After an 18-year wait to regain the Ashes, England finally got the better of Australia in 2005 in a gripping series that has gone down as one of the best ever between the two rivals.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at how England finally got their hands back on the famous urn.
Dominant Australia meet resurgent England
However, England had risen to second in the rankings under the leadership of Michael Vaughan, who refused to be intimidated by Australia’s coterie of star performers, convinced they were not invincible.
The Yorkshireman instilled that belief in his England side and a thrilling limited-overs series ensued.
Australia were humiliated in the one-off Twenty20, the NatWest Series final finished in a dramatic tie and the tourists edged the ODI series. The touchpaper was lit.
After a fall comes the rise
#OnThisDay in 2005, one of the greatest Tests of all time came to a thrilling conclusion, with England beating Australia by two runs at Edgbaston ?
Andrew Flintoff consoling Brett Lee in the aftermath has become one of cricket’s most famous images ?#Ashes | #SpiritOfCricket pic.twitter.com/S8MmWbRs8t
— ICC (@ICC) August 7, 2019
There was a familiar sinking feeling as old nemesis Glenn McGrath’s nine-wicket match haul inspired a comprehensive 239-run win for Australia in the opener at Lord’s.
However, the seamer was ruled out of the Edgbaston Test after rolling his ankle on a stray cricket ball minutes before the start of play and England were gifted another moment of fortune when Australia captain Ricky Ponting peculiarly asked to field first.
England took charge from that moment on and at 220 for nine chasing 282, Australia were on the brink, only for the target to be whittled down until just three more were required.
Steve Harmison and Geraint Jones then combined to remove last man Michael Kasprowicz to spark frenzied euphoria. England’s talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff commiserating crestfallen not out batsman Brett Lee was one of the defining images of an intense but fairly-fought series.
England in the ascendancy
Vaughan has said since then the scenes of joy in the away dressing room was the moment he realised England had the upper hand.
With McGrath again ruled out at Trent Bridge, Flintoff’s century and Simon Jones’ five-for in what would be, unbeknown to him, his final international outing, put England on top.
A fourth-innings chase of 129 proved anything but routine following Shane Warne’s four for 31 but lower-order pair Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard got the hosts over the line with three wickets to spare.
England only needed to avoid defeat at The Oval to end a run of eight consecutive series defeats against Australia.
A thrilling denouement
England knew they had to bat out the final day, a task that seemed far-fetched after they slumped to 126 for five on the final morning.
Kevin Pietersen, whose limited-overs belligerence led to his inclusion in the Test series, had flickered without delivering a true innings of substance. That came on the final afternoon after being dropped twice – one a dolly by Warne, who finished with 12 wickets in the match and 40 in the series.
Instead of going into his shell Pietersen flayed 15 fours and seven sixes in his 158 in one of the great innings by an England batsman to ultimately seal an unforgettable series win for the hosts after a roller coaster few weeks.
Legacy
All 12 players were given MBEs but the win would prove to be a watershed for the team. Jones never played for England again because of injury while Vaughan was absent 18 months later as England meekly surrendered the urn in an ignominious 5-0 whitewash defeat.
The 2005 Ashes also marked the last time live international cricket was screened on free-to-air television up until the 2019 World Cup final – the decision to take cricket behind a paywall continues to rankle many within the game.
