A tied Test is a Test cricket match in which the side batting second is bowled out in the fourth innings, with scores level. This is a very rare result; only two ties have occurred in the 2,494 Tests played since 1877. The first was in 1960[1] and the second in 1986. On both occasions, the aggregate scores of both sides (teams) were equal at the conclusion of play and the side batting last had completed its final innings: 10 batsmen had been dismissed or, from the perspective of the side bowling, 10 wickets had been taken. In other words, after four completed innings, with each innings ending either by a declaration or 10 wickets having fallen, the runs for both teams were exactly the same.
In cricket, a tie is distinct from a draw, a much more common result in Tests, which occurs when play concludes without victory by either team (except where a Test has been formally abandoned).
Both tied Tests involved Australia. Both ended in the last possible over of play on the last day with a ball to spare, meaning that within the space of several minutes all four normal Test match results were possible: a win for the batting side, a win for the fielding side, a draw or a tie. Bob Simpson is the only person to be involved in both tied tests – as a player for Australia in the first, and as the Australian team coach in the second.