[Cricket] Remembering the Ashes 2005

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Moi aussi, A wonderful feeling watching England trudge off on the final day at Lord's knowing that is the the LAST time the Aussies will have any Joy for the rest of the Summer and that they are going to lose the Series...

I was at Lords that day. It just felt like the summer was only going one way with plenty of loud aussies in the stands. The only highlight was the taunting of Jason Gillespie. What happened to him ?

 

[Lower West Stander]

My funniest memory was the final Test.

I was in Weston-Super-Mare with my then partner who accused me of wanting to go the match, that being the only reason we were there.

I was rather confused saying the match was a long way from Somerset.

'No it's not', came the reply, 'you said it was at Yeovil'

Remember being at work for the last day of the fifth test and no one was doing anything. I work in the financial markets and trading just totally dried up.

Had to go to a meeting and literally ran back to my desk to see if Pietersen was still in...


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[jakarta]

Remember being at work for the last day of the fifth test and no one was doing anything. I work in the financial markets and trading just totally dried up.

Had to go to a meeting and literally ran back to my desk to see if Pietersen was still in...


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Right, all you cricket fans need to get yourself over to the World Test XI thread which has mutated into a Fantasy Ashes where Bradman strokes his century off Anderson and Larwood beans Hayden and rips out Chappells off stump.

The last two games have been brilliant, 1-1 after Lord's and Trent Bridge, it's Edgbaston time and England don't do losing in Brummagem...
Local interest as England WK is one Matthew Prior...

 

[Machiavelli]

Yep, all of that is true. Funny you should talk about quicks, because I still think Simon Jones was the revelation. It was also good to see Ashley Giles respond to his absolute battering in the first test with some genuinely excellent spin bowling. He was never a match for Shane Warne, but when he was good in that series when he needed to be.

Simon Jones was something else, he really was.
Without wanting to show off, I saw all five days of The Oval test and, I think, also went to a day at Old Trafford (although that might have been a different year).

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Simon Jones was something else, he really was.
Without wanting to show off, I saw all five days of The Oval test and, I think, also went to a day at Old Trafford (although that might have been a different year).

Show-off.

 

[peterward]

The thing that gets overlooked was that Australia side were considered near-unbeatable. For good reason. Their record, both as a team and a set of individuals stood up with the great West Indies sides of the 70s and early 80s.

We had some promising players but had the scars of throwing away winning positions against them.

If you were making a composite side at the start of their series, there wouldn't be too many Englishmen in there. After losing the first test, I didn't know a single person who gave us a chance against them.

We won with the sheer force of personality of the likes of Freddie and KP (and a bit of luck with a misplaced ball in the outfield).

I'd actually place the Old Trafford test as my favourite. But they were all stupendous games.

Edgebaston was my favourite, the outrageous ending, from cruising to victory, to typical England throwing it away to the euphoria of actually winning, and of course Freddie with both bat and ball. That Flintoff over..... The Steve Harmisson slow ball to skewer Michael Clarke, last delivery of the day.....



But you're spot on. That Australia squad had a couple of hall of fame batsman, one of the best ever fast bowlers in McGrath, the best ever spin bowler and the best wicketkeeper batsman to ever have played the game in Warne and Gilchrist. It was a monumental sporting battle, knife edge stuff in each test after the first one.

 

[Machiavelli]

The strategy of resting our quicks and putting on great replacement fielders eg Gary Pratt was also a big plus. It annoyed Ponting a tad I seem to recall. It was indeed a magnificent series and as others have said the final one to benefit from free-to-air TV coverage which made a real difference to capturing public imagination and buy-in to test cricket. Test matches are still the best imho and while I’ve watched virtually all the coverage of tests that have been available in lockdown can not usually bother with one-day stuff - Jos Buttler excepted I guess

Yes, you're right on the replacement fielders. And Gary Pratt, your memory is mightily impressive.

 

[Bodian]

Remember being at work for the last day of the fifth test and no one was doing anything. I work in the financial markets and trading just totally dried up.

Had to go to a meeting and literally ran back to my desk to see if Pietersen was still in...


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I was in France staying at a mates during the fifth test. We went to some town with a cathedral - which the wives ooh-ed and aah-ed over, whilst we kept popping outside to listen to Radio 4 LW. The fourth day, we went for a walk - and I can still see us sheltering from the rain under a hedge listening to the last four wickets fall, and us somehow getting a first-innings lead when we should have been far behind. On the fifth morning we were tidying up the place, when McGrath almost got KP on a hat-trick ball. There was no reception indoors on the ferry, so we spent most huddled up behind the stacks!

And as for Edgbaston - we were driving home from visiting my Dad in the morning towards the end. We couldn't park near the house, and I simply couldn't get out of the car to run home in case I missed the crucial ball.

Marvellous times - the sort of things that (obviously) stick in your mind for decades. Which is what truly great sport is all about isn't it.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Freddie with both bat and ball. That Flintoff over.....

yeah I have watched that over a few hundred times I reckon.