2005 Ashes: Top 5 moments from the greatest ever series

Giles hits winning runs

England showcased a confident swagger against Australia throughout the series, but there were occasional glimpses of the fragile underbelly that used to be exposed so easily in previous Ashes series. One such occasion was during their pursuit of what looked to be a fairly straight-forward 129 runs to win at Trent Bridge. Facing a firing Shane Warne and with the prospect of taking a series lead to The Oval, England stumbled to 57-4 and 116-7, before leaving it to their own master of spin to see them over the line.

Geraint Jones: "I was gutted after falling trying to hit Warne for six but tension quickly replaced that disappointment as Gilo and Hoggard took us closer and closer. I can still clearly envisage Gilo making contact for the winning runs and charging down the wicket, bat raised aloft in one hand."

Pratt runs out Ponting

Talk about securing cult status. Gary Pratt is forever written into Ashes folklore, yet has never, nor will ever play another Ashes Test. A cunning ploy by England head coach Duncan Fletcher and captain, Michael Vaughan, saw them use skilled substituted fielders throughout the series to replace the rested or injured. Vaughan’s opposite number, Ricky Ponting, took exception to it, and in a cruel – or hilarious, depending on your disposition – twist of fate, it was he who suffered, as Pratt brilliantly ran him out (but didn’t keep him quiet) at Trent Bridge.

Jones: "The run out happened so quickly that it’s almost a blur in my mind – it was an outstanding pick-up and throw so I was nowhere near the stumps but I was first to congratulate Gary! I remember looking up at the replay more clearly and Fletch enjoying a chuckle on the balcony as Ponting lost his cool on the way back to the changing rooms."

KP's maiden Test ton

Kevin Pietersen made his mark on the series in the very first Test, and I don’t just mean with the skunk-style blonde streak in his hair. Having ousted one of England’s best Test batsmen in Graham Thorpe before the series, he proved his worth with brutal back-to-back fifties in an otherwise disappointing defeat at Lord’s. England sparked from there but KP did not, just hitting one further fifty before this incredible century sealed the series and brought the Ashes home. How different things could have been though had Shane Warne not dropped him when on just 15.

Jones: "To this day I still find it surprising that that Warne – normally a first-rate slipper – put that one down and it cost Australia dear. Warne himself was on the end of some of KP’s most aggressive shots before he roared in delight at reaching his maiden ton and gave Gilo a massive bear hug."

Strauss' diving catch

Hardly known for his fielding prowess, Andrew Strauss pulled off his greatest catch and possibly the greatest ever by an Englishman to dismiss Adam Gilchrist in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge. If you could sum up England’s more recent Ashes defeats prior to 2005 in just a couple of words, it would have been dropped catches and Gilchrist. So often their tormentor, England – and Andrew Flintoff in particular – had Gilchrist on toast in the series, with a top score of just 49 not out. And as Strauss’ stunner proves too, their catching wasn’t bad either.

Jones: "My view, with Straussy diving away from me, meant that initially I wasn’t even sure if he’d caught the chance let alone just how brilliant it was! I’d never seen him pull of anything like that in training! Only after he’d come up with the ball and I’d seen the replay did I realise what an iconic moment it was."

England win at Edgbaston

How do you sum up Edgbaston? It’s even trickier to try and summarise using just a few sentences. The image most people take with them from England’s two-run win is that of Flintoff consoling Brett Lee while chaotic scenes of celebration swirled around him. The reason it is such a recycled image is because of how well it does encapsulate the feelings of the Test and the series – the joy of victory, pain of defeat, and spirit of sportsmanship, that was so tangible in that incredible Test.

Jones: "I can still feel the moment that catch went into my gloves and the explosion of relief and celebration that came with it. I went haring off like a mad thing before Tresco and Gilo grabbed me. Billy Bowden asked for the ball so I gave it to him but haven’t seen it since! I heard it was on display at the Edgbaston museum for a year but when I enquired about it, it couldn’t be found."