partnership between Peter May and Colin Cowdrey against West Indies at Edgbaston. When they came together early on the fourth day, England were 113 for 3 and still needed 175 to avoid an innings defeat. But May and Cowdrey had a cunning plan, and thwarted the off-breaks of Sonny Ramadhin (7 for 49 in the first innings) by using their pads first, and their bat second. They added 411 - still a Test record for the fourth wicket - and Ramadhin got through 98 overs, another world record. May finished unbeaten on 285, Cowdrey hit 154, and England almost pulled off a sensational win when West Indies slumped to 72 for 7 second time round. Ramadhin was never the same bowler again.

4 Jekyll and Hyde

He was better known as the man who invented pinch-hitting at the 1992 World Cup, but the New Zealand batsman Mark Greatbatch could knuckle down too. At Perth in 1989-90, New Zealand were forced to follow on, 290 behind, by Australia when Greatbatch embarked on a marathon of self-denial, batting for nearly 11 hours and facing 485 balls for his 146 not out. Martin Snedden, now the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, hung around for 142 balls to shepherd his side to 322 for 7 from 162 overs - and safety.

5 Ground to ashes

It was 1953 and England had not won the Ashes since Bodyline, more than 20 years earlier. When they began the final day of the second Test against Australia at Lord's on 20 for 3 in pursuit of an unlikely 343, the glass looked more than half-empty. And when Denis Compton went early to make it 73 for 4, England were supping in last-chance saloon. But Willie Watson, who also won four caps as an international footballer, found a staunch ally in Trevor Bailey, who could block for England (and frequently did), and the pair added a match-saving 163 to keep the Aussies at bay. Watson batted for nearly six hours for 109, Bailey lasted more than four hours for 71, and England went on to reclaim the urn.

6 The restricted timeless Test

Had England not needed to leave Durban to get the boat home at the end of their 1938-39 tour, they would almost certainly have pulled off the world's greatest-ever runchase. Set an astronomical 696 to beat South Africa, they had reached 654 for 5 (Paul Gibb 120, Bill Edrich 219, Wally Hammond 140) when the captain of the ship decided he could wait no longer. It was March 14, and the match had started on March 3 - with two rest days thrown in for good measure. Not surprisingly, the timeless Test died an immediate death.

7 Party-poopers

India were all set to celebrate an early series lead over Pakistan at Mohali last week - only for Kamran Akmal (Test average: 16) and Abdul Razzaq (who hadn't scored a Test fifty for over three years) to gatecrash in style with a seventh-wicket stand of 184 in 56 overs. Six wickets down going into the final day and leading by only 53, Pakistan didn't have a prayer. By the close, they even had the temerity to put the downcast Indians in again. Draws between these two countries have traditionally been the height of tedium. This was a thriller.

8 Croft's craft

At 329 for 8, with more than 25 overs to go, England were staring a 2-0 deficit in the face against South Africa at Old Trafford in 1998. But Robert Croft and Darren Gough put their forward defensives and their cheeky senses of humour to good use (when Brian McMillan came on as a substitute fielder, Gough remarked loudly: "Oh look, the bus driver"), and held firm for 75 minutes. But Gough fell to Allan Donald, and it needed Angus Fraser to play out a Donald maiden, including a plausible shout for lbw from the very last ball, to secure the draw. Reinvigorated, England went on to win the last two games to pull off their first major series win since the 1986-87 Ashes. Croft, however, was dropped.

9 In the family

Garry Sobers hit 10 Test centuries against England, but few were as crucial as the undefeated 163 he scored at Lord's in 1966. West Indies had stumbled to 95 for 5 in their second innings, a lead of just nine, when Sobers was joined by his cousin David Holford. The pair duly added 274 for the sixth wicket (Sobers 163 in 329 minutes, Holford 105 in 318) and West Indies escaped with a draw before going on to complete a crushing 3-1 series win.

10 The Rhodes to safety

Jonty Rhodes was playing only his fifth Test when emergency called. South Africa were battling hard to keep out Sri Lanka's spinners on a Moratuwa dustbowl, and seemed to be losing until Rhodes and the left-arm spinner Clive Eksteen joined forces. Eksteen deadbatted 89 balls for four not out, while Rhodes completed his maiden Test hundred in well over four hours. It was just as well he got there: Rhodes had to wait another five years for his next Test century - against England at Lord's in 1998.