The Ashes Cricket Series

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The Ashes Cricket Series 2005

England won the Ashes

Ashes 2005: England Cricket Team Montage Ashes 2005: England Cricket Team Montage England were undefeated in Test matches in the 2004 calendar year, which took the team to second in the LG ICC Test Championship and raised hopes that the 2005 Ashes series would be closely fought. In fact, the series proved to be even more competitive than most commentators had predicted. The Ashes were still on the line as the final session of the final test began. While the first Test at Lord's was convincingly won by Australia, in the remaining four matches the teams were more evenly matched, and England fought back. England won the second Test by 2 runs, the smallest victory by a runs margin in Ashes history, and the second closest such victory margin in all Tests. The rain-affected third Test ended with the final two Australian batsmen holding out to claim a draw, and England won the fourth Test by three wickets after forcing Australia to follow on for the first time in 191 Tests. A draw in the final Test gave England victory in an Ashes series for the first time in 18 years.
The 2005 Ashes series was played throughout at a very high intensity, the tension occasionally leading to mistakes on both sides with many dropped catches, run outs and other errors. Australia were unlucky with the injury to Glenn McGrath (a key bowler who missed the two matches in which Australia was beaten) and the loss of form of others; England's only change, on the other hand, was forced on them when Simon Jones sustained an ankle injury midway through the Fourth Test, forcing him out of the series decider. Even so, many consider the series to have been the most exciting in living memory, providing enthralling viewing. Respected commentator Richie Benaud is reported by BBC correspondent Bob Chaundry as having said: "In the past two years, I've seen the best cricket I've ever watched. This current Ashes series shades even the great one of 1981. " Indeed, no-one would have suggested that the 1981 series had been played between the two best sides of the day neither side was to beat the West Indies for over a decade. At the end of the 2005 series, Andrew Flintoff was chosen as the player of the series for his batting and bowling. His efforts made him something of a national hero amongst followers of English sport, making him perhaps the most recognisable English cricketer since Botham's heyday, and contributed to his selection by Wisden as the year's Leading Cricketer in the World, just ahead of Shane Warne who contributed 40 wickets and important lower-order runs to Australia's cause.

The Ashes Cricket 2005 Results

First Test, Lord's (2124 July)

Australia won by 239 runs

Australia 190 & 384
England 155 & 180 Man of the Match: GD McGrath

Second Test, Edgbaston (47 August)

England won by 2 runs

England 407 & 182
Australia 308 & 279 Man of the Match: A Flintoff

Third Test, Old Trafford (1115 August)

Match Drawn

England 444 & 280/6d
Australia 302 & 371/9 Man of the Match: RT Ponting

Fourth Test, Trent Bridge (25-28 August)

England won by three wickets

England 477 & 129/7
Australia 218 & 387 (f/o) Man of the Match: A Flintoff

Fifth Test, The Oval (8-12 September)

Match Drawn; England Won the Series 2-1

England 373 & 335
Australia 367 & 4/0 Man of the Match: KP Pietersen
Men of the Series: A Flintoff , SK Warne

Australian Cricket History

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The Australian cricket team is one of the leading international teams in world cricket. Australia was one of the first two Test nations (with England) and have an outstanding recent Test record and in the one dayers were World Champs in 1987, 1999 and 2003. They are also the leaders in the current ICC Test Nations table. Dates in history of Australian cricket
November, 1868: 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England
15 March 1877: Test debut
28 December 1934: Women's Test team debut
5 January 1971: ODI Debut
23 June 1973: Women's ODI team debut
8 November 1987: Won 4th edition of Cricket World Cup by defeating England in the final match at Eden Gardens, Calcutta.
20 June 1999: Steve Waugh lifts the World Cup
23 March 2003: Ricky Ponting lifts the World Cup
Editor: Nishanth Gopinathan.