Five memorable Ashes series that prove there are no certainties
ENGLAND and Australia open the latest edition of the Ashes at Edgbaston tomorrow night, with the home side looking to wrestle back the urn.
Here is a look at five of the most memorable series between cricket’s oldest rivals:
The 2005 Ashes was one of the greatest series in history and saw England triumph over its fiercest rivals for the first time in almost 19 years.
It appeared to be business as usual for long-suffering England fans when Australia won the first Test at Lord’s by 239 runs.
But when Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath was ruled out of the second Test at Edgbaston after treading on a ball during practice on the morning of the match, England took charge.
England’s Andrew Flintoff starred with bat and ball and when Australia was 175-8, chasing 282 for victory, a home win looked assured. But Australia edged its way closer before last man Michael Kasprowicz was caught behind off Steve Harmison to give England victory by a two runs.
The third Test was drawn and England survived a brilliant four-wicket burst from leg-spin great Shane Warne to win the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.
England, needing a draw at 2-1 up to regain the Ashes, was in danger of defeat on the last day at the Oval until Kevin Pietersen’s breathtaking 158 and a fine 50 from Ashley Giles rescued it following a toporder collapse.
Rarely has one man done as much to win an Ashes as Ian Botham in 1981. Botham started the series as England captain, but after a defeat in the first Test at Nottingham and the embarrassment of bagging a pair in a draw at Lord’s, he resigned as skipper.
England was still in dire straits after being made to follow on in the third Test at Headingley, with former England wicketkeeper Godfrey Evans, who had become an odds-setter for British bookmaker Ladbrokes, making it a 500-1 outsider to win the match.
Botham’s astonishing counter-attack innings of 149 not out, however, meant Australia was set a target of 130 before fast bowler Bob Willis’s inspired 8-43 saw England to an astounding 18-run win.
Botham’s scarcely believable return of 5-1 in 28 balls at Edgbaston ensured England won the fourth Test by 29 runs.
There were more heroics in the fifth Test when Botham’s blistering 118 set up a 103-run victory at Old Trafford that clinched the series.
Australia’s Dennis Lillee was returning from a back injury and fellow fast bowler Jeff Thomson’s previous Test had yielded unimpressive figures of 0-110. Yet they still ran through England’s batsmen in frightening fashion.
In the first four Tests Thomson took 33 wickets at 17.93 before he damaged his shoulder playing tennis on the rest day of the penultimate Test in Adelaide. Australia won the series 4-1. England’s only win came in the final Test when Thomson was missing through injury and Lillee broke down early.
An Australia side captained by Don Bradman in his final Test series swept all before it in an undefeated tour during which it won the Ashes 4-0.
Underlying its superiority, Australia was set a seemingly impossible target of 404 on the last day to win the fourth Test at Headingley.
Yet it got there for the loss of only three wickets, with Arthur Morris making 182 and Bradman an unbeaten 173.
But the series is best remembered for Bradman’s final Test innings at the Oval when, needing four for an average of a hundred, he was bowled for a duck by legspinner Eric Hollies and had to make do with a mark of 99.94.
The most controversial Ashes series of them all was brought about by a desire to curb Bradman’s phenomenal run-scoring.
England captain Douglas Jardine’s response was to deploy “leg theory” — bowling short to a packed legside field — with supremely accurate fast bowler Harold Larwood the spearhead of the attack.
It worked to the extent England won the Ashes 4-1, with Bradman’s average for the series reduced to 56.57.
But the use of what became known as “Bodyline”, which saw batsmen having to defend themselves rather than their stumps, was condemned as “unsporting” by Australian officials and almost provoked a breakdown in diplomatic relations.
TOMORROW will mark the start of an eagerly anticipated Ashes series but also the World Test Championship, a concept that has elicited some envy in cricket great Steve Waugh.
Rather than use a rankings system to determine the world’s best side, nine Test teams will contest a total of 72 matches across 27 series over the next two years.
The two teams with the most points will then square off in a 2021 final at Lord’s.
Waugh, who has long stressed the importance of funding and prioritising Test cricket, is thrilled to see the International Cricket Council’s attempt to ensure every red-ball contest has context.
The batsman, who captained an Australia outfit that won 16 consecutive Tests, said he would have loved to have taken part in a Test final at the home of cricket.
“Test cricket really needs this . . . I played for 18 years and many people said we were the No.1 Test side in the world, but I think unless you hold up a trophy or you can get to that final game then you’re not really sure,” Waugh said.
“For any team to play in that sort of game at one of the great grounds of the world, that’s something you would have aspired to.
“Our players really liked the big moments, the series where they were playing one versus two, where you knew the second-best team and trying to take your title.
“That brought the best out of the team, so definitely would have loved to be a part of that.”
He was speaking at Edgbaston, the venue where he first collected the ICC’s mace (awarded to the world’s topranked team) back in 2001.
Current skipper Tim Paine also praised the launch of the Championship, describing it as a “fantastic initiative”.
“We love playing Test cricket. It’s the pinnacle. We’re fortunate that it enjoys great support at home,” Paine said.
The Ashes remain well followed in England and Australia but Test cricket is otherwise largely played in front of dwindling crowds. The advent of lucrative Twenty20 leagues has many administrators fearing whether the longest format will remain commercially viable for some boards.