Congratulations England

[Alex]

Firstly Congratulations to England for winning the Ashes, but also a quick note to remind all you English people that you're not World Champions Look at the ICC test rankings and we're still a fair way ahead

However, I do think that the once great Australian team is on the decline. Its a pity we never REALLY hit a peak. I think it WOULD have been about 12-24months ago, BUT because Warne and McGrath were out at this stage it never really happened. That team then, with Dizzy bowling well, Hayden, Langer, Martyn, Ponting, Lehmann, Gilchrist and Clarke/Katich/Love all batting well, if Brett Lee and McGrath had been fit and Warne not suspended, that is when our peak would have been reached...The side is obviously now in decline, BUT i do believe we're still the best side in the world. Look at the latest test match, and I think we would have won if we weren't pressed by the weather, and even tho England were the better side for the majority of the series, they NEVER beat us with McGrath in the side, and the two tests they won were by a very slim 2 runs, and a fairly slim 3 wickets....Also consider that we've lost away series' to India, Sri Lanka during this run, so it isnt really a matter of England doing something no one else has done. I think the high for this run for Aust was beating India in India, and perhaps this was the peak, but I think players were better a little before this, we just never had the team all together at once.

Players like Hayden, Martyn, Gillespie are past their best. McGrath and Warne are still dominating figures, but need support. They have Lee, but they need another good bowler to go with him. Fleming and Gillespie were their previously we havent had anyone of REAL world beating quality apart from them. Katich has looked good previously but has looked flawed in the current series, so he is another whose spot has a question mark on it.

The biggest problem is guys like the Hussey brothers, and Hodge arent THAT MUCH younger then the current side, so it wouldnt be of a huge gain bringing those guys in.

I think it is fitting that we're playing the World XI in the super series now. It is quite possibly a fitting end to a team that has been one of the worlds most dominant and all conquering teams in ANY sport. Any later and the matches could have lost meaning. They have been softened a bit by the loss to England, but when we were at our best against England we proved more then a match, and for an away team playing the next best side in the world that is good enough for me.

Bring on the Super Series, Congratulations to England, and Here's to one of the greatest sporting teams ever

 

[TOON ARMY]

I couldn't give a toss about the rankings, mate. We've won the greatest series in test cricket, the Ashes are home!

This series was the best I have ever seen, the levels of sportsmanship among the players was incredible, the competitiveness of the series was just what was needed. My congratulations go out to all the England players who have taken part in this series, and commiserations to the Australians they have impressed me so much and I have a complete respect for all those players now.

This series for me has also been slightly bittersweet. I mean that as in this was a series of endings. The ending of Cricket on free to air television, and the end of Channel 4's excellent coverage, the end of the career in British television commentary of the greatest commentator of all time, the end of the test career in England of two of the greatest bowlers of all time in Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Ashes series in this country will miss those two, and cricket will miss the commentary of the legendary Richie Benaud. You can't often say that about a commentator.

So raise your glass, here's to the Ashes coming home and the best test series in living memory

 

[Alex]

I couldn't give a toss about the rankings, mate. We've won the greatest series in test cricket, the Ashes are home!

This series was the best I have ever seen, the levels of sportsmanship among the players was incredible, the competitiveness of the series was just what was needed. My congratulations go out to all the England players who have taken part in this series, and commiserations to the Australians they have impressed me so much and I have a complete respect for all those players now.

This series for me has also been slightly bittersweet. I mean that as in this was a series of endings. The ending of Cricket on free to air television, and the end of Channel 4's excellent coverage, the end of the career in British television commentary of the greatest commentator of all time, the end of the test career in England of two of the greatest bowlers of all time in Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Ashes series in this country will miss those two, and cricket will miss the commentary of the legendary Richie Benaud. You can't often say that about a commentator.

So raise your glass, here's to the Ashes coming home and the best test series in living memory

Haha, yeah I know, and Im bitter about losing the Ashes, just living in London atm, Ive had to remind loads of English people that theyre not the first people to beat us away from home, and that we're still World Champs...Wish we still held the Ashes tho. Being only 21, I cant remember Australia ever not holding them

Im still not 100% subscribing to the theory that this is the best test series in history...Im sure Indians would still claim their 2-1 defeat of Australia in India was better...We made them follow on and they came back to win, both teams were in form and playing well, had full squads, and every match went to a result.

Of course English people think this is the best series ever, but Im not sure the rest of the world agree...Consider that guys that previously averaged 50+ in the Australian side were averaging 25...You can put it down to Englands bowling a bit, but considering Shane Warne scored loads of runs this summer, it points to these batsmen being well out of form. Not making excuses, its our responsibility to come over here in form, but we obviously didnt (we played bugger all cricket before arriving in England and just came off a big lay off) we lost to Bangladesh this english summer remember!

Again, dont get me wrong, England were the better side this summer, but one hot day doesnt make a summer Australian batsmen lacked form, Gillespie chose this series as the series that he'd change from a top 5 in the world pace bowler to a rank first class bowler, and McGrath decided to keep hurting himself in training

The sportsmanship was great, and as Tony Greig said, many Australians are slightly glad that we're no longer 'invincible' its brought some credit back to the game, and gives Australia something to strive towards...

As for it being Warne and McGraths last ever series in England, what about Gilchrist-along with Warne the only other player to get in the team of the century and the all time best keeper/batsmen he has changed a wicket keepers role possibly forever and has the highest strike-rate in the history of test cricket...He will never return to England either. Either will Hayden a man who once held the World test highest score, and has averaged around 55 for most of his test career. Damien Martyn, a guy who has average around 50 for his test career and has for years been Australias main stay in the middle order, especially against spin bowling. Jason Gillespie-a guy who has taken 250 test wickets at around 25, something that is up their with most greats, but has always been overshadowed by McGrath and Warne, and was plagued by injury at possibly the peak of his career...and Finally Justin Langer...He has been the hardest man to get out in the world I believe, and loads of bowlers have agreed. Averaging a touch under 50, but since coming back into the side as opener he has been over the magestical half century average.

The best Australian before this ashes was:
Hayden
Langer
Ponting
Martyn
Clarke
Katich
Gilchrist
Warne
Lee
Gillespie
McGrath

Possibly the best side to ever take the cricket field. Next Ashes series in England, there will 90% likely be no Hayden, Langer, Martyn, Gilchrist, Warne, Gillespie or McGrath...7/11 players is a huge change, and is really the start of the end for the best side we've seen for a long time, possibly/likely ever.

 

[Tom]

yeah congrats to england, but i gotta agree with a lot of what Alex says, you STILL got the feeling that with a fully firing McGrath, Warne and Less it could have been a different story, Australia's 4th bowling option never got going, and due to this more pressure was pounded on the main 3. Whether it be Kasprovic, Gillespie or Tait; it just didnt work.

The Aussie batting performances were actually disapointing to watch from a cricketers standpoint, well regarded as the best team ever they were sadly under par, particularly the normally excellent Gilchrist was subdued throughout, with only one decent performance. Ponting chipped in with a fantastic hundred in one innings but apart from that he had a similarly disapointing performance to that of Vaughan's.

The Australian openers were good, Langer and Hayden always seemed dangerous and regularly got off with good starts, again Katich wasnt bad and Martyn and Clarke chipped in at useful points, argubly the most surprising of events were the tail-enders performance, Lee and Warne piled on masses of runs throughout the series.

However, when all said and done England have one and its easy to see why, the openers were good in most games, Trescothick got off to starts in almost every innings and Stauss added some vital runs in certain innings'. Bell was easily the worst player of the entire series, and despite some useful fielding, one good knock and his youth, he is unlikely to retain his place next summer. Vaughan FINALLY came good when it was actually needed, a misfiring start made way for some excellent cricket at points, again though; a series that will be remembered for his CAPTAINCY, not his batting.

England's middle order are probably the champion batters of the tournament, Pieterson and Flintoff were the thorns in the Aussie side, whenever one failed the other seemed to triumph, today's finish epitomised this. Pieterson has come into an established side and proved he can hack it around the big boys, meanwhile, Freddie continues on his upwards slope, showing just how important he really is. However, in the middle of all this lets not forget Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles batting performances throughout, both have provided essential cover when needed and both have improved vastly as the series wore on.

However argubly the biggest swinger of the series has been England's superb bowling, neat inter-changing combinations by Vaughan has troubled the Aussies from start to finish, and despite the australian bowling problems, there is NO excuse for some of the battling collapses that are so rarelly attributed to the Australian sides of old. Harmisson has been decent enough to warrant his continuation as England's main strike bowler, he may never show the form he did in West Indies on the hard wickets but here in England he provides enough worthwhile problems to upset opposing teams. Hoggard is another who has come on throughout the series, taking very useful wickets with his clever mixing of fast and swing bowling. Possibly the biggest surprise is that of Simon Jones, after a horrible injury over a year ago it was wonderful to see him back on top form, able to scare any batsmen in the Australian team, it was a welcome sight to see a 4th "strong" bowler in the attack.

That of course leaves Flintoff and Giles, Andy's performances have been nothing short of perfection with the ball, refining his action over the past few years have changed Freddie into an amazing bowler with frightening pace, probably the ONE player who Australians really feared when bowling. Ashely Giles, the old "wheely-bin", well i suppose its a tad harsh to call him that anymore, on some distinctly boring wickets Ashley has produced some fantastic bowling, sometimes only a tad worse than that of the godlike Warne, Ashley has gone up so much in my opinion.

My ratings!! lol:

Langer 6 (good as ever but not enough BIG innings)
Hayden 6 (similar to Langer, always looked solid but one more 100 from each would have won the series for Australia)
Ponting 7 (massive score was enough to get a draw at Old Trafford, his captaincy has been immense apart from "that" toss)
Martyn 6 (again good, but it would have been nice to see one more convincing innings)
Clarke 7 (probably the most promising man on the pitch, excellent in the field and great with the bat, i look forward to seeing him again)
Katich 6 (bit of a disapoint for me, never really looked dangerous)
Gilchrist 5 (great wicketkeeper but his batting has been woeful, mind you never ever understimate him )
Warne 10 (godlike, simply amazing and easily the player of the series)
Lee 8 (not just a great bowler but some amazing batting performances too, what a player to watch)
McGrath 8 (cant give him a 9 for the missed tests, always good and always scary, WHAT a bowler)
Tait 5 (poor, not ready for the test match arena just yet but his unique delivery is one to watch)

Trescothick 8 (ive been impressed with his actual consistency, how many times in the past has he got out for 1's and 2's having a dabble outside off stump!)
Strauss 7 (one great innings and a few to back it up, great to watch. Him and Marcus make a good team)
Vaughan 7 (poor batting apart from one big knock, his captaincy has been perfect though)
Bell 4 (come on, he tries hard but he never impressed me at county level; nevermind test level)
Pieterson 8 (amazing debut series in the international arena, we shall watch his career with great interest)
Flintoff 9 (not AS good as Warne but an amazing performance anyway, Flintoff isnt the best batter and might not be the best bowler, but the fact he can do both makes him special, real special)
G Jones 7 (ive been impressed with his "holding" batting style but his wicketkeeping is a cause for concern)
Giles 8 (clever bowling from a clever mind, some decent batting performances have been nice too)
Hoggard 7 (very good late on but a few poor early tests, disapointing with the bat)
Jones 8 (back with a vengence and was sorely missed in the last test, very important player for England)
Harmisson 7 (consistent but rarely amazing apart from the odd wicket, very much a mainstay in the england team though.)

sorry long post!

Congrats England and well done Australia!

TROD.

 

[Alex]

yeah congrats to england, but i gotta agree with a lot of what Alex says, you STILL got the feeling that with a fully firing McGrath, Warne and Less it could have been a different story, Australia's 4th bowling option never got going, and due to this more pressure was pounded on the main 3. Whether it be Kasprovic, Gillespie or Tait; it just didnt work.

The Aussie batting performances were actually disapointing to watch from a cricketers standpoint, well regarded as the best team ever they were sadly under par, particularly the normally excellent Gilchrist was subdued throughout, with only one decent performance. Ponting chipped in with a fantastic hundred in one innings but apart from that he had a similarly disapointing performance to that of Vaughan's.

The Australian openers were good, Langer and Hayden always seemed dangerous and regularly got off with good starts, again Katich wasnt bad and Martyn and Clarke chipped in at useful points, argubly the most surprising of events were the tail-enders performance, Lee and Warne piled on masses of runs throughout the series.

Martyn was very unlucky, was given out LBW 3 times in the series when he clearly edged it, but he didnt play that well anyway...Katich struggled as did all left handers it seemed, and I disagree with you on Hayden. He was possibly the worst performer in the side until his last match century saved his place in the side.

However, when all said and done England have one and its easy to see why, the openers were good in most games, Trescothick got off to starts in almost every innings and Stauss added some vital runs in certain innings'. Bell was easily the worst player of the entire series, and despite some useful fielding, one good knock and his youth, he is unlikely to retain his place next summer. Vaughan FINALLY came good when it was actually needed, a misfiring start made way for some excellent cricket at points, again though; a series that will be remembered for his CAPTAINCY, not his batting.

Englands openers did look much more solid then Australias, altho Strauss always looked like he could get out at any moment. If I had to choose two openers from the impression they gave to the other side, I would have chosen Trescothick (twice if I could ) and probably Langer, even tho Strauss out scored him. Langer just looked more comfortable out there.

Other batsmen in Aust: Clarke looked ok but never his brilliant best for Australia, Katich struggled, Ponting was similar to Clarke in that he looked ok at times, but nowhere near what we expect from him, Gilchrist was crap, and Martyn was unlucky, but didnt look great anyway.

England's middle order are probably the champion batters of the tournament, Pieterson and Flintoff were the thorns in the Aussie side, whenever one failed the other seemed to triumph, today's finish epitomised this. Pieterson has come into an established side and proved he can hack it around the big boys, meanwhile, Freddie continues on his upwards slope, showing just how important he really is. However, in the middle of all this lets not forget Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles batting performances throughout, both have provided essential cover when needed and both have improved vastly as the series wore on.

Both sides tails were good, and this is my big point to most english people who say 'Aust batsmen werent bad just england bowlers were brilliant'...If this was purely the case, then how could Shane Warne and Brett Lee score runs like they did

However argubly the biggest swinger of the series has been England's superb bowling, neat inter-changing combinations by Vaughan has troubled the Aussies from start to finish, and despite the australian bowling problems, there is NO excuse for some of the battling collapses that are so rarelly attributed to the Australian sides of old. Harmisson has been decent enough to warrant his continuation as England's main strike bowler, he may never show the form he did in West Indies on the hard wickets but here in England he provides enough worthwhile problems to upset opposing teams. Hoggard is another who has come on throughout the series, taking very useful wickets with his clever mixing of fast and swing bowling. Possibly the biggest surprise is that of Simon Jones, after a horrible injury over a year ago it was wonderful to see him back on top form, able to scare any batsmen in the Australian team, it was a welcome sight to see a 4th "strong" bowler in the attack.

Jones was brilliant, along with Flintoff. Take those two out, and in this series I think Hoggard and Harmisson would have struggled to make an impact. Its easier for bowlers to have other bowlers softening up batsmen for them, and when Flintoff and Jones werent taking wickets, they were often setting up Harmison and Hoggard. Before this series I didnt rate Jones much, now I think he is brilliant. Hoggard still has some way to go to really impress me.

Harmison is a good bowler, but more suited to West Indies or even Australian pitches. He could be really good in Australia in two years on hard flat pitches.

That of course leaves Flintoff and Giles, Andy's performances have been nothing short of perfection with the ball, refining his action over the past few years have changed Freddie into an amazing bowler with frightening pace, probably the ONE player who Australians really feared when bowling. Ashely Giles, the old "wheely-bin", well i suppose its a tad harsh to call him that anymore, on some distinctly boring wickets Ashley has produced some fantastic bowling, sometimes only a tad worse than that of the godlike Warne, Ashley has gone up so much in my opinion.

My ratings!! lol:

Langer 6 (good as ever but not enough BIG innings)
Hayden 6 (similar to Langer, always looked solid but one more 100 from each would have won the series for Australia)
Ponting 7 (massive score was enough to get a draw at Old Trafford, his captaincy has been immense apart from "that" toss)
Martyn 6 (again good, but it would have been nice to see one more convincing innings)
Clarke 7 (probably the most promising man on the pitch, excellent in the field and great with the bat, i look forward to seeing him again)
Katich 6 (bit of a disapoint for me, never really looked dangerous)
Gilchrist 5 (great wicketkeeper but his batting has been woeful, mind you never ever understimate him )
Warne 10 (godlike, simply amazing and easily the player of the series)
Lee 8 (not just a great bowler but some amazing batting performances too, what a player to watch)
McGrath 8 (cant give him a 9 for the missed tests, always good and always scary, WHAT a bowler)
Tait 5 (poor, not ready for the test match arena just yet but his unique delivery is one to watch)

Trescothick 8 (ive been impressed with his actual consistency, how many times in the past has he got out for 1's and 2's having a dabble outside off stump!)
Strauss 7 (one great innings and a few to back it up, great to watch. Him and Marcus make a good team)
Vaughan 7 (poor batting apart from one big knock, his captaincy has been perfect though)
Bell 4 (come on, he tries hard but he never impressed me at county level; nevermind test level)
Pieterson 8 (amazing debut series in the international arena, we shall watch his career with great interest)
Flintoff 9 (not AS good as Warne but an amazing performance anyway, Flintoff isnt the best batter and might not be the best bowler, but the fact he can do both makes him special, real special)
G Jones 7 (ive been impressed with his "holding" batting style but his wicketkeeping is a cause for concern)
Giles 8 (clever bowling from a clever mind, some decent batting performances have been nice too)
Hoggard 7 (very good late on but a few poor early tests, disapointing with the bat)
Jones 8 (back with a vengence and was sorely missed in the last test, very important player for England)
Harmisson 7 (consistent but rarely amazing apart from the odd wicket, very much a mainstay in the england team though.)

sorry long post!

Congrats England and well done Australia!

TROD.

Ok, now my ratings

Langer 6 Looked ok, and one of the few aussie batsmen in seemingly decent form
Hayden 4 A century in the last test lifted him from a 3 and saved his place in the side
Ponting 5 Poor captaincy didnt attack as captain nearly enough, and didnt do much with the bat apart from his 150 odd
Martyn 4 Played without luck, but needed more then luck to play well this series. Out of touch
Clarke 6 Looked better then most Aussie batsmen, and the only middle order player who seemed to value his wicket a little.
Katich 5 Struggled, but did score some runs and hang around a little. Started out his test career well, but did - albeit suprisingly - look out of his depth
Gilchrist 4 Should have, Could have, Would have been so much better...Poor series from the worlds most devastating bat.
Warne 10 Awesome. How big is this mans heart. 40 wickets is unbelievable, and he scored runs when the batsmen couldnt. Should have been man of the series, but that would have been hard in a losing side.
Lee 7 Bowled without luck, but showed loads of heart with bat and ball
Gillespie 3 Test career all but over for a guy who could have been one of the greats had injury not plagued him (and had he not been in the same side as Mcgrath and Warne )
Tait 5 Didnt do that much wrong, but given limited chances. Occasionally showed glimpses of his potential
McGrath 8 (minus 1 if you count him stepping on that ball in warm up!) He was the difference between the 1st and 2nd tests. He was in the top 5 for series wicket takers, and missed nearly half the games. England never beat Australia with McGrath in the side.
Kasprowicz 4 Out of his depth. Is a good first class bowler, not test quality. Did well to nearly win the 2nd test, and shouldnt have been out (the hand was off the bat)


ENGLAND
Strauss 7 scored some important runs, and looked good once he got in. Always looked a chance of getting out tho.
Trescothick 8 Always looked strong and the hardest englishman to get out. Setup England on numerous occasions.
Vaughan 7 Good captaincy and some good knocks. Did regain some of his lost form, and looked in decent touch from the middle of the series.
Bell 5 Like Katich looked out of his depth. His one big score saved him from being a 4 or lower.
Pieterson 8 Would have been 6-7 had it not been for his century in teh 5th test. Was good without being brilliant until then. Faded in the middle of the series, but his early knocks were important and his 150 was brilliant even with the luck he had.
Flintoff 10 Two players with 10 is almost unheard of, but from an Australians point of view he seemed Englands most dangerous batsmen, and along with Jones their most dangerous bowler...What a player!
Jones 7 Played some important knocks down the order, and in this series I believe got the better of Gilchrist with the bat. Keeping wasnt brilliant needs some work. But has warranted his selection so far I believe.
Giles 7 Bowled some really good spells, and looked handy with the bat, especially as the series progressed and he got past his warnophobia
Hoggard 6 Again took some wickets, but I still think he is the weakest of Englands bowlers. did a reasonable job hanging in with the bat...Comes close to a 7
Harmison 7 Looked dangerous, but wasnt as fierce a prospect as Jones or Freddy. The series suited swingers, and Harmison (like Lee and McGrath) are more seamers. Will be very dangerous in Australia!
Jones 9 Brilliant with the ball. I hope the English people give him the credit he deserves. Great control in his swing bowling tho, especially with the old ball.
Collingwood 3 I think England playing him was a very defensive measure, and it didnt really pay off, and very nearly cost them. Did bugger all with the bat (which was why he was chosen over Anderson) and not a good enough bowler to warrant a test place based on his allround ability.

Australian Average 5.15...Just a pass...
England Average 6.75

Says it all really. Australia just didnt perform. Remember ive seen the England team for the last 20 or so months whilst Ive been in the UK, and I always follow Australia, so have an idea of how players CAN perform, and I think my ratings were based on the players potential as well as how they did...Hence the lower Aussie ratings...

 

[Tom]

yeah i think we kinda agree you know a bit more about the aussies than i do admittidly, but put our two summaries together and its a pretty fair assesment i think

TROD.

 

[Djibril Cisse]

Fantastic effort by the lads , Its a shame when Kevin P bats well Flintoff doesn't how good would we be if Kevin P and Flintoff both perfom well on the same day Special mention has to go out to Simon Jones he missed the last test through injuries, don't know how far we would of got without the crucial wickets his got One thing... it's a shame Warne probably won't play in another Ashes series in England, he was absolutely awesome this series, LEGEND

Glenn McGrath - July wrote:
"I think I was saying 3-0 or 4-0 about 12 months ago, thinking there might be a bit of rain around," he says with a mischievous smile. "But with the weather as it is at the moment, I have to say 5-0." You were saying Glenn

 

[TOON ARMY]

Here we go:

M Trescothick
Still doesn't have an Ashes Century, but generally gave a solid performance. Didn't give his wicket away, which has been his downfall at times. 8

A Strauss
The Aussies thought he was going to be an easy target. Two centuries this series proved them wrong. He is going to be around for a very long time. 9

M Vaughan
Captained superbly and produced the highest score of the series with his 166. However, looked ill at ease against some of the really quick stuff and displayed some technical weakness at time. 7

I Bell
I hope that he is given a further chance as he clearly has the potential to be a top test player. Sadly, the Old Trafford test aside, he disappointed. 4

K Pieterson
His attacking qualities put Australia on the back foot and his century today basically signalled his arrival to Test Match cricket. The England selectors were faced with a tough decision whether to replace Graham Thorpe for him but i think we can safely say it payed off. Proved to doubters he has the bottle to go with the bravado. 8

A Flintoff
Flintoff's Ashes. He is up there with Ian Botham. There is no higher praise. 10

P Collingwood
He will never ever play a more important innings for just 10 runs ever again. He may push Bell for a place in Pakistan. 6

G Jones
85 at Trent Bridge didn't hide the cracks. Technically not the best keeper we have as several spills proved. Also did not shine particularly with the bat. Still made valuable contributions. 6

A Giles
The King of Spain took the flack after Lords, but bounced back well. Clearly not in the same league as Warne, his success came more with the bat. Innings at Trent Bridge and The Oval that paved the way for the Ashes triumph. 7

S Jones
Possibly the pick of the bowlers. Mastered reverse swing and had the perfect touch when it came to nicking much needed wickets. 8

M Hoggard
Plugged away without much success for the first three tests before coming to life in the last two. Our expert swinger, he performed when the conditions were on his side. Also developed into a limpet like batsman. 8

S Harmison
Always capable of roughing up the Aussies and had Langer hoping around like a boxer for most of the series. However, he didn't as many wickets as he would have wanted. He's a Geordie too which is always an advantage. 8

As for the Oz.

J Langer
Always tricky to get out, but one century was a poor return for him. 7

M Hayden
Poor series. His century at The Oval aside, he disappointed. 5

R Ponting
Poor captaincy at times, especially putting England in at Edgbaston. Arguably some suspect field settings at time. His match saving 156 at Manchester was an innings of a life time. 7

D Martyn
A couple of poor umpiring decisions still did not mask a poor series. 5

A Clarke
Arguably the pick of the Oz batsmen and definitely has a hell of a future at this level ahead of him 8

S Katich
Like much of the Oz batting line up, he disappointed. 6

A Gilchrist
So often Oz's match winner, he spent the entire series in Flintoff's pockets. Also looked shaky behind the stumps. 5

S Warne
Was clearly their man of the series. At times it was Warne v England. He merit a 10 as well.

B Lee
Had a blinding series both with ball and bat, and you have to admire his determination throughout the series, dished out a fair few bruises too. 9

G McGrath
Bowled brilliantly at Lords, but I don't think he was fully fit for his remaining two tests. Always a thorn in England's side. 7

J Gillespie
In all probability brought down the curtain on his test career, undeservedly so. 3

S Tait
Couldn't live up to the hype. Will need to improve if he wants to claim the third bowling spot. 5

M Kasprowicz
Nothing special 5

 

[celtic_bhoy]

Here we go:

M Trescothick
Still doesn't have an Ashes Century, but generally gave a solid performance. Didn't give his wicket away, which has been his downfall at times. 8

A Strauss
The Aussies thought he was going to be an easy target. Two centuries this series proved them wrong. He is going to be around for a very long time. 9

M Vaughan
Captained superbly and produced the highest score of the series with his 166. However, looked ill at ease against some of the really quick stuff and displayed some technical weakness at time. 7

I Bell
I hope that he is given a further chance as he clearly has the potential to be a top test player. Sadly, the Old Trafford test aside, he disappointed. 4

K Pieterson
His attacking qualities put Australia on the back foot and his century today basically signalled his arrival to Test Match cricket. The England selectors were faced with a tough decision whether to replace Graham Thorpe for him but i think we can safely say it payed off. Proved to doubters he has the bottle to go with the bravado. 8

A Flintoff
Flintoff's Ashes. He is up there with Ian Botham. There is no higher praise. 10

P Collingwood
He will never ever play a more important innings for just 10 runs ever again. He may push Bell for a place in Pakistan. 6

G Jones
85 at Trent Bridge didn't hide the cracks. Technically not the best keeper we have as several spills proved. Also did not shine particularly with the bat. Still made valuable contributions. 6

A Giles
The King of Spain took the flack after Lords, but bounced back well. Clearly not in the same league as Warne, his success came more with the bat. Innings at Trent Bridge and The Oval that paved the way for the Ashes triumph. 7

S Jones
Possibly the pick of the bowlers. Mastered reverse swing and had the perfect touch when it came to nicking much needed wickets. 8

M Hoggard
Plugged away without much success for the first three tests before coming to life in the last two. Our expert swinger, he performed when the conditions were on his side. Also developed into a limpet like batsman. 8

S Harmison
Always capable of roughing up the Aussies and had Langer hoping around like a boxer for most of the series. However, he didn't as many wickets as he would have wanted. He's a Geordie too which is always an advantage. 8

As for the Oz.

J Langer
Always tricky to get out, but one century was a poor return for him. 7

M Hayden
Poor series. His century at The Oval aside, he disappointed. 5

R Ponting
Poor captaincy at times, especially putting England in at Edgbaston. Arguably some suspect field settings at time. His match saving 156 at Manchester was an innings of a life time. 7

D Martyn
A couple of poor umpiring decisions still did not mask a poor series. 5

A Clarke
Arguably the pick of the Oz batsmen and definitely has a hell of a future at this level ahead of him 8

S Katich
Like much of the Oz batting line up, he disappointed. 6

A Gilchrist
So often Oz's match winner, he spent the entire series in Flintoff's pockets. Also looked shaky behind the stumps. 5

S Warne
Was clearly their man of the series. At times it was Warne v England. He merit a 10 as well.

B Lee
Had a blinding series both with ball and bat, and you have to admire his determination throughout the series, dished out a fair few bruises too. 9

G McGrath
Bowled brilliantly at Lords, but I don't think he was fully fit for his remaining two tests. Always a thorn in England's side. 7

J Gillespie
In all probability brought down the curtain on his test career, undeservedly so. 3

S Tait
Couldn't live up to the hype. Will need to improve if he wants to claim the third bowling spot. 5

M Kasprowicz
Nothing special 5

i would agree with pretty much all of those except Stauss, yes he got two 100's but looked anything but steady throughout the whole series.

 

[aftab]

the end of the test career in England of two of the greatest bowlers of all time in Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

Really? Oh thats very sad man.

Congrats to England. They have proved themselves to be one of the top teams in the world.

I really enjoyed this series, In fact this was the first time i got the chance to watch this series here. Unfortunate for Aussies as the bad weather disturbed the game a bit but England deserved to grab this trophy after 16 years.

England really deserved the ashes, shane warne again showed why he is the greatest leg spinner of all time. Im not sure what changes will the aussie selectors will be undertaking in the future but it said that hayden and gillespe are in real trouble after there dismall showing in ashes.

Cricket became the most popular sport in England during Ashes. Even David Beckham sent them the message of good luck. Good. Now I would say let Pakistan beat England team and make cricket again an unpopular sport in England.

 

[King]

Congratulations England :Bow: :Bow:
Australia r the world champions even though they lost the Ashes.

 

[Alex]

Martyn was dropped by the selectors, which considering for the last year and a half he has carried the side, and had some very unlucky ashes decisions, is quite harsh...Still think it should have been Hayden. Martyn even went ok in the first test....hmmm Martyn the scapegoat again..