The Ashes: Edgbaston 2005 again? Another thrilling finish awaits as England and Australia aim for victory | Cricket News

Many comparisons have been made to the 2005 Ashes ahead of this summer’s highly anticipated series. Sky Sports was among those who made them.

A star-studded Australian side with a long spell of success against a powerful and rejuvenated English side. Add to that a huge amount of interest from the public – not just regular cricket fans – and it’s hard not to feel like it’s 2005 all over again.

Especially now. Eighteen years after an epic Edgbaston, we enjoy another. Back then Australia had 282 wins, this time it was 281. Back then England won by two points, this time…

Australia need 174 extra runs and England seven wickets. It’ll take something extraordinary to match 2005, a victory snatched by England when Michael Kasprowicz gloved Steve Harmison to the side of Geraint Jones’ leg, but let’s not rule that out, huh?

England have provided rich entertainment in every match of the Bazball era, whether beating boundaries all over the world, somehow taking 20 wickets on the more placid surfaces of Rawalpindi, or to lose to New Zealand by a run in a match for the ages in Wellington.

Talk to sky sports ahead of the Ashes series, England head coach Brendon McCullum, after whom Bazball is named, said: “How can we deliver that next shot in the arm to make sure people want to play the test cricket?

“You do it by providing the best entertainment on the biggest stage while everyone is watching. Go ahead. If it doesn’t work, it’s fine. We’ll get up and go.”

One thing you know about England is that they will ‘get up and go’ if things don’t work out. They did so after a set loss to South Africa at Lord’s last summer.

Immediately, in fact, handing the Proteas a setback a week later at Emirates Old Trafford after McCullum told him to go harder, not in their shell, after suffering the first of two defeats so far in of his defeat with that of Captain Ben Stokes. mandate.

If Edgbaston 2023 ends differently to Edgbaston 2005 and Australia win, then England’s hopes of regaining the Ashes will take a monumental blow. Since 2005, no team has won the Ashes after losing the first Test, with England doing so at Lord’s before coming back strong. But Stokes and McCullum don’t care much about history.

They are “be where your feet are” type, focused on the present, not the past. If England are beaten in Birmingham it will be ‘get up and go’ at Lords from June 28 – but at the moment they look favourites.

The game was delicately prepared at the start of the Australian second leg, but then went in favor of the Baggy Greens after David Warner and Usman Khawaja shared an opening position of 61.

Ollie Robinson opened the door for England when he took off Warner, before Stuart Broad opened it by taking out the No. 1 and No. 2 men in the Test batting rating, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. Her late glow had real 2005 undertones.

At the time, Steve Harmison powered Michael Clarke deep on the penultimate day to put the hosts ahead. Eighteen years later, it was Broad’s turn to deliver the crucial blow – or blows as it turned out.

So see you Tuesday. In England’s favor there’s a fifth-day pitch, a five-star captain rolling out some of the funkiest pitches you’ve ever seen, the pressure of the chase for the batting side, potential overcast skies to help the setters and, of course, that Labuschagne and Smith will no longer play any role.

However, the man who sits just below Labuschagne and Smith in the batting rankings at Travis Head stands in their way. with a light bulb on his spinning finger.

If you want to know how damaging it is for a twirler, Nathan Lyon, the Australian off-spinner, has the answer: “Like a singer trying to do a gig without vocal cords.” It remains to be seen what air England will get out of Moeen on a pitch that is taking a significant turn.

Two men who starred in this 2005 Edgbaston epic – former England batsman Kevin Pietersen and former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting – will be watching from the Sky Sports commentary box. It’s just a shame that another star of 2005, the late Shane Warne, isn’t here too.

Warne was one of the major players 18 years ago, claiming 10 wickets in the game and then taking Australia to within 62 points of victory before stepping on his stumps against Andrew Flintoff.

Warne liked the Ashes and he sure would have liked this one. He would have loved the Bazball and almost everything in this year’s gripping Edgbaston Test except for Australia’s defensive rating. He would have torn his hair out.

The most iconic image from the 2005 Test, of course, was Flintoff consoling a dejected Brett Lee after one of the tightest finishes in cricketing history.

Considering how this game has swung back and forth, it wouldn’t be surprising if there was a similar scene at some point on Tuesday. And after Sunday’s dispatch, perhaps Robinson and Khawaja being the players involved, whatever the outcome would be a fitting finish.

Over to you, Edgbaston.

Watch day five of the first Ashes Test, from Edgbaston, live on Sky Sports Cricket Monday. Set-up begins at 10:15 a.m. before the first ball at 11 a.m. Don’t miss it!