Whenever cricket fans will look towards the history of cricket, they will find the 2005 Ashes series as the greatest of all time. None of the test match series played in the past do not come anywhere near the 2005 thrilling series. Such was the aura of the series that was played in England.
Australian Cricket was at its peak when the series was taking place. The Aussies had already dominated a whole era of the ’90s and the early 2000s. They won many trophies during their years of domination and produced lethal batsmen like Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Mathew Hayden, and many more. Even in the bowling department, they were regarded as ‘the best’. They had bowlers like Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath. That just summed up the Aussies strong lineup.
However, the English team was going through a rough phase. They had not even won an Ashes series from the mid-’80s. English cricket kept on moving back in terms of test cricket since the ’80s. It was only in 2005 that they were having some momentum in test cricket. They were slowly rising towards the occasion.
The five-match Test series had begun from 21 July that was going to take place till 12th September. Hardly did anyone predict or know that the series would become the greatest of all time post its conclusion. All the witnesses could hardly have imagined that the series would register itself in the history books forever.
First Test Match
The First Test Match took place at the iconic home of cricket, The Lord’s. A jam-packed crowd had arrived to witness the match in London. The coin had gone in favor of Australia and they decided to have a bat first. The pitch was a green top that had everything in it, from bounce to swing. This was going to be a low-scoring match due to the pitch.
The Aussies were not in great shape on the first day itself. They were all out for a total of 190 runs themselves. It was a shocker for everyone as Australians lasted only 40 overs. England in retreat could score only 155 runs in 48 overs. Glenn McGrath took a five-wicket haul. The momentum was completely starting to shift towards the Aussies. They took the advantage of it and scored a phenomenal 384 runs while batting for over 100 overs. What the Australians did was just phenomenal.
However, England in retreat had failed once again. The English batsmen could not take the pressure and go into the dugout, one after the other. At last team, England could bat for only 58 overs by scoring 180 runs. The only positive for England was Kevin Pietersen who went not out for 64 runs. Australia won the match by 239 runs that too with ease. Glenn McGrath won the player of the match award.
England Playing Squad: Marcus Trescothick, Sir Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (c), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones
Australia Playing Squad: Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (c), Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath
| Australia 1st Innings | 190-10 (40.2 Ov) | ||
| Justin Langer | 40(44) | Steve Harmison | 5-43 |
| Shane Warne | 28(29) | Simon Jones | 2-48 |
| England 1st Innings | 155-10 (48.1 Ov) | ||
| Kevin Pietersen | 57(89) | Glenn McGrath | 5-53 |
| Geraint Jones | 30(56) | Brett Lee | 3-47 |
| Australia 2nd Innings | 384-10 (100.4 Ov) | ||
| Michael Clarke | 91(106) | Steve Harmison | 3-54 |
| Simon Katich | 67(113) | Matthew Hoggard | 2-56 |
| England 2nd Innings | 180-10 (58.1 Ov) | ||
| Kevin Pietersen | 64(79) | Glenn McGrath | 4-29 |
| Marcus Trescothick | 44(103) | Shane Warne | 4-63 |
Second Test Match
The second test was being played at Edgbaston. Australia had won the toss and they invited England to bat first. This had proven to be a huge mistake from the Australian side. Because England went on to score 407 runs in just 79 overs. This was a team effort where everyone contributed with the bat. However, Australia in retaliation could only score 308 runs despite batting for 76 overs which was just three short of England. Despite that, they were 99 runs behind the hosts.
England already had a huge advantage over Australia with the mammoth lead. But to everyone’s disappointment, the batting just crumbled for 182 runs. No one was pleased with such a display. And rightfully the Aussies were back in the game. However, the target was 282 which was not very easy to achieve in the fourth innings. The top and middle-order failed, but the last man Brett Lee gave some hope of a win for Australians. He played a banger of innings and went on to score a quick 43 before the whole team crumbled out for 279. This is still regarded as one of the best test matches ever. The Aussies lost by a mere two runs.
England Playing Squad: Marcus Trescothick, Sir Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (c), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones
Australia Playing Squad: Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (c), Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz
| England 1st Innings | 407-10 (79.2 Ov) | ||
| Marcus Trescothick | 90(102) | Shane Warne | 4-116 |
| Kevin Pietersen | 71(76) | Michael Kasprowicz | 3-80 |
| Australia 1st Innings | 308-10 (76 Ov) | ||
| Justin Langer | 82(154) | Andrew Flintoff | 3-52 |
| Ricky Ponting | 61(76) | Ashley Giles | 3-78 |
| England 2nd Innings | 182-10 (52.1 Ov) | ||
| Andrew Flintoff | 73(86) | Shane Warne | 6-46 |
| Marcus Trescothick | 21(38) | Brett Lee | 4-82 |
| Australia 2nd innings | 279-10 (64.3 Ov) | ||
| Brett Lee | 43*(75) | Andrew Flintoff | 4-79 |
| Shane Warne | 42(59) | Steve Harmison | 2-62 |
Third Test Match
The third test match of the series was played at Old Trafford in Manchester. England had won the toss and they elected to have a bat first. The pitch was looking very good for batting from the very early. Nevertheless, England went on to score a mammoth total of 444 with the help of Michael Vaughan’s 166. The Australian in response scored only 302 runs giving a head-on advantage to the English.
However, despite the momentum in England’s favor, the batting mulled up 280 this declaring the innings. Australia required 423 runs to win, which was an uphill task. The response was expected to be lukewarm, the openers went for cheap and the Aussies were already in trouble. Ponting batted and batted for close to seven hours scoring 156 runs. But even he went out. However, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee were the last pairs and they went to bat for as long as what was required to draw the match. They eventually succeeded in doing that and England lost a beautiful chance to win the match. The Player of the match was awarded to Ricky Ponting for his brilliant knock which helped Aussies draw the match.
England Playing Squad: Marcus Trescothick, Sir Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (c), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones
Australia Playing Squad: Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (c), Damien Martyn, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Michael Clarke, Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath
Fourth Test Match
From here on everything had happened in this series. Everyone knew that the series could contain even more excitement in the remaining two matches. England won the toss at Trent Bridge and elected to bat first. The hosts scored 477 runs in their first innings. Andrew Flintoff scored a brilliant knock of 102 runs. However, Australia in response could make up only 218 runs before getting all out.
Australia was asked to come for batting once again after Michael Vaughan decided to enforce follow on. This time the Aussies did not back down and gave a fight back. They scored 377 runs in their third innings thus providing a target of 129 runs. Struggling England somehow reached the target and they won the fourth test match.
England Playing Squad: Marcus Trescothick, Sir Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (c), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones
Australia Playing Squad: Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (c), Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Michael Kasprowicz, Shaun Tait
Fifth Test Match
England was ahead by 2-1 in this series coming into the fifth test. They had their hands on the trophy and were already on the verge of creating history. The only thing they had to do is avoid a loss. The fifth test was played at the Oval in London. The weather was fairly overcast for all five days. England had won the toss and came to bat first.
England built the innings and went on to score a total of 373 runs. Andrew Strauss was the stand-out player with his crucial knock of 129 runs. With the constant disturbance of rain, the play had been called off on various occasions. However, Australia scored 367 runs with the help of Mathew Hayden’s knock of 138 in the first innings.
After many interruptions of rain and bad light, England somehow reached 335 in their second innings after getting all out. Australians were handed out a target of 342 runs on Day 5 and it was clear that the match was heading to a draw. However, the bad light came into effect and the matchday was called off.
England historically regained the ashes and despite the bad weather, the fans remained in the stadium to watch the celebrations. It was a historic moment for England cricket and their fans. The English player of the series was awarded to Andrew Flintoff while the Australian player of the series was awarded to Shane Warne.
England Playing Squad: Marcus Trescothick, Sir Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (c), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison
Australia Playing Squad: Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (c), Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait
