My Best Ashes Moments

As Australia and England get all geared up to claim their stakes for the coveted Ashes Urn, Rohan Tawde reminiscences some of the best moments of the oldest rivalry in Test cricket.

1. Warne’s “Devilish” Ball of the Century: If one is a genuine admirer of the art of leg spin, he would never forget Shane Warne’s ball of the century to Mike Gatting. It was the leg-spinner’s first ever delivery in an Ashes series and he made it an unforgettable one. On the second day of the Old Trafford Test, the Victorian produced a demon delivery which dipped, pitched outside leg stump to turn viciously nearly a metre to beat a tentative blade and clip the off-bail.

Gatting, who was one of the better players of spin bowling made a bewildered journey back to the dressing room and got his name written in the history for the wrong season. Warne continued to wreck havoc among the English batsmen throughout the series by scalping 34 victims and thus sparked a revival of leg-break bowling - an art many had then thought to be on its deathbed.

2. PIGEON’S favourite BUNNY: It was a known style-mark about Glen McGrath that he targeted a particular opposition batsman at the start of every series. For the Ashes, it was something special as the lanky pace bowler always picked Michael Atherton. At the start of the 1997 series, ‘Pigeon’ foretold in a press conference that he would account for Atherton’s wicket in every Test match of the series.

The fast bowler stood up to his words as he snared the English opener seven times during the series. Atherton had no answers to the accuracy, swing and bounce of McGrath who dismissed him atleast once in every Test match as he had predicted. Such was Glen’s dominance that the former English skipper could manage only a couple of half-centuries in 12 outings during that summer.

3. Warne’s maiden hat-trick: By the end of the 1993 Ashes series, the name Shane Warne became the biggest threat to English batters. In the following year, during England’s return series down-under, ‘Warney’ continued to hassle the Poms with his wily leg-break skills. In the second Test at Melbourne, Atherton’s side was set a daunting task of chasing a target of 388 to level the series.

On the final day morning, Warne helped wrap up the English second innings for a paltry 92 runs by taking a hat-trick. The spin wizard dismissed DeFreitas (LBW off a flipper), Gough (caught behind by Healy) and Malcom (caught by Boon at short leg) on the final three deliveries of his 13th over to finish with match figures of 9 for 80.

4. 2005 Ashes: For any cricket fan, the 2005 Ashes series has to be one of the most riveting affairs ever seen. Such was the hype and excitement around the competition, that the result of series was decided in the final session of the fifth Test match at the Oval. Both Australia and England battled each other fiercely throughout the summer, matching each other on and off the field in every department. Eventually, it was Michael Vaughan’s side which emerged triumphant 2-1 to regain back the Ashes after 16 long years.

5. Flintoff’s Sportsmanship at Edgbaston: During the 2005 series, after Michael’s Vaughan outfit won a humdinger of a contest at Edgbaston by mere two runs, the whole of country were celebrating euphorically. Andrew Flintoff went on to console a dejected Brett Lee, who'd so nearly won the match for the Aussies but was on his haunches after the loss. The scenes of Flintoff solacing Lee were proof that the 'spirit of cricket' was more than just a trite phrase

6. Sardarji’s Debut: Never in my wildest dream I had thought that a “Sardarji” would play in an Ashes series. But I was proved wrong when a certain player name Monty Panesar made his Ashes debut at Perth in 2007. The spinning sensation grabbed 8 wickets (including a five-for in the first innings), prompting Aussie swimmer Ian Thorpe to say that “Monty is fully Sikh!” It was a proud moment to see an Indian Sardarji going berserk at Perth against Australia.

7. Steve Waugh’s heroics at Old Trafford: Mark Waugh has always been my favourite among the two twin brothers. Growing up, I was never a big fan of Steve as I found him a lot-less flamboyant and stylish compared to his junior twin. But the Manchester Test in 1997 changed my views and made me his fan forever. With the team in dire-straits, Steve Waugh hit a courageous 108 in the first innings and followed it with a well-compiled 116 in the second to help Australia win the Test and eventually win the series 3-2.

8. Harmison’s Contrasting Starts: In 2005, Steve Harmison’s first spell of series at Lords signaled England’s intentions of regaining back the Ashes, as the tall pace bowler terrorized the Aussie top-order with some hostile and fiery bouncers. I still remember the pictures of Ponting’s bleeding right cheek and Langer getting hit on the helmet in the first over.

In contrast to that, the 2006-07 series commenced on a weird note with the same bowler, Steve Harmison, making a pathetic start, by bowling an extremely wide ball at Brisbane which pitched and flew right in the hands of Flintoff at second slip. The fast bowler’s embarrassing start to the campaign indicated that the Poms are in for a thrashing as they lost the Ashes after being humiliated 5-0 by the Aussies.

9. Gough’s Swinging Hat-trick: According to me, Darren Gough is one of the few English bowlers who could make the ball talk in the air and a genuine master of the art of reverse swing. In 1999, England being 2-1 down desperately needed to win the final Test at Sydney to level the series. Gough, being the leading pacer of the team stood up to the occasion by putting on a gripping display of reverse swing on day 1. With minutes remaining for the close of play, the Yorkshire lad trammeled Healy (caught behind), MacGill (bowled off a reverse swing) and Miller (bowled too off a reverse swing) in successive deliveries to become the first man to take a hat-trick at SCG in nearly a century. Despite Gough’s heroics, England lost the match by a margin of 98 runs.

10. Warne’s 700 at MCG: It was a fitting end to the career of the greatest spinner, as Warne became the first man to claim 700 Test victims in his final series and that too in front of his home crowd. On day one of the Boxing Day Test, Warne bowled a beautifully flighted delivery which pitched and spun sharply to sneak between the bat and pad of a well-set Strauss to disturb the timber. The pictures were unbelievable as Warne went ballistic and a record MCG crowd stood up to salute the true Magician.

11. Gilli Unloads at WACA: It’s always a joy watching Gilchrist demolish opposition bowling attacks at his will. In 2006 at Perth, Gilli produced one of the most destructive innings as he clobbered the Poms in front of his home crowd at Perth to become the second fastest Test centurion. The aggressive left-hander missed out on breaking Vivian Richard’s record by a single delivery as he brought up his ton in 57 deliveries. Gilchrist thumped 12 boundaries and fours big ones during his knock, including an over where he smacked debutant Panesar for 24 runs.

12. The End of a Glorious Era: Australia’s victorious campaign of regaining the Ashes in 2006-07 also drew the curtains on the Warne-McGrath era. The duo were tremendous servants of Australian cricket as they shared over 1000 wickets between them and also played crucial role in dominating England 5-0 in their final series. The image of both the icons walking together for the final time off the SCG ground is unforgettable and would be engraved in my memory forever.

13. Botham’s Ashes: Even though I wasn’t born during that era but the story of Botham winning the Ashes for England is astonishing. So immense was the all-rounder's impact on the series, it became known as 'Botham's Ashes'.With their backs against the wall, the English - led by Ian Botham - won the third, fourth and fifth Tests to win the 1981 Ashes series.

In the third Test, ‘Beefy’ scored 149 not out after England were forced to follow on. Fast bowler Bob Willis then completed his team's incredible comeback by taking 8 wickets for 43 runs in the second innings and won the Test for England by 18 runs.In the fourth Test at Edgbaston, the hosts won by 29 runs after a devastating bowling spell by Botham where he took 5 wickets for 11 runs, helping to dismiss Australia for only 121 runs. The fifth Test at Old Trafford saw Botham score a century with the bat to help England to an Ashes series win.