5 Greatest Test series in the last 40 years

#1. England 2-1 Australia (2005):

Andrew Flintoff's all-round display in the 2005 Ashes has few equals

The Ashes series of 2005 in England could very well have been a one-sided one had the great McGrath not trod on a cricket ball in a training session a few hours before the start of the second Test match. McGrath had demolished the English batting line-up by taking 9 wickets in the first Test at Lord’s as Australia won convincingly by 239 runs.

The Australian bowlers were put to the sword by Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen as England scored more than 400 runs on the very first day of the second Test at Edgbaston. Australia scored a little over 300 but dismissed England cheaply to be given a target of 294.

In their pursuit of a daunting fourth innings target, the Aussie finished 2 runs short as Michael Kasprowicz was caught behind in a weird fashion. The English wicketkeeper Geraint Jones celebrated almost like a mad man and the Australians were inconsolable.

The third Test at Old Trafford was yet another classic and featured a wonderful century by Australian skipper Ricky Ponting. Ponting made 156 in extremely difficult conditions to ensure a draw for his side. Flintoff and Jones bowled very well for the English.

England then went on to win the 4th Test by 3 wickets as Flintoff scored a century and Jones was again among wickets. Warne got a bagful of wickets in both the 3rd and 4th Test, but Australia could not win either of them.

The fifth Test at the Oval ended in a draw as McGrath made a comeback and young Kevin Pietersen made a brilliant hundred on the very last day of the match. Warne dropped him while fielding in the slips and allowed him to save the match for England. Flintoff was again among runs and Jones among wickets for England. Hayden scored a century in the first innings of Australia.

That series was memorable for a number of reasons. Firstly, it featured two fine cricketers Warne and Flintoff at their respective best. Warne took 40 wickets in the series, whereas Flintoff made 402 runs and took 24 wickets in one of the finest all-round displays ever in a Test series.

Secondly, the spectators were treated with some very fine demonstration of reverse swing by Simon Jones. Jones bowled brilliantly with the old ball and was one of the primary reasons behind England’s win. Finally, it also signalled the end of the road for Australian pacer Jason Gillespie, who went for a lot of runs and looked a shadow of his former self in that series.