Watch Out

Flintoff was overawed in his first Ashes Test but the tourists underestimated him; they thought he was scared of fast bowling. Pietersen, with two half-centuries, was the man who first challenged the Australians with his aggression and cockiness. He hit McGrath and Warne into the stands, winking at Warne after doing so. “We were nervous about Pietersen,” Gilchrist said. “England had a champion in their batting and they could all ride along on his wave.”

Vaughan told his players to forget the defeat. “He didn’t say anything negative,” Jones said. “He was good at keeping our heads up and stopping anyone getting too tense.” Privately, Vaughan felt the occasion had got to his players. Australia celebrated in the pavilion until midnight over pizza and beer. Langer led them into the empty England dressing room for their victory song. This caused unease among some, who thought they should have waited until they were 3-0 up.

The match turned on the first morning when McGrath stepped on a ball and put himself out of the game and Ponting, overly aggressive, asked England to bat.

Coach Duncan Fletcher, in the England dressing room, thought: “Great toss to win, Vaughany.”

“He allowed us back in,” Vaughan said. “If Australia had batted first I’m not sure we would have won the Ashes.” Ponting denied rumours of an argument but conceded Warne had disagreed with bowling first. Vaughan was amazed at the way his side hit 407 on the first day.

“The funny thing was that because we kept taking regular wickets, it didn’t strike us that we were losing control,” Gilchrist said. “Most worryingly, our most experienced pace bowler, Jason Gillespie, had no venom. Trescothick and Pietersen were really going after him.” England were determined to be more positive, especially Flintoff. Riding early luck, he hit 12 fours and nine sixes in innings of 68 and 73. He shared a crucial last-wicket stand of 51 with Simon Jones after Warne had dragged Australia back into the game. “We knew we needed more runs. Fred went berserk and it changed the game,” said Jones.

Flintoff capitalised with the ball as Australia chased 282, dismissing Langer and Ponting in his first over. “There was nothing Ricky could do,” Gilchrist remembered. “They were the most vicious deliveries you could ever see, swerving in the air and leaping off the deck, beating his bat, hitting his body . . . Flintoff stood there like Hercules and his teammates mobbed him. I remember thinking, ‘We are in big strife’.”

The fourth morning was almost unbearable. England needed two wickets, Australia 107 runs. A full house gathered but fell eerily quiet as Australia progressed serenely. The only noise was England players geeing each other up. Even Fletcher said he was churning up inside. Warne fell but Michael Kasprowicz survived an lbw appeal and, with 15 wanted, was dropped at third man by Jones. “I thought I’d dropped the Ashes. I lost the ball in the crowd. I just guessed where it was going and dived. It hit me on the thumb. There was no consoling me.”

The visitors’ dressing room, at first resigned, grew tense. Gillespie and Katich ticked off the runs on a newspaper, Gilchrist read a magazine. Brett Lee, batting, did not notice the score until the runs needed fell below 20. With four wanted, he caned Harmison through the covers. Lee, like many others, thought he’d sealed the winning runs but Jones was on the boundary. “I thought, ‘Do not miss this. If you do, the game’s over’. I got the long barrier out.” One run switched the strike to Kasprowicz, who moments later gloved a catch to Geraint Jones.

“The relief was incredible. I ran around like an idiot, screaming,” said Simon Jones. “Freddie was holding Vaughany up but what I remember most was Geraint running down to the fans who had been giving him stick all game. I really felt for him. He took a wonderful catch. I think that finished the Aussies a little bit. They were like, ‘How have we not won that?’”

The Australians went into the England dressing room for a beer. Later, Simon Jones went out with Pietersen into Birmingham and ended up in an Australian bar, wearing Dennis Lillee headbands and sunglasses. “We enjoyed ourselves . . . it was just a massive, massive release.”

The day before the game, Ponting was told by Reg Dickason, Australia’s security manager, that death threats against him had been sent to the Australian board. “Emails suggesting I deserved a bullet in the head were received; the writer also explained that he knew people in this country who were willing to carry out the threat,” Ponting wrote. “Rianna \ was upset and quite shaken when I told her.”