On This Day in 2005: England's Epic 2-Run Victory Over Australia in the Ashes

Considered to be the fiercest rivals in the history of cricket, England and Australia have often produced some classics across all three formats of the game. The two cricketing powerhouses have been involved in innumerable nail-biting games but their Test faceoff at Edgbaston back in 2005 probably stands out among them all.

Dubbed as the greatest of all time, the Edgbaston crowd witnessed a scintillating cricket with the hosts emerging victorious by a slim margin of two runs. The Edgbaston Test is currently at the third spot on the list of smallest margin of win (by runs) in the longest format of the game. The epic Ashes Test came to an end on this day (August 7) in 2005.

Here we take a look at all the details about that iconic Test match between England and Australia.

The Australian cricket team had entered Edgbaston on the back of a win in the series opener. Skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bowl first in the second Test. The decision did not pay off as the hosts put up a solid total of 407 in the first innings. It was Marcus Trescothick who emerged as England’s highest scorer in the first innings having played a fine knock of 90 off 102 balls. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff also came up with notable contributions having scored 71 and 68 respectively.

Shane Warne was Australia’s star performer with the ball registering a four-wicket haul in the first innings of the Edgbaston Test. In response, Justin Langer pulled off a fine knock of 82 off 154 balls to guide the visitors to a total of 308. Andrew Flintoff excelled in the bowling department this time having bagged three wickets.

Australian bowlers showcased a terrific performance in the second innings bowling out England for 182. Shane Warne proved to be lethal having picked up six wickets. Brett Lee supported Warne ably by claiming four dismissals. Thanks to Andrew Flintoff’s vital knock of 73, the Michael Vaughan-led side managed to reach a respectable total in the second innings.

With a target of 282 runs to chase, Australia did not have a smooth start to their second innings. The Aussies kept losing wickets at regular intervals and ended the third day’s play putting up 175 runs on the board at the loss of eight wickets.

Not many would have thought that the game would go down the wire with Australia still requiring 107 runs to win with just two wickets remaining.

The Australian tailenders displayed resilient batting and fought till the very end to survive. But their valiance, eventually, went in vain as England clinched a thrilling two-run victory. Andrew Flintoff once again emerged as England’s with a four-wicket haul to his name.

One of the most iconic visuals from the match is of Andrew Flintoff consoling Brett Lee after the game.

Andrew Flintoff was adjudged Player of the Match for his stunning all-round prowess. The epic victory had helped England draw level in the Ashes in 2005.