Ashes 2005
Despite the rising
popularity of ODI and T20, to the true cricket aficionado Test cricket is still
the pinnacle of the sport. The shorter
formats are a quick fix with bursts of power and excitement. The longest format is the greatest test of skill
and at its best can enthral the spectator for a full five days. Obviously it’s best when we can actually go
to a day’s play but failing that (i.e. most of the time), we plan our day
around the cricket. It’s good to be able
to watch on TV and then it is even possible to have our meals during breaks in
play. The brilliant radio coverage on
TMS is as good as tele in a different way and I have a sneaky radio secreted at
work and a couple of others around the house.
One of these is small enough to travel with me. The last resort is following via online
updates on a PC or phone. In the case of
a great series this investment in time, planning and emotion can last for weeks
turning to months. Almost every series
has a good match or two, some even have a match that can be termed as great and
these live long in our memories. Truly
great series require an even balance between the two teams and a finale in
which both are still in the hunt. These
have always been infrequent and are becoming increasingly rare.
My first memories of
cricket are of Ashes series and others featuring the emerging West Indies
team. I recall watching the likes of
Greig, Boycott, Richards, Holding, Lloyd, Lillee, Thompson and the Chappells. The first series to really enthral me was the
1981 series which was dubbed “Botham’s Ashes”, although my most vivid memory is
of Bustling Bob Willis charging his way down the hill at Headingly to
8-43. Individual performances aside,
this series doesn’t really count as “Great” as it finished 3-1, not close
enough in my book.
The series that really
turned my cricket habit into a lifelong addiction was England’s tour to the
Caribbean in the spring of 1990. England had recently been battered 4-0 in a
home Ashes series and West Indies were still the best team in the world by a
distance. Led by Graham Gooch England
sent a young inexperienced squad to face a team of contemporary icons; great
batsmen and probably the best pace bowling attack there has ever been. On paper it was a mismatch, as my West Indian
friends were constantly reminding me.
But England’s young
lions punched above their weight and surprised everyone by winning in Jamaica
to take a 1-0 lead. The test match in
Guyana was washed out without a ball being bowled and England almost made it
2-0 in Trinidad but rain and bad light saved the West Indies. Gooch broke his hand in this match and that
may have been the turning point as WI roared back to take the final two tests
and clinch the series 2-1.
By 1999 the order of
world cricket had changed and Australia now ruled the roost. They visited the West Indies expecting to
dominate the home team and sure enough cruised to an easy win in the opening
match with McGrath rampant. In the next
held in Jamaica Brian Lara scored a brilliant 213 to help his side to a
win.
The third test was an
absolute classic. Steve Waugh scored 199
in the first innings to set the game up and it looked like Australia would
control the game and eventually win with West Indies set 310 to win. Enter Brian Lara again who scored an amazing
153* to lead the home team to an unlikely one wicket win. WI were one up with
one to play but the Aussies showed their class with a good all round
performance to win and level the series.
Langer scored 126 and Lara hit another century but it wasn’t enough this
time. This was a great series and at
that time nowhere else in the world could compare with the cricket mad West
Indies for the atmosphere and backdrop to great cricket.
Then in 2005 in England, the
home of the game cricket reached heights of excellence never before seen – by
me at least. The British people created
an atmosphere, up and down the country, that out stripped even the Caribbean in
its heyday. It’s hard to believe a
decade has passed since that series and following the retirement of Michael
Clarke only Ian Bell is still playing test cricket. Over the last decade England have won four
out of six Ashes series but those of us that have long addiction to test
cricket cannot forget that prior to 2005 we hadn’t held the urn for almost
twenty years.
Before the real
cricket there was some short format stuff and whereas Australia were used to
dominating everyone, this time they didn’t have it all their own way. England won the T20 match and gave the
Aussies a fright in the ODI’s. Although
Australia took the ODI’s overall, the scores were even going into the main
event. Everything was set up perfectly
going into the test series. Australia
fielded a team of all time greats and had been the world’s best test side for a
long time. England were on the up too,
we had won our last five series and had just beaten South Africa on their own
soil. This was a clash between the teams
ranked numbers one and two in the world but Australia were still expected to
win, even though some Aussie pundits conceded England might prove competitive
for a change. There were some of us who
thought that no team could possibly be as strong after having the Waugh twins
retire. Also could the veterans McGrath
and Warne stay fit for all five matches? I really believed England could win
this time; the series couldn’t come quickly enough.
The series arrived and
it was magnificent. You can read match
reports on the web if you go looking but here are my memories of the greatest
series ever played.
First test – Lords
The test series
started late this year and we had to wait until the third week of July but at
last it was here! The first test was
held at Lords and the teams enter the field through a Long room that had never
been so animated. Australia won the toss
and elected to bat. England had a four
man pace attack that was fit and fearless, they roared into the Aussies!
I was at work,
listening to the match on TMS and it was fantastic! England got stuck right into he Aussies, the challenger landed some punches
and the champion wobbled! Hayden fell
early, Ponting was hit and cut and then out!
The pace attack shared the wickets and Aus were 97-5 at lunch! It continued in the afternoon, Steve Harmison
was inspired and ripped through the tail for 5-43 and Aus were all out for
190. England were 10-0 at tea! The first couple of sessions had been thrilling;
I’d yelled and whooped with every wicket, the sound reverberating around the
large warehouse I managed at the time. England
had bowled out and battered the Aussies; they knew they were in a fight now.
That was the high
point. Glenn McGrath loves Lords and he
was at his best taking the first five wickets and reducing England to 97-7 at
the close. Only the young upstart KP
Pietersen was showing any resistance.
From day two onwards
Australia dominated the match. England’s
tail wagged but Australia had a lead on first innings which they built on
second time around. England bowled well
but a partnership of 155 between Ponting and Clarke, who top scored with 91,
took the game away. The elation of the
first two sessions will never be forgotten but Second time around, England were
bowled out for 180 and Australia won by 239 runs. For England Pietersen on debut scored a half
century in each innings but the great Glenn McGrath took nine wickets and was
man of the match. I missed the worst of
the carnage by fishing for Zander in the fens. A check of the diary reveals I
had a six pound Zander and a surprise double figure Pike in the same net when
both rods went within minutes of each other at first light.
In the aftermath all
the usual suspects jumped on the bandwagon to declare this Ashes summer would
be just another easy Australian victory.
Ashley Giles in particular was slagged off in the media for not
contributing. None other than John
Emburey, speaking on Radio 5 called for him to be axed. The fans sometimes know more than the
pundits, we knew Giles had been a key member of a successful team for some
time, he’d come good. Defeat was
horrible but this fan was not too despondent.
I knew England could perform much better than that and it was noticeable
that Gillespie didn’t take a wicket in the match also Gilchrist didn’t get many
runs. After Lords, after going 1-0 down
I was even more sure England could bounce back and win.
Second Test –
Edgbaston
I tuned the radio in
at work to find that Australia had won the toss and inserted England. This was a surprise but doubly so because
Glenn McGrath had twisted his ankle in the warm up and wasn’t playing!
So England batted and
smashed the Aussie bowlers all around Edgbaston! Wickets fell fairly regularly but England
were flaying the Aussies pace men and even Warne was getting some stick. Trescothick top scored with 90 whilst
Flintoff and Pietersen also passed fifty.
Just about everyone chipped in along the way. England finished the day 407 all out, scoring
at a run rate of 5.13. A good score but
some, including Sir Geoffrey declared England were 70 runs short and had wasted
a chance to really pile the pressure on.
I tuned it at work
again on the second day to hear the Aussie reply. Hayden fell early for a duck but Langer and
Ponting dug in and took the score to 88 before the latter was out for 61. That Friday afternoon I had to drive our
Shantel to her Guides camp in the west of the county. This meant a couple of hours in the car so I
obviously tuned into TMS to hear England’s bowlers chip away at Australia. Wickets fell at regular intervals and it
dawned on me that a good position was turning into a potential match winning
one. Flintoff picked up three wickets as
did the maligned Ashley Giles and Aus were all out for 308. By the end of the day England had stretched
their lead to over a hundred but Strauss had fallen.
On the third day I
took Madison, Isaac, a tent and a car load of fishing gear west to the fens and
set up beside a river. During the day we
fished for Bream and silver fish, many of which became bait as light fell and
we commenced fishing for Zander. I
remember this was a bit of a social session with a few other friends and we
enjoyed a barbecue and a bottle of wine through the evening too. I couldn’t remember if we caught much and the
diary revealed just one tiny Zander.
Anyway back to the cricket…
England’s second
innings got into a bit of a mess as Brett Lee found his rhythm and Shane Warne
found his magic to end with 6-46.
Freddie Flintoff came to our rescue with 77 but England could only post
a lead of 281. The match was in the
balance.
Australia batted and
started steadily but as we listened to TMS Flintoff bowled one of the great
overs to remove both Langer and Ponting to reduce Aus to 48-2. England chipped away at the middle order but
an eighth wicket partnership developed which threatened to tilt the game back
in Australia’s way. Then with the final
ball of the day Harmison bowled Clarke with that slower ball,
175-8. We all roared, surely the game
was ours!!
By the time play
started on the fourth day I was back in home, lying in bed trying to rest my
eyes with the match on TV. I expected
England to wrap up the game quickly and I could catch up on some sleep. It didn’t work out that way. First Warne, then Lee and Kasprowicz waved
the bat and the total crept ever closer.
Simon Jones dropped a difficult catch at third man, the luck was now
going Aussie’s way. As England’s lead
dwindled I became increasingly more agitated.
The more the innings went on my agitation turned to desperation. Australia were going to win. They were going to take this match away from
us after we’d played all the cricket. It
wasn’t fair! When Australia’s target
crept below double figures I could no longer take it. I couldn’t watch any more so went to the
shower to sulk and wash my sorrows away.
When Harmison bowled that ball to Kasprowicz my world was being drowned
out by water so I didn’t even see or hear it.
I became aware that England had won when the children started shouting
and celebrating!! We had won by just two
runs!! The despair and gloom was
forgotten in an instant and I watched the replays over and over. It was only then that I saw the handshake
between Freddie and Brett Lee that became one of the images of the summer. The series had been just one stroke away from
being effectively over but it was still alive and kicking!
Third Test – Old
Trafford
I can’t really
remember too much about the third test match.
I expect I spent the first two days working within earshot of the radio
and I would have spent large chunks of the weekend glued to the TV. McGrath was fit again (or was he?), England
played an unchanged side. The game was
another classic.
Vaughan won the toss
and England batted with the skipper himself leading the way with 166 and with
half centuries from Trescothick and Bell England posted 444. For Aus, Warne and
Lee took for wickets each. Then Australia struggled in reply; Ashley Giles took
three wickets and Simon Jones 6-53 and only a fighting 90 from Warne took the
Aussies on to 302. England batted around a century from Strauss and more runs
from Tres’ and Bell to declare on 280-6, setting Aus an unlikely 420+ to win. McGrath
took five of the six wickets to fall. England needed to take ten wickets to win the
match and take a lead in the series. It
would have been great to break the opening partnership but they hung on to the
close of day four. I remember feeling
that just one wicket before stumps might make all the difference.
Cricket fans had been
excited before the series but by now the whole country had got behind the
England team. There were a few tickets
on sale for the final day and by 8am people were queued around Old Trafford. The tickets went quickly and thousands were
left disappointed. Those lucky enough to
get in were treated to a fantastic day’s cricket. I remember being at work, glued to the radio. Langer fell early and Hayden struggled but
Ponting dug in with a brilliant innings.
However everyone else struggled and every time it looked like Australia
were out of danger, another wicket fell but it always felt that we were just
one Aussie scalp short.
I was home from work
and perched in front of the TV when Ponting’s resistance ended, ninth man out
for a superb 156. That left Lee and
McGrath to fend off 24 balls to escape with a draw. There were close calls for LBW and breathless
moments then it all came down to the final ball. Harmison bowled to McGrath… who survived and
the Aussie’s celebrated like they had won.
Yes the great Australian team was celebrating a draw.
So now we were three
games into the series and it was 1-1 with two to play. On the whole England had been better team
over the three games, could we maintain this superiority and claim the series?
