Simon Jones claimed 18 wickets at an average of 21 during the 2005 Ashes series.
“We felt like Premier League footballers. There was a massive crowd and they had turned away 10,000 people. It was obscene the amount of people who wanted to come and watch.”
“It was like, ‘wow this is something to behold’. I don’t think it’ll ever happen again.”
Even two decades after what is arguably the most iconic Test series in Ashes history, former England bowler Simon Jones vividly recalls every moment.
Jones’s clear recollection is understandable, considering the broader significance: 2005 marked England’s first Ashes series victory since 1987. This triumph not only ended an 18-year, eight-series losing streak but also redefined the Ashes narrative during a memorable cricketing summer.
Subsequent England teams have drawn inspiration from that historic series, fostering a belief that victory is once again attainable.
Jones’s personal journey mirrors this overarching narrative.
The 2005 series – revisited in a BBC Sport documentary on iPlayer – represented the pinnacle of a career unfortunately curtailed by injury.
Despite an ankle injury that limited him to three and a half Tests, Jones secured 18 wickets, including a career-best 6-53 at Trent Bridge.
The former Glamorgan fast bowler remembers the summer as a remarkable period filled with prominent news coverage and Downing Street garden parties, despite the setback.
It all commenced at a fervent Lord’s, which resembled more of a lively social gathering than a traditional, genteel affair.
The home of cricket is renowned for its tranquility, with champagne corks being popped rather than tempers flaring.
However, as Jones recalls, 2005 had a distinct atmosphere, even before the first ball was bowled.
“When we went through that Long Room, and we walked down the stairs and through the pavilion, it erupted,” he says.
“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’.”
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England made an early impact against the Australians, both literally and figuratively. Ricky Ponting was struck in the grille during the first innings, in which Australia was dismissed for 190. However, a Glenn McGrath-inspired Australia rallied to win that Test comfortably by 239 runs.
“When Steve Harmison hit Ponting, which never happens by the way, nobody went to check on him,” Jones says.
“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.”
If 2005 was one of the most iconic series of all time, the second Test at Edgbaston has been hailed as one of the greatest individual matches in any series.
Andrew Flintoff showcased his brilliance with both bat and ball, scoring 68 and 73 runs, respectively, and claiming seven wickets, including an unforgettable second-innings over in which he dismissed Justin Langer and Ponting.
His act of sportsmanship – consoling Australia batter Brett Lee after England narrowly secured a two-run victory when Harmison dismissed Michael Kasprowicz – is a moment etched in Ashes history.
Jones vividly remembers how Harmison’s final wicket saved him from potential dismissal, as he feared he had “dropped the Ashes” after spilling Kasprowicz on the boundary earlier in the day.
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Jones’s moment in the spotlight came during the third and fourth Tests. England was fully immersed in Ashes fever by the third Test at Old Trafford – Jones’s account of 10,000 fans being turned away refers to the final day in Manchester.
If 2005 represented the zenith of Jones’s career overall, his second-innings dismissal of Michael Clarke was the crowning achievement.
Clarke appeared well-set on 39 until Jones, having enticed the Australian with repeated outswingers, delivered the perfect inswinger.
This delivery has become legendary, both for the iconic sound of the off stump being uprooted and for the stump mic recording of Clarke’s pained “oh no” realization that he was helpless against Jones’s flawless reverse-swing deception.
England did not win that Old Trafford Test, but Clarke’s dismissal and Australia’s determined effort to bat for a draw signaled a shift in momentum. “It sounds like music,” Jones says of the Clarke delivery.
“It’s the best noise in cricket. People want the noise that stump made as their ringtone and stuff. I love the fact that people are still playing it now. It’s 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.”
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England’s and Jones’s stories from 2005 share significant parallels.
However, there is one crucial, unfortunate point of divergence.
While England has used that series as a springboard to create numerous memorable Ashes victory narratives in the two decades since, for Jones, it marked the end.
The Glamorgan fast bowler sustained an injury in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge and never represented his country again.
This fact could easily have left Jones embittered, but the opposite is true.
When asked if he would have traded that unforgettable 2005 Ashes summer for a longer Test career, Jones echoes Tennyson: “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
“At the time, I didn’t realise that would be my last Test for England,” said Jones, who played 18 Tests 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.”
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