"JONES... BOWDEN!!" (The Ashes - England V Australia 2005 (3 DVDs))

Member Name: litefoot

Product:	The Ashes - England V Australia 2005 (3 DVDs)
Date:	05/02/06 (673 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The original footage, all the highlights, all the wickets...

Disadvantages: Some poor extras

2005 was a great year for British sport. An English football club won the Champions League, Wales won the Six Nations and of course, England finally beat Australia to win the Ashes.

Although played throughout the country, cricket isn't as popular a sport as football on these shores, and for many years England had suffered wretchedly in the game. Often mocked by the press for losing to opponents they would once have brushed aside with ease, the England team had been getting used to losing, particularly against Australia. England hadn't beaten them in a Test series since 1987.

Then a few years ago, England installed a new coach, Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher. He began to turn the team's fortunes around. New, young players brought into the Test squad proved successful, and England were suddenly winning Test matches. The future of England cricket was looking rosy.

Eyes were turned toward Summer 2005, and England's next opponents, the number one side in the world, Australia. They were regarded as the ultimate test for England. The Australian team contained many world class players with both bat and ball who usually crushed their opponents with ease.

The media had been building up the contest, ever since the England cricket team had been winning matches on a consistent basis and putting together a run of unbeaten Test series at home and abroad. Could we finally prove our worth be defeating the greatest team in the world?

Well, we certainly got our answer, didn't we?

What a summer it was.

When the First Test began, it was the cricket fans and the curious who tuned into watch. By the end of the Fifth Test, the whole nation had been sucked in as well, gripped right until the very last day.

The Ashes were so successful that a DVD boxset of the entire series was released just before Christmas. It was a bestseller, finding it's way into many of the nation's Christmas stockings (I was surprised that no one had reviewed this product on Dooyoo!).

The boxset consists of three discs covering eight hours of highlights from all five tests. Disc One has the First and Second Tests, Disc Two has the Third and Fourth Tests and Disc Three the Fifth Test and the extras. Each disc has it's own case. I find this odd in DVD boxsets, because it would surely be cheaper to make more compact packaging where all the discs are in one case. But that's a minor quibble.

This is the best Sports DVD I've bought. The main plus is that it uses Channel 4's original coverage from start to finish. Mark Nicholas, Richie Benaud, even Simon Hughes' broom cupboard analysis, it's there. We see exactly what we saw during the summer. Many sporting DVDs use secondary coverage made by the sport's governing body, with flat commentary and poor footage, but thankfully not this time.

When the tests were on TV, Channel 4 would also show a half hour highlights programme of the day's play every evening, and this is essentially what you get here. It's exactly what you remember and exactly what you want in such a package.

Each test begins with an introduction by presenter Nicholas, describing the build up to the test, what each team did beforehand, and what happened before play commenced (the coin toss, and Glenn McGrath's injury being examples). Each Test can be watched all at once, or you can pick Days One through Five via the menu (useful if you want to see a particular moment).

The DVD features every possible moment of the series that you could want to see. All the wickets, all the sixes, all the crucial moments. Andrew Strauss's superb mid air catch? Yup. Steve Harmison's slower ball to bowl Michael Clarke? Of course. And the moments when a player scored a century, or even Darth Vader and Hugh Grant watching from the stands...

The quality of the footage itself is perfect. Crisp, clear and bright, it's almost better than watching it on Channel 4 itself. The picture size is 16:9 so make sure you have the screen set right!

But what of the action itself? What happened? Read on...


DISC ONE

Both the Lords and Edgbaston Tests feature on Disc One. There's nine days of action to choose from on the menu, or you can watch both tests from beginning to end.


"GLENN McGRATH IS SO, SO GOOD" (First Test, Lords)

The Ashes kicked off with the First Test on a warm summer day in July 2005. After all the hype, it was time to see if England could deliver. Australia won the toss and decided to bat on what seemed a good batting pitch. From the beginning, Australia's openers had an uncomfortable time as England came at Australia hard and fast, bowling balls that struck blows (captain Ricky Ponting's cheek scar was evident throughout the series, and you get to see the strike on the DVD, in slow motion, blood and all). It was Matthew Hoggard who took the first wicket, bowling Matthew Hayden for 12. (It's sometimes difficult to follow the path of the ball in the air on the DVD but you certainly see the catches!). Then Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer went for 9 and 40 respectively. The trend continued, with each batsman going for very poor scores, and Steve Harmison eventually ended up with figures of 43-5. Australia were all out for 190 in the space of a few hours! The crowd had gone from caution to jubilation.

However we all crashed back to earth when England started to bat. Our strongest openers, Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss, were at the crease for barely 15 minutes when Glenn McGrath, Australia's top pace bowler, got them out for 4 and 2 respectively. Captain Michael Vaughn and newbie Ian Bell were similarly shellshocked as McGrath bowled them for 3 and 6. All rounder Andrew Flintoff followed and the score was 21-5 (commentator Nicholas was suitably cowed by this point. You'll hear all the commentators pay tribute to any good Aussie performances and rightly so!) Shane Warne later said it was like bowling to the Under-11s. It was looking dire for England and a good innings was needed from someone to get them out of trouble.

That player was Kevin Pietersen, a new test player (Pietersen was born in South Africa but came to England in the early stages of his career). He played fluently and began to build a good score while the other English wickets continued to fall. He was eventually caught off Warne but not before he had scored a good 71. Bowler Simon Jones contributed some more runs before England were 155 all out. Not a good performance but still within touching distance of Australia.

Unfortunately the Aussies had got their act together and began to score runs in their second innings. The wickets still fell, but the score was growing quickly and England's fielding was poor, with many dropped catches. Michael Clarke top scored with 91, helping Australia to an almost unassailable lead of 419.

England came out for their second innings with a massive task on their hands, but after a good start (80 for no wicket), the batsmen started to collapse, reminiscent of their old ways. Captain Michael Vaughn once again failed to reach double figures. Kevin Pietersen picked up where he left off, batting another good innings, but the other batsmen came and went quickly. The final insult came when the last four batsmen all went for ducks (0) leaving Pietersen stranded on 64. Spinner Shane Warne finished with figures of 83-6. England were all out for 180, and Australia had eased to victory. Not a good start. But a thrilling watch all the same.


"COULD BE OUT... OUT OF THE GROUND" (Second Test, Edgbaston)

After the First Test, the press predictably lashed out at the England team (and you can see the newspaper headlines on the DVD). Poor batting and spin bowler Ashley Giles were the targets. Giles went on the defence by saying he was the best spinner England had. But it was clear to all that the team needed to up their game considerably.

Before the Second Test began, England got lucky - twice. First, Glenn McGrath hurt his ankle during the morning warm up and had to withdraw. Then, after winning the toss, Ricky Ponting opted to bowl first, when all the conditions suggested that batting first was the best option.

England's two batsmen came out determined to do a job and they both started brightly, with a solid platform of 112 for no wicket. Trescothick scored 90, his highest of the series and it was a shame that he didn't get a century. Pietersen scored highly, as did Andrew Flintoff, hitting 68 runs off 62 balls, including five brilliant sixes. England were all out for 407, a big total. But what could Australia do?

The Aussies started badly when Matthew Hayden was caught off Matthew Hoggard first ball. Langer and Ponting made good scores, but the Aussie lineup never seemed comfortable against England's bowling and the Poms were soon in charge, Andrew Flintoff getting three wickets for 52. Ashley Giles also came to the party, memorably bowling his equal number Shane Warne. Australia finished 100 runs behind on 308.

England returned to the crease, but batted very poorly, except for Andrew Flintoff, who scored another 70 runs, including four sixes. It left Australia needing 282 to win, a reasonable total. But once again their batting began to stutter against some superb English bowling, led by hero of the hour Andrew Flintoff, who bowled one of the most magical spells of the series, taking three wickets in eight balls. And when Michael Clarke was removed at the end of day four, it looked like job done. Only three more wickets were needed to secure victory while Australia needed over 100 runs.

On the final day, the crowd expected a quick victory but the tension around the ground began to grow as England didn't take those wickets, and the batsmen scored runs. Australia were within three runs of victory with one wicket remaining, when Harmison found a ball from *somewhere* and Kasprowicz gloved to Jones. Billy Bowden raised his crooked finger and the crowds rose as one. Richie Benaud's commentary at the end is fantastic, using only a few words:

"JONES!! BOWDEN!! KASPROWICZ THE MAN TO GO!!!"

The series was level at 1-1!


DISC TWO

Both the Old Trafford and Trent Bridge Tests are on Disc Two, with nine days of play to choose from.


"OUT. NO, IT'S A NO BALL! AWWWW, BAD LUCK YOU AUSSIES!" (Third Test, Old Trafford)

The Third Test began with the nation on a high. After what happened at Edgbaston, cricket was suddenly exciting again, and pulling in the viewers. Could England continue their good form?

Answer: yes they could. Michael Vaughn won the toss and decided to bat. And it was the captain himself who delivered, with an amazing, gripping innings of 166. Glenn McGrath had returned to the fold but didn't bowl well. At a crucial moment he thought he'd bowled Vaughn on 50, but the umpire signalled a no ball (resulting in Geoffrey Boycott's excited commentary above... he always came out with the best quotes, all taken from the DVD commentary). Useful scores from Trescothick and (finally!) Bell gave England a great total of 444.

The Aussies were once again chasing England's score, and once again, they fell cheaply, their first three openers failing to score 100. Shane Warne's 90 got them back on track, but they finished on 302, 142 short of England. England collapsed in the second innings and would have been in trouble but for Strauss's century. He scored 102. Vaughn declared, leaving Australia needing 430 to win, and England a full day to bowl them out.

It was Ricky Ponting who came to Australia's rescue. He batted through the day, scoring 158, and although they didn't get the runs they needed to win, Australia survived the day with one wicket to spare. The match finished in a draw.


"SHOT, BOY" (Fourth Test, Trent Bridge)

Vaughn won the toss once more and chose to bat. What followed was a repeat of the last two tests. The opening batsmen again gave a solid platform for the rest to build on, and the heroes this time were Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones. Flintoff had already scored many runs and taken many wickets in the series and the only thing missing was a century, which he duly provided. In a steady but unspectacular innings, Flintoff stumbled over the line after some nervous moments but finally got what he deserved with 102. Jones scored a great 85. England built up their biggest score yet, 477.

The Aussies failed to match England for the third time running. Six of their batsmen failed to reach double figures, and no one was there to rescue them this time. They were bowled out for a feeble 218, and England asked them to follow on (bat again immediately due to their low score). They improved dramatically, each batsman scoring highly, but unspectacularly. One amusing moment was when Ricky Ponting lost his temper after being run out by England substitute Gary Pratt, and the aftermath of this is featured heavily on the DVD (it's great to have these little moments available). The Aussies built up a lead of 129, which looked easy for England. But England's batting collapsed horribly, as Shane Warne and Brett Lee ripped through the order. With only the tailenders left, it was looking dicey as to whether we'd get the runs, but Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard calmly got England through. It was 2-1 to England!


DISC THREE

...containing the final test (over five days) and the extras.


"WHAT A CORKER THAT SHOT WAS" (Fifth Test, The Oval)

And so to the Fifth Test with England needing only a draw to win the Ashes. Michael Vaughn won the toss (much to the delight of the crowd) and opted to bat first again. Early wickets for the Aussies made things look perilous for England but a fantastic 129 for Strauss and 72 for Flintoff helped England finish with 373 all out. A big total but not as big as everyone had hoped, and when the Aussies started batting, it began to look worrying as they scored lots of runs without England taking any wickets. The only plus point was Australia taking the light during their innings and ending play early, helping England towards a draw.

Both Langer and Hayden eventually scored centuries. It wasn't until Saturday when Harmison finally bowled Langer. Ponting followed shortly thereafter, but the score had reached 264-2, only 109 runs behind.

On Sunday, England needed wickets quickly and got them. The rest of the Australians fell like dominoes as Flintoff and Hoggard ripped through their batting order at a rate of knots. Their spectacular collapse from 323-4 to 367 all out was my favourite part of the DVD. They didn't even reach England's total!

England began batting on the Sunday afternoon, but the umpires took them off for bad light and ended the day on 36-1, a lead of 43.

What England had to do on the last day was clear: bat out the day for a draw. Things started brightly as England began to score boundaries but then Vaughn edged one to Gilchrist and suddenly the Aussies smelt blood. 67-2 became 67-3 as McGrath removed Bell in the next ball. Pietersen came in and survived a few early appeals (including Warne dropping an easy chance) but the other wickets continued to fall. Pietersen held firm and started knocking fours and sixes all over the place ("What a bit of batting!" commentates Mark Nicholas, as Warne was lofted for six over his head). When Giles came to the crease, he also stubbornly held on. By mid afternoon the crowd were beginning to party. Pietersen reached 158 and it became clear the Aussies were out of it. With England all out for 341, the umpires took everyone off for bad light and it wasn't until they came back out to remove the stumps ("What a performance from these two gentlemen!") that England's incredible Ashes victory was confirmed.


EXTRAS

The extras are all on the final disc and while not enthralling, some are certainly worth a watch, with 90 minutes worth to choose from.

Simon Hughes' Unique Ashes Analysis
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Simon Hughes is Channel 4's cricket analyst and was memorable during the series sitting in his broom cupboard with a microphone glued to his mouth. Here he provides his own unique analysis of each test.

Five Great Performances with the Bat and Ball
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A quick look at the best batting and bowling performances of the series. Pretty predictable (Strauss, Flintoff, Warne...) and you saw it all in the highlights. I'd rather have seen something else. How about the marvellous Channel 4 theme music and opening credits - the instrumental version of 'Mambo No. 5' which reached number one in the music chart way back in the 90s. Shame it isn't included.

Commentators Moments of the Summer
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This segment features commentators Mark Nicholas, Richie Benaud, Geoffrey Boycott, Michael Atherton, Tony Greig, Michael Slater and Simon Hughes discussing their high points of the test series. All of these gentlemen are excellent commentators (much better than most of those used on BBC Sport) and interesting to listen to. This segment was shown live on Channel 4 during the final test. It's lunchtime and they're sat around a table surrounded by spectators... not enough studio space at the Oval?

Scorecards, Stats and Facts
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Remember when BBC2 used to show Ceefax pages in the early hours of the morning? This is something similar. Sit and watch all the batting and bowling scores appear on screen... if that's your kind of thing. It's pointless as you can see the scores in the main footage.

The Best of the Amazing 4Sight Camera
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Another item to pad things out. What you have here is some slow motion footage of the players and the ball. How exciting. zzzZZZZzzz...

Richie Benaud's Goodbye
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After 42 years, Richie Benaud ended his English career in commentary at the Oval during the final test. This footage features his last few minutes and is very poignant. Amusingly, seconds after Benaud had uttered his last sentence, Glenn McGrath finally bowled Kevin Pietersen to end his innings of 158, forcing Benaud to carry on a little longer!


I can throughly recommend this set to anyone who enjoyed watching the Ashes. Well worth getting and at £14.99 (from play.com), well worth the price too :)

Summary: An excellent DVD release of a great sporting summer