Ponting calls 2005 Ashes series as one of the all-time great ones

Sydney, April 8 (IANS) Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has said the 2005 Ashes was one of the most enthralling contests that he has been part of.

Ponting was asked by Australia batsman David Warner to talk about some of his greatest Ashes memories on Instagram.

“It was my childhood dream to play some Ashes cricket. I have played in eight or nine Ashes series so there are some fond memories and then there are some which are not that fond memories,” Ponting said in Instagram video he uploaded after Warner’s request.

“One such not so fond memory includes the 2005 Ashes series, where we were beaten by Michael Vaughan’s England. It was probably one of the all-time great series, Vaughan’s team was too good. We won the first Test at Lord’s but then came the Edgbaston Test, it was one of the all-time great Tests and we came up short, then in the third Test we had to battle it out for a draw,” he added.

England had won the Ashes in 2005 after the hosts beat Australia 2-1 in the five-match series.

Australia had emerged victorious in the opening Test at Lord’s, but then the side went on to lose the second and fourth Test match.

Ponting also referred to England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff shaking Aussie pacer Brett Lee’s hand after winning the second Test by two runs, saying these are memories that are remembered forever.

“The fourth Test we ended up losing and England snuck up the line, and the fifth ended in a draw, and we ended up losing the Ashes. Unfortunately, we were not good enough. The everlasting image to come out of that series was that of Brett Lee and Andrew Flintoff down on one knee celebrating the end of a great Test match,” Ponting said.

“After winning the match, Flintoff’s first gesture was to go up to Brett, they are the things I remember about Ashes cricket the most, we enjoyed playing hard on the pitch and so did Vaughan’s team in the 2005 series,” he added.

–IANS

dm/bbh