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Simon Jones in action at the 2005 AShes series between England and Australia. (Screengrabs: X/England cricket)
It has been 20 years since the start of the 2005 Ashes series between arch rivals England and Australia, where the Michael Vaughan led England team scripted a 2-1 Ashes to create history. It was England’s first Ashes win since 1987 after eight Ashes losses against Australia. Former England bowler Simon Jones, who took 18 wickets in three Tests in the series before being injured, has now recalled how the members at Lord’s encouraged the English side to take down the Australian team prior to the opening Test apart from Australians terming the England team as ‘pack of wolves coming for the kill’ during the first Test at Lord’s.
“When we went through that Long Room, and we walked down the stairs and through the pavilion, it erupted. I remember Kev (Kevin Pietersen) turning around and saying to me: ‘What is going on here?’ It almost shocked us really. Normally it is all the members and they are a bit subdued. A bit staid. A bit posh. But people were saying ‘take these down’ and we were all like, ‘OK, here we go’. When Steve Harmison hit Ponting (in the first innings of Lord’s Test), which never happens by the way, nobody went to check on him. The Australians said this was a different team, like a pack of wolves coming in for the kill. And it was. We wanted to take them down,” recalled Jones while speaking with BBC Sport.
England had lost the opening Test at Lord’s by 239 runs before Andrew Flintoff’s heroic act at Edgbaston saw the England team winning the Test by two runs. The Edgbaston Test, which is also remembered for Flintoff consoling Australian non-striker Brett Lee after Steve Harminon dismissed Michael Kasprowicz, was also Jones’ second Ashes Test. Jones would pick up three wickets in the second test, an identical haul during the Lord’s Test, before the then 27-year-old bowler picked up seven wickets in the third Test at Manchester including a six-wicket haul in the first innings.
🏴 HAPPY ST DAVID’S DAY! 🏴
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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 1, 2024
With the Manchester test being drawn, it was Jones’ dismissal of Michale Clarke with an inswinging delivery, which is the most remembered of the 18 Ashes wickets taken by Jones in his career. Jones talked about the sound of uprooting the off-stump of Clarke being the ‘best noise in cricket’. “It sounds like music. It’s the best noise in cricket. People want the noise that stumps made as their ringtone and stuff. I love the fact that people are still playing it now. It’s been a long time. But people still think it’s one of the best balls that has ever been bowled, so it’s a really proud moment,” Jones would say about the Clarke delivery.
The fourth Test at Nottingham, where Jones would take his second five-wicket haul of his Ashes career in the first innings, would see the pacer being injured due to an ankle injury and bowling only four overs during Australia’s second innings. England would win the Test by three wickets, which would also happen to Jones’ last Test match in England colours. Jones talked about how he cherishes the fourth Test and the special win for England followed by the 2-1 series win for England with a draw in the last test at The Oval. “At the time, I didn’t realise that would be my last Test for England. It was like going from the penthouse to the outhouse. I had the best summer of my life in an England shirt and then to never play again… but I’m a big believer in what will be, will be. It’s better to have experienced it. Would you rather play 100 Tests and not have 2005, or would you rather play the 18 you played and have 2005? It would be the 18 Tests with 2005 included every day of the week. It didn’t get better than that,” recalled Jones.
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