The 10 greatest Ashes series in history ranked
As Australia prepares to host England for the 74th battle for the Ashes, we rank the top 10 greatest series of all time. VOTE in our poll and have your say.
When we started considering the greatest Ashes series, there was one thing which wasn’t up for debate.
No.1 had to be 2005.
Not just because it’s the 20-year anniversary, but because it was a series which produced so many moments that two decades later seem fresh in the memory.
The gallant partnership between Michael Kasprowicz and Brett Lee at Edgbaston which almost put Australia 2-0 ahead.
Glenn McGrath trodding on a ball in the warm-up. Simon Jones’ splintering Michael Clarke’s stumps in Manchester and Kevin Pietersen’s 158 at The Oval to seal England’s 2-0 triumph.
This was cricket warfare at its fiercest.
After 2005, the rankings weren’t so easy and often involved delving a long way into the history books.
Scroll down to see our top 10 and have your say.
1. 2005
Does this really need explanation? Two decades on, it is still talked about as the greatest series of Test cricket ever played. It looked certain Australia would dominate another Ashes when Ricky Ponting’s side cruised to a 239-run victory in the first Test at Lord’s. Then came the moment which changed the series. On the morning of day one in Birmingham, Glenn McGrath rolled his ankle on a ball in the warm up. Ricky Ponting won the toss, asked England to bat and Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss compounded the pain by putting on 112.
Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz almost stole the Test for Australia, sharing a 59-run stand before Kasprowicz was caught down the leg side by Geraint Jones to secure England a two-run win. There was more drama to come. Australia held on grimly to draw the third Test nine wickets down. England asked Australia to follow-on in the fourth Test and almost lost, but edged to a 2-1 lead. It proved the decisive result as rain washed out much of the fifth Test at The Oval.
2. Bodyline
No list is complete without this infamous series. England came to Australia with a plan to unsettle the Australians – namely Bradman – by setting leg side fields and unleashing its quicks to target the Aussie batters. Whatever you think about the morality of the tactic, it largely worked. The fearsome Harold Larwood took 33 wickets and England trounced Australia 4-1 in Australia.
![1933. The dramatic incident in yesterday's play in the Test match at Adelaide, when Oldfield, the Australian wicketkeeper, was struck on the head by a fast ball from the English bowler Larwood, who is seen half-way down the pitch. [Herald Tuesday 17 January 1933, page 1] . Harold Larwood. Bert Oldfield. 1932-33 bodyline test series. Australia v England. Cricket. Adelaide Oval. Historical Sport / Cricket / Action /Cricket/Australia/vs/England](https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/43473e69121e1e0ab30099c73a32e250)
The series is literally written into Australian history, featuring in the archives of the National Museum Australia. Australia’s captain Bill Woodfull famously said: “There are two teams out there. One is trying to play cricket and the other is not”. The bodyline tactic was employed from the third Test onwards and there were fears a riot would explode when Woodfull was hit in the chest. The Australian Board of Control for International Cricket and MCC clashed over the tactic and there were threats the series could be cancelled.
3. 2019
The stuff of Australian nightmares. The image of Ben Stokes with his arms aloft after conjuring the most improbable win at Headingley was instantly etched into Ashes folklore. England was skittled for 67, was 9-286 and somehow squared the series at 1-1 thanks to Stokes’ unbeaten 135. They still talk about Jack Leach’s hurried single as the best one-run innings in Test history.
Steve Smith returned from concussion with a double century in the first Test after being felled by Jofra Archer at Lord’s, ensuring Australia retained the Ashes. This was also the series Marnus Labuschagne launched his Test career as a concussion sub. Mitch Marsh ran amok with the ball at The Oval but England scored a resounding win as an absorbing series finish locked at 2-2.
4. 1989, Australia’s worst team ever wins
This was supposed to be the worst side Australia had ever sent overseas. Incredibly, Australia had won one Test series in five and a half years when it arrived in England as rank underdog. Most of the 12 players used across the five-match series are now legends of Australian cricket. Steve Waugh was still a relative newcomer, Mark Taylor had only debuted in January of 1989 and Ian Healy played his first Test the previous September against Pakistan. The series was one-sided – England used an incredible 29 players – and is still regarded one of the catalysts for the greatest period in Australia’s Test history.
5. 2006-07
You know it’s going to be a good series when the first ball is so wide it’s caught by second slip. There were some good moments for the bowlers too, namely Shane Warne’s 700th wicket at the MCG. Warnie flighted one up, made Andrew Strauss play and then a few seconds later he was taking off with his teammates in tow. For pure highlights reels though, it’s hard to go passed Adam Gilchrist’s demolition of the English bowling attack at the WACA.
Gilchrist scored a century from 57 balls, hitting four sixes and 12 fours during a brutal onslaught. Most would argue the best sequence came in Adelaide though. England declared at 6-551, Australia replied with 513 and a draw seemed inevitable when the tourists were 1-69 in their second innings. Then Warne removed Strauss (with a lot of help from Steve Bucknor), bowled Kevin Pietersen around the legs and a shell-shocked England lost 9-60. Australia chased 168 in 32.5 overs and ‘Amazing Adelaide’ was born.
6. 2023
Putting recency bias aside, this series was impossible to leave out. Headlined by the Bazball revolution, it had Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon stealing victory at Edgbaston, Alex Carey’s controversial Jonny Bairstow stumping at Lord’s and Australia collapsing after being 3-264 chasing 384 in the final Test at The Oval.
Throw in Manchester’s rain denying England victory in the fourth Test (Australia was 5-214 in its second innings, still 61 runs adrift of England’s 592 after following on) and England’s dramatic three-wicket win at Leeds at it was a series full of flashpoints which will be spoken about for decades to come.
7. 1981
The 1981 Ashes series is famously referred to as ‘Botham’s Ashes’. The English superstar dominated with bat and ball, helping the Poms overcome a 1-0 deficit after the first two Tests to triumph 3-1. Out for 1 and 33 in the first Test loss – also taking three wickets – Botham almost single-handedly transformed the series. After making a pair in the second Test at Lord’s, Botham produced one of the most heroic backs-to-the-wall innings in Ashes history. The series looked over when England trailed by 227 runs and was made to follow-on at Leeds in the third Test.
Then Botham scored 149 from 148 balls, Bob Willis snared 8-43 and England scrambled home by 18 runs. The fourth Test also went England’s way – by 29 runs – with Australia routed for 121 chasing 151 (Botham took 5-11 from 14 overs). The series was over when Botham made 118 in the second innings of the fifth Test and he finished the series with a team-high 399 runs and 34 wickets.
8. Steve Waugh’s last ball century and Nasser bowling in Brisbane, 2002-03
Poor Nasser Hussain. More than 20 years have passed as the former England skipper is still reminded of his decision to win the toss and bowl in Brisbane. It set the tone for the entire series. Matthew Hayden plundered 197, Ricky Ponting added 123 and Australia was at one stage 1-339 after being sent in.
Glenn McGrath provided a highlight which is still replayed to this day when he dived full length to catch Michael Vaughan in Adelaide. Vaughan was immense in a team which lost 4-1, scoring 633 runs at an average of 63.3. The fifth Test is best remembered for Steve Waugh’s hundred off the last ball of the day at the SCG – which even delayed the news on Channel 9 around Australia. Nothing like a nice half volley from Richard Dawson outside off when you’re on 98.
9. Bradman’s Ashes
England has Botham’s Ashes. Australia has Bradman’s Ashes. Given, very few modern-day cricket fans weren’t alive to see Bradman’s brilliance in the flesh in 1936-37. Australia’s greatest ever batter owned this Ashes series, scoring 810 runs in nine innings (319 more than the second highest run scorer Stan McCabe). England was on the cusp of surging to a 3-0 lead after winning the first Two Tests by 322 runs and an innings and 22 runs. Then Bradman scored 270 in Australia’s second innings in Melbourne, leading his side to a series-salvaging victory. Bradman doubled up again in Adelaide, scoring 212, then piled on 169 of Australia’s 604 in the deciding Test. England was routed twice, Australia won the series 3-2 and Bradman had arguably his finest moment as the national captain.
10. The 1948 Invincibles
Don Bradman’s Invincibles were in England for five months, played 34 matches (including five Tests) and returned to Australia without losing a match. In the period after Australia and England had been ravaged by war, the 17 tourists are said to have represented a symbol of hope for Australians. However, some would argue about the quality of opposition as England continued its long recovery from the Second World War. The Aussies won four of the five Ashes Tests with Arthur Morris, Ray Lindwall and Bill Johnston among the heroes. This team is still revered as one of the greatest Australia has sent overseas for any cricket tour.
HONOURABLE MENTION
1974-75
Ashes cricket would never be the same again after this series. Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee arrived as a cyclonic Ashes force, combining for 58 wickets and leading Australia to a 4-1 triumph. This heralded the arrival of Australia’s new breed of fast bowler and Thomson and Lillee would become two of Test cricket’s greatest quicks. Thomson took 100 of his 200 Test wickets against England and Lillee 167 out of his 355 scalps. It is the series which paved the way for tearaway quicks such as Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson to wreak havoc and changed the dynamic of Australia’s Test bowling attack.
Originally published as The 10 greatest Ashes series in history ranked
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