After England won their first Ashes series in nine attempts, an ignominious record that ran between 1989 and 2005, their home series victory over Australia was understandably lauded by fans for years.
The 2005 Ashes, with its closely fought matches and performances of immense recall value, is remembered with passion in those shores. But when former England captain Michael Atherton surveyed the scene at Lord’s on Monday, with England coming out on top despite a defiant stand between Ravindra Jadeja and India’s tail, he could not help but recall the feats of 20 years ago.
“As Joe Root and Zak Crawley went to commiserate with the disconsolate Siraj, it was impossible not to think back to the 2005 Ashes and the moment, seconds after the end of the Edgbaston match of that series, when Brett Lee went to his haunches in similar fashion, to be consoled by Andrew Flintoff,” Atherton wrote in his column for The Times. “It became the defining image of the summer, much as, one suspects, the final moments of the Lord’s Test will become for this one.”
The former England opener who never won an Ashes series – his Test debut was in the first series against Australia in that run of eight losses, and his last Test was in the eighth – called 2005 “the greatest series of modern times,” but acknowledged something special has been brewing between India and England this summer.
“While this one will not — cannot — surpass that one for drama and quality, it is bubbling up to be one of the best series since then. There are some common factors, of course: two evenly matched teams, led by contrasting characters, with the glorious potential of five Test matches stretching out before us, allowing plots, subplots and personal rivalries (and animosities) to foment,” he wrote.
Atherton insisted that like Edgbaston 2005, Lord’s 2025 was a physically draining contest. “The similarity that struck me the most, though, was the hardness of the contest and the simmering tension between the teams. The Lord’s match was a tough Test, in every way: physically demanding and raw. England, therefore, had to demonstrate a harder edge to their cricket,” he noted.
And just like in 2005, Atherton believes this series, too, is underlined by mutual respect. “Both captains were at pains after the match to emphasise the prevailing mutual respect between the teams and they were right to do so, given that the spats emerged organically out of the action. But cricketers don’t (or shouldn’t) forget the slights, the comments, the niggles and the flare-ups and a five-match series allows scope for these subplots to flourish,” the former England captain said.
