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''This page is about the men's cricket contest. See Here for more information on the Women's Ashes series contested the same year.'' The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied Cricket rivalry between England and Australia . Starting on 21 July 2005 , England and Australia played five Tests , with The Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors. The final result was a 2–1 series win for England, who succeeded (for the first time since 1987) in their biennial attempt to win the urn. In March, Australia's captain, 2004 , retrieved 31 December 2005 , were suggesting that a 5–0 win in the series was a serious possibility. The BBC reported on the day after the series that it was "hailed as the most thrilling series ever" Ashes media watch , from BBC Sport, last updated 13 September 2005 , retrieved 31 December 2005 . This may have been due to the fact that some of the individual matches were closely fought, with one match decided by a two-run margin, and two matches could have ended with different results if three Wicket s had fallen, and that the outcome of the series was not decided until the very last day of the series. As mentioned, 2005 , retrieved 31 December 2005 . The third Test ended in a draw (with England one wicket away from a win), and England won the fourth Test in Nottingham by three wickets, losing seven men in a chase of 129, after England enforced the Follow On after gaining a lead of 249 on first Innings . The fifth and final Test started on 8 September at The Oval in London . It entered its final day with England batting in their second innings, 40 runs ahead with nine wickets in hand. Australia needed a win to force a 2–2 series draw and retain the Ashes; any other result would give the Ashes to England and end 16 years and eight series of Australian dominance. After a day of fluctuating fortunes, England established a lead of 341 after Kevin Pietersen 's century, and Australia batted for one over before the teams went off for bad light, Rudi Koertzen pulled the stumps out of the ground, and the match was declared a draw to ensure the return of the Ashes to England. Squads Match details First Test: England v Australia (21–24 July) Day One The first day of cricket at 2005 but he went on to make 40 and top score for Australia. The pitch offered bounce and swing from the start, while Matthew Hoggard got a ball on line to swing between Matthew Hayden 's bat and pad and into his off stump. Hayden was gone for 12, having, according to the BBC report, "played nervously from the word go". Australia still scored at a rate above 4.5 an over in the mini-session before drinks, which was taken when Harmison cut Ponting on the right cheek, and in his next over Harmison got his first wicket of the series Ricky Ponting edged him to Andrew Strauss at third Slip for 9. Langer was next to depart, having scored at above five an over when he top-edged a pull shot to Harmison at square-leg for 40 off the bowling of Andrew Flintoff , whose first over in Ashes cricket was a wicket maiden. In the next over, Simon Jones was brought on, he got an immediate reward, with Damien Martyn caught behind for 2, and in the penultimate over before lunch Michael Clarke was Lbw to Jones, leaving Australia were five down after the first session of play . 2005 , retrieved 31 December 2005 . Glenn McGrath was the Not Out batsman, ending with 10 runs, and he also opened the bowling with Brett Lee . England batted for six overs until tea without losing a wicket, scoring ten runs, but McGrath, who bowled his usual accurate line and length, reaped the rewards after tea. Marcus Trescothick fell first ball after tea, edging to slip to become McGrath's 500th victim in Test cricket, and Strauss fell in similar fashion three balls later. Michael Vaughan and Ian Bell survived six overs, adding seven runs before McGrath had them bowled in the 13th and 15th over respectively. With Flintoff Bowled by McGrath in the 17th, and England had lost five wickets for 21 runs, with five of their top six batsmen out in single figures. However, Kevin Pietersen and Geraint Jones batted together to make England's highest partnership of the innings, adding 58 and, according to the BBC report, "treating Jason Gillespie with some disdain" . A short ball from Brett Lee was too much for Jones, though, and he fended it to wicket-keeper Gilchrist to be out for 30. Ashley Giles hit two quick boundaries to bat out the over, but the last ball of Lee's next over was glanced to the keeper, and Giles was out for 11, and England were 92 for 7 overnight - needing 98 for the last three wickets to get level with Australia. Day Two England cut the deficit on the second morning, but were still bowled out before they could build a second-innings lead. 2005 , retrieved 1 January 2006 , and England were nine down for 122, still trailing by 68. The English tenth wicket pairing of Simon Jones and Harmison added 33 after that, a stand which was fifth-highest of the game thus far and which reduced Australia's lead to 35 runs. In the field, England started by having Langer Run Out for 6 in the fifth over, but Hayden and Ricky Ponting rebuilt to bat until lunch unbeaten. Though Hayden was on 22 July 2005 , retrieved 1 January 2006 , and thus the partnership was allowed to last for 34.3 overs, with 155 runs being scored. Flintoff was smashed to all corners, with 84 runs being scored off him in his nineteen second-day overs, but in the last ten overs England came back to take wickets. Started by an inside-edge from Clarke off Hoggard, which left Australia's 24-year-old batsman bowled for 91, and Australia lost a further three wickets for 24 runs before the end of the day. The Australian lead was still 314, twice England's first innings total and then some, and Katich was still batting, not out on 10. Day Three Four overs into the morning, specialist spin bowler on 23 July 2005 , retrieved 1 December 2005 . The last wicket partnership rubbed it in with 43 more runs before Katich was caught by Simon Jones off Harmison , but England were set what would be a World Record 420 to win. They started positively, riding their luck and good favour with the umpires; Aleem Dar turned down four Leg Before Wicket (LBW) appeals off Shane Warne , though the Cricinfo commentator only claimed that one of them should have been given. Strauss and Trescothick could thus add 80 for the first wicket before Strauss edged a short-ball from Lee back into the bowler's waiting hands. Vaughan got off the mark with a four with his second ball, however, before facing 24 dot balls in the next three-quarters of an hour. Meanwhile, wickets fell at the other end, as Trescothick departed for 44, edging a straight ball from Warne to first slip after having taken him for ten in the previous over, and Bell was out LBW to a ball that didn't turn. Three overs later, Vaughan was bowled cleanly by Lee and Flintoff gave a catch to Gilchrist, England were five down for 115, and though Pietersen once again put on more than 40 runs with Geraint Jones, England still needed 301 for the last five wickets, which would mean five partnerships higher than England had managed all match. Day Four Rain frustrated both 2005 . Then, it 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 were all dismissed for ducks, and England could only cut 24 runs off Australia's eventual win margin of 239. 22 of those fourth-day runs came from Pietersen who was left stranded on an unbeaten 64 to have a Test Batting Average of 121 after his first match. Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August) Day One The psychological battles before the match included many Australian statements to the press about how the pitch "played into hands" [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/engvaus/content/story/214826.html Australia look forward to slow Edgbaston pitch , from AFP, published on Cricinfo on 2005 . 2005 . The English innings began with 2005 , but the scorebook will always say he made 90, and that he was second out shortly after lunch, with the score 164 for 2 after 32.3 overs. In the next five overs, England lost both Ian Bell , who notched up his third successive single-figure score, and Michael Vaughan , who pulled a short Gillespie delivery to the hands of Lee , but that did little to slow the scoring rate. 132 runs had been taken in the morning session; the afternoon yielded 157. Kevin Pietersen , in his second Test match, hit ten fours and one six, and made a 103-run partnership in 105 balls with Andrew Flintoff . Flintoff's 68 was scored off 62 balls, and Lee's 18 balls were taken for 26 runs, including two sixes . Lee bowled 17 overs, and conceded 111 runs, but got the one wicket of Pietersen , who pulled to Simon Katich for 71 off 76 balls, and with the score on 342 for 7 with 24 scheduled overs remaining in the day. Then, Steve Harmison smacked two fours and a six in a 15-minute 17, and Simon Jones stuck around with Matthew Hoggard for a last-wicket partnership of 32, Jones making 19 Not Out . Shane Warne finally got the better of Hoggard, to end with four for 116, but by that time England had gone past 400 and ended up with a total of 407 in just under 80 overs. Just as Australia's opening batsman walked out and prepared for their innings, the rain began to fall on Edgbaston, and play had to be stopped . Day Two The quick scoring and the first Test result led commentators such as Cricinfo's UK editor Andrew Miller to believe that England's total "might have been 550 and more with a bit of top-order application" England's chancers miss a trick by Andrew Miller, published on Cricinfo on 2005 . Then, Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer hit runs just as quickly as England had done, before the Umpire 's finger went up twice more before lunch; Ricky Ponting swept a shot off Ashley Giles to the opposing captain Vaughan for 61, and Damien Martyn was Run Out taking a single for 20. Langer and Michael Clarke continued after lunch in the same vein, hitting 76 runs in an hour and a half, but a couple of wickets within five overs took Australia to 208 for 5, needing 199 for the last five wickets for parity. The partnership between Langer and Gilchrist saw them to tea with no further loss, as Langer continued his four-hour unbeaten knock and went into the tea break on 72. The pair looked to close England's lead and batted unbeaten after tea for eight overs, but again the England bowlers intervened - this time in the shape of 2006 However, England got their 99-run lead and continued to build their lead before stumps were drawn. After 2006 , Ponting brought on Warne in the seventh over, and Warne broke through with his second ball of the innings; his Leg Break came into the left-hander's stumps and broke them completely, and Strauss was bowled for 6. Nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard survived four balls to end the day - England still leading by 124, with nine wickets in hand. Day Three The third day saw a total of seventeen wickets fell, with Shane Warne and Andrew Flintoff being the leading performers for their sides. First up, Brett Lee grabbed three wickets in twelve minutes - Trescothick slashed a wide delivery and got an edge to the keeper, captain Vaughan got his third single-figure score in the series as he failed to cover his stumps to a straight one, and nightwatchman Hoggard edged to Hayden in the slips for 1. 2005 , and went on to make 20 before he was given out in a similar situation from Shane Warne . His 41-run partnership with Bell took England's lead past 150, and with Bell having batted past the hour mark, he needed 29 more for his half-century when he gave a tiny edge to Gilchrist . England's last recognised batting pairing, between Flintoff and wicket-keeper Geraint Jones , saw England to lunch, but Flintoff had suffered an injury to his left shoulder and looked in obvious pain, and Jones departed shortly after lunch. Giles lasted longer, batting through 45 minutes before he was caught by Hayden , and Harmison faced one delivery to leave England at 131 for 9. Jones and Flintoff carried on, however. Jones managed 12 runs in his 42-minute stay at the crease while Flintoff took Lee for 33 off the 28 balls he faced from the Australian paceman. Flintoff also took runs off Kasprowicz , with his third over yielding 20 runs for England, including a couple of No Ball s. At one point during Flintoff's innings, Ponting had nine men on the boundary, with only the bowler and the wicket-keeper inside the circle. However, Flintoff hit a six over them, too, and another of his sixes landed on top of the stands. Flintoff ended with 73, as the only man to pass 25 for England, before he was bowled by Warne. Warne finished with figures of six for 46 from 23.1 overs, having bowled unchanged from the seventh over till the end - but, as luck and Australia's batsmen would have it, his failure to get Flintoff out earlier would be crucial. Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer started positively, taking runs off the occasional bad balls that were served up by Harmison , Hoggard and Giles , and by the twelfth over they had racked up 47 for no loss, and were well on the way to chasing the target of 282. Then, Flintoff came in to bowl his first over. The ball was hurled down the pitch, and swung enough to deceive the Australian batsmen - Flintoff got Langer and Ponting out in the same over. Hayden kept going, and his dismissal came in an over where Australia had taken eight runs from the first four balls; however, 2005 . England kept on the pressure, getting three more wickets before the scheduled close of play; Giles getting two, dismissing Katich and Gilchrist , and an inswinging ball from Flintoff took care of Gillespie , who was trapped lbw. An extra half-hour of play was allowed, as a result was nearing, but Warne and Clarke defied the English. Warne "took the attacking approach", and took on Giles for 12 in one over. He ended on 20 not out overnight, as Warne and Clarke batted together for 40 minutes before Steve Harmison , bowling his third spell of the day, brought the third day's proceedings to an end with a slow delivery that was not read correctly by Clarke , who missed the ball completely to be Bowled . England now needed two wickets on the fourth day, while Australia needed 107 runs for the victory. Day Four England were said to be "on the brink of...victory", but Australia came back thanks to two partnerships worth more than 40 to take themselves within three runs of a 2–0 series lead. First, 2005 , which led the BBC reporter to suggest the "dismissal should not have been given". England were thus victors - if in almost the most narrow way possible - and the series tied with three matches left. Rather than engaging in the victory celebrations, the immediate reaction of Flintoff to the winning dismissal was to console the despondent batsmen,Brett Lee, – a gesture which was widely commented upon as indicative of the good , URL retrieved 5 January 2006 . England's two run victory was the narrowest result in Ashes cricket history thus far (there had been two Ashes Tests won by a margin of only three runs). It is also the second narrowest run victory in all Test cricket history. Tests - Lowest Win Margins by Runs from Cricinfo, retrieved 5 January 2006 Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August) Day One With the series square after England's close win in the second match at 2005 . After naming an unchanged line-up, 2005 . Though Strauss succumbed in the tenth over, England lost no further wickets before lunch, and only one more before tea. There were many missed opportunities for Australia , who dropped Trescothick, Vaughan (twice) and Bell on the first day, which helped Trescothick and Vaughan to get a partnership of 137 before Trescothick was dismissed after lunch. Vaughan powered on, making his hundred after 206 minutes to become the first man in the series to get a century. Having made 166 runs, an innings described as "majestic", Vaughan eventually hit Katich straight to McGrath at the boundary, but had still made what was to be the highest individual score in the series. Together with Vaughan, Australia were also faced with a more defiant Bell, who had not passed 25 in his four first innings in the series, but made 59 before the day ended. Picking up where Vaughan left off, Bell, Kevin Pietersen and nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard closed out the day for England with the scoreboard reading 341 for 5, with Lee adding two wickets to the tally before the end of the day. Day Two Bell did not add to his overnight score, being given out after scoring a quick-fire 46 and Geraint Jones for 42. After lunch Australia quickly dispatched the remaining two wickets for just a further 10 runs, bowling England out for a score of 444, with Glenn McGrath finishing on his worst-ever Test figures of nought for 86. Australia started their innings tentatively with Matthew Hoggard dropping a low catch Matthew Hayden off his own bowling. Just before tea Australia lost their first wicket with Hayden out caught at short leg from Ashley Giles first over. After tea Australia lost another couple of wickets, Ricky Ponting caught for seven and Hayden given out Lbw for 34. Gilchrist put on 30 before edging the first ball of Simon Jones ' spell to Geraint Jones. This brought in Michael Clarke who had been recuperating at the team hotel after damaging his back on the first day. Due to this injury, Clarke needed Hayden to act as a runner. Warne made inroads with the bat, just like at Edgbaston four days previously, but Clarke only managed to add seven runs before being deceived by a slower ball from Simon Jones. Warne and Jason Gillespie saw the day out with Warne finishing on 45 Not Out . The day finished with Australia on 214 for 7, 230 behind and needing another 31 runs to avoid a Follow-on . The score was adjusted from 210 overnight due to an umpire failing to signal a four Byes . Day Three Rain delayed the start of play until 16:00 BST, and even then only 8 overs were possible before play was again suspended, although a further 6 overs were bowled later on before yet more rain meant that play was abandoned for the day. Australia had the better of the short day's play, adding 50 runs without loss to pass the follow-on target, although Warne was lucky to survive on two occasions thanks to errors by had 55 he missed a relatively straightforward Stumping opportunity, and on 68 he was dropped after edging a ball from Flintoff . Australia closed on 264 for 7, still 180 in arrears, but England probably felt that they missed several opportunities to put the game beyond their opponents. Day Four Having been hampered by a rain-shortened day three, the Australians were ready to put more wood to the ball on day four, and they did not disappoint. Warne continued his march towards his maiden Test century before holing out with a hook shot to a well placed Giles at 90. Simon Jones mopped up the other two wickets to bowl Australia out for 302, Jones finishing the innings with a career best Figures of six for 53. The English opening batsmen of Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick began England's response, scoring 26 before lunch. After lunch, Trescothick played on to be Bowled after scoring 41 giving McGrath his first wicket of the match. Strauss put together a fine century, his sixth from just 17 matches, scoring 106 before getting out Caught . Gilchrist demonstrated how difficult wicket-keeping was by missing two stumping opportunities to remove Bell and failing to hold a catch to remove Flintoff . Bell capitalised on Gilchrist's errors, partnering Strauss for 28 overs and recording a well deserved 65. Geraint Jones also added a swift 27 with England more concerned about scoring quickly than staying at the crease, and England declared on 280 to give them a spell at Australia in thes evening and a chance of winning the match the next day. McGrath recorded another five-wicket haul in an innings, but was expensive, giving away 115 runs. Warne , despite bowling 25 overs, failed to take a wicket, recording figures of nought for 74. Australia needed 423 to win, which would be a record fourth innings total to win a match. Australia saw out the last 10 Overs without losing a wicket and put 24 runs, leaving 399. Day Five English hopes of a win were high, and 20,000 people were locked out of the stadium in addition to the 23,000 capacity crowd. Australia started the day needing 399 runs from 98 overs if they were to claim an unlikely victory. The day started poorly for them with Langer falling for 14 on the seventh ball of the day, nicking a ball delivered by Matthew Hoggard behind to Geraint Jones . Ponting narrowly survived being Run Out early on and this proved crucial in the context of the match as the momentum gradually swung in Australia's direction. At one point Australia racked up runs at such a rate that a win became a real possibility. Despite losing Clarke and Jason Gillespie in quick succession to send the team to 264 for 7, Ponting battled on before eventually succumbing to Harmison after seven hours on the crease to record the first Australian century of the series with a score of 156. This was good enough to earn Man of the Match honours. After the dismissal of Ponting, Australia were 354 for 9 with only four overs remaining, and another thrilling climax occurred with England having a real chance of snatching victory in similar fashion to the second Test. However the unfancied pairing of Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath handled the remaining 24 deliveries to finish on 371 for 9, 52 short of victory but sufficient to draw the game and leave the series tied at 1–1. (Cricinfo scorecard) Fourth Test: England v Australia (25-28 August) 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-ball s 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 . (BBC Scorecard) Ashes Reactions from the public (last day) Final Test: England v Australia (8-12 September) 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. 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, scheduled for 2006-2007, will be played in Australia with England defending the Ashes. (Cricinfo scorecard)
POST-SERIES Post-match reactions Immediately following the final match, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II sent a congratulatory memo to Michael Vaughan and the team, saying: "My warmest congratulations to you, the England cricket team and all in the squad for the magnificent achievement of regaining the Ashes... both sides can take credit for giving us all such a wonderfully exciting and entertaining summer of cricket at its best." Political leaders like Prime Minister Tony Blair , Conservative leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy also sent their congratulations, Blair stating that "By bringing the Ashes back after so long you have given cricket a huge boost and lit up the whole summer". Howard added "... Vaughan, his team, and all involved, should be proud of this achievement and the manner in which they have played during this extraordinary summer of excitement and tension." "England's victory is historic, and I send hearty congratulations to the team... It has been impossible not to get caught up by the excitement and sense of good will in the past few days," stated Kennedy. On the other end of the ledger Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard (who was in New York for a UN summit and was given the bad news by an aide during a luncheon with the Asia Society) was gracious in his congratulations to England. "Look, there's natural disappointment but it's a situation where you give credit to the team that won," Howard stated, noting that there would not be a national day of mourning. "They will no doubt celebrate and that will be difficult for some, but that's the nature of these contests and we should not take anything away from England...They played very well. It's the best team that England has had for a very long period of time." QEII press release to Michael Vaughan England team parade On Tuesday 13 September, England, along with their Women's Ashes Winning Counterparts , were feted with a 90-minute bus tour from Mansion House to Trafalgar Square , where they were greeted by tens of thousands of Londoners and cricket fans in a celebration of their momentous achievements (to the surprise of Hoggard, who expected "three men and a dog"). Thousands of people also lined the streets along the parade route as the two buses made their way to Trafalgar Square, as the team soaked up the feteing. While the rest of the team simply enjoyed the sights, 5th Test Man-of-the-Match Kevin Pietersen sprayed champagne from the bus onto joyous revelers on the street, while wicketkeeper Geraint Jones held onto a Dalek doll with the words "Australians exterminated" attached to it. (Ironically, Jones learned most of his cricket Down Under!) At Trafalgar Square, the crowd was treated to a victory celebration for both England teams, and before the ceremony closed the square broke into a rendition of " Jerusalem ", which has become an unofficial hymn for the team during the 5th Test. Interviews were carried out with all members of the men's team and Clare Connor , the captain of the women's team, by David Gower and Mark Nicholas , while the ceremony was broadcast live in the UK on BBC One , Channel 4 and Sky Sports News and around the world. Afterwards, the side was entertained by the Prime Minister as guests of honour at 10 Downing Street , then returned the urn to its sacred home at Lord's Cricket Ground for safekeeping. Australian criticism Almost immediately criticism began in Australia; the '' Sydney Morning Herald '' immediately took issue with the fact that not only was captain Ricky Ponting outstrategised by his opposite number Vaughan, but the side in itself was too old and simply did not score the runs when they were needed. '' The Age '' of Melbourne criticised the team for opening their big mouths once too often, hitting at Australia's earlier whitewash boast. Psychological Warfare , ''The Age'' went on to state, is great when it works, but when it backfires those who are responsible ought to be brought to account. Others were less kind, like former fast bowler Dennis Lillee . Writing in Perth's '' The West Australian '', he stated that all who perpetrated this "disaster" must be sacked, and Shane Warne be appointed the captain in place of Ponting (because of his long series of clutch performances that delivered time and again in this series) Losing to other sides is not the end of the world, stated Lillee, but losing the Ashes is. Former captain Steve Waugh defended the side, calling it "a very good side, a really experienced side. They will be disappointed but they will move on from it," he said, but also conceding that the selectors were likely to ponder a few changes given that only three of the Australia team at The Oval were aged under 30. "They'll have a couple of players in mind which they will bring in the side over the next couple of years," Along with Waugh, selector and former batsman David Boon defended their selections. "Sometimes you're going to have to make a hard decision to keep a subtle rotation going through so you don't have mass retirements...But you've also got to pick the best cricket team you possibly can to represent your country", he stated. "If we keep producing cricketers who are 25 plus, they're mature, they're ready to play, they've still got a seven or eight-year career, then we're doing OK." Ponting hits back, the axe falls Ponting was confronted by a large media pack shortly after his arrival at Sydney Airport and said he wasn't aware of Lillee 's comments. "I'm not concerned about those things. As long as I am doing the right thing by everyone in my dressing room as the team and the coaching staff, well then that's all I can do... But as long as I am looking after the guys in my dressing room, then I'll be happy," Ponting stated, adding that he wished to remain captain. Ponting also responded to Lillee's comments that ) and even Matty Hayden , Justin Langer , Damien Martyn ... The way I think is not going to be right 100 percent of the time, but that's the way I do it. Warne has got a cricket brain as good as anybody around. But I wouldn't agree was the pseudo captain ." Regardless, when the Australian side for the was retained only for the ODI squad, while Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz were dropped altogether. Brad Hodge , Stuart MacGill and Shane Watson were added in their places. While Cricket Australia officials have assured that these omissions are not a signal that the Test careers of these three players are over, many experts say otherwise. Lillee once again called for the replacement of Ponting as captain with Warne after the squad announcement, however this was once again rejected. England's epilogue With England 's victory in the series, the top of the ICC Test Championship rankings ladder changed slightly as the English closed in on the top-ranked Aussies. However, in a BBC interview the week after the series, Simon Jones claimed that the English should be regarded as the best, despite statistics and the Test Championship rankings speaking otherwise. "The Ashes series was talked about so much. People were wondering if England could do it and Glenn McGrath said Australia would win 5-0, but we beat them 2-1 and could have been 3-1 up after Old Trafford ." Jones told the BBC. "Australia are statistically the best side in the world, and rightly so. They've played so much great cricket over the past 10 years and built up an advantage on the points system...But I think that's changing and hopefully we will have the mantle one day." Meanwhile, as Pakistan and India prepared for the Ashes keepers' visit in the winter, with the Pakistanis relishing the opportunity to test their mettle against the side that took down the Australians, Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer stated,"England have done well but they have still to create that aura of invincibility of the West Indies of the 1970s and 80s and Australia recently.The side which does well in all three departments will win the series and we have to be very disciplined against England, who have quality batsmen and bowlers." Following their performances in the series both Andrew Flintoff and Michael Vaughan were given the Freedom Of The City in their hometowns of Preston and Sheffield . On 29 September , the Royal Mail issued a set of four Stamps commemorating the Ashes victory. The stamps cost 68p — which is, incidentally, the cost of sending first-class mail to Australia. SEE ALSO NOTES REFERENCES
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