England are in Australia, and the Ashes begin in less than a month. It’s time for some new heroes to stand up and be counted.
Should Joe Root and his team be in need of some inspiration as they tackle the most important, and arguably the most difficult Test series of all for the Three Lions, they should look no further than The Sportsman. In the coming days as part of our Ashes build-up, we’ll profile a number of players – from both England and Australia – who have lit up the showpiece occasion in years gone by.
Where better place than to start with the man who did more than most to kick-start a successful era for England, after many years of misery in this historic biennial series.
Now considered almost universally as ‘the greatest series of all’, the 2005 edition of the Ashes brought cricket to a whole new fanbase as the game gripped the host nation in particular.
And it was Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff who was to go on to become the Player of the Series after leaving an indelible mark on all five matches. Flintoff flogged his body throughout, producing a mammoth effort with both bat and ball and dragging his teammates along. His personality and eventual celebrations only added to his standing as the darling of the nation as the all-rounder became the first cricketer since Ian Botham – another Ashes hero – to have a series named after him, and to become a household name across the country.
The year ended with Flintoff the overwhelming winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Botham was the previous cricketer handed the coveted crown some 24 years previously, during ‘Beefy’s Ashes’. The similarities between the two are as much a compliment to Flintoff’s standing in the game post-2005 as any other he receives.
Flintoff’s statistics from the 2005 Ashes read 402 runs at an average of 40 and 24 wickets (the most by an Englishman) with an average of 27. On the surface, not the most devastating of returns. But it was how he got his runs, and when he got his wickets, that elevated him.
Though the series started disappointingly for England, Flintoff made an immediate marker bowling a wicket maiden in his first ever Ashes over. But Australia went on to win comfortably, Flintoff scoring following a duck with just three in his second innings. He would enjoy far better days ahead with the bat, but his bowling proved a threat. Twice he removed dangerman Adam Gilchrist – a hugely important feat.
At Edgbaston, Flintoff swung the momentum England’s way. The hosts’ agonising two-run victory became the smallest winning margin in Ashes history. It was also perhaps the greatest single Test match that has ever been played.
Flintoff, named Man of the Match, was never out of the game. In at five, he combined with Kevin Pietersen for a destructive partnership of big hitting. The duo smashed 103 runs in 105 balls – Flintoff’s 62-ball 68 imperative to putting the tourists under pressure.
The Lancastrian helped wrap up Australia’s first innings as England took a 99-run lead, removing the final two batsmen. But it was on day three where he really got going, and the series had its most remarkable day as 17 wickets fell.
Shane Warne did the damage for Australia, save for Flintoff top scoring with a crucial 73. An injury to his shoulder, causing obvious discomfort, didn’t prevent him carrying on to the end, aided first by Geraint Jones and then by Simon Jones. Flintoff took Brett Lee for 33 off 28 balls and even hit a six when Australia captain Ricky Ponting had nine men on the boundary. It was cricket’s equivalent of Roy of the Rovers stuff.
Chasing 282 for a 2-0 series lead, Australia were coasting at 47 for no loss. But Flintoff stepped up to bowl the over of the series. He started it on a hat-trick from the first innings. Though that chance was missed his second ball bowled Justin Langer, his third was a strong LBW shout, the fourth caught Ponting’s edge, an LBW appeal was turned down on the fifth and finally, breathlessly, came a wicket in the seventh ball (after a no ball for his sixth) as Ponting was caught behind from a leg-cutter. Scintillating stuff. And four wickets in nine balls for a fired-up Freddie.
The match ended in dramatic fashion as England finally broke the stubborn resistance of Australia’s tailenders. Flintoff finished with 4/79, though it was Steve Harmison who took the final wicket. However, amidst raucous celebrations by England, the sight of Flintoff consoling a crestfalled Brett Lee on the wicket became the picture of the series, and summed up this Ashes icon.
A quick-fire 46 at Old Trafford followed by best figures of 44/71 in Australia’s second innings continued Flintoff’s form, though the rain-affected match ended in a draw.
England knew they needed to win match four at Trent Bridge. Flintoff, increasingly becoming the man for the big occasion, stepped up. His first Ashes century helped England to a dominant position and he went on to claim Man of the Match honours as the hosts won by three wickets in another Test with a breathtaking finale.
And so onto the climax at the Oval, with England leading 2-1. An Australia win in London, though, and they would hang onto the urn. England had to avoid defeat.
The whole country was gripped, and Flintoff had made himself the face of the campaign. He stepped up once more with one final brilliant effort, with both bat and ball. He contributed significantly to a crucial partnership with Andrew Strauss in England’s first innings. And his hostile bowling did for Ricky Ponting as Australia replied. On day thre, he passed Ian Botham’s record of 300 runs and 20 wickets in an Ashes series. He took 5-78 and Australia didn’t get the chance to bat again as rain held the match up, much to England’s liking, and Kevin Pietersen struck his memorable 158. England had the series, and Flintoff had been the key component.
While the Flintoff that captained England to a miserable defence of the urn in 2007 Down Under, remarkably, his Ashes success story had another chapter. Back at home, in 2009, he helped England regain the urn.
Flintoff had announced he would retire following the series after being plagued with injuries since the whitewash in Australia two years previously. He went out on a high. Man of the Match in the second Test at Lords, he remarkably ran out Ponting at the Oval in his final act as an England cricketer – a direct hit and vital wicket to turn the match in the hosts’ favour, and subsequently for them to take the series.
There aren’t many greater Ashes heroes of England than Flintoff. Those bidding to do the same Down Under this winter, can do worse than to read up on Freddie’s exploits – truly inspiring.
