For a
list of all matches played by Australia, please visit
the Results
& Fixtures page. If you are interested
in checking out the Statistics for the 2005 Ashes series then click
here.
To
buy the 3 DVD Disc Highlights of the 2005 Series Click Here
Arguably
the best Ashes series, certainly in modern
Test history ended with England, underdogs at the start
of the summer, taking the main prize by 2 wins to 1.
This despite Australia outplaying England at Lord's
in the first
Test of the series, winning
by 239 runs.
England won
the second
Test in one of the closest finishes ever
witnessed in ashes history. Geraint Jones who had dropped
so many catches during the match took the all important
catch down leg side to close out the match by just two
runs, Harmison the bowler. Kasprowicz who's 59 run partnership
with Lee ended in controversial fashion when he was
adjudged caught at the wicket byt he umpire but replays
clearly indicated it was an error in judgment. Due to
the excitement of the finish, a DVD was produced with
the highlights from Edgbaston, a must have for all Pommie
cricket fans!
The third
Test was drawn thanks mainly to a dogged
156 from Ponting, a true captains innings. Despite Ponting's
loss of concentration after hours at the crease, Warne,
Lee and McGrath saw Australia hang for a draw. When
Ponting was dismissed McGrath and Lee had to survive
for 24 balls and survive they did. The giant scoreboard
counting down the number of balls remaining and the
solitary wicket in hand. It went down as one of the
most exciting draws ever seen at Old Trafford.
England edged
ahead following the fourth
Test at Trent Bridge. Notable performances
included a maiden hundred by Flintoff (102) and eight
wickets from Shane Warne.Requiring just 129 runs to
win, England found themselves in desperate trouble thanks
to ferocious bowling from Lee and the guile of the spin
master Warne. At 4 for 57 and 7 for 116, the game was
thrown wide open and would have resulted in a miraculous
win for Australia had it not been for Giles and Harmison
seeing them through to yet another tight finish.
With a lead
of 2-1, England required a draw from the final
Test of the series and for Australia, only
a win would to to retain the Ashes at 2-2. With the
majority of English fans celebrating at the poor long
range weather forecast, it looked inevitable that the
Ashes would be returning to the mother country for the
first time since 1987, an 18 year reign.
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But for Strauss'
magnificent 129 in the first innings England may not
have been celebrating on the final day. It was simply
a terrific performance. Shane Warne carried the bowling
attack with six wickets in the first innings and six
in the second to end the match with figures of 12-246,
ending the series with 40 wickets. Awesome performance
from someone Hoggard called "Over the hill"
before the Lord's Test! Despite a superb opening partnership
of 185 between Langer (105) and Hayden (138) the light
came to England's rescue. Long periods were lost to
poor light throughout and with no alternative left,
the tourists had to bat. The home side relished the
conditions with both Flintoff and Hoggard relying on late movement and swing to restrict
Australia to 367 all out.
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Pietersen
playing in his first full Test series hit a series winning
158 despite being dropped twice by Warne before the
batsman had scored 16 runs. The dropped catches proved
costly and together with a century partnership with
Giles, England took the game away from Australia. When
Australia went out to bat, they had no chance of scoring
the 300 plus runs required and when the umpires took
the players off for bad light after four balls, the
games was all but over.
Players were left wondering
if the game had ended and England fans unsure if they
could officially pop the corks on the numerous bottles
of champagne around the ground. However in an unsatisfactory
ending, stumps were announced the the celebrations began
in earnest.
Shane Warne
playing in his final overseas Ashes series took 40 wickets
at a cost of just 19 runs, a truly remarkable performance
and together with his batting performance, ran the eventual
man of the series (Flintoff) very close. To celebrate
this amazing series, a
3 Disc DVD of the series has been launched
- buy
it here.
