Greatest Ashes Tests this century: England and Australia gear up for another bout of Ashes starting tomorrow. It is the Aussies who currently hold the urn with their 4-1 win over England in 2021-22 down under. Australia though has failed to win an Ashes series in England over two decades. Their last win came on England soil in 2001-02. Steve Waugh was the captain of the side then. The Australian team came close to winning it in 2019 but lost out owing to the barest of margins.
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In part I of this series, we look back at the greatest Ashes Tests this century:
#2 Nottingham, 2013
England was holding the urn after a monumental Ashes win in 2010-11. They defeated Australia down under with a margin of 3-1. England was the outright favourite in the home Ashes. They won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. England though were bowled out for a paltry 215 in 59 overs.
Australia’s response:
Australia in response at one stage seemed to be faring even poorer. They were reduced to 117-9. Ashton Agar on debut walking in at number 11 scored a brilliant 98 that took Australia to 280. England though made a strong comeback in the third innings scoring 375 and setting Australia a target of 311. The visitors fought valiantly but it didn’t prove to be enough as they were eventually bowled out for 296 runs.
James Anderson’s 10-158 won him the Player of the Match award. He was instrumental in setting up England’s first win of the series led them to win the series 3-0.
#1 Manchester, 2005
Not for nothing that the 2005 Ashes series was regarded as an all-time classic. Heading into the third Test at Manchester the score was tied 1-1. England won the toss and elected to bat. They posted 444 in their first essay and bowled out Australia for 302. Simon Jones who made reverse swing famous during this series returned with remarkable figures of 6-53.
A captain’s knock:
England scored rapidly in the second innings to set a target of 423 to win for Australia. They had a total of 100 overs to chase it down or bat out a draw. Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain played a spectacular knock in the fourth innings. He scored a brilliant 156 and was the ninth batsman to be dismissed.
Australia holds on to a thrilling draw:
England were one wicket away from securing a 2-1 lead. The last pair of Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath batted for four overs to see Australia to safety. It was for the first time in many years that an Australian side celebrated a draw!
