Throwback to the greatest series of all-time: Ashes 2005

Fourth Test - Trent Bridge

August 25-28

Flintoff played a composed knock, making his debut Ashes ton

The Poms took Vaughan's words to heart and unfurled their best performance of the summer (atleast until that final innings) to go 2-1 ahead in the Ashes. Shane Warne was by now bowling with renewed vigour and purpose and looked like every bit the wizard that had spun out Mike Gatting on his Ashes debut. But England were undeterred.

Flintoff, growing rapidly into his Botham-sized clothes, batted unlike...well, Andrew Flintoff, to make a 132 ball ton that included just one maximum. That and his century stand with Geraint Jones took England to 477. But he wasn't the only Jones Australia had to contend with. There was Simon Jones, who was quickly earning a reputation as the best exponent of reverse swing on the planet, and Australia had succumbed to him at Manchester but no lessons were learned.

The seamer picked up his five-wicket haul and England enforced a follow-on, the first time the visitors were doing the same in 17 years. Aussies were not backing down either and compiled a 100 runs in one session despite losing Matthew Hayden.

Then drama unfolded.

Moment of the match

Simon Jones broke down to an ankle injury, one which would see his promising career come to a grinding halt, and the substitute fielder, Gary Pratt, ran out the Aussie skipper.

If Jonty Rhodes’s run-out of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the 1992 World Cup altered the landscape of fielding in cricket, this run-out scripted another memorable tale, one of elation, anger, outburst and ultimately, defeat.

Ponting fumed off expressing his displeasure at England’s supposed tactic of using substitutes on the field every now and then to allegedly keep their bowlers fresh. “I hear Gary Pratt isn't even playing at first-class level any more, but he certainly made a name for himself that day,” Ponting said later in his summary of the series for Telegraph.

"I did not actually think it at the time but, looking back now, that might have been the moment when it became clear England were going to reclaim the Ashes," writes Fletcher in Ashes Regained, a book he later published on the series. "This was an Australian side under enormous pressure. The mental strain was becoming so much that they were grasping any opportunity – however ludicrous – to hit back at us."

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Australia's resurrection lost direction after that as their innings came to an end at 387 with England needing 129 to win.

True to the reputation of the series, England made a meal of the small target and lost seven before Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard took them home to effectively come within touching distance of reclaiming the Ashes.

“I was batting with Kevin, under control and Lee came on and just did us for pace. My bat was here and off stump was cartwheeling back. In hindsight and through the clarity of not being in the position I was in then, we were going to win but we just got a bit carried away. We were seven down. We only needed 10 runs, and then Hoggy went out there and played a blinder. He hit that cover drive off a full toss! And then Giles just turned one to win. I couldn't watch, I think I was punching Straussy, just to vent something...," Flintoff reveals as reported by ESPNCricinfo of the final few moments in that tense game.

England 477 (Flintoff 102) & 129-7 (Warne 4-31); Australia 218 (Jones 5-44) & following on 387 (Langer 61, Katich 59, Harmison 3-93)