2005: THE GREATEST ASHES - GROUND ZERO.
The prelims to arguably the greatest Test series there has ever been.
On Monday July 21st it is exactly 20 years to the start of the 2005 Ashes, generally regarded as the greatest (modern) Test series of them all. Many people I have met say this was the series that got them interested in cricket. It was the last England Test series covered live on ‘free to air’ TV - on Channel 4 - and at some points nine million viewers were tuned in to it. Being contested by an exciting England side and a star-studded Australian one who had held the Ashes for 16 years, it gradually captured the nation, especially as there were a sequence of nail-biting finishes. It made national heroes of several players, notably Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, and the team were superbly led by Michael Vaughan.
With my podcast co-host the BBC’s Simon Mann I have produced a six-part video and audio series to relive those epic Tests. Each programme features our memories intercut with exclusive interviews with the participants and selected match footage. The first audio episode is on The Analyst Inside Cricket podcast feed. The video is on the Analyst YouTube channel. The remaining five episodes will be released every five days to paying subscribers to this Cricverse blog. It’s only a small subscription and it pays for our work in this space which will hopefully keep you informed and entertained.
I kept a diary of the summer and I will be uploading regular sections from it as we go through the series to accompany the podcasts. This is the first instalment, detailing the Aussies’ reality check as they emerge from a couple of one day drubbings at the hands of England in the lead up to the Tests.
After the one-day series, the general verdict on the Ashes was pessimistic from England’s point of view. Most pundits predicted a 3-1 win to Australia, though Ian Botham said 3-2 and Mike Brearley and Dickie Bird preferred 2-1. Glenn McGrath inevitably predicted 5-0. A few wayward optimists - Gary Lineker, Phil Tufnell and Domimc Cork among them - had England to win. And so did I. Man for man, the Australians were more talented, but their bowlers were ageing and I felt they'd particula ly struggle in-the second and third Tests (Edgbaston and Old Trafford), which were back to back, with no recovery time.
Overall, I just had a feeling in my water about England. I had that feeling after mingling with Matt Dawson and Lawrence Dallaglio before the Rugby World Cup and I had it again now, having watched the cricketers at close quarters for some time, and having dinner with one or two of them. I had seen their collective drive and sensed that they really did believe that winning the Ashes was their destiny. I might, just might, be there when England at last regained the stupid receptacle. I bought a replica one from the Lord's shop to display in the Channel 4 VideoTape truck as a good-luck charm.
Just prior to the first Test, I spent a whole day with Freddie Flintoff. We were shooting links for a DVD entitled Freddie's Cricket Nightmares, a compilation of great action and comic moments aimed at the Christmas market. It was a week before his first Ashes Test, a matter of days until he took his place in a contest he'd been striving for ten years to enter. He intended to treat it like any other Test, preparing as usual with a pre-match dinner with the missus and his usual low key warm-up in the.morning. He said he wasn't placing too much expectation on himself. I guessed that in reality he didn't quite know what to expect.
Freddie Flintoff interviewed at the Oval a day after England’s Trafalgar Square victory parade
During our shoot Freddie was the opposite of a prima donna. He completed six hours of filming, repeating all man ner of skills and stunts and short soliloquies in stifling heat without once complaining. His lunch break was taken up with a magazine photoshoot. He instantly charmed the crew. If only real actors were that cooperative. It mirrored his attitude on the field. Revelling in hard work, he is stirred by responsibility. With an indomitable spirit, he was thriving as England's dynamo in the field, the team's spark with the ball. Michael Vaughan would increasingly turn to him as soon as the opponents' best player arrived at the crease (Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis in recent series) or when he needed a few controlling overs.
In that sense Flintoff's duel with Adam Gilchrist was going to be vital to the outcome of the Ashes Tests. Gilchrist was the samurai sword of the Aussies' flashing blades, arriving in mid-battle to apply the mortal strikes to an already wound ed opponent. An hour of him and the beast that you thought you had safely lassoed suddenly broke free and gored you. His average against England was a daunting 61. But against Flintoff in the one-day series, bowling round the wicket, Gilchrist struggled. He found the pace discomforting, the angle awkward and the persistence unwavering. It was clear England's strategy would be to try to save some Flintoff huff and puff for when the wicket-keeper swaggered in.
Flintoff's bowling had become truly world class. He delivered what we knew in the trade as a 'heavy' ball. I experienced that first hand when he bowled me a couple during our filming. One, barely above half pace, was just short of a length and hammered into the splice as I was still bringing the bat down, and scooted off to the third-man boundary before I'd finished the shot. He's invariably right on the mark from ball one, and has added shock deliveries - bouncers, yorkers and slower balls - to his accurate stock. He was bound to cause all the Aussie batsmen headaches. And yet more Test wickets would just deepen his own inner struggle, because what he really wanted to be was a batsman who bowled. 'My worst fears might be happening: I'm turning into a bowler,' he said, supping a Guinness after the day's work was done.
He reflected on the camaraderie that had developed of late in the England dressing room. 'We're all mates, we get on great. We've grown up at the Academy together - we're like a county team really. We're like eleven lads turning upto play cricket. The captain's really made a difference, encouraging us to enjoy ourselves, express ourselves. We respect the Aussies, but there's no fear. I think we can win the Ashes. I just can't wait for the contest to start.'
Great article to whet the appetite!