5 Most thrilling Ashes encounters since 2000

England and Australia are all set to lock horns in yet another Ashes series at the Gabba in Brisbane on November 23. The war of words too has already begun with many feeling that England will have to pay for the absence of Ben Stokes who was suspended for his involvement in an altercation outside the bar in Bristol a couple of months ago.

Though the visiting side is not losing sleep and has trained hard over the last 3 weeks playing as many as three warm-up games. They are geared up to recreate to feat England achieved historically in 2010 when they had beaten Australia at home.

The hosts, on the other hand, have surprised most with the bombshell selection of Tim Paine a wicketkeeper and everyone is backing the current squad to wreak havoc in the opposition camp like in 2013. However, since 2000, the teams have been involved in some heart-wrenching thrillers and have entertained the fans.

The last couple of series have been simply one-sided and a true cricket fan would love to watch some more contest which would spice things up in the middle. The statement has to be made by the visiting England side and if they play to their potential down under, we should brace for one of the most fierce battles in the recent past.

Here we recall some of the thrilling encounters of Ashes since 2000

1. 3rd Test, August 11-15, 2005, Manchester

Both the teams entered the game with the series locked at 1-1 and with an aim to take advantage. England, after being invited to bat first, posted a daunting total of 444 in the first innings courtesy a splendid ton from Michael Vaughan. The visitors, in reply, were bundled out for only 302 conceding a lead of 142 runs. Simon Jones ran through their batting line-up and scalped a 6-fer. The home side extended their advantage and declared on 280/6 with ahead of 422 in the second innings.

Australia lost wickets at the regular intervals in their chase even as Ricky Ponting slammed a fighting century. But his wicket fell, in the ninth one, with more than four overs left and England’s hopes of winning the match were up again. But the last pair of Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath fought gamely against everything thrown at them by the England bowlers and saved the game with the score reading 371/9. The match went down as one of the best ever as the series stayed alive and no team could take the lead.

2. 2nd Test, August 4-7, 2005, Birmingham

England went into the match after losing the first game and had to win the second Test to stay in the hunt to win the series. After losing the toss, Michael Vaughan led side scored 407 runs as everyone contributed to the team’s cause. Australia, after a good start, lost their way and could only score 308 runs. But staged a superlative comeback by bowling out the hosts for only 182 runs on the back of some sensational spells from Shane Warne and Lee who shared all the ten wickets between them.

Chasing 282, Aussies were at one stage reeling at 175/8 and England were steering towards victory. But Warne and Lee added 45 for the ninth wicket and then Kasprowicz joined the latter to raise the hopes of an improbable victory. They formed a sensational stand of 59 runs and were just a hit away from a famous victory. But Steve Harmison had different ideas who snaffled the tail-ender just in the nick of time to deliver his team an unbelievable win and helped them level the series. England won the match by only 2 runs as the series was set up nicely now with three matches to go.

3. 1st Test, July 8-12, 2009, Cardiff

Cardiff hosted the first Test of the five-match series which was set to be one of the closest game in the history of the Ashes. England batted well yet again and scored a massive 435 and put Australia under pressure. But the visitors went one step ahead as four batsmen in their line-up smashed centuries to pile up a mammoth total of 674 with a lead of 239 runs.

England had to play out 105 overs to secure a draw on a flat wicket but what happened later was heart throbbing. The trio of Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson reduced England first to 31/3 and then 70/5 in 27 overs. But the lower-middle order along with Paul Collingwood stuck on the crease only to frustrate the Aussies.

However, the wickets fell going into the final hour and Kangaroos needed only a solitary wicket with more than 10 overs left. The duo of James Anderson and Monty Panesar stunned everyone by playing out the last 69 deliveries on the final session of the final day and secured a draw. They survived everything Australia threw at them and saved the day for their country.

4. 1st Test, July 10-14, 2013, Nottingham

The two teams played out another close opening Test match of the series in Nottingham to set the series up nicely for the spectators to witness. England failed to take advantage after winning the toss and capitulated to 215 only as Siddle registered a five-wicket haul. Australia took a healthy lead of 65 runs in their reply and posted 280 runs. But the hosts turned the tables on the visitors by scoring 375 runs thanks to a wonderfully constructed ton from Ian Bell.

Australia started well and the openers added 84 runs for the first wicket in the chase of 311. But lost their way and were down the barrel at 231/9. Though Brad Haddin took matters into his hands and fought a lone battle with James Pattinson. Both scored 65 runs in quick time and made the opposition nervous. It seemed that they would chase the total heroically but James Anderson capped off his five-fer with a beautiful swinging delivery and earned the edge of Haddin’s bat. They won the game by 14 runs only which ebbed and flowed throughout the five days play.

5. 5th Test, Aug 21-25, 2013, London

This was the final Test match of the series and England and regained the urn already with a lead of 3-0. But the Aussies were playing for pride and strode out to the middle to win the match. After winning the toss they declared with a huge total of 492 thanks to twin centuries from Shane Watson and Steve Smith. England in reply conceded the lead of 115 runs with very little time left in the game. But the visitors were keen on having a final shot at the opposition and declared with the score reading 111/6 after 23 overs in their second innings.

England too accepted the challenge and went after the target of 227 in 40 overs. The move worked for the hosts as their batsmen went berserk and were in a comfortable position at one stage. But the wickets of Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott set them back and fell short of the target by just 21 overs as the match ended in a draw. Despite being a dead rubber, the teams brought context to the game and thrilled their fans.

All the aforementioned matches went until the last ball on the final day which left the fans in awe of their performances. They would be expecting to witness the same as they confront each other yet again after a gap of two years. While England will look to retain the urn, the hosts would be keen to snatch from them with a dominant show at home.