Well Done, England.

thirty7

I know i could've put this in the Final Test thread, but I really wanted to show how sincere i was about this. As an Australian, I've been used to seeing us dominate anybody who took their place against us. Sure, i have cheered them on during this and supported them, but it took this Ashes Series for me to truely appreciate cricket again.

A part of me is upset, we've lost the ashes, but the other part is proud that the most deserving team claimed them. For me, however, there have been Four big stars during this entire series:

Brett Lee: His courage and vigor has earnt a whole new wave of respect from all cricket punters. Two years ago, he was seen as a pretty boy who could bowl fast, but now he's one of the gutsiest players ever, and almost our new spearhead.

Simon Jones: Master of reverse swing. England's most impressive bowler througout the series. Never mind what stats say, he's the guy that caused us the most problems. When he returns from injury, he could very well establish himself amongst the upper-level of fast bowlers.

Andrew Flintoff: Freddie as he likes to be called has done it all, with bat and ball. When Australia looked comfortable earlier int he series, he smashes a ton, to take the advantage back. When Australia looked like they were going to post a big total at The Oval, he comes in a bowls one of the greatest spells (unchanged) of all time. A bonafide superstar of the game

And finally, the man who i thought should have been named man of the series

Shane Warne: The Greatest Ever. Throw around other candidates for that title. Bradman? Sure, greatest batsman of all time. Crushing tons and a huge average, but did he ever singlehandedly keep a series alive? Botham? Champion bowler and batsman, but wasn't always consistent with the stellar performances. There's more as well, but i think the points would just start to repeat themselves. Quite simply, without Warne. England would've won 3 or 4 to 1. He carried the spirit of the team, that only maybe Brett lee could match for the Aussies, and never gave up. 40 wickets at 21 and 240 odd runs, is the ultimate performance.

So with the series in the bag, it had it all. The confirmation of greatness (Warne), the end of the road (Gillespie), the emergence of new stars (Pietersen), the resilence and ability to dig in (Lee and Giles /Whose 59 was just as important as Pietersen's 158/), the close finishes (Edgbaston, Old Trafford, Trent Bridge) and on and on.

The greatest series ever and one i will not soon forget. Well Done, England.......but we'll see you in 18 months

I wish my sex life was like ECW, first you get a One Night Stand followed by 2 months of nostalgic orgasms and then 6 months of constant sucking.

Toss

It's a strange feeling losing the Ashes.

England do deserve it though.

Wonderful series and an excellent post to go hand in hand.

Next we'll be losing the league!

thirty7

Cheers mate, for the comment and rep

I'd like to hear more thoughts about the series from anyone who followed it. I could talk about it forever. Which is weird for a supporter on the losing side.

I wish my sex life was like ECW, first you get a One Night Stand followed by 2 months of nostalgic orgasms and then 6 months of constant sucking.

Tyler Durden

Awesome post thirty7 and well in keeping with this fantastic series.

It's an unusual thing when you win against your great rival in sport and yet the day includes things like the English crowd singing "we wish you were English" at Warney and showing genuine fondness for Bret Lee (he's been quite taken to by England supporters).

I actually got into cricket in the 1993 Ashes series, the one in which Warney (my own personal favourite cricketer ever) came to prominence. It's strange that I got into a sport in which our rivals were so dominant but Cricket is just that kind of sport....it's really completely different to football in that you can go watch your team and you desperately want to win but you also want to see the very best of the opposition too.

As for the Australian team, I don't expect players retiring or being dropped all over the place. These players have been so good for so long that I would have thought their selectors would want those players to have the return crack at us, albeit with maybe a tweak or two to the side, nothing drastic. I won't be patronising about what the Aussies need to do since you guys will know better than me.

I just can't wait for the DVD to come out now!!

thirty7

Sorry, I know i'm gonna go on about this for a while. But another positive about the series is cricket's increased popularity in the UK. it's kicked off the soccer many many times from the front and back pages of the papers there.

Now kids are probably growing up thinking, "I want to be the next Freddie Flintoff" or "I want to be the next Kevin pietersen" or "I want to be able to catch like Geriant Jones" (wait a minute!)

International cricket needs a couple more teams now to step up like England has, and start a cricket rejuvenation around the globe.

I wish my sex life was like ECW, first you get a One Night Stand followed by 2 months of nostalgic orgasms and then 6 months of constant sucking.

K Jay

I could'nt agree more especially in the case of Shane Warne too, an absoloute icon. And in return I would also like to congratulate Australia for being part of the greatest series of all time. Lets hope our nations can raise others so that the standard of 4.5 runs an over against top class bowling is repeated in test's all over the world.

I had a sig, once.