Former Australia paceman Brett Lee fondly recalls the 2005 Ashes as the “best Test series” he played in despite England ending an 18-year wait to win back the urn.
Ahead of the latest battle between cricket’s oldest rivals, Lee harked back to arguably their most famous series of all, when England hit back from losing the Lord’s curtain-raiser to claim a 2-1 win.
Central to that was a nerve-jangling two-run victory at Edgbaston next time out to level the series, sealed by Steve Harmison bouncing out Michael Kasprowicz and leaving Lee marooned as the unbeaten batter.
Speaking on an episode of the Old Boys, New Balls Podcast, hosted by Lord Ian Botham and England rugby union great Sir Bill Beaumont, Lee said: “That, to me, was the best Test series I’ve ever been involved in.
“A lot of people say to me ‘but Australia lost’ – well, so be it. It’s the way and the style in which it was played.
“If we won that second Test, I think we would have gone on to beat England, we would have had that momentum, but the game’s a funny thing.”
The image of a crestfallen Lee, squatting on his haunches moments after Australia were defeated in Birmingham and being consoled by England talisman Andrew Flintoff, was the defining image of the series.
#OnThisDay in 2005, one of the greatest Tests of all time came to a thrilling conclusion, with England beating Australia by two runs at Edgbaston 😱
— ICC (@ICC) August 7, 2019
Andrew Flintoff consoling Brett Lee in the aftermath has become one of cricket's most famous images 🤝#Ashes | #SpiritOfCricket pic.twitter.com/S8MmWbRs8t
Lee said: “That big hand (from Flintoff) came over my shoulder, he consoled me and said ‘you cheeky, little bugger, you almost got us’. There was a few choice words which I’ve left out for obvious reasons.
“(Moments before Kasprowicz was out) I hit one to deep point, half a metre to either side (of the fielder) is four, we probably wouldn’t be chatting about the game. Full credit to England, they played beautifully.”
Lee, who collected 310 wickets in 76 Tests between 1999 and 2008 and is regarded as one of the fastest bowlers ever, was part of the Australia side that claimed a 5-0 whitewash victory to win back the urn in 2006/07.
