Top 3 Ashes spells of the 21st century

One of cricket's oldest rivalries has reignited as Australia and England locked horns against each other at Edgbaston. Over the years, this fierce competition has produced memoirs that will be cherished forever.

From the bodyline tactics employed by the English skipper of 1937 to 'Botham's Ashes' of 1981 to Don's unprecedented assault at Headingley in 1930, Ashes folklore is rich with dramatic achievements and fascinating tales. In this piece, we take a deeper dive into three of the most iconic spells in Ashes Cricket since the turn of the century.

Stuart Broad, 8/15 at Trent Bridge, 2015

Courtesy Wisden

Stuart Broad's freakish spell at Trent Bridge in the Ashes of 2015 has forever been scribbled down into the books of cricketing folklore. England were leading the Test series 2-1 with Nottingham's bitter battle deemed to be the ultimate decider of whether Australia were to take home the remnants of the Ashes or England were to avenge the 2013 drubbing. England chose to bowl on a murky morning and that was that for the poor visitors from Down Under.

With Anderson ruled out due to an injury, much of the weight of the bowling battery had to be shouldered by Broad who was a scalp away from his 300th wicket. All the local boy needed were three deliveries to open his account as he nipped it across Chris Rogers, made the new ball kiss his hanging bat's outside edge and get it gobbled up in the slips cordon. In the same over, he dismissed Steve Smith with an absolute peach and send jitters down the Australian batting line up. The nightmare had only just begun, though.

He had Shaun Marsh, the man making his nth comeback, nicking to the slips like Rogers'. By the time Broad was bowling his 3rd over of the morning, he had already picked up his 4th prey with Ben Stokes pulling off an absolute screamer in the slips to send Adam Voges packing. Broad wasn't done just yet, though as he ran through Australia's lower-middle order and bundled them on 60 runs.

His figures were a remarkable 8 for 15 and, astonishingly, all of his preys were out caught behind the stumps. As Nasser Hussain in the comm box for the broadcasters rightly put,

"While he is streaky, he is putting those streaks closer together. They are like London buses now and he is like an unstoppable train at times."

Mitchell Johnson, 7/40 at Adelaide Oval, 2013

Johnson was at his fearsome best in the series.

Mitchell Johnson was the chief destroyer in England's 'Mission Ignominy' in the Ashes 2013 Downunder. He wreaked havoc on the English throughout the scope of the five games but his bizarre spell in the Adelaide Oval will forever be remembered as one of the nastiest spells ever bowled in the history of the competition.

The mustachioed monster unleashed terror on a fragile-looking English line-up that fell like a house of cards. He opened his account with an absolute jaffa to the English skipper, knocking over his off-stump with a vicious out-swinger. This was followed by a bit of a silent period for the big pacer but he was always going to come back steaming.

Johnson kept assaulting with some old school chin music before he rapped Stokes right in front of the wickets and it was adjudged LBW on review. The left-armer was in no mood of hanging around as he ran through the English lower order and shattered it off by sending Jimmy Anderson's middle stump cartwheeling via a thunderbolt that was clocked at staggering 150-plus kilometres per hour.

Johnson went on to scalp 37 wickets in the five-match series at an unreal average of 14. It was sweet vengeance for the pacer after being severely booed and jeered when he accompanied the Australian squad for their Ashes campaign in England a couple of years earlier. At that speck of time, Johnson had admitted that the Barmy Army had gotten to his head and had a corrosive impact.

Glenn McGrath, 5/53 at Lord's, 2005

Courtesy Cricket Australia

Glenn McGrath will forever be remembered for the genius he was and for the magic he used to cast with both the Kookaburras and the Dukes. Also, he was probably the greatest exploiter of the Lord's slope ever born. Who can forget the trail of destruction that he lay in 1997 when he devastated England with exquisite figures of 8 for 38.

Speaking of the 21st century, though, the veteran returned to the very venue on the opening day of the Ashes and relived his Lord's masterclass. Earlier in the 1st innings of the match, he had seen Harmison's hostile spell where he struck Australia's skipper flush on the helmet and set the aggressive tone for the visitors. Australia were consequently bundled out at a miserly total of under 200. McGrath had a favor to return and, goodness, he did that in some manner.

The 35-year old virtuoso had prophecized that Marcus Trescothick will be his 500th scalp and he was spot on. He had the English opener nicking to the slips cordon as he slipped it down the slope. Four balls later, Andrew Strauss followed his partner to the balcony, clueless as he fended at one outside off and edged the away-dipper to Shane Warne positioned at 1st slip.

McGrath was on a roll and there was no stopping him now. He skidded one through the English skipper, Michael Vaughan's defenses that flattened his stumps before having Ian Bell chop it behind to hear the death rattle. Before any other Australian bowler could contribute, McGrath had already registered yet another fifer and had his name emblazoned on the Lord's Honours Board once again. His latest wicket was Flintoff whose off stump was bedded to eternal sleep by a vicious nip-backer.