The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
rivalry between
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five
Tests
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
, with
the Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...
held by Australia as the most recent victors. The final result was a 2–1 series win for England, who succeeded (for the first time since 1986–87) in their biennial attempt to win the
urn
An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
.
In March, Australia captain
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. Ponting was captain of the Australian national team during its "golden era", between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 20 ...
said this Ashes series would be the closest since Australia's dominance began in 1989. Since 1989, when Australia started their winning Ashes streak, England had lost by more than one match in all but one of the series played, that of 1997. During that period, Australia were the pre-eminent side in the world, while England had dropped from being the top-rated in 1981 to sixth for much of the 1990s. They reached a low point in 1999 with a series loss to
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
leaving them bottom of the unofficial ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
'' rankings. However, since the previous series in 2002–03, England had improved on their fifth place in the official rankings, and were second before this series. Australia were still top-ranked, but England had won 14 and drawn three of their 18 previous Test matches since March 2004, and had won six successive series. Nonetheless, before the First Test some Australians, including fast bowler
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...
, were suggesting that a 5–0 win in the series for Australia was a serious possibility.
The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
reported on the day after the series that it was "hailed as the most thrilling series ever". Individual matches were very closely fought, with one match decided by a two-run margin, one match drawn with only one wicket remaining, and one match won by three wickets. The outcome of the contest was not decided until the last day of the series.
Australia won the first Test comfortably, but in the second Test, considered to be one of the greatest of all time, England levelled the series with a two-run victory, the narrowest win in Ashes history. The third Test ended in a draw (with England one wicket away from a win), and England won the fourth Test in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
(Trent Bridge) by three wickets, losing seven men in a chase of 129, after England enforced the
follow-on
In the game of cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team ...
after gaining a lead of 259 on first
innings
An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...
.
The fifth and final Test started on 8 September, at
the Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
in London. It entered its final day with England batting in their second innings, 40 runs ahead with nine wickets in hand. Australia needed a win to force a 2–2 series draw and retain the Ashes; any other result would give the Ashes to England and end 16 years and eight series of Australian dominance. After a day of fluctuating fortunes, England established a lead of 341 after
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England betw ...
's maiden century, and Australia batted for one over before the teams went off for bad light, the stumps were pulled out of the ground, and the match was declared a draw, ensuring the return of the Ashes to England.
Squads
a) Collingwood was added on 1 August for the second Test, but sent back to his county on 3 August.
b) An injury to Simon Jones saw Anderson come into the squad for the fifth Test, while Tremlett was dropped because he was "not on top of his game" according to England's chairman of selectors
David Graveney
David Anthony Graveney (born 2 January 1953) is a leading figure in English cricket and former chairman of the England Test selectors, a post he held from 1997 until 2008. Graveney attended Millfield School in Somerset.
He led a successful fir ...
. Collingwood was also called up again.
c) Clark was called up as cover for pace bowlers McGrath and Lee before the third Test.
Match details
First Test
The first day of cricket at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
saw 17 of the total of 40 wickets fall, and though Australia lost 10 of them, the BBC saw it as "advantage Australia".
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. Ponting was captain of the Australian national team during its "golden era", between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 20 ...
won the toss and chose to bat, and
Steve Harmison
Stephen James Harmison, (born 23 October 1978) is an English former first-class cricketer, who played all formats of the game. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODIs, and 2 T20s. He also played county cricket for ...
shook up the opening batsmen early on, hitting Australia's batsmen with bouncers; the second ball of the match hit
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer (21 November 1970) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He is the former coach of the Australia men's national team, having been appointed to the role in May 2018 and leaving in February 2022. A left-handed ba ...
on the elbow but he went on to make 40 and top score for Australia. The pitch offered bounce and swing from the start, while
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard, (born 31 December 1976) is a former English cricketer, who played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000 to 2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day Internationals. The 6' 2" Hoggard was a right arm f ...
got a ball on line to swing between
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Lawrence Hayden (born 29 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer. His career spanned fifteen years. Hayden was a powerful and aggressive left-handed batting order (cricket)#opening batsman, opening batsm ...
's bat and pad and into his off stump. Hayden was gone for 12, having, according to the BBC report, "played nervously from the word go". Australia still scored at a rate above 4.5 runs per over in the mini-session before drinks, which was taken when Harmison cut Ponting on the right cheek, and in his next over Harmison got his first wicket of the series as Ponting edged him to
Andrew Strauss
Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex, and captained the Engla ...
at third
slip
Slip or SLIP may refer to:
Science and technology Biology
* Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole
* Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting
* Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy
Computing and ...
for 9. Langer was next to depart, having scored at above five an over when he top-edged a pull shot to Harmison at square-leg for 40 off the bowling of
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...
, whose first over in Ashes cricket was a wicket maiden. In the next over, Simon Jones was brought on, he got an immediate reward, with
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn (born 21 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer, who played Tests and ODIs. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player from 1999 to 20 ...
caught
Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground.
If the ball h ...
behind for 2, and in the penultimate over before lunch Michael Clarke was lbw to Jones, leaving Australia five down after the first session of play.
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keep ...
,
Simon Katich
Simon Matthew Katich (born 21 August 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He captained New South Wales and also, until the end of the 2007 season, Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Katich also played for Lancashire, represen ...
and
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...
all played a part in getting Australia past 100, forging innings in the 20s, but Flintoff had Gilchrist for 26 before Warne and Katich added 49 for the seventh wicket. Harmison, coming back for a second spell, was wicketless in his first two overs but after drinks he took four wickets for seven runs in 2.2 overs as Australia were all out for 190. He finished with five for 43.
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...
was the
not out
In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at t ...
batsman, ending with 10 runs, and he also opened the bowling with
Brett Lee
Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world.
In each of his first two ...
. England batted for six overs until tea without losing a wicket, scoring 10 runs, but McGrath, who bowled his usual accurate line and length, reaped the rewards after tea.
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick (born 25 December 1975) is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals.Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 2003 ...
and
Ian Bell
Ian Ronald Bell (born 11 April 1982) is an English former cricketer who played international cricket in all formats for the England cricket team and county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed higher/middle order batsm ...
survived six overs, adding seven runs before McGrath had them bowled in the 13th and 15th over respectively. With Flintoff
bowled
In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman.
Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...
by McGrath in the 17th, and England had lost five wickets for 21 runs, with five of their top six batsmen out in single figures. However,
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England betw ...
and
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones (born 14 July 1976) is a former cricketer who played for both England and Papua New Guinea. Born to Welsh parents in Papua New Guinea, between 2004 and 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for the England cricket team. ...
batted together to make England's highest partnership of the innings, adding 58 and, according to the BBC report, "treating
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie (born 19 April 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. A right-arm fast bowler, he was also a competent lower-order batsman whose unbeaten 201 in his last Test matc ...
with some disdain". A short ball from Lee was too much for Geraint Jones, though, and he fended it to
wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...
Gilchrist, out for 30.
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles (born 19 March 1973) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of ...
hit two quick boundaries to bat out the over, but the last ball of Lee's next over was glanced to the keeper, and Giles was out for 11, and England were 92 for 7 overnight – needing 98 for the last three wickets to get level with Australia.
England cut the deficit on the second morning, but were still bowled out before they could build a first-innings lead. Hoggard departed for a 16-ball duck, cutting a delivery from Warne to Hayden in the slips. Pietersen now started to attack, taking 21 runs off seven deliveries before he was out caught by Martyn, a diving catch just inside the boundary, and England were nine down for 122, still trailing by 68. The English 10th wicket pairing of Simon Jones and Harmison added 33 after that, a stand that was the fifth-highest of the game thus far and which reduced Australia's lead to 35 runs. In the field, England started by having Langer
run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket.
A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket befo ...
for 6 in the fifth over, but Hayden and Ponting rebuilt to bat until lunch unbeaten.
Though Hayden was
bowled
In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman.
Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...
by Flintoff for 34 three overs after lunch, the batsmen from three to six all passed 40; it was to be the only time in the series that Australia accomplished this feat. Clarke needed an extra life to do it, but made England pay after Pietersen dropped him on 21, and thus the partnership was allowed to last for 34.3 overs, with 155 runs being scored. Flintoff was smashed to all corners, with 84 runs being scored off him in his 19 second-day overs, but in the last 10 overs England came back to take wickets. Started by an inside-edge from Clarke off Hoggard, which left Australia's 24-year-old batsman bowled for 91, and Australia lost a further three wickets for 24 runs before the end of the day. The Australian lead was still 314, twice England's first innings total and then some, and Katich was still batting, not out on 10.
Four overs into the morning, specialist spin bowler Giles was involved in a dismissal for the only time in the match, having Lee run out for 8. However, Gillespie batted for an hour and 15 minutes, and took part in a 52-run stand with the recognised batsman, Katich before Simon Jones got his reward with an away-swinger that crashed into Gillespie's off stump, after having three catches dropped. The last-wicket partnership rubbed it in with 43 more runs before Katich was caught by Simon Jones off Harmison, but England were set what would be a
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
420 to win.
They started positively, riding some favourable umpiring decisions;
Aleem Dar
Aleem Dar PP ( Punjabi, ur, ; born 6 June 1968) is a Pakistani cricket umpire and former cricketer. He is a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. He won the David Shepherd Trophy three years in a row from 2009 to 2011, after being nomina ...
turned down four strong
leg before wicket
Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an appeal by the fielding side, the umpire may rule a batter out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was instead in ...
(LBW) appeals off Warne. Strauss and Trescothick could thus add 80 for the first wicket before Strauss edged a short ball from Lee back into the bowler's waiting hands.
Vaughan
Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...
got off the mark with a four with his second ball, before facing 24 dot balls in the next three-quarters of an hour. Meanwhile, wickets fell at the other end, as Trescothick departed for 44, edging a straight ball from Warne to first slip after having taken him for 10 in the previous over, and Bell was out LBW to a ball that did not turn. Three overs later,
Vaughan
Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...
was bowled cleanly by Lee and Flintoff gave a catch to Gilchrist, England were five down for 119, and though Pietersen once again put on more than 40 runs with Geraint Jones, England still needed 301 for the last five wickets, which would mean five partnerships higher than England had managed all match.
Rain frustrated both Australia and neutral fans who wanted to see cricket played on the morning of the fourth day, but at 1545 BST the rain relented and the covers were taken off. Then, it took 10 overs for Australia to wrap up England's innings, McGrath taking four of the five wickets required and Warne the last; Giles, Hoggard, Harmison and Simon Jones were all dismissed for ducks, and England could only cut 24 runs off Australia's eventual win margin of 239. Twenty-two of those fourth-day runs came from Pietersen who was left stranded on an unbeaten 64 to have a Test
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
of 121 after his first match.
Second Test
The psychological battles before the match included many Australian statements to the press about how the pitch "played into
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
hands", that England had been "spending too much time talking", and that their top order had been "taking bad options". England kept quieter, until just before the game stories appeared about how the Edgbaston game would be decided at the toss: whichever side won it would choose to
bowl
A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...
first and would win, as had happened in 12 of the 13 Tests at Edgbaston since
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
. England came out on top in the mind game after
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. Ponting was captain of the Australian national team during its "golden era", between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 20 ...
won the toss and put England in to bat;
Jonathan Agnew
Jonathan Philip Agnew, (born 4 April 1960) is an English cricket broadcaster and a former professional cricketer. He was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, and educated at Uppingham School. He is nicknamed "Aggers", and, less commonly, "Spiro" ...
of the BBC claimed "it was clear that his decision had backfired" once England started batting.
England took advantage of being inserted and came back strongly, becoming the first team to hit 400 runs in a first day of
Test cricket
Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...
against Australia since
1938
Events
January
* January 1
** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
. The English scored at a pace above four an over in their opening partnership, helped by the freak injury that
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...
sustained before the match; during a warm-up (playing
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
), the paceman accidentally stood on a stray cricket ball, tearing ankle ligaments. Australia had to field
Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Scott Kasprowicz (born 10 February 1972) is a former Australian international cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a right arm fast bowler. He represented Queensland and played in the English county scene at first clas ...
as replacement, and missed McGrath's superior control and wicket-taking abilities in the match.
The English innings began with
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick (born 25 December 1975) is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals.boundaries off
Brett Lee
Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world.
In each of his first two ...
, while
Andrew Strauss
Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex, and captained the Engla ...
preferred
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie (born 19 April 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. A right-arm fast bowler, he was also a competent lower-order batsman whose unbeaten 201 in his last Test matc ...
and Kasprowicz. Their 112-run
partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...
was the highest by England in the series thus far; the Australians had only surpassed that once, through
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn (born 21 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer, who played Tests and ODIs. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player from 1999 to 20 ...
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
. To add to Australia's woes, Trescothick was caught off a no-ball on 32, and eventually went on to make 90, being the second man out shortly after lunch, with the score 164 for 2 after 32.3 overs.
In the next five overs, England lost both
Ian Bell
Ian Ronald Bell (born 11 April 1982) is an English former cricketer who played international cricket in all formats for the England cricket team and county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed higher/middle order batsm ...
, who notched up his third successive single-figure score, and
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 2003 ...
, who pulled a short Gillespie delivery to the hands of Lee, but that did little to slow the scoring rate. 132 runs had been taken in the morning session; the afternoon yielded 157.
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England betw ...
, in his second Test match, hit ten fours and one six, and made a 103-run partnership in 105 balls with
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...
. Flintoff's 68 was scored off 62 balls, and Lee's 18 balls were taken for 26 runs, including two sixes.
Lee bowled 17 overs, and conceded 111 runs, but got the one wicket of Pietersen, who pulled to
Simon Katich
Simon Matthew Katich (born 21 August 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He captained New South Wales and also, until the end of the 2007 season, Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Katich also played for Lancashire, represen ...
for 71 off 76 balls, and with the score on 342 for 7 with 24 scheduled overs remaining in the day. Then,
Steve Harmison
Stephen James Harmison, (born 23 October 1978) is an English former first-class cricketer, who played all formats of the game. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODIs, and 2 T20s. He also played county cricket for ...
smacked two fours and a six in a 15-minute 17, and Simon Jones stuck around with
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard, (born 31 December 1976) is a former English cricketer, who played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000 to 2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day Internationals. The 6' 2" Hoggard was a right arm f ...
for a last-wicket partnership of 32, Jones making 19
not out
In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at t ...
.
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...
finally got the better of Hoggard, to end with four for 116, but by that time England had gone past 400 and ended up with a total of 407 in just under 80 overs. Just as Australia's opening batsman walked out and prepared for their innings, the rain began to fall on Edgbaston, and play had to be stopped.
England's total could have been significantly higher with a bit more top-order application, especially given the high scoring rate. However, England's bowlers started well when Harmison bowled a maiden over first up to
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer (21 November 1970) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He is the former coach of the Australia men's national team, having been appointed to the role in May 2018 and leaving in February 2022. A left-handed ba ...
, and
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Lawrence Hayden (born 29 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer. His career spanned fifteen years. Hayden was a powerful and aggressive left-handed batting order (cricket)#opening batsman, opening batsm ...
drove Harmison's new-ball partner Hoggard to short mid-off for a golden duck – the first of Hayden's Test career. Then, Ponting and Langer hit runs just as quickly as England had done, before the
umpire
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
's finger went up twice more before lunch; Ponting swept a shot off
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles (born 19 March 1973) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of ...
to the opposing captain Vaughan for 61, and Martyn was
run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket.
A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket befo ...
taking a single for 20, again by Vaughan. Langer and Clarke continued after lunch in the same vein, hitting 76 runs in an hour and a half, but a couple of wickets within five overs took Australia to 208 for 5, needing 199 for the last five wickets for parity. The partnership between Langer and
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keep ...
saw them to tea with no further loss, as Langer continued his four-hour unbeaten knock and went into the tea break on 72.
The pair looked to close England's lead and batted unbeaten after tea for eight overs, but again the England bowlers intervened, this time in the shape of Simon Jones, who got plenty of reverse swing both ways and used that to trap Langer with a
yorker
In cricket, a yorker is a ball bowled (a delivery) which hits the cricket pitch around the batsman's feet. When a batsman assumes a normal stance, this generally means that the cricket ball bounces on the cricket pitch on or near the batsman's ...
– gone for 82, which was to be Australia's highest score in the innings. Australia's last four, which now included Kasprowicz, who had a batting average 10 runs higher than McGrath, were nevertheless all dismissed for single-figure scores, Flintoff taking the last two men LBW with the last two balls, although there was some argument about whether the first dismissal, that of Gillespie, should have been given. Meanwhile, Giles' return of 3/78, including Ponting, Clarke and Warne, was to be his best bowling figures all series.
However, England got their 99-run lead and continued to build their lead before stumps were drawn. After Trescothick and Strauss had hit five boundaries in six overs and taken the second innings total to 25 for 0, Ponting brought on Warne in the seventh over, and Warne broke through with his second ball of the innings; his
leg break
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...
came into the left-hander's stumps and broke them completely, and Strauss was bowled for 6. Nightwatchman Hoggard survived four balls to end the day, when England held a lead of 124 runs, with nine wickets in hand.
The third day saw a total of 17 wickets fall, with Warne and Flintoff being the leading performers for their sides. First up, Lee grabbed three wickets in 12 minutes: Trescothick slashed a wide delivery and got an edge to the keeper, captain Vaughan got his third single-figure score in the series as he failed to cover his stumps to a straight one, and Hoggard edged to Hayden in the slips for 1.
England had lost four wickets for six runs, and were 31 for 4 with Bell and Pietersen at the crease. Pietersen survived what looked like an edge on the first ball he faced, and went on to make 20 before he was given out in a similar situation from Warne. His 41-run partnership with Bell took England's lead past 150, and with Bell having batted past the hour mark, he needed 29 more for his half-century when he gave a tiny edge to Gilchrist.
England's last recognised batting pairing, between Flintoff and wicket-keeper
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones (born 14 July 1976) is a former cricketer who played for both England and Papua New Guinea. Born to Welsh parents in Papua New Guinea, between 2004 and 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for the England cricket team. ...
, saw England to lunch, but Flintoff had suffered an injury to his left shoulder and looked in obvious pain, and Jones departed shortly after lunch. Giles lasted longer, batting through 45 minutes before he was caught by Hayden, and Harmison faced one delivery to leave England at 131 for 9.
Simon Jones and Flintoff carried on, however. Jones managed 12 runs in his 42-minute stay at the crease while Flintoff took Lee for 33 off the 28 balls he faced from the Australian paceman. Flintoff also took runs off Kasprowicz, with his third over yielding 20 runs for England, including a couple of
no-ball
In cricket, a no-ball is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal delivery. For most cricket games, especially a ...
s. At one point during Flintoff's innings, Ponting had nine men on the boundary, with only the bowler and wicket-keeper inside the circle. However, Flintoff hit a six over them, too, and another of his sixes landed on top of the stands. Flintoff ended with 73, as the only man to pass 25 for England, before he was bowled by Warne. Warne finished with figures of six for 46 from 23.1 overs, having bowled unchanged from the seventh over till the end.
Hayden and Langer started positively, taking runs off the occasional bad balls that were served up by Harmison, Hoggard and Giles, and by the 12th over, they had racked up 47 for no loss, and were well on the way to chasing the target of 282. Then, Flintoff came and bowled the over of the series. He failed to make the
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
he was on from the last innings, but with his second ball he bowled Langer with a leg cutter. His third delivery was narrowly turned down for lbw, the fourth found Ponting's edge but failed to carry to slip, an lbw appeal on the fifth was also turned down, but his sixth which Ponting left outside the offstump was a no-ball, so there was a seventh and final delivery, another leg cutter and Ponting was out caught behind. Including the previous innings, Flintoff had taken four wickets in nine balls. But more importantly, Australia had been reduced from 47/0 to 48/2.
Hayden kept going, and his dismissal came in an over where Australia had taken eight runs from the first four balls; however, Simon Jones got the last laugh over Hayden, only to later be reprimanded and fined by the
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...
for his celebrations. England kept on the pressure, getting three more wickets before the scheduled close of play; Giles getting two, dismissing Katich and Gilchrist, and an in-swinging ball from Flintoff took care of Gillespie, who was trapped lbw.
An extra half-hour of play was allowed, as a result was nearing, but Warne and Clarke defied the English. Warne "took the attacking approach", and took on Giles for 12 in one over. He ended on 20 not out overnight, as Warne and Clarke batted together for 40 minutes before Harmison, bowling his third spell of the day, brought the third day's proceedings to an end with a
slower ball
In the sport of cricket, a slower ball is a slower-than-usual delivery from a fast bowler. The bowler's intention is to deceive the batsman into playing too early so that he either misses the ball completely or hits it high up in the air to off ...
that was not read correctly by Clarke, who missed the ball completely to be
bowled
In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman.
Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...
.
Mark Nicholas
Mark Charles Jefford Nicholas (born 29 September 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer and broadcaster. He played for Hampshire from 1978 to 1995, captaining them from 1985 to his retirement.
Nicholas was born in Westmi ...
, in live commentary, described the delivery as "...one of the great balls. Given the moment, given the batsman and given the match, that is a staggering gamble that has paid off for Harmison. He bowled it perfectly." England now needed two wickets on the fourth day, while Australia needed 107 runs for the victory.
England were said to be "on the brink of...victory", but Australia came back thanks to two partnerships worth more than 40 to take themselves within three runs of a 2–0 series lead. First, Warne and Lee added 45 for the ninth wicket, before Warne trod on his own stumps after a full Flintoff ball and was out
hit wicket
Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the Laws of Cricket. The striker is out "hit wicket" if, after the bowler has entered his delivery stride and while the ball is in pla ...
. Kasprowicz came in and supported Lee well, fending off aggressive bowling from Flintoff and Harmison, and Simon Jones dropped Kasprowicz with 15 left to get. With Australia edging towards victory, preferring singles to risky boundaries, England were now bowling aggressive short balls at the tail-enders, hoping for short catches or to surprise the batsmen with a
yorker
In cricket, a yorker is a ball bowled (a delivery) which hits the cricket pitch around the batsman's feet. When a batsman assumes a normal stance, this generally means that the cricket ball bounces on the cricket pitch on or near the batsman's ...
. With four runs needed to win, Lee drove Harmison's attempted yorker towards the boundary where it was fielded. The Australians crossed for a single, leaving three runs to win with the weaker batsman Kasprowicz on strike. Harmison delivered another short ball, which Kasprowicz fended and Geraint Jones took an athletic catch down the leg side. England appealed, and Kasprowicz was given out caught by Bowden. However subsequent replays suggested that the ball contacted Kasprowicz's glove while not in contact with the bat handle, rendering Bowden's decision technically incorrect. England were nonetheless declared victors – if in almost the most narrow way possible – and the series was thus level with three matches left.
After a short engagement with his team in victory celebrations, the subsequent reaction of Flintoff to the winning dismissal was to console the despondent batsman, Lee – a gesture which was widely commented upon as indicative of the good
sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to on ...
and mutual respect between the teams which characterised the series.
England's two-run victory was the narrowest win (by runs) in Ashes cricket history thus far (there had been two Ashes Tests won by a margin of only three runs). It is also the second narrowest margin of victory in Test cricket history behind only the West Indies' victory by a single run over Australia in Adelaide in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
.
Third Test
Day 1
With the series square after England's close win in the second match at
Edgbaston
Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre.
In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...
in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, neither side could secure the series win after the third Test at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, so there was still all to play for. The match began with England winning the toss, and choosing to bat first, thus giving
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...
a chance to become the first man to take 600 Test
wickets
In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out.
* ...
in England's first innings, and he did so by getting
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick (born 25 December 1975) is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals.Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keep ...
when he mistimed a sweep shot, earning Warne a standing ovation from the Old Trafford faithful.
After naming an unchanged line-up, England were immediately faced by the pairing of
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...
and
Brett Lee
Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world.
In each of his first two ...
. There were doubts about whether they could play before the match started, because of the injuries they had sustained earlier, but they both passed fitness tests. Though
Andrew Strauss
Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex, and captained the Engla ...
succumbed in the tenth over, England lost no further wickets before lunch, and only one more before tea. There were many missed opportunities for Australia, who dropped Trescothick,
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 2003 ...
(twice) and
Ian Bell
Ian Ronald Bell (born 11 April 1982) is an English former cricketer who played international cricket in all formats for the England cricket team and county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed higher/middle order batsm ...
on the first day, which helped Trescothick and Vaughan to get a partnership of 137 before Trescothick was dismissed after lunch. Vaughan powered on, making his hundred after 206 minutes to become the first man in the series to get a century.
Having made 166 runs, an innings described as "majestic", Vaughan eventually hit
Simon Katich
Simon Matthew Katich (born 21 August 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He captained New South Wales and also, until the end of the 2007 season, Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Katich also played for Lancashire, represen ...
straight to McGrath at the boundary, but had still made what was to be the highest individual score in the series. Together with Vaughan, Australia were also faced with a more defiant Bell, who had not passed 25 in his four first innings in the series, but made 59 before the day ended. Picking up where Vaughan left off, Bell,
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England betw ...
and nightwatchman
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard, (born 31 December 1976) is a former English cricketer, who played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000 to 2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day Internationals. The 6' 2" Hoggard was a right arm f ...
closed out the day for England with the scoreboard reading 341 for 5, with Lee adding two wickets to the tally before the end of the day.
Day 2
Bell did not add to his overnight score, being given out caught behind in controversial circumstances, as replays indicated any contact with the ball involved neither bat nor glove. Following a brief rain interval England then lost two more wickets just before lunch,
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...
after scoring a quick-fire 46 and
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones (born 14 July 1976) is a former cricketer who played for both England and Papua New Guinea. Born to Welsh parents in Papua New Guinea, between 2004 and 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for the England cricket team. ...
for 42. After lunch Australia quickly dispatched the remaining two wickets for just a further 10 runs, bowling England out for a score of 444, with McGrath finishing on his worst-ever Test figures of nought for 86.
Australia started their innings tentatively with Hoggard dropping a low catch from
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Lawrence Hayden (born 29 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer. His career spanned fifteen years. Hayden was a powerful and aggressive left-handed batting order (cricket)#opening batsman, opening batsm ...
off his own bowling. Just before tea Australia lost their first wicket with Hayden out caught at short leg from
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles (born 19 March 1973) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of ...
first over. After tea Australia lost another couple of wickets,
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. Ponting was captain of the Australian national team during its "golden era", between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 20 ...
caught for seven and Hayden given out lbw for 34. Gilchrist put on 30 before edging the first ball of Simon Jones' spell to Geraint Jones.
This brought in Michael Clarke who had been recuperating at the team hotel after damaging his back on the first day. Owing to this injury, Clarke needed Hayden to act as a runner. Warne made inroads with the bat, just as at
Edgbaston
Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre.
In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...
four days previously, but Clarke only managed to add seven runs before being deceived by a reverse swinging delivery from Simon Jones. Warne and
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie (born 19 April 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. A right-arm fast bowler, he was also a competent lower-order batsman whose unbeaten 201 in his last Test matc ...
saw the day out with Warne finishing on 45
not out
In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at t ...
.
The day finished with Australia on 214 for 7, 230 behind and needing another 31 runs to avoid a
follow-on
In the game of cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team ...
. The score was adjusted from 210 overnight owing to an umpire failing to signal four
byes In cricket, a bye is a type of extra. It is a run scored by the batting team when the ball has not been hit by the batter and the ball has not hit the batter's body.
Scoring byes
Usually, if the ball passes the batter without being deflected, th ...
.
Day 3
Rain delayed the start of play until 16:00 BST, and even then only eight overs were possible before play was again suspended, although a further six overs were bowled later on before yet more rain meant that play was abandoned for the day. Australia had the better of the short day's play, adding 50 runs without loss to pass the follow-on target, although Warne was lucky to survive on two occasions thanks to errors by Geraint Jones: with Warne on 55, Jones missed a relatively straightforward stumping opportunity, and on 68 he was dropped after edging a ball from Flintoff. Australia closed on 264 for 7, still 180 in arrears, but England probably felt that they missed several opportunities to put the game beyond their opponents.
Day 4
Having been hampered by a rain-shortened day three, the Australians were ready to put more wood to the ball on day four, and they did not disappoint. Warne continued his march towards his maiden Test century before holing out with a hook shot to a well-placed Giles at 90. Simon Jones mopped up the other two wickets to bowl Australia out for 302, Jones finishing the innings with a career best
figures
Figure may refer to:
General
*A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration
*Figure (wood), wood appearance
*Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif
*Noise figure, in telecommunication
*Dance figure, an elementary dance patter ...
of six for 53.
The English opening partnership of Strauss and Trescothick began their response, scoring 26 before lunch. After lunch, Trescothick played on to be
bowled
In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman.
Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...
after scoring 41 giving McGrath his first wicket of the match. Strauss put together a fine century, his sixth from just 17 matches, scoring 106 before getting out caught. Gilchrist missed two stumping opportunities to remove Bell and failing to hold a catch to remove Flintoff. Bell capitalised on Gilchrist's errors, partnering Strauss for 28 overs and recording a well-deserved 65. Geraint Jones also added a swift 27 with England more concerned about scoring quickly than staying at the crease, and England declared on 280 to give them a spell at Australia in the evening and a chance of winning the match the next day. McGrath recorded another five-wicket haul in an innings, but was expensive, giving away 115 runs. Warne, despite bowling 25 overs, failed to take a wicket, recording figures of 0/74.
Australia needed 423 to win, which would be a record fourth innings total to win a match. Australia saw out the last 10 overs without losing a wicket and put on 24 runs, leaving 399.
Day 5
English hopes of a win were high, and 20,000 people were locked out of the stadium in addition to the 23,000 capacity crowd. Australia started the day needing 399 more runs from 98 overs if they were to claim an unlikely victory. The day started poorly for them with
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer (21 November 1970) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He is the former coach of the Australia men's national team, having been appointed to the role in May 2018 and leaving in February 2022. A left-handed ba ...
falling for 14 on the seventh ball of the day, nicking a ball delivered by Hoggard behind to Geraint Jones. Ponting narrowly survived being
run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket.
A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket befo ...
early on and this proved crucial in the context of the match as the momentum gradually swung in Australia's direction. At one point Australia racked up runs at such a rate that a win became a real possibility. Despite losing Clarke and Gillespie in quick succession to send the team to 264 for 7, Ponting battled on before eventually succumbing to
Steve Harmison
Stephen James Harmison, (born 23 October 1978) is an English former first-class cricketer, who played all formats of the game. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODIs, and 2 T20s. He also played county cricket for ...
after seven hours at the crease to record the first Australian century of the series with a score of 156. This was good enough to earn Man of the Match honours.
After the dismissal of Ponting, Australia were 354 for 9 with only four overs remaining, and another thrilling climax occurred with England having a real chance of snatching victory in similar fashion to the second Test. However, the unfancied pairing of Lee and McGrath handled the remaining 24 deliveries to finish on 371 for 9, 52 short of victory but sufficient to draw the game and leave the series tied at 1–1.
Fourth Test
Day 1
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...
was once again ruled out because of injury, this time to his elbow, and Australia also dropped the out-of-form
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie (born 19 April 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. A right-arm fast bowler, he was also a competent lower-order batsman whose unbeaten 201 in his last Test matc ...
Brett Lee
Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world.
In each of his first two ...
, debutant
Shaun Tait
Shaun Tait (born 22 February 1983) is a former Australian professional cricketer who was appointed as the bowling coach of the Pakistan national cricket team in February 2022. He played as a right arm fast bowler
and
Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Scott Kasprowicz (born 10 February 1972) is a former Australian international cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a right arm fast bowler. He represented Queensland and played in the English county scene at first clas ...
. England, having been on top in the last two
Tests
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
, were unchanged.
England won the toss and chose to bat, and they got off to a flyer. Boosted by
no-ball
In cricket, a no-ball is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal delivery. For most cricket games, especially a ...
s from the seamers – a total of 18 before lunch –
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick (born 25 December 1975) is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals.Andrew Strauss
Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex, and captained the Engla ...
made hay quickly, and enjoyed batting on a pitch which gave the bowlers no aid. They recorded their second 100-run opening
partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...
of the series, before Strauss was freakishly dismissed for 35, sweeping
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...
onto his boot and into
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Lawrence Hayden (born 29 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer. His career spanned fifteen years. Hayden was a powerful and aggressive left-handed batting order (cricket)#opening batsman, opening batsm ...
's waiting hands at slip – a wicket confirmed by the third umpire.
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 2003 ...
continued on his fine form from Old Trafford, though, punishing bad balls from Lee to go into lunch with his score on 14. Trescothick, meanwhile, rode his luck, as he was
bowled
In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman.
Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...
off a
no-ball
In cricket, a no-ball is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal delivery. For most cricket games, especially a ...
on 55, much to Lee's displeasure. At lunch England were 129 for 1.
Only 3.1 overs were possible in the afternoon session, owing to rain. Coming back after tea, England immediately lost two wickets to Tait, who used the cloud cover to good effect and swung the ball well. However, Vaughan and
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England betw ...
batted well together for a 67-run partnership, although they were each dropped once. Towards the end of the day,
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. Ponting was captain of the Australian national team during its "golden era", between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 20 ...
brought himself on, and his
medium pace
Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...
yielded a wicket – that of Vaughan for 58. Overnight, the match was evenly poised with England 229 for 4.
Day 2
Australia dismissed Pietersen at the beginning of the morning's play, edging a full outswinger from Lee through to wicket-keeper
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keep ...
. But an unbeaten century partnership from
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...
and
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones (born 14 July 1976) is a former cricketer who played for both England and Papua New Guinea. Born to Welsh parents in Papua New Guinea, between 2004 and 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for the England cricket team. ...
took England's score to 344 for 5 at lunch.
After lunch, the pair continued to score quickly for another hour, and extended their partnership to 177 before Flintoff was lbw to Tait for 102, his first Test
century
A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
A centennial or ...
against Australia. The loss of Flintoff did not deter the English, as Jones continued to hit runs through the off side on the way to his highest score against the Australians, making 85 before he was caught and bowled by Kasprowicz. The next two wickets fell quickly, but a stubborn last-wicket partnership of 23 between
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard, (born 31 December 1976) is a former English cricketer, who played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000 to 2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day Internationals. The 6' 2" Hoggard was a right arm f ...
and Simon Jones – including an incident where the ball hit the
stumps
In cricket, the stumps are the three vertical posts that support the bails and form the wicket. '' Stumping'' or ''being stumped'' is a method of dismissing a batsman.
The umpire ''calling stumps'' means the play is over for the day.
Part of ...
but the
bails
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.
In some countries, ...
failed to fall off – saw England to 477 all out at tea.
In the evening session, England's bowlers, especially Hoggard, managed to find much more swing than the Australian bowlers had done, and ripped through the Australian top order. The first three wickets fell in a crucial period of 11 balls (although the third, which dismissed
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn (born 21 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer, who played Tests and ODIs. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player from 1999 to 20 ...
lbw, was a poor decision – television replays indicated that the ball hit the bat before the body). By
stumps
In cricket, the stumps are the three vertical posts that support the bails and form the wicket. '' Stumping'' or ''being stumped'' is a method of dismissing a batsman.
The umpire ''calling stumps'' means the play is over for the day.
Part of ...
Australia had been reduced to 99 for 5 to complete an excellent day for England.
Day 3
Katich and Gilchrist decided that attack was the best form of defence, adding 58 in only 8.5 overs in the morning, before England came back to take the next four wickets for the addition of only 18 runs, leaving Australia perilously placed at 175 for 9. Simon Jones was the main culprit, using swing to good effect as he removed Katich and Warne in successive balls, and then had Kasprowicz clean bowled. Lee added 47 in 44 balls, including three huge sixes, to take Australia's score to 218, before he was caught off Jones' bowling to give Jones his fifth wicket of the innings. Despite their aggressive batting, Australia therefore finished the first innings 259 runs behind.
Vaughan then gambled, by enforcing the
follow-on
In the game of cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team ...
on the visitors (the first time Australia had followed on in 17 years and 190 Tests, as they had not been made to follow on since facing Pakistan in Karachi in 1988). By lunch, Australia had reached 14 without loss in their second innings, and they powered on in the afternoon session, only losing Hayden and adding 100 more runs before tea. For England, the afternoon session was their worst of the match – to compound their misery, Simon Jones showed signs of injury, and Strauss dropped
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer (21 November 1970) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He is the former coach of the Australia men's national team, having been appointed to the role in May 2018 and leaving in February 2022. A left-handed ba ...
on 38.
In the evening session, England managed to take three wickets, but also dropped a catch and missed a stumping. Australia thus finished the day still 37 runs in arrears but with six wickets still in hand. Simon Jones also went off the field during the evening session with an ankle injury, and was taken to hospital for an ankle scan. While Jones was off the field receiving attention, substitute fielder
Gary Pratt
Gary Joseph Pratt (born 22 December 1981) is an English cricketer and footballer, best known for running out the Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting during the England 2–1 win in the 2005 Ashes series. Pratt is primarily a left-handed ba ...
ran out Australia captain Ponting. As he left the field, Ponting expressed his displeasure to the England dressing room at their frequent use of subs (allegedly to keep their key bowlers fresh). Although this tactic was widely felt by commentators to be against the spirit of the game, there was no legal stipulation against it. In fact, Pratt was on the field owing to a genuinely serious injury to Simon Jones, and he never played international cricket again.
Day 4
Day Four began in earnest with Michael Clarke and Katich continuing their partnership from the previous day. However, Katich had already twice flirted with dismissal, saved only by chance both times. In the words of BBC cricket commentator
Henry Blofeld
Henry Calthorpe Blofeld, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 23 September 1939) nicknamed Blowers by Brian Johnston, is an English retired sports journalist, Sports presenter, broadcaster and amateur ornithologist best known as a cricket com ...
, "It's very much a game of chess – white-flannelled figures on green grass." The English and the Australians proceeded into a cold war for a good part of the morning, with England attempting to frustrate the Australian batting, but with the latter refusing to take the bait. England's lead slowly evaporated without a wicket falling, but Hoggard's taking of Clarke's and then Gilchrist's scalps on either side of the lunch break swung the initiative back into England's hands.
The injury to Simon Jones became somewhat obvious as the pacers struggled to capture the magic that Jones had created the previous day that had forced Australia to follow on. Despite this, the Australian run rate remained low as both sides stared each other down. Mistakes by
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones (born 14 July 1976) is a former cricketer who played for both England and Papua New Guinea. Born to Welsh parents in Papua New Guinea, between 2004 and 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for the England cricket team. ...
and Pietersen were quickly nullified by the dismissal of Warne for 45 and Kasprowicz for 19, and after a few overs' resistance, Tait was
bowled
In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman.
Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...
middle
stump
Stump may refer to:
* Stump (band), a band from Cork, Ireland and London, England
* Stump (cricket), one of three small wooden posts which the fielding team attempt to hit with the ball
*Stump (dog): Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee (born 1998), 200 ...
for 4, leaving 129 for the English to chase after tea.
England then proceeded to send the game into a nailbiter; Trescothick started the chase positively, scoring 27 from 22 balls, out of 32 scored while he was at the crease. Then English wickets fell quickly as Warne took three wickets: Trescothick, Vaughan (0) and Strauss (23). Lee dismissed
Ian Bell
Ian Ronald Bell (born 11 April 1982) is an English former cricketer who played international cricket in all formats for the England cricket team and county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed higher/middle order batsm ...
(3) and at 57 for 4 England were in trouble. Flintoff (26) and Pietersen (23) then steadied the ship with an invaluable partnership of 46 before both fell in quick succession to Lee. Despite Geraint Jones' dismissal by Warne for 3, the partnership of
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles (born 19 March 1973) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of ...
(7 not out) and Hoggard (8 not out) guided England home.
Man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
honours went to Flintoff, but more importantly this gave the English a crucial 2–1 lead heading back to London for the fifth and final Test, ensuring that they could not lose the series. However, with the Ashes going to Australia in the event of a drawn series, there was still all to play for at
The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
.
Fifth Test
Team changes
Australia named
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...
, recovered from an elbow injury, to replace
Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Scott Kasprowicz (born 10 February 1972) is a former Australian international cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a right arm fast bowler. He represented Queensland and played in the English county scene at first clas ...
. England's Simon Jones did not recover from his ankle injury from the previous Test in time to be included in the England team, and was replaced after much speculation by all-rounder
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) is an English cricket coach and former player, who played in all three formats of the game internationally for England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club and was the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 win ...
, in preference to specialist fast bowler
James Anderson James Anderson may refer to:
Arts
*James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor
*James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer
*James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor
* James Anderson (filmmaker) ...
.
Day 1
The final match to decide the fate of the legendary Ashes urn finally began, and the proverbial first blood was drawn by England as
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 2003 ...
won his third toss of the series (much to the delight of the partisan Oval crowd). Vaughan elected to have his side bat first, and the English first innings got underway.
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick (born 25 December 1975) is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals.Andrew Strauss
Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex, and captained the Engla ...
added 82 for the first wicket, as England's batsmen looked to take on the Australians, but subtle spin variations bowled from
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...
yielded three wickets as England went to lunch on 115 for 3.
Warne continued after lunch by taking the wicket of
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England betw ...
for 14.
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...
emerged to form a vital partnership of 143 with Strauss, before to falling to McGrath for 72 an hour after tea. Strauss made his second century of the series, before being dismissed by Warne off an acrobatic catch by
Simon Katich
Simon Matthew Katich (born 21 August 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He captained New South Wales and also, until the end of the 2007 season, Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Katich also played for Lancashire, represen ...
. The day ended with
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones (born 14 July 1976) is a former cricketer who played for both England and Papua New Guinea. Born to Welsh parents in Papua New Guinea, between 2004 and 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for the England cricket team. ...
and
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles (born 19 March 1973) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of ...
at the crease, with England 319 for 7. Certain forecasts for London called for showers sometime during the weekend, which, it was thought, might wipe up to a day of action or more from the ledger.
Day 2
Day two began positively for the Australians, with Jones being bowled for 25 off
Brett Lee
Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world.
In each of his first two ...
, and
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard, (born 31 December 1976) is a former English cricketer, who played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000 to 2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day Internationals. The 6' 2" Hoggard was a right arm f ...
managing a meagre 2 before being dismissed by McGrath. However, Giles and
Steve Harmison
Stephen James Harmison, (born 23 October 1978) is an English former first-class cricketer, who played all formats of the game. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODIs, and 2 T20s. He also played county cricket for ...
frustrated the Australians by taking the score past 370, before Warne trapped Giles lbw shortly before midday, leaving England all out for 373.
The Australian first innings got off to a solid start, with
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer (21 November 1970) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He is the former coach of the Australia men's national team, having been appointed to the role in May 2018 and leaving in February 2022. A left-handed ba ...
forging a 100 partnership with fellow opener
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Lawrence Hayden (born 29 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer. His career spanned fifteen years. Hayden was a powerful and aggressive left-handed batting order (cricket)#opening batsman, opening batsm ...
– the first opening-partnership century of the series by the Australians. Langer played some blistering strokes off Giles' bowling in particular, but survived a sharp chance to Trescothick at first
slip
Slip or SLIP may refer to:
Science and technology Biology
* Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole
* Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting
* Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy
Computing and ...
. The Australians were offered the light immediately after tea, despite the English protesting and wanting to bowl Giles. The Australians accepted it, and the light never improved, with light rain coming down later. Thus, the day concluded with Australia 112/0, 261 runs behind England.
Day 3
After a delay for wet field conditions, the third day began with a flurry of action, as both Langer and Hayden had close calls with lbw appeals, which replays suggested should have been out, and shies at the stumps that just missed. However, no batsman was given out in the morning session, where only 14 overs of play was possible, owing to rain. Australia added 45 runs in that time.
After lunch Hayden and Langer continued their solid batting, frustrating the England bowlers, with Langer reaching his 22nd Test century. Shortly afterwards, England gained a minor victory as Harmison dismissed Langer, who departed to a rapturous ovation.
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. Ponting was captain of the Australian national team during its "golden era", between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 20 ...
should then have been dismissed for a bat-pad catch off Giles, but Bowden turned down the appeal. Hayden also achieved three-figure success later in the day – his first century for over a year, while Flintoff's hostile and accurate bowling was rewarded with the wicket of Ponting, caught at slip by Strauss. With this wicket, Flintoff equalled
Ian Botham
Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser.
Hailed as one ...
's hitherto unique achievement of 300 runs and 20 wickets in an Ashes series. Flintoff had a later appeal for a catch behind turned down by Rudi Koertzen, despite it hitting the bat.
The Australian batsmen once again ended the day early by accepting an offer of bad light, bringing a much-interrupted day to a close after only 45.4 overs. Thanks to dogged batting and at least four umpiring decisions in their favour on the third day, they finished 96 runs behind with eight wickets of their first innings intact.
Day 4
The fourth day started brightly for England,
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn (born 21 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer, who played Tests and ODIs. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player from 1999 to 20 ...
hooking a short ball from Flintoff straight into the hands of Collingwood, in the third over of the day, having added only one to his overnight score of nine. Further wickets fell, with an excellent knock by Hayden been brought to an end by Flintoff, who continued with impetus and trapped Katich lbw for 1, before Hoggard had
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keep ...
lbw with an
inswinger
An inswinger is a type of delivery of the ball in the sport of cricket. In such a delivery the ball curves—or "swings"—in toward the batter's body and the wicket. By contrast, an outswinger swings away from the line of the batter and the wic ...
at the stroke of lunch. Gilchrist, however, had added a quick 23 that could be vital, as Australia went into the pavilion 17 runs behind with four wickets in hand.
However, it only took six post-lunch overs for England to end the Australian effort. Jones dropped a catch off Michael Clarke's bat, but it did not prove to be crucial, as Clarke was lbw to Hoggard in the next over. Warne and McGrath both went for ducks, caught off a mistimed hook and in the slips respectively. Finally Hoggard had Lee (6) caught in the deep and Australia were bowled out for 367. Flintoff finished with five wickets, the second five-for of his career, while Hoggard's four for 97 was his best return of the series.
Thus England, who had expected to begin their second innings chasing a hundred runs or more, were actually leading by six as they took up their bats in mid-afternoon. Australia took a very quick wicket, that of Strauss, who was dismissed again by Warne, caught bat-and-pad by Katich for a solitary run. The wicket was Warne's 167th against England, equalling
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is Australian retired cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".
's Ashes bowling record. 11 balls after this dismissal, umpires
Rudi Koertzen
Rudolf Eric Koertzen (; 26 March 1949 – 9 August 2022) was a South African international cricket umpire. A cricket enthusiast since his youth, he played league cricket while working as a clerk for South African Railways. He began umpiring in ...
and
Billy Bowden
Brent Fraser "Billy" Bowden (born 11 April 1963) is a cricket umpire from New Zealand. He was a player until he began to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. He is well known for his dramatic signaling style which includes the famous "crooked finge ...
judged it unfair to continue play, owing to inadequate light. One additional session of play was however subsequently possible, taking England to a 40-run lead without further loss, before poor light ended the day.
Day 5
The fifth day began with the game still finely balanced. Ponting put his trust in his two proven wicket takers: McGrath and Warne. England batted well for 40 minutes, with Vaughan taking the game to the Australian bowlers, but McGrath produced two beautiful outswingers to dismiss him and
Ian Bell
Ian Ronald Bell (born 11 April 1982) is an English former cricketer who played international cricket in all formats for the England cricket team and county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed higher/middle order batsm ...
(for a pair) with consecutive deliveries. The Australian charge was diminished by a couple of uncharacteristic dropped catches, but Warne and McGrath combined to take four wickets before lunch, leaving England 133 runs ahead with five wickets remaining.
The afternoon session was anchored by Pietersen, the beneficiary of three dropped catches, who scored his maiden Test century, with obdurate support from Collingwood and Giles. The session saw only two wickets fall, Collingwood was caught acrobatically by silly mid-off Ponting for 10, and Jones (1) decisively bowled when he was deceived by a rapid
Shaun Tait
Shaun Tait (born 22 February 1983) is a former Australian professional cricketer who was appointed as the bowling coach of the Pakistan national cricket team in February 2022. He played as a right arm fast bowler
delivery. Pietersen was finally dismissed for 158, a superlative innings including 15 fours and 7 sixes, while Giles added 59 and Harmison was dismissed for a duck to bring Australia in to bat with fewer than 19 overs remaining.
As the Australians began their innings, it was clear that not enough time remained for them to make up the 341 runs by which they trailed. Almost immediately they were offered the light; and having accepted it, both teams had to return to the dressing rooms to wait for a formal finish. The situation became somewhat farcical. With the match effectively over, the crowd were eager for the Ashes to be presented to England, and the celebrations to begin. After a period of some uncertainty and confusion, at 18:17 BST umpires Koertzen and Bowden removed the bails and pulled up the stumps to signal the end of the match. Australia had scored just four leg byes in their second innings, making it the only innings in
Test cricket
Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...
history in which every run was an extra. With no result in this fifth and final Test, England took the series 2–1, regaining
the Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...
for the first time since 1987.
Pietersen, having scored his maiden Test century at a crucial point, was voted
Man of the Match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
by
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
viewers. Flintoff was chosen by Australia coach John Buchanan as England's Man of the Series while England coach
Duncan Fletcher
Duncan Andrew Gwynne Fletcher (born 27 September 1948) is a Zimbabwean cricket coach and former cricketer, who has coached the England and Indian national teams.
He was England coach between 1999 and 2007, and is credited with the resurgence ...
selected Warne for Australia. The new
Compton–Miller Medal
The Compton–Miller Medal is an award for the man of the series in an individual Ashes series of cricket matches between Australia and England.
The award was inaugurated in 2005 and is named after two great cricketers: the batsman Denis Comp ...
for the overall man of the series (as selected by each side's chairman of selectors:
Trevor Hohns
Trevor Victor Hohns (born 23 January 1954) is a former Queensland and Australian cricketer who played in seven Test matches as a spin bowler, and was later Australia's chairman of selectors.
Earlier in his career when Hohns was a relatively ...
and
David Graveney
David Anthony Graveney (born 2 January 1953) is a leading figure in English cricket and former chairman of the England Test selectors, a post he held from 1997 until 2008. Graveney attended Millfield School in Somerset.
He led a successful fir ...
) was also presented to Flintoff. Finally, the replica urn was presented to Vaughan, thus ending the series in favour of the home side.
Records
Individual records
Team records
Other records
*
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...
became the all-time leading wicket taker in Ashes series, having taken a total of 172.
** He also passed the 600 wicket mark, and had 623 by the end of the series.
*
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...
passed the 500 wicket milestone, and ended up with 518.
*
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...
became the first Englishman to take over 20 wickets and score 400 runs (24 wickets and 402 runs) in a Test series.
Legacy
Post-match reactions
Immediately following the final match,
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
sent a congratulatory memo to
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 2003 ...
and the team, saying: "My warmest congratulations to you, the England cricket team and all in the squad for the magnificent achievement of regaining the Ashes... both sides can take credit for giving us all such a wonderfully exciting and entertaining summer of cricket at its best."
Political leaders like Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
, Conservative leader
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...
and Liberal Democrat leader
Charles Kennedy
Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959 – 1 June 2015) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 ...
also sent their congratulations. Blair stated that "By bringing the Ashes back after so long, you have given cricket a huge boost and lit up the whole summer".
Howard added "... Vaughan, his team, and all involved, should be proud of this achievement and the manner in which they have played during this extraordinary summer of excitement and tension."
"England's victory is historic, and I send hearty congratulations to the team... It has been impossible not to get caught up by the excitement and sense of good will in the past few days," stated Kennedy.
On the other end of the ledger, Australia's Prime Minister,
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
(who was in New York for a UN summit and was given the bad news by an aide during a luncheon with the Asia Society) was gracious in his congratulations to England.
"Look, there's natural disappointment but it's a situation where you give credit to the team that won," Howard stated, noting that there would not be a national day of mourning. "They will no doubt celebrate and that will be difficult for some, but that's the nature of these contests and we should not take anything away from England...They played very well. It's the best team that England has had for a very long period of time."
England team parade
On 13 September, England, along with their
Women's Ashes
The Women's Ashes is the perpetual trophy in women's international cricket series between England and Australia. The name derives from the historic precedent of the Ashes in male cricket and, until 2013, was similarly decided exclusively on the ...
-winning
counterparts
Counterpart or Counterparts may refer to:
Entertainment and literature
* "Counterparts" (short story), by James Joyce
* Counterparts, former name for the Reel Pride LGBT film festival
* ''Counterparts'' (film), a 2007 German drama
* ''Counterp ...
, were feted with a 90-minute bus tour from Mansion House to
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
, where they were greeted by tens of thousands of Londoners and cricket fans in a celebration of their momentous achievements (to the surprise of
Matthew Hoggard
Matthew James Hoggard, (born 31 December 1976) is a former English cricketer, who played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000 to 2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day Internationals. The 6' 2" Hoggard was a right arm f ...
, who expected "three men and a dog").
Thousands of people also lined the streets along the parade route as the two buses made their way to Trafalgar Square. While the rest of the team simply enjoyed the sights, 5th Test Man-of-the-Match Kevin Pietersen sprayed champagne from the bus onto joyous revelers on the street, while wicketkeeper Geraint Jones held onto a
Dalek
The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 ''Doctor Who'' ...
doll with the words "Australians exterminated" attached to it.
At Trafalgar Square, the crowd was treated to a victory celebration for both England teams, and before the ceremony closed the square broke into a rendition of "
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
", which had become an unofficial hymn for the team during the 5th Test. Interviews were carried out with all members of the men's team and
Clare Connor
Clare Joanne Connor (born 1 September 1976) is an English former cricketer who batted right-handed and bowled slow left arm spin. She held the presidency of Marylebone Cricket Club from 2021 until 2022. She made her England One Day Internati ...
, the captain of the women's team, by
David Gower
David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 Te ...
and
Mark Nicholas
Mark Charles Jefford Nicholas (born 29 September 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer and broadcaster. He played for Hampshire from 1978 to 1995, captaining them from 1985 to his retirement.
Nicholas was born in Westmi ...
, while the ceremony was broadcast live in the UK on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
,
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
and
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast.
History
Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and lat ...
and around the world. Afterwards, the side was entertained by the Prime Minister as guests of honour at
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
, then returned the urn to its sacred home at Lord's for safekeeping.
Australian criticism
Almost immediately criticism began in Australia; ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' immediately took issue with the fact that not only was captain Ricky Ponting out-thought by his opposite number Vaughan but the side was too old and simply did not score the runs when they were needed. ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
criticised the team for opening their big mouths once too often, hitting at Australia's earlier whitewash boast.
Psychological warfare
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...
, ''The Age'' went on to state, is great when it works but when it backfires those who are responsible ought to be brought to account.
Former fast bowler
Dennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, (born 18 July 1949) is Australian retired cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation".
was particularly scathing. Writing in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
's ''
The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'', he stated that all who perpetrated this "disaster" must be sacked and
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...
be appointed the captain in place of Ponting (because of how Warne had delivered time and again in the series). Losing to other sides is not the end of the world, stated Lillee, but losing the Ashes is.
Former captain
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger Waugh (born 2 June 1965) is an Australian former international cricketer and twin brother of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a medium-pace bowler. As Australian captain from 1997 to 2004, he led Australi ...
defended the side, calling it "a very good side, a really experienced side. They will be disappointed but they will move on from it" he said, but also conceding that the selectors were likely to ponder a few changes given that only three of the Australia team at
The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
were aged under 30. "They'll have a couple of players in mind which they will bring in the side over the next couple of years".
Along with Waugh, selector and former batsman
David Boon
David Clarence Boon (born 29 December 1960) is an Australian cricket match referee, former cricket commentator and international cricketer whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1996. A right-handed batsman and a very oc ...
defended their selections. "Sometimes you're going to have to make a hard decision to keep a subtle rotation going through so you don't have mass retirements...But you've also got to pick the best cricket team you possibly can to represent your country", he stated. "If we keep producing cricketers who are 25 plus, they're mature, they're ready to play, they've still got a seven or eight-year career, then we're doing OK."
Ponting hits back, the axe falls
Ponting was confronted by a large media pack shortly after his arrival at
Sydney Airport
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...
and said he wasn't aware of Lillee's comments. "I'm not concerned about those things. As long as I am doing the right thing by everyone in my dressing room as the team and the coaching staff, well then that's all I can do... But as long as I am looking after the guys in my dressing room, then I'll be happy," Ponting stated, adding that he wished to remain captain.
Ponting also responded to Lillee's comments that Warne should be captain, and that he made more decisions than Ponting during the series: "I like to talk to a lot of guys out on the field and use their ideas and thoughts. I'll go to Gilly (
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keep ...
) and even Matty Hayden, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn... The way I think is not going to be right 100 percent of the time, but that's the way I do it. Warne has got a cricket brain as good as anybody around. But I wouldn't agree e was the pseudo captain"
Regardless, when the Australian side for the
ICC Super Series
The ICC Super Series 2005 was a cricket series held in Australia during October 2005, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was played between Australia, the world's top-ranked side at the time, and a World XI team of players ...
was announced, three members of the Ashes-losing side were dropped:
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn (born 21 October 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer, who played Tests and ODIs. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player from 1999 to 20 ...
was retained only for the ODI squad, while
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie (born 19 April 1975) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. A right-arm fast bowler, he was also a competent lower-order batsman whose unbeaten 201 in his last Test matc ...
and
Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Scott Kasprowicz (born 10 February 1972) is a former Australian international cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a right arm fast bowler. He represented Queensland and played in the English county scene at first clas ...
were dropped altogether.
Brad Hodge
Bradley John Hodge (born 29 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman who batted in the middle order, as well as a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler.
Hodge was a prolific run-scorer in ...
,
Stuart MacGill
Stuart Charles Glyndwr MacGill (born 25 February 1971) is an Australian former cricketer who played 44 Test matches and three One Day Internationals for the Australian national cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler, who has been cred ...
and
Shane Watson
Shane Robert Watson (born 17 June 1981) is an Australian former cricketer, and occasional captain in all formats, who has played for Australia's national cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast-medium swing bowler ...
were added in their places. While
Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia (CA), formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Crick ...
officials assured that these omissions were not a signal that the Test careers of these three players were over, many experts said otherwise. However, all three players made successful returns to the Test team in early 2006. Lillee once again called for the replacement of Ponting as captain with Warne after the squad announcement, however this was once again rejected.
England's epilogue
With England's victory in the series, the top of the
ICC Test Championship
The ICC Men's Test Team Rankings (formerly known as the ICC Test Championship) is an international rankings system of the International Cricket Council for the 12 teams that play Test cricket (though Afghanistan and Ireland are not currently ra ...
rankings ladder changed slightly as the English closed in on the top-ranked Aussies. In a BBC interview the week after the series, Simon Jones claimed that the English should one day be regarded as the best, despite statistics and the Test Championship rankings speaking otherwise.
"The Ashes series was talked about so much. People were wondering if England could do it and
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer who played international cricket for 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler (cricket), bowler and is considered one of the greatest international ...
said Australia would win 5–0, but we beat them 2–1 and could have been 3–1 up after Old Trafford," Jones told the BBC. "Australia are statistically the best side in the world, and rightly so. They've played so much great cricket over the past 10 years and built up an advantage on the points system... But I think that's changing and hopefully we will have the mantle one day."
Meanwhile, as
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
prepared for the Ashes winners' visit in the winter, with the Pakistanis relishing the opportunity to test their mettle against the side that took down the Australians, Pakistan coach
Bob Woolmer
Robert Andrew Woolmer (14 May 1948 – 18 March 2007) was an English cricket coach, cricketer, and a commentator. He played in 19 Test matches and six One Day Internationals for the England cricket team and later coached South Africa, Warwick ...
stated, "England have done well but they have still to create that aura of invincibility of the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
of the 1970s and 80s and Australia recently. The side which does well in all three departments will win the series and we have to be very disciplined against England, who have quality batsmen and bowlers." Pakistan would later defeat England at home with a 2–0 margin.
Following their performances in the series both
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-orde ...
and
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 2003 ...
were given the
Freedom of the City
The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
.
On 29 September, the
Royal Mail
, kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga
, logo = Royal Mail.svg
, logo_size = 250px
, type = Public limited company
, traded_as =
, foundation =
, founder = Henry VIII
, location = London, England, UK
, key_people = * Keith Williams ...
issued a set of
stamps
Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to:
Official documents and related impressions
* Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail
* Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods
* Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...
commemorating the Ashes victory. The set included two first-class stamps and two worth 68 pence each, the cost of posting a letter to Australia.
In the 2006 New Year Honours, 11 of the 12 playing members of the England team were awarded the
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
, with captain Vaughan awarded the OBE, for their roles in the successful Ashes victory. There was some critical comment that the limited role of some did not warrant the honour.
However, after the following series in which Australia regained the Ashes in a 5–0 whitewash, the English public began to criticise the celebrations of the previous year. This issue also flared up during the Test series when Warne commented on
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) is an English cricket coach and former player, who played in all three formats of the game internationally for England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club and was the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 win ...
's MBE for scoring 17 runs during the 2005 series. Former England captain
Geoffrey Boycott
Sir Geoffrey Boycott (born 21 October 1940) is a former Test cricketer, who played cricket for Yorkshire and England. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's m ...
criticised the fact that the MBE had been awarded to the whole side when Warne, who had already taken over 600 wickets by then, had not been honoured.
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
Ashes series
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...