Greatest Ashes series: 3 of the best in England

As skipper Botham arrived at the first Test under pressure, lost it by four wickets and was then dismissed for a pair of ducks in a drawn second Test. A bitter resignation followed, but an SOS for the veteran strategist Mike Brearley proved the pitch perfect decision.

Freed from the shackles of captaincy, Botham produced his masterpiece in Leeds as his bloody-minded 149 not out following on dragged England back from odds of 500/1.

Bob Willis steamed in to deliver victory with the ball but Botham hogged the narrative with a sequence of five for one to settle the Edgbaston Test, another century in a winning cause at Old Trafford and a 10-wicket match at The Oval.

Vaughan’s men end the drought

2005: England 2 Australia 1

After many false dawns and eight consecutive series defeats, England finally reclaimed the urn for the first time since 1987.

Victory was made sweeter because of the calibre of the opposition, an all-conquering Australia studded with star names from one to 11. The likes of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were in harness, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist were in their prime years but England thrilled the nation by coming out on top.

Edgbaston 2005. What a Test match! pic.twitter.com/iIWahImjow

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 31, 2018

Despite a stinging defeat first up at Lord’s, the hosts would not be tamed. Andrew Flintoff levelled up to go from all-rounder to action hero, newcomer Kevin Pietersen arrived as a fully-formed world beater and a perfectly balanced pace attack hunted like a perfect pack.

Add in McGrath tripping on a ball and a nail-biting two-run win at Edgbaston and the so-called ‘greatest series’ was born.

England’s best Ashes moments on home soil

Five of the best Test matches at Headingley

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