Australian cricket team in England in 2005

The Australian cricket team landed in England on 6 June 2005. Over the course of the summer, they played one Twenty20 International, a one-day triangular tournament with both Bangladesh and England, a one-day tournament with England, and five Test matches, the outcome of which would decide The Ashes. With Australia the top-ranked team in the World Test table, and England the second-ranked, this was the most eagerly anticipated Ashes series since the 1980s.

Warm-up matches

Australia won their first two warm-up games, a Twenty20 game against the PCA Masters XI at Arundel and a 50-over game against Leicestershire emphatically. However, the tide turned as they lost their next matches, firstly by 100 runs against England in a Twenty20 game, followed by a remarkable defeat to Somerset in a very high scoring match at Taunton.

One-day International series

The first international matches scheduled were as part of the Natwest Series against England and Bangladesh. In their first match, Australia lost to Bangladesh by five wickets in the last over, perhaps the biggest upset in recent memory. Just before that game Andrew Symonds was dropped for disciplinary reasons. The following day, Australia lost their second match in a row to England, due mainly to Kevin Pietersen's late batting onslaught. However, Australia remained undefeated throughout the rest of the series to tie a thrilling final against England at Lord's.

Australia's next tournament was a three match Natwest Challenge One-day International tournament against England. Despite losing the first match, they bounced back to take the series 2-1. After a drawn 3-day match against Leicestershire, the main part of the tour - the Tests against England for The Ashes - were about to start.

The Ashes Tests

With all the hype preceding Australia's arrival in England, especially Glenn McGrath's assertion that Australia would win 5-0, many people expected a good, tight contest, although Australia's fans predicted a clear overall victory. English fans were quietly confident that their strong run - winning 15 and drawing 2 of their last 18 Test matches - would continue and they could at least stand up to Australia, having lost the last eight Ashes series.

First Test

What followed surprised everyone - England's hostile pace bowling ripped through Australia in the first Test, reducing them to 190 all out. However, Australia replied in style by skittling England out for 155, with only Pietersen - playing in his Test debut - able to resist. During this innings, McGrath took his 500th Test wicket. Australia then fared considerably better in their second innings to win the first Test by 239 runs.

econd Test

After another drawn 3-day match, this time against Worcestershire, came a pivotal moment of the series. While warming up for the second Test at Edgbaston, McGrath injured his ankle stepping on a cricket ball and was unable to play in the Test. At the last moment, Michael Kasprowicz was included in the team, but Australia had lost their bowling spearhead.

Having won the toss, the Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, decided to bowl first on a pitch suited for batting. England batted quickly and aggressively, scoring over 400 runs on the first day. England finished with a 99 run lead after the first innings, and although the Australians put up a fighting tail-end batting display on the fourth day (they needed 107 runs with only two wickets in hand at the end of the third day), England held on to win by two runs - the closest runs victory in Ashes history.

Third Test

The third Test match was held at Old Trafford, and again England took a large first innings lead, the England innings notable for Shane Warne taking his 600th Test wicket and Michael Vaughan scoring the first century of the series. Glenn McGrath had also returned from injury, returning the Australian side to full strength. Due to rain delays, the Australian first innings did not finish until the fourth day.

England then set about scoring quickly in their second innings (with the aim of declaring and bowling Australia out to win), setting Australia 423 to win with only a day and 10 overs remaining. Ricky Ponting batted for seven hours on the final day to score the first Australian century of the series, but was dismissed with only four overs left and Australia's last two batsmen facing them. Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath managed to hang on for those four overs to salvage a draw for Australia, with England unable to take the last wicket.

Australia then played a two-day match against Northants, a drawn match in which Australia opted for batting practice instead of trying to force the win.

Fourth Test

For the second time in less than a month, Glenn McGrath was ruled out of a test due to injury - this time with elbow problems. Australia also dropped Jason Gillespie from their side after taking just three wickets so far in the series. In contrast, England remained with their original starting XI from the first Test. They carried on their first innings form with their best of the series (477 all out), before England's bowlers managed to swing the ball prodigiously to leave Australia at 99/5 and 175/9. Despite the best efforts of Brett Lee, Australia finished 259 runs behind England and were asked to follow-on - for the first time in 17 years. However, with the need to bowl for two innings in a row, Simon Jones, England's best swing bowler, started showing signs of injury and was taken to hospital for a scan on his ankle. Australia were then able to post a target for England to chase, but on a wearing pitch with Shane Warne getting large amounts of turn, England struggled in their pursuit of 129, winning by three wickets in the end.

Australia then played a two-day match against Essex, in which Essex reached 500 in the first day before declaring, while Australia reached 500 on the second day. The match finished in a high-scoring draw, as no team was able to dismiss the other twice.

Fifth Test

For the first time in the series, England made a change to their side - Simon Jones' ankle injury meant that England needed to replace him. With England 2-1 up with one to play, Australia needed a victory to level the series (and thus retain the Ashes). With this in mind, England decided to call up Paul Collingwood, an all-rounder and England's best fielder, rather than a like-for-like bowler.

England won the toss and elected to bat, reaching 373 in their first innings. Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer then batted through to the end of the second day, coming off for bad light before the scheduled close of play. With Australia needing to force the victory, many were surprised at this move.

The third day was also affected by rain and bad light, with only half of the scheduled overs being bowled. Australia again came off early for bad light, but as they were only 96 runs behind England and still had eight wickets in hand, they were possibly hoping to establish a significant lead and bowl England out cheaply.

An Australian collapse after lunch on the fourth day meant England were actually leading by six runs after the first innings. With Australia needing to dismiss England and score more runs than them, England merely had to bat for as long as possible, denying Australia the time needed to force victory. Thanks to Kevin Pietersen's maiden Test century on the fifth day, and Paul Collingwood batting patiently for 10 runs in 51 minutes in the second innings, Australia were left with a target of 342 runs with only 19 overs remaining in the day. With Steve Harmison opening the bowling for England, Australia were offered the light in the first over of their second innings and accepted, leaving Rudi Koertzen and Billy Bowden to remove the bails at 18:17 BST to signal a drawn match and the series victory for England.

During the presentations, Pietersen was voted Man of the match for his innings of 158, while Andrew Flintoff and Shane Warne received the Man of the Series awards, nominated by the opposing team coaches (Duncan Fletcher for England and John Buchanan for Australia). In addition, Flintoff was awarded the inaugural Compton-Miller medal for the overall "Man of the Series", nominated by the two chairmen of selectors, David Graveney and Trevor Hohns.

The matches

Limited-over games

PCA Masters XI v Australians (9 June)

"The Australians beat the PCA Masters XI by 8 wickets"

The 2005 Ashes tour started with the Australians taking on a Professional Cricketers Association eleven at the picturesque ground at Arundel in a Twenty20 game. A crowd of 11,000 turned up to see the tourists win with one ball to spare, although in practice the result was always clear after an opening partnership of 131 between Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden. The Aussies got an ideal start as Stephen Fleming edged Brett Lee's first delivery to the slips and the Masters XI were 0 for 1, having been put in to bat by Australia. Darren Maddy made 70 in 57 balls and Paul Collingwood (38) and Mark Ealham (39) also scored runs, but the rest of the team made little impression as the PCA Masters XI made 167 for 6. The Aussies lost only two wickets in making their target. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/AUS_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS_PCA-XI_09JUN2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Leicestershire v Australians (11 June)

"The Australians beat Leicestershire by 95 runs"

The Australians put in a strong performance at Grace Road, with Matthew Hayden making 107 off 96 balls, Damien Martyn 85 off 103 and Andrew Symonds 92 off 59 as they made a huge 321 for 4 off their 50 overs. 72 of their runs came off the final 5 overs. Leicestershire never threatened in reply, with Ottis Gibson, who came in at 8, the only man to make 50. Gibson had earlier taken two wickets for Leicestershire, who finished well short of the target on 226 for 8. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/AUS_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS_LEICS_11JUN2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

England v Australia (13 June)

Ricky Ponting chose to bat when he won the toss for the visiting Australian cricket team in an extremely tense and see-sawing match at The County Ground, Bristol. It looked like a great decision when Jon Lewis and Darren Gough were smashed about early on, as Australia made their way to 57 for 0 after 11 overs with Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden taking sixes off Lewis over midwicket. However, with the entrance of Steve Harmison, everything changed. In his third over - the twelfth of the game, he removed Gilchrist with a bouncy ball that the batsman edged behind, then Ponting with a yorker that he didn't play at - resulting in lbw - then a dot ball, and then Martyn with a slog shot to Pietersen at third man. Australia tried to consolidate, but when Hayden tried to hit out off Harmison four overs later, Paul Collingwood jumped up to pick the ball out of the air with his right hand - a magnificent catch, and Australia had lost four wickets for six runs, reminiscent of their collapse in the Twenty20 match earlier on in the week.

Australia dug themselves out of the hole, however, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey slowly accumulating to increase the rate. England clearly lacked a fifth-bowler, opting instead for Vikram Solanki to bat down the order, so they used a combination of Michael Vaughan, Solanki and Collingwood to get through their ten required overs. That let Australia off the hook, with Clarke and Hussey adding 105, before Jon Lewis - who had been taken to the cleaners earlier on - dug out Michael Clarke with an inside edge onto the stumps, taking the fifth wicket of the game at just the right time. Shane Watson accumulated well with Hussey, however, hitting six an over as Lewis was smashed about again, but Harmison got his revenge by completing his first five-wicket-haul in ODIs as Hussey was beaten by a slower ball - the first time Hussey had been dismissed in One-day Internationals, for a batting average of 229. Then, Andrew Flintoff was brought back, getting a splendid yorker in for Watson, who was out for 25 just as the Aussies were preparing to hit out - the score 220 for 7 after 44.1 overs. Jason Gillespie and Brad Hogg survived a couple of overs from Flintoff and Harmison - meaning that Harmison finished with five for 33 off ten overs. Towards the end, Australia built up again, before losing Gillespie to a top edge, but 244 for 8 with seven balls remaining still looked difficult for England to chase. Gough dug out Michael Kasprowicz with a yorker with two balls to spare, and four legbyes ended the innings to take Australia to 252 for 9.

England started positively in reply, taking 39 off the first 34 legal deliveries (while Gillespie served up four wides and a no-ball in his first over), but Glenn McGrath took revenge by serving up a good yorker to have Marcus Trescothick bowled for 16. Two overs later, Andrew Strauss went in identical fashion, and Vaughan and Collingwood were forced to consolidate. They did, although in jerky fashion, Collingwood eventually falling to Kasprowicz and Flintoff mistiming a hit off Hogg to see England into a spot of bother at 119 for 4 after 27.2 overs, with Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen at the crease. Edges and runs followed, but when England lost Vaughan and Geraint Jones in quick succession, and were 93 short with only 74 deliveries left, it looked dark for England. Pietersen then upped the ante. Smashing runs to all corners, especially off Gillespie, he reached his fifty off 46 balls, and then took 19 more deliveries to bring up an additional 41 runs - although surviving an extremely close run-out decision near the 40th over. A level headed 7 not out from Lewis - making up somewhat for his bowling - ensured the English were home by three wickets and fifteen deliveries - and the Australians had only managed two points from their first two matches, while England had gained 11. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OD_TOURNEYS/NWS/SCORECARDS/AUS_ENG_NWS_ODI3_19JUN2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)] '

England v Australia (23 June)

The eighth match of the NatWest Series eventually became an anti-climax, but for large parts of the match it wasn't - despite the fact that both teams had qualified for the final before the last game. Ricky Ponting won the toss and chose to send his openers in - and they took advantage. Darren Gough was innocuous, conceding 23 runs in his first two overs, prompting a bowling change in the fifth over, sending Steve Harmison on. Meanwhile Simon Jones got some swing with the new ball - and, yet again in this series, Adam Gilchrist was caught behind off a swing bowler, out for 19. Shortly afterwards, Jones tried to throw the ball back at the wicketkeeper as Matthew Hayden pushed it back to him, but Jones hit Hayden with the balls, and a few words were exchanged - Paul Collingwood joining in the fray as well.

However, the match got on, Jones and Harmison putting on the pressure and eventually having Hayden lbw on 14 - after he had failed to score from the last eleven deliveries. Damien Martyn then faced five dot-balls, and Jones served up a wicket maiden, and Australia were at 46 for 2 at the end of the tenth over. However, that was as good as it got for England. Andrew Flintoff dug out skipper Ricky Ponting for 34, but it mattered little, as Martyn and Andrew Symonds took advantage of the bowling. Michael Vaughan tried to put himself on, but Symonds smashed him over midwicket for six - the first of the match, displaying the despair. With some no-balls from Gough, and Simon Jones getting smashed early on, Australia were 220 for 4 after 42 overs, and looked on course for 300. However, the run-out of Symonds for 74 changed the course of the innings. Michael Clarke departed for three, a good catch by Geraint Jones behind the stumps, and Harmison then served up a wicket-maiden in the 46th over, of all things. With Brad Hogg and Jason Gillespie giving soft catches to Gough, that redeemed his figures somewhat, but he still conceded 70 runs. The last over from Flintoff was very good, however, conceding only three runs with yorkers directed at the feet of the batsmen, and Australia had to be content with 261 for 9.

England's chase was interrupted once by rain, after three overs, when they were eight for 0, but coming back they were set 200 to win in 33 overs. That was never possible - rain started again after three more overs - and when Andrew Strauss fell the umpires decided that play was no longer possible, and a no-result was declared. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OD_TOURNEYS/NWS/SCORECARDS/AUS_ENG_NWS_ODI8_28JUN2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Australia v Bangladesh (30 June)

England were lucky to win the toss and get a chance to bowl under cloudy skies at Headingley, as they beat Australia by nine wickets to take their second victory in five ODIs so far. Putting Australia in to bat, they didn't get immediate reward - as especially Darren Gough was smashed about by Adam Gilchrist, but the run rate at least stayed around four an over. And with Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff removing the openers in successive overs, things looked brighter for the English. Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn added 39 for the next wicket, but in 11 overs, all while the English captain Michael Vaughan set attacking fields according to the new power play rules.

England all-rounder Paul Collingwood came on as third-change bowler, and used the helpful conditions to incite Ponting's demise, as Kevin Pietersen held a catch to dismiss the Australian captain for 14, and Collingwood continued to end with four wickets for 34 runs, as Australia slumped from 107 for 2 to 159 for 6 - all wickets courtesy of Collingwood. However, Michael Hussey showed his skills from number seven yet again, as he made a 52-ball 46 - while the ball was still moving around due to the cloud cover - and lifted Australia to 219 for 7.

The English reply was initially jittery. The pace of Brett Lee and accuracy of Glenn McGrath shook the English opening batsmen Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss. Trescothick, for example, was caught off a no-ball from Lee, but survived, as the openers lasted nearly 25 overs - before Strauss was caught behind off Brad Hogg for 41. By that time, however, the sun had come out, the ball didn't swing much in the air, and as Lee kept on bowling no-balls - seven in total - things simply wouldn't work out for Australia. Trescothick used 132 balls to bring up his century, skipper Michael Vaughan made a healthy contribution with 59 not out, and England brought up the winning total with four overs to spare. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OD_TOURNEYS/NWC/SCORECARDS/AUS_ENG_NWC_ODI1_07JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

England v Australia (10 July)

Day One

A low-scoring first day of cricket at Lord's included two batting collapses, first from Australia and then from England who got their go at batting just before tea. Ricky Ponting won the toss and chose to bat, and after Steve Harmison had shaken up the opening batsmen early on, hitting Australia's batsmen with bouncers, in particular one that had Justin Langer on the elbow, a procession of wickets began. Matthew Hoggard was inaccurate, but the early swing under the cloud suited him, and the ball that he did get on line swung between bat and pad to smash into Matthew Hayden's off stump. Australia still scored quickly, helped by aggressive field placings from England, but Harmison got the reward for short and pacy bowling when Ricky Ponting edged him to Andrew Strauss at third slip for 9. Langer, who had looked immaculate all morning and taken on the bowlers, was next to depart, Michael Vaughan getting reward with his bowling changes as Andrew Flintoff lured Langer into an expansive pull to Harmison at square-leg. And when Simon Jones was brought on in the sixteenth over, he got an immediate reward, with Damien Martyn gone for 2. Another man came and went before lunch, Michael Clarke, and Australia were five down after the first session of play.

Adam Gilchrist, Simon Katich and Shane Warne all played a part in getting Australia past 100, with their scores in the 20s, but Harmison - coming back for a second spell - wrapped them up with variations in length along with his ever-reliant pace. He finished with five for 43, allowing Glenn McGrath to be stranded on 10 not out, and McGrath was to take centre stage when England batted. They survived six overs until tea, scoring ten runs, but McGrath, who bowled his usual accurate line and length and got the odd ball to move, reaped massive rewards. Marcus Trescothick fell first ball after tea, edging to slip, and Strauss fell in similar fashion three balls later. Michael Vaughan and Ian Bell were shaken up, but survived six overs - before McGrath started the torture again. They were both bowled, as was Andrew Flintoff, and England had lost five wickets for 21 runs, with five of their front line batsmen out in single figures. However, Kevin Pietersen and Geraint Jones gave England a glimmer of hope, pairing up for 58 before Brett Lee's reverse-swing with the old ball induced a backward edge off Jones' bat to Adam Gilchrist. Ashley Giles hit two quick boundaries, but a short pacy ball from Lee undid him, and England were 92 for 7 overnight - needing 98 for the last three wickets to get level with Australia.

Day Two

England's difficulties continued in the morning. Despite McGrath not getting nearly as much swing, Hoggard departed for an eight-ball duck, cutting a delivery from Shane Warne to Hayden in the slips. Throwing caution to the wind, Pietersen launched himself into his natural game, taking twenty-one runs off seven deliveries before finally being out caught by Damien Martyn, a splendid catch just metres off the ropes, as England looked to subside for 130. However, in yet another twist, Simon Jones and Harmison fought back with some streaky accumulation, pairing up for 33 - the fifth-highest partnership of the game thus far - to reduce Australia's lead to 35 runs. England also got a good start fielding, Pietersen having a flat throw at the stumps to run out Langer for 6, but Hayden and Ricky Ponting rebuilt well.

In fact, the entire top order apart from Langer batted to high scores, but Clarke needed an extra life to do it. Pietersen dropped him on 21, with the Australian score 139 for 3, and instead of England getting the vital breakthrough Clarke and Martyn ran away with it, hitting 155 in 34.3 overs. Flintoff was smashed to all corners, and his figures read for 84 runs in nineteen overs, but England fought back late in the day - in the frantic last ten overs, started by an inside-edge from Clarke off Hoggard, Australia lost four wickets for 24 runs. However, Australia had gained a lead of 314 runs by the end of the second day, and still had Katich there on 10.

Day Three

Four overs into the morning, Ashley Giles returned what could arguably be said to be his most useful contribution of the match, having Brett Lee run out for 8. However, the always defensive Jason Gillespie proved too difficult to get out for England, Harmison menacing him with bouncers and yorkers but not managing it, and it was the quietly toiling Jones who finally got his reward with an away-swinger that crashed into Gillespie's off-stump - after having a number of catches dropped, one especially simple one by namesake Geraint. Glenn McGrath and Katich continued with a partnership of 43, as England was set what would be a world record 420 to win.

They started positively, riding their luck and good favour with the umpires - a number of lbw appeals were turned down both before and after tea - as Strauss and Trescothick paired up for 80 for the first wicket before Strauss edged a classic pace-man's short-ball from Lee back into the bowler's waiting hands. Vaughan got nicely off the mark with a four with his second ball, however, suggesting that England would be playing positively to get the target - but Lee and Warne just kept pounding. Trescothick departed for 44, edging a straight ball from Warne to first slip - having taken him for ten in the previous over - and Bell was left hopelessly plumb to a ball that didn't turn. When Vaughan - who had failed to buy a run off the last 23 deliveries - was bowled comprehensively by Lee, there was nowhere to hide for England, and not even an unbeaten 42 from Pietersen to see England to stumps could hide the inevitable - that England needed 301 for the last five wickets, with a world-class bowling attack at the other end.

Day Four

Rain frustrated both Australia and neutral fans on the morning of the fourth day, but after four hours the sun finally broke through and the covers were taken off. It only took ten 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 all gone for ducks - as England could only add 24 runs, 22 of them from Pietersen who was left stranded on an unbeaten 64 to have a Test batting average of 121 after the first match. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/AUS_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS_ENG_T1_21-25JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Worcestershire v Australians (30 July-1 August)

"Match drawn"

The first day only allowed one over of play, after Vikram Solanki sent Australia in to bat and Justin Langer hit a four off Kabir Ali. On the second day, Langer and Matthew Hayden accumulated 110 for the first wicket, and runs just kept flowing as the Australians made 402 in a day - Brad Haddin top-scoring with 94, Jason Gillespie making an unbeaten 53 including two sixes, while Nadeem Malik got the best bowling figures three wickets for 78. Ali, meanwhile, was punished, to end with 124 conceded runs in 20 overs.

Worcestershire got off to a good start on the final day, Stephen Moore and Solanki making 85 for the fourth wicket after Jason Gillespie shook the top order early on. However, Michael Kasprowicz took four quick wickets as Worcestershire imploded from 133 for 3 to 151 for 9, while a bit of late order slogging from David Pipe and Malik sent the score to 187. Malik was last out, caught and bowled by Kasprowicz to complete the Australian's five-wicket-haul and mark the end of the Worcestershire innings. Australian captain Ricky Ponting opted for batting practice, and the Australians made 168 for 2 before stumps, Ponting scoring an unbeaten 59 while Michael Clarke, who was promoted to opener, also repaired a first-innings failure, making 59 off 55 balls before being run out. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/AUS_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS_WORCS_30JUL-01AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

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Day One

Glenn McGrath was once again ruled out due to injury, this time to his elbow, and Australia also dropped the out-of-form Jason Gillespie, leaving them with a seam attack of Brett Lee, debutant Shaun Tait and Michael Kasprowicz. England, having been on top in the last two Tests, were unchanged.

England won the toss and chose to bat, and they got off to a flyer. Boosted by no-balls from the seamers — a total of 18 before lunch — Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss made hay quickly, and enjoyed batting on a pitch which gave the bowlers no aid. They recorded their second 100-run opening partnership of the series, before Strauss was freakishly dismissed for 35, sweeping Shane Warne onto his boot and into Matthew Hayden's waiting hands at slip — a wicket confirmed by the third umpire. Michael Vaughan continued on his fine form from Old Trafford, though, punishing bad balls from Brett Lee to go into lunch with his score on 14. Trescothick, meanwhile, rode his luck, as he was bowled off a no-ball on 55, much to Lee's displeasure. At lunch England were 129 for 1.

Only 3.1 overs were possible in the afternoon session due to rain. Coming back after tea, England immediately lost two wickets to Shaun Tait, who used the cloud cover to good effect and swung the ball well. However, Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen batted well together for a 67-run partnership, although they were each dropped once. Towards the end of the day, Ricky Ponting brought himself on, and his medium pace yielded a wicket — that of Vaughan for 58. Overnight, the match was evenly poised with England 229 for 4.

Day Two

Australia dismissed Pietersen at the beginning of the morning's play, edging a full oustwinger from Lee through to wicket-keeper Gilchrist. But an unbeaten century partnership from Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones 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 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 and Simon Jones — including an incident where the ball hit the stumps but the bails failed to fall off — saw England to 477 all out at tea.

In the evening session, England's bowlers, especially Matthew 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 lbw, was a debatable decision — television replays indicated that the ball might have hit the bat before the body). By stumps Australia had been reduced to 99 for 5 to complete an excellent day for England.

Day Three

Simon Katich and Adam 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. Brett Lee added 47 in 44 balls, including three huge sixes, to take Australia's score to 218, before he was caught off Simon Jones's bowling to give Jones his fifth wicket of the innings. Despite their aggressive batting, Australia therefore finished the first innings 259 runs behind.

Michael Vaughan then gambled, by enforcing the follow-on on the visitors (the first time Australia had followed on in 17 years). By lunch, Australia had reached 14 without loss in their second innings, and they powered on in the afternoon session, only losing Matthew 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 Andrew Strauss dropped Justin Langer 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 ran out Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who verbally expressed his displeasure at England's use of subs to the players, umpires and administrators as he left the field.

Day Four

Day Four began in earnest with Michael Clarke and Simon 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, "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 Matthew Hoggard's taking of Clarke's and then Adam 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 and Kevin Pietersen were quickly nullified by the dismissal of Warne for 45 and Kasprowicz for 19, and after a few overs' resistance Tait was bowled middle stump for 4, leaving 129 for the English to chase after tea.

England then proceeded to send the game into a nailbiter — English wickets fell quickly as Shane Warne took four wickets (including those of Marcus Trescothick (27), Michael Vaughan (0) and Andrew Strauss (23)). Brett Lee dismissed Ian Bell (3) and at 57 for 4 England were in trouble. Andrew Flintoff (26) and Kevin Pietersen (23) then steadied the ship with an invaluable partnership of 46 before both fell in quick succession to Lee. Despite Geraint Jones (3) being dismissed cheaply, the partnership of Ashley Giles (7) and Matthew Hoggard (8) guided the English home. Man of the match honours went to Andrew Flintoff, but more importantly this gave the English a crucial 2–1 edge 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.

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/shared/fds/hi/statistics/cricket/scorecards/2005/8/11881/html/scorecard.stm (BBC Scorecard)]
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/england/4192310.stm Ashes Reactions from the public (last day)]

Essex v Australians (3-4 September)

"Match drawn"

Both sides surpassed 500 in their innings in this two-day match, which included four centuries and expensive bowling figures on either side - as Jason Gillespie was the most economical, with an analysis reading 22-3-80-0. Essex batted first at Chelmsford after winning the toss, and Will Jefferson added 140 for the first wicket with Alastair Cook before being bowled by Michael Kasprowicz. However, the second-wicket partnership was worth even more than the first. Cook slashed 33 fours and one six on his way to 214 - which would have been his highest first class score if the match had had first class status - and added 270 with Ravinder Bopara.

After 105 overs, Essex declared with the score 502 for 4, giving Australia the turn to exploit bad bowling and a flat pitch. Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden added 213 for the first wicket, Hayden went on to make a 118-ball 150 before retiring, while Brad Hodge was allowed to top score with 166 from number 4, including a 161-run fifth-wicket partnership with Brad Haddin. For Essex, James Middlebrook got the best bowling figures with two for 110, including Adam Gilchrist for 8, as Australia finished the day's batting practice with the score 561 for 6. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/AUS_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS_ESSEX_03-04SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

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Team changes

Australia named Glenn McGrath, recovered from an elbow injury, to replace Michael Kasprowicz. 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, in preference to specialist fast bowler James Anderson.

Day One

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 won his third toss of the series (much to the delight of the Brit Oval crowd). Vaughan elected to have his English side to bat first, and the English first innings got underway. Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss added 82 for the first wicket, as England's batsmen looked to take on the Australians, but subtle spin variations bowled from Shane Warne yielded three wickets as England went to lunch on 115 for 3.

Shane Warne continued after lunch by taking the wicket of Kevin Pietersen for 14. Andrew Flintoff emerged to form a vital partnership of 143 with Andrew Strauss, before to falling to Glenn McGrath for 72 an hour after tea. Strauss made his 2nd century of the series, before being dismissed by Shane Warne off an acrobatic catch by Simon Katich. The day ended with Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles 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 Two

Day two began positively for the Australians, with Jones being bowled for 25 off Brett Lee, and Matthew Hoggard managing a meagre 2 before being dismissed by McGrath. However, Ashley Giles and Steve Harmison 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 forging a 100 partnership with fellow opener Matthew Hayden — the first opening-partnership century of the series by the Australian cricket team. Langer played some blistering strokes off Giles' bowling in particular, but survived a sharp chance to Marcus Trescothick at first slip. 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 Three

After a delay for wet field conditions, the third day began with a flurry of action, as both Justin Langer and Matthew 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 due 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 Justin Langer, who departed to a rapturous ovation. Ricky Ponting 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, while Flintoff's hostile and accurate bowling was rewarded with the wicket of Ricky Ponting, caught at slip by Strauss. With this wicket, Andrew Flintoff equalled Ian Botham'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 Four

The fourth day started brightly for England, Damien Martyn 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 Matthew Hayden been brought to an end by Andrew Flintoff. Flintoff continued with impetus and trapped Simon Katich lbw for 1, before Hoggard had Adam Gilchrist lbw with an inswinger 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. Geraint 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 Brett 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 Andrew Strauss, who was dismissed again by Shane Warne, caught bat-and-pad by Katich for a solitary run. The wicket was Warne's 167th against England, equalling Dennis Lillee's Ashes bowling record. 11 balls after this dismissal, umpires Rudi Koertzen and Billy Bowden judged it unfair to continue play due 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.

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/4234498.stm BBC day four synopsis]

Day Five

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 forty minutes, with Vaughan taking the game to the Australian bowlers, but McGrath produced two beautiful outswingers to dismiss him and Ian Bell with consecutive deliveries. The Australian charge was diminished by a couple of uncharacteristic dropped catches, but Warne and McGrath combined to take 4 wickets before lunch, leaving England 133 runs ahead with 5 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 Geraint Jones (1) decisively bowled when he was deceived by a rapid Tait delivery. Pietersen was finally dismissed for 158, a superlative innings including 15 fours and 7 sixes, while Ashley Giles added 59 and Steve Harmison was dismissed for a duck to bring Australia into bat with less 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. With no result in this fifth and final Test, England took the series 2-1, regaining the Ashes for the first time since 1987.

Kevin Pietersen, having scored his maiden Test century at a crucial point, was voted Man of the Match by Channel 4 viewers. Andrew Flintoff was chosen by Australian coach John Buchanan as English Man of the Series while English coach Duncan Fletcher selected Shane Warne as the Australian Man of the Series. The new Compton-Miller Award for the overall man of the series (as selected by each side's chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns and David Graveney) was also presented to Andrew Flintoff. Finally, the replica urn was presented to jubilant English skipper Michael Vaughan, thus ending the series in favour of the home side.

The next series, played in 2007, resulted in Australia regaining the ashes.

[http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/AUS_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS_ENG_T5_08-12SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)] [http://www.cric-century.com/videos (Cricket Videos)] of the Tour

References

* "Playfair Cricket Annual 2006"
* "Wisden Cricketers Almanack 2006"