2005 Ashes series
Australia won the first Test comfortably, but in the second Test, considered to be one of the greatest of all time, England levelled the series with a two-run victory, the narrowest win in Ashes history. The third Test ended in a draw (with England one wicket away from a win), and England won the fourth Test in Nottingham (Trent Bridge) by three wickets, losing seven men in a chase of 129, after England enforced the follow on after gaining a lead of 259 on first innings.


2005 Ashes series
The fifth and final Test started on 8 September, at the Oval in London. It entered its final day with England batting in their second innings, 40 runs ahead with nine wickets in hand. Australia needed a win to force a 2–2 series draw and retain the Ashes; any other result would give the Ashes to England and end 16 years and eight series of Australian dominance.


2005 Ashes series
After a day of fluctuating fortunes, England established a lead of 341 after Kevin Pietersen's maiden century, and Australia batted for one over before the teams went off for bad light, the stumps were pulled out of the ground, and the match was declared a draw, ensuring the return of the Ashes to England.


2005 Ashes series, Squads
a) Collingwood was added on 1 August for the second Test, but sent back to his county on 3 August.


2005 Ashes series, Squads
b) An injury to Simon Jones saw Anderson come into the squad for the fifth Test, while Tremlett was dropped because he was "not on top of his game" according to England's chairman of selectors David Graveney. Collingwood was also called up again.


2005 Ashes series, Squads
c) Clark was called up as cover for pace bowlers McGrath and Lee before the third Test.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
The first day of cricket at Lord's saw 17 of the total of 40 wickets fall, and though Australia lost 10 of them, the BBC saw it as "advantage Australia". Ricky Ponting won the toss and chose to bat, and Steve Harmison shook up the opening batsmen early on, hitting Australia's batsmen with bouncers; the second ball of the match hit Justin Langer on the elbow but he went on to make 40 and top score for Australia.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
The pitch offered bounce and swing from the start, while Matthew Hoggard got a ball on line to swing between Matthew Hayden's bat and pad and into his off stump. Hayden was gone for 12, having, according to the BBC report, "played nervously from the word go". Australia still scored at a rate above 4.5 runs per over in the mini-session before drinks, which was taken when Harmison cut Ponting on the right cheek, and in his next over Harmison got his first wicket of the series as Ponting edged him to Andrew Strauss at third slip for 9.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
Langer was next to depart, having scored at above five an over when he top-edged a pull shot to Harmison at square-leg for 40 off the bowling of Andrew Flintoff, whose first over in Ashes cricket was a wicket maiden. In the next over, Simon Jones was brought on, he got an immediate reward, with Damien Martyn caught behind for 2, and in the penultimate over before lunch Michael Clarke was lbw to Jones, leaving Australia five down after the first session of play.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
Adam Gilchrist, Simon Katich and Shane Warne all played a part in getting Australia past 100, forging innings in the 20s, but Flintoff had Gilchrist for 26 before Warne and Katich added 49 for the seventh wicket. Harmison, coming back for a second spell, was wicketless in his first two overs but after drinks he took four wickets for seven runs in 2.2 overs as Australia were all out for 190. He finished with five for 43. Glenn McGrath was the not out batsman, ending with 10 runs, and he also opened the bowling with Brett Lee.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
England batted for six overs until tea without losing a wicket, scoring 10 runs, but McGrath, who bowled his usual accurate line and length, reaped the rewards after tea. Marcus Trescothick fell first ball after tea, edging to slip to become McGrath's 500th victim in Test cricket, and Strauss fell in similar fashion three balls later. Michael Vaughan and Ian Bell survived six overs, adding seven runs before McGrath had them bowled in the 13th and 15th over respectively.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
With Flintoff bowled by McGrath in the 17th, and England had lost five wickets for 21 runs, with five of their top six batsmen out in single figures. However, Kevin Pietersen and Geraint Jones batted together to make England's highest partnership of the innings, adding 58 and, according to the BBC report, "treating Jason Gillespie with some disdain". A short ball from Lee was too much for Geraint Jones, though, and he fended it to wicket-keeper Gilchrist, out for 30. Ashley Giles hit two quick boundaries to bat out the over, but the last ball of Lee's next over was glanced to the keeper, and Giles was out for 11, and England were 92 for 7 overnight – needing 98 for the last three wickets to get level with Australia.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
England cut the deficit on the second morning, but were still bowled out before they could build a first-innings lead. Hoggard departed for a 16-ball duck, cutting a delivery from Warne to Hayden in the slips. Pietersen now started to attack, taking 21 runs off seven deliveries before he was out caught by Martyn, a diving catch just inside the boundary, and England were nine down for 122, still trailing by 68.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
The English 10th wicket pairing of Simon Jones and Harmison added 33 after that, a stand that was the fifth-highest of the game thus far and which reduced Australia's lead to 35 runs. In the field, England started by having Langer run out for 6 in the fifth over, but Hayden and Ponting rebuilt to bat until lunch unbeaten.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
Though Hayden was bowled by Flintoff for 34 three overs after lunch, the batsmen from three to six all passed 40; it was to be the only time in the series that Australia accomplished this feat. Clarke needed an extra life to do it, but made England pay after Pietersen dropped him on 21, and thus the partnership was allowed to last for 34.3 overs, with 155 runs being scored. Flintoff was smashed to all corners, with 84 runs being scored off him in his 19 second-day overs, but in the last 10 overs England came back to take wickets.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
Started by an inside-edge from Clarke off Hoggard, which left Australia's 24-year-old batsman bowled for 91, and Australia lost a further three wickets for 24 runs before the end of the day. The Australian lead was still 314, twice England's first innings total and then some, and Katich was still batting, not out on 10.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
Four overs into the morning, specialist spin bowler Giles was involved in a dismissal for the only time in the match, having Lee run out for 8. However, Gillespie batted for an hour and 15 minutes, and took part in a 52-run stand with the recognised batsman, Katich before Simon Jones got his reward with an away-swinger that crashed into Gillespie's off stump, after having three catches dropped. The last-wicket partnership rubbed it in with 43 more runs before Katich was caught by Simon Jones off Harmison, but England were set what would be a world record 420 to win.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
They started positively, riding some favourable umpiring decisions; Aleem Dar turned down four strong leg before wicket (LBW) appeals off Warne. Strauss and Trescothick could thus add 80 for the first wicket before Strauss edged a short ball from Lee back into the bowler's waiting hands. Vaughan got off the mark with a four with his second ball, before facing 24 dot balls in the next three-quarters of an hour.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
Meanwhile, wickets fell at the other end, as Trescothick departed for 44, edging a straight ball from Warne to first slip after having taken him for 10 in the previous over, and Bell was out LBW to a ball that did not turn. Three overs later, Vaughan was bowled cleanly by Lee and Flintoff gave a catch to Gilchrist, England were five down for 119, and though Pietersen once again put on more than 40 runs with Geraint Jones, England still needed 301 for the last five wickets, which would mean five partnerships higher than England had managed all match.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, First Test: England v Australia (21–25 July)
Rain frustrated both Australia and neutral fans who wanted to see cricket played on the morning of the fourth day, but at 1545 BST the rain relented and the covers were taken off. Then, it took 10 overs for Australia to wrap up England's innings, McGrath taking four of the five wickets required and Warne the last; Giles, Hoggard, Harmison and Simon Jones were all dismissed for ducks, and England could only cut 24 runs off Australia's eventual win margin of 239. Twenty-two of those fourth-day runs came from Pietersen who was left stranded on an unbeaten 64 to have a Test batting average of 121 after his first match.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
The psychological battles before the match included many Australian statements to the press about how the pitch "played into [their] hands", that England had been "spending too much time talking", and that their top order had been "taking bad options". England kept quieter, until just before the game stories appeared about how the Edgbaston game would be decided at the toss: whichever side won it would choose to bowl first and would win, as had happened in 12 of the 13 Tests at Edgbaston since 1991. England came out on top in the mind game after Ricky Ponting won the toss and put England in to bat; Jonathan Agnew of the BBC claimed "it was clear that his decision had backfired" once England started batting.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
England took advantage of being inserted and came back strongly, becoming the first team to hit 400 runs in a first day of Test cricket against Australia since 1938. The English scored at a pace above four an over in their opening partnership, helped by the freak injury that Glenn McGrath sustained before the match; during a warm-up (playing rugby), the paceman accidentally stood on a stray cricket ball, tearing ankle ligaments. Australia had to field Michael Kasprowicz as replacement, and missed McGrath's superior control and wicket-taking abilities in the match.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
The English innings began with Marcus Trescothick hitting nine boundaries off Brett Lee, while Andrew Strauss preferred Jason Gillespie and Kasprowicz. Their 112-run partnership was the highest by England in the series thus far; the Australians had only surpassed that once, through Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke's 155 at Lord's. To add to Australia's woes, Trescothick was caught off a no-ball on 32, and eventually went on to make 90, being the second man out shortly after lunch, with the score 164 for 2 after 32.3 overs.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
In the next five overs, England lost both Ian Bell, who notched up his third successive single-figure score, and Michael Vaughan, who pulled a short Gillespie delivery to the hands of Lee, but that did little to slow the scoring rate. 132 runs had been taken in the morning session; the afternoon yielded 157. Kevin Pietersen, in his second Test match, hit ten fours and one six, and made a 103-run partnership in 105 balls with Andrew Flintoff. Flintoff's 68 was scored off 62 balls, and Lee's 18 balls were taken for 26 runs, including two sixes.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
Lee bowled 17 overs, and conceded 111 runs, but got the one wicket of Pietersen, who pulled to Simon Katich for 71 off 76 balls, and with the score on 342 for 7 with 24 scheduled overs remaining in the day. Then, Steve Harmison smacked two fours and a six in a 15-minute 17, and Simon Jones stuck around with Matthew Hoggard for a last-wicket partnership of 32, Jones making 19 not out.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
Shane Warne finally got the better of Hoggard, to end with four for 116, but by that time England had gone past 400 and ended up with a total of 407 in just under 80 overs. Just as Australia's opening batsman walked out and prepared for their innings, the rain began to fall on Edgbaston, and play had to be stopped.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
England's total could have been significantly higher with a bit more top-order application, especially given the high scoring rate. However, England's bowlers started well when Harmison bowled a maiden over first up to Justin Langer, and Matthew Hayden drove Harmison's new-ball partner Hoggard to short mid-off for a golden duck – the first of Hayden's Test career.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
Then, Ponting and Langer hit runs just as quickly as England had done, before the umpire's finger went up twice more before lunch; Ponting swept a shot off Ashley Giles to the opposing captain Vaughan for 61, and Martyn was run out taking a single for 20, again by Vaughan. Langer and Clarke continued after lunch in the same vein, hitting 76 runs in an hour and a half, but a couple of wickets within five overs took Australia to 208 for 5, needing 199 for the last five wickets for parity. The partnership between Langer and Adam Gilchrist saw them to tea with no further loss, as Langer continued his four-hour unbeaten knock and went into the tea break on 72.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
The pair looked to close England's lead and batted unbeaten after tea for eight overs, but again the England bowlers intervened, this time in the shape of Simon Jones, who got plenty of reverse swing both ways and used that to trap Langer with a yorker – gone for 82, which was to be Australia's highest score in the innings.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
Australia's last four, which now included Kasprowicz, who had a batting average 10 runs higher than McGrath, were nevertheless all dismissed for single-figure scores, Flintoff taking the last two men LBW with the last two balls, although there was some argument about whether the first dismissal, that of Gillespie, should have been given. Meanwhile, Giles' return of 3/78, including Ponting, Clarke and Warne, was to be his best bowling figures all series.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
However, England got their 99-run lead and continued to build their lead before stumps were drawn. After Trescothick and Strauss had hit five boundaries in six overs and taken the second innings total to 25 for 0, Ponting brought on Warne in the seventh over, and Warne broke through with his second ball of the innings; his leg break came into the left-hander's stumps and broke them completely, and Strauss was bowled for 6. Nightwatchman Hoggard survived four balls to end the day, when England held a lead of 124 runs, with nine wickets in hand.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
The third day saw a total of 17 wickets fall, with Warne and Flintoff being the leading performers for their sides. First up, Lee grabbed three wickets in 12 minutes: Trescothick slashed a wide delivery and got an edge to the keeper, captain Vaughan got his third single-figure score in the series as he failed to cover his stumps to a straight one, and Hoggard edged to Hayden in the slips for 1.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
England had lost four wickets for six runs, and were 31 for 4 with Bell and Pietersen at the crease. Pietersen survived what looked like an edge on the first ball he faced, and went on to make 20 before he was given out in a similar situation from Warne. His 41-run partnership with Bell took England's lead past 150, and with Bell having batted past the hour mark, he needed 29 more for his half-century when he gave a tiny edge to Gilchrist.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
England's last recognised batting pairing, between Flintoff and wicket-keeper Geraint Jones, saw England to lunch, but Flintoff had suffered an injury to his left shoulder and looked in obvious pain, and Jones departed shortly after lunch. Giles lasted longer, batting through 45 minutes before he was caught by Hayden, and Harmison faced one delivery to leave England at 131 for 9.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
Simon Jones and Flintoff carried on, however. Jones managed 12 runs in his 42-minute stay at the crease while Flintoff took Lee for 33 off the 28 balls he faced from the Australian paceman. Flintoff also took runs off Kasprowicz, with his third over yielding 20 runs for England, including a couple of no-balls. At one point during Flintoff's innings, Ponting had nine men on the boundary, with only the bowler and wicket-keeper inside the circle. However, Flintoff hit a six over them, too, and another of his sixes landed on top of the stands. Flintoff ended with 73, as the only man to pass 25 for England, before he was bowled by Warne. Warne finished with figures of six for 46 from 23.1 overs, having bowled unchanged from the seventh over till the end.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
Hayden and Langer started positively, taking runs off the occasional bad balls that were served up by Harmison, Hoggard and Giles, and by the 12th over, they had racked up 47 for no loss, and were well on the way to chasing the target of 282. Then, Flintoff came and bowled the over of the series. He failed to make the hat-trick he was on from the last innings, but with his second ball he bowled Langer with a leg cutter.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
His third delivery was narrowly turned down for lbw, the fourth found Ponting's edge but failed to carry to slip, an lbw appeal on the fifth was also turned down, but his sixth which Ponting left outside the offstump was a no-ball, so there was a seventh and final delivery, another leg cutter and Ponting was out caught behind. Including the previous innings, Flintoff had taken four wickets in nine balls. But more importantly, Australia had been reduced from 47/0 to 48/2.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
Hayden kept going, and his dismissal came in an over where Australia had taken eight runs from the first four balls; however, Simon Jones got the last laugh over Hayden, only to later be reprimanded and fined by the International Cricket Council for his celebrations. England kept on the pressure, getting three more wickets before the scheduled close of play; Giles getting two, dismissing Katich and Gilchrist, and an in-swinging ball from Flintoff took care of Gillespie, who was trapped lbw.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
An extra half-hour of play was allowed, as a result was nearing, but Warne and Clarke defied the English. Warne "took the attacking approach", and took on Giles for 12 in one over. He ended on 20 not out overnight, as Warne and Clarke batted together for 40 minutes before Harmison, bowling his third spell of the day, brought the third day's proceedings to an end with a slower ball that was not read correctly by Clarke, who missed the ball completely to be bowled. Mark Nicholas, in live commentary, described the delivery as "...one of the great balls. Given the moment, given the batsman and given the match, that is a staggering gamble that has paid off for Harmison. He bowled it perfectly." England now needed two wickets on the fourth day, while Australia needed 107 runs for the victory.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
England were said to be "on the brink of...victory", but Australia came back thanks to two partnerships worth more than 40 to take themselves within three runs of a 2–0 series lead. First, Warne and Lee added 45 for the ninth wicket, before Warne trod on his own stumps after a full Flintoff ball and was out hit wicket. Kasprowicz came in and supported Lee well, fending off aggressive bowling from Flintoff and Harmison, and Simon Jones dropped Kasprowicz with 15 left to get.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
With Australia edging towards victory, preferring singles to risky boundaries, England were now bowling aggressive short balls at the tail-enders, hoping for short catches or to surprise the batsmen with a yorker. With four runs needed to win, Lee drove Harmison's attempted yorker towards the boundary where it was fielded. The Australians crossed for a single, leaving three runs to win with the weaker batsman Kasprowicz on strike. Harmison delivered another short ball, which Kasprowicz fended and Geraint Jones took an athletic catch down the leg side. England appealed, and Kasprowicz was given out caught by Bowden. However subsequent replays suggested that the ball contacted Kasprowicz's glove while not in contact with the bat handle, rendering Bowden's decision technically incorrect. England were nonetheless declared victors – if in almost the most narrow way possible – and the series was thus level with three matches left.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
After a short engagement with his team in victory celebrations, the subsequent reaction of Flintoff to the winning dismissal was to console the despondent batsman, Lee – a gesture which was widely commented upon as indicative of the good sportsmanship and mutual respect between the teams which characterised the series.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Second Test: England v Australia (4–7 August)
England's two-run victory was the narrowest result in Ashes cricket history thus far (there had been two Ashes Tests won by a margin of only three runs). It is also the second narrowest margin of victory in Test cricket history behind only the West Indies' victory by a single run over Australia in Adelaide in 1994.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
With the series square after England's close win in the second match at Edgbaston in Birmingham, neither side could secure the series win after the third Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, so there was still all to play for.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
The match began with England winning the toss, and choosing to bat first, thus giving Shane Warne a chance to become the first man to take 600 Test wickets in England's first innings, and he did so by getting Marcus Trescothick out caught behind by Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist when he mistimed a sweep shot, earning Warne a standing ovation from the Old Trafford faithful.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
After naming an unchanged line-up, England were immediately faced by the pairing of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee. There were doubts about whether they could play before the match started, because of the injuries they had sustained earlier, but they both passed fitness tests. Though Andrew Strauss succumbed in the tenth over, England lost no further wickets before lunch, and only one more before tea.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
There were many missed opportunities for Australia, who dropped Trescothick, Michael Vaughan (twice) and Ian Bell on the first day, which helped Trescothick and Vaughan to get a partnership of 137 before Trescothick was dismissed after lunch. Vaughan powered on, making his hundred after 206 minutes to become the first man in the series to get a century.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
Having made 166 runs, an innings described as "majestic", Vaughan eventually hit Simon Katich straight to McGrath at the boundary, but had still made what was to be the highest individual score in the series. Together with Vaughan, Australia were also faced with a more defiant Bell, who had not passed 25 in his four first innings in the series, but made 59 before the day ended. Picking up where Vaughan left off, Bell, Kevin Pietersen and nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard closed out the day for England with the scoreboard reading 341 for 5, with Lee adding two wickets to the tally before the end of the day.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
Bell did not add to his overnight score, being given out caught behind in controversial circumstances, as replays indicated any contact with the ball involved neither bat nor glove. Following a brief rain interval England then lost two more wickets just before lunch, Andrew Flintoff after scoring a quick-fire 46 and Geraint Jones for 42. After lunch Australia quickly dispatched the remaining two wickets for just a further 10 runs, bowling England out for a score of 444, with McGrath finishing on his worst-ever Test figures of nought for 86.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
Australia started their innings tentatively with Hoggard dropping a low catch from Matthew Hayden off his own bowling. Just before tea Australia lost their first wicket with Hayden out caught at short leg from Ashley Giles first over. After tea Australia lost another couple of wickets, Ricky Ponting caught for seven and Hayden given out lbw for 34. Gilchrist put on 30 before edging the first ball of Simon Jones' spell to Geraint Jones.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
This brought in Michael Clarke who had been recuperating at the team hotel after damaging his back on the first day. Owing to this injury, Clarke needed Hayden to act as a runner. Warne made inroads with the bat, just as at Edgbaston four days previously, but Clarke only managed to add seven runs before being deceived by a reverse swinging delivery from Simon Jones. Warne and Jason Gillespie saw the day out with Warne finishing on 45 not out.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
The day finished with Australia on 214 for 7, 230 behind and needing another 31 runs to avoid a follow-on. The score was adjusted from 210 overnight owing to an umpire failing to signal four byes.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
Rain delayed the start of play until 16:00 BST, and even then only eight overs were possible before play was again suspended, although a further six overs were bowled later on before yet more rain meant that play was abandoned for the day. Australia had the better of the short day's play, adding 50 runs without loss to pass the follow-on target, although Warne was lucky to survive on two occasions thanks to errors by Geraint Jones: with Warne on 55, Jones missed a relatively straightforward stumping opportunity, and on 68 he was dropped after edging a ball from Flintoff. Australia closed on 264 for 7, still 180 in arrears, but England probably felt that they missed several opportunities to put the game beyond their opponents.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
Having been hampered by a rain-shortened day three, the Australians were ready to put more wood to the ball on day four, and they did not disappoint. Warne continued his march towards his maiden Test century before holing out with a hook shot to a well-placed Giles at 90. Simon Jones mopped up the other two wickets to bowl Australia out for 302, Jones finishing the innings with a career best figures of six for 53.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
The English opening partnership of Strauss and Trescothick began their response, scoring 26 before lunch. After lunch, Trescothick played on to be bowled after scoring 41 giving McGrath his first wicket of the match. Strauss put together a fine century, his sixth from just 17 matches, scoring 106 before getting out caught. Gilchrist missed two stumping opportunities to remove Bell and failing to hold a catch to remove Flintoff. Bell capitalised on Gilchrist's errors, partnering Strauss for 28 overs and recording a well-deserved 65.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
Geraint Jones also added a swift 27 with England more concerned about scoring quickly than staying at the crease, and England declared on 280 to give them a spell at Australia in the evening and a chance of winning the match the next day. McGrath recorded another five-wicket haul in an innings, but was expensive, giving away 115 runs. Warne, despite bowling 25 overs, failed to take a wicket, recording figures of 0/74.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
Australia needed 423 to win, which would be a record fourth innings total to win a match. Australia saw out the last 10 overs without losing a wicket and put on 24 runs, leaving 399.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
English hopes of a win were high, and 20,000 people were locked out of the stadium in addition to the 23,000 capacity crowd. Australia started the day needing 399 more runs from 98 overs if they were to claim an unlikely victory. The day started poorly for them with Justin Langer falling for 14 on the seventh ball of the day, nicking a ball delivered by Hoggard behind to Geraint Jones. Ponting narrowly survived being run out early on and this proved crucial in the context of the match as the momentum gradually swung in Australia's direction.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
At one point Australia racked up runs at such a rate that a win became a real possibility. Despite losing Clarke and Gillespie in quick succession to send the team to 264 for 7, Ponting battled on before eventually succumbing to Steve Harmison after seven hours at the crease to record the first Australian century of the series with a score of 156. This was good enough to earn Man of the Match honours.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Third Test: England v Australia (11–15 August)
After the dismissal of Ponting, Australia were 354 for 9 with only four overs remaining, and another thrilling climax occurred with England having a real chance of snatching victory in similar fashion to the second Test. However, the unfancied pairing of Lee and McGrath handled the remaining 24 deliveries to finish on 371 for 9, 52 short of victory but sufficient to draw the game and leave the series tied at 1–1.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
Glenn McGrath was once again ruled out because of injury, this time to his elbow, and Australia also dropped the out-of-form Jason Gillespie, leaving them with a seam attack of Brett Lee, debutant Shaun Tait and Michael Kasprowicz. England, having been on top in the last two Tests, were unchanged.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
England won the toss and chose to bat, and they got off to a flyer. Boosted by no-balls from the seamers – a total of 18 before lunch – Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss made hay quickly, and enjoyed batting on a pitch which gave the bowlers no aid. They recorded their second 100-run opening partnership of the series, before Strauss was freakishly dismissed for 35, sweeping Shane Warne onto his boot and into Matthew Hayden's waiting hands at slip – a wicket confirmed by the third umpire. Michael Vaughan continued on his fine form from Old Trafford, though, punishing bad balls from Lee to go into lunch with his score on 14. Trescothick, meanwhile, rode his luck, as he was bowled off a no-ball on 55, much to Lee's displeasure. At lunch England were 129 for 1.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
Only 3.1 overs were possible in the afternoon session, owing to rain. Coming back after tea, England immediately lost two wickets to Tait, who used the cloud cover to good effect and swung the ball well. However, Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen batted well together for a 67-run partnership, although they were each dropped once. Towards the end of the day, Ricky Ponting brought himself on, and his medium pace yielded a wicket – that of Vaughan for 58. Overnight, the match was evenly poised with England 229 for 4.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
Australia dismissed Pietersen at the beginning of the morning's play, edging a full outswinger from Lee through to wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist. But an unbeaten century partnership from Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones took England's score to 344 for 5 at lunch.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
After lunch, the pair continued to score quickly for another hour, and extended their partnership to 177 before Flintoff was lbw to Tait for 102, his first Test century against Australia. The loss of Flintoff did not deter the English, as Jones continued to hit runs through the off side on the way to his highest score against the Australians, making 85 before he was caught and bowled by Kasprowicz. The next two wickets fell quickly, but a stubborn last-wicket partnership of 23 between Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones – including an incident where the ball hit the stumps but the bails failed to fall off – saw England to 477 all out at tea.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
In the evening session, England's bowlers, especially Hoggard, managed to find much more swing than the Australian bowlers had done, and ripped through the Australian top order. The first three wickets fell in a crucial period of 11 balls (although the third, which dismissed Damien Martyn lbw, was a poor decision – television replays indicated that the ball hit the bat before the body). By stumps Australia had been reduced to 99 for 5 to complete an excellent day for England.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
Katich and Gilchrist decided that attack was the best form of defence, adding 58 in only 8.5 overs in the morning, before England came back to take the next four wickets for the addition of only 18 runs, leaving Australia perilously placed at 175 for 9. Simon Jones was the main culprit, using swing to good effect as he removed Katich and Warne in successive balls, and then had Kasprowicz clean bowled. Lee added 47 in 44 balls, including three huge sixes, to take Australia's score to 218, before he was caught off Jones' bowling to give Jones his fifth wicket of the innings. Despite their aggressive batting, Australia therefore finished the first innings 259 runs behind.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
Vaughan then gambled, by enforcing the follow-on on the visitors (the first time Australia had followed on in 17 years and 190 Tests, as they had not been made to follow on since facing Pakistan in Karachi in 1988). By lunch, Australia had reached 14 without loss in their second innings, and they powered on in the afternoon session, only losing Hayden and adding 100 more runs before tea. For England, the afternoon session was their worst of the match – to compound their misery, Simon Jones showed signs of injury, and Strauss dropped Justin Langer on 38.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
In the evening session, England managed to take three wickets, but also dropped a catch and missed a stumping. Australia thus finished the day still 37 runs in arrears but with six wickets still in hand. Simon Jones also went off the field during the evening session with an ankle injury, and was taken to hospital for an ankle scan. While Jones was off the field receiving attention, substitute fielder Gary Pratt ran out Australia captain Ponting.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
As he left the field, Ponting expressed his displeasure to the England dressing room at their frequent use of subs (allegedly to keep their key bowlers fresh). Although this tactic was widely felt by commentators to be against the spirit of the game, there was no legal stipulation against it. In fact, Pratt was on the field owing to a genuinely serious injury to Simon Jones, and he never played international cricket again.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
Day Four began in earnest with Michael Clarke and Katich continuing their partnership from the previous day. However, Katich had already twice flirted with dismissal, saved only by chance both times. In the words of BBC cricket commentator Henry Blofeld, "It's very much a game of chess – white-flannelled figures on green grass." The English and the Australians proceeded into a cold war for a good part of the morning, with England attempting to frustrate the Australian batting, but with the latter refusing to take the bait. England's lead slowly evaporated without a wicket falling, but Hoggard's taking of Clarke's and then Gilchrist's scalps on either side of the lunch break swung the initiative back into England's hands.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
The injury to Simon Jones became somewhat obvious as the pacers struggled to capture the magic that Jones had created the previous day that had forced Australia to follow on. Despite this, the Australian run rate remained low as both sides stared each other down. Mistakes by Geraint Jones and Pietersen were quickly nullified by the dismissal of Warne for 45 and Kasprowicz for 19, and after a few overs' resistance, Tait was bowled middle stump for 4, leaving 129 for the English to chase after tea.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
England then proceeded to send the game into a nailbiter; Trescothick started the chase positively, scoring 27 from 22 balls, out of 32 scored while he was at the crease. Then English wickets fell quickly as Warne took three wickets: Trescothick, Vaughan (0) and Strauss (23). Lee dismissed Ian Bell (3) and at 57 for 4 England were in trouble. Flintoff (26) and Pietersen (23) then steadied the ship with an invaluable partnership of 46 before both fell in quick succession to Lee.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fourth Test: England v Australia (25–28 August)
Despite Geraint Jones' dismissal by Warne for 3, the partnership of Ashley Giles (7 not out) and Hoggard (8 not out) guided England home. Man of the match honours went to Flintoff, but more importantly this gave the English a crucial 2–1 lead heading back to London for the fifth and final Test, ensuring that they could not lose the series. However, with the Ashes going to Australia in the event of a drawn series, there was still all to play for at The Oval.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
Australia named Glenn McGrath, recovered from an elbow injury, to replace Michael Kasprowicz. England's Simon Jones did not recover from his ankle injury from the previous Test in time to be included in the England team, and was replaced after much speculation by all-rounder Paul Collingwood, in preference to specialist fast bowler James Anderson.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
The final match to decide the fate of the legendary Ashes urn finally began, and the proverbial first blood was drawn by England as Michael Vaughan won his third toss of the series (much to the delight of the partisan Oval crowd). Vaughan elected to have his side bat first, and the English first innings got underway. Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss added 82 for the first wicket, as England's batsmen looked to take on the Australians, but subtle spin variations bowled from Shane Warne yielded three wickets as England went to lunch on 115 for 3.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
Warne continued after lunch by taking the wicket of Kevin Pietersen for 14. Andrew Flintoff emerged to form a vital partnership of 143 with Strauss, before to falling to McGrath for 72 an hour after tea. Strauss made his second century of the series, before being dismissed by Warne off an acrobatic catch by Simon Katich. The day ended with Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles at the crease, with England 319 for 7. Certain forecasts for London called for showers sometime during the weekend, which, it was thought, might wipe up to a day of action or more from the ledger.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
Day two began positively for the Australians, with Jones being bowled for 25 off Brett Lee, and Matthew Hoggard managing a meagre 2 before being dismissed by McGrath. However, Giles and Steve Harmison frustrated the Australians by taking the score past 370, before Warne trapped Giles lbw shortly before midday, leaving England all out for 373.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
The Australian first innings got off to a solid start, with Justin Langer forging a 100 partnership with fellow opener Matthew Hayden – the first opening-partnership century of the series by the Australians. Langer played some blistering strokes off Giles' bowling in particular, but survived a sharp chance to Trescothick at first slip. The Australians were offered the light immediately after tea, despite the English protesting and wanting to bowl Giles. The Australians accepted it, and the light never improved, with light rain coming down later. Thus, the day concluded with Australia 112/0, 261 runs behind England.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
After a delay for wet field conditions, the third day began with a flurry of action, as both Langer and Hayden had close calls with lbw appeals, which replays suggested should have been out, and shies at the stumps that just missed. However, no batsman was given out in the morning session, where only 14 overs of play was possible, owing to rain. Australia added 45 runs in that time.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
After lunch Hayden and Langer continued their solid batting, frustrating the England bowlers, with Langer reaching his 22nd Test century. Shortly afterwards, England gained a minor victory as Harmison dismissed Langer, who departed to a rapturous ovation. Ricky Ponting should then have been dismissed for a bat-pad catch off Giles, but Bowden turned down the appeal. Hayden also achieved three-figure success later in the day – his first century for over a year, while Flintoff's hostile and accurate bowling was rewarded with the wicket of Ponting, caught at slip by Strauss. With this wicket, Flintoff equalled Ian Botham's hitherto unique achievement of 300 runs and 20 wickets in an Ashes series. Flintoff had a later appeal for a catch behind turned down by Rudi Koertzen, despite it hitting the bat.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
The Australian batsmen once again ended the day early by accepting an offer of bad light, bringing a much-interrupted day to a close after only 45.4 overs. Thanks to dogged batting and at least four umpiring decisions in their favour on the third day, they finished 96 runs behind with eight wickets of their first innings intact.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
The fourth day started brightly for England, Damien Martyn hooking a short ball from Flintoff straight into the hands of Collingwood, in the third over of the day, having added only one to his overnight score of nine. Further wickets fell, with an excellent knock by Hayden been brought to an end by Flintoff, who continued with impetus and trapped Katich lbw for 1, before Hoggard had Adam Gilchrist lbw with an inswinger at the stroke of lunch. Gilchrist, however, had added a quick 23 that could be vital, as Australia went into the pavilion 17 runs behind with four wickets in hand.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
However, it only took six post-lunch overs for England to end the Australian effort. Jones dropped a catch off Michael Clarke's bat, but it did not prove to be crucial, as Clarke was lbw to Hoggard in the next over. Warne and McGrath both went for ducks, caught off a mistimed hook and in the slips respectively. Finally Hoggard had Lee (6) caught in the deep and Australia were bowled out for 367. Flintoff finished with five wickets, the second five-for of his career, while Hoggard's four for 97 was his best return of the series.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
Thus England, who had expected to begin their second innings chasing a hundred runs or more, were actually leading by six as they took up their bats in mid-afternoon. Australia took a very quick wicket, that of Strauss, who was dismissed again by Warne, caught bat-and-pad by Katich for a solitary run. The wicket was Warne's 167th against England, equalling Dennis Lillee's Ashes bowling record. 11 balls after this dismissal, umpires Rudi Koertzen and Billy Bowden judged it unfair to continue play, owing to inadequate light. One additional session of play was however subsequently possible, taking England to a 40-run lead without further loss, before poor light ended the day.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
The fifth day began with the game still finely balanced. Ponting put his trust in his two proven wicket takers: McGrath and Warne. England batted well for 40 minutes, with Vaughan taking the game to the Australian bowlers, but McGrath produced two beautiful outswingers to dismiss him and Ian Bell (for a pair) with consecutive deliveries. The Australian charge was diminished by a couple of uncharacteristic dropped catches, but Warne and McGrath combined to take four wickets before lunch, leaving England 133 runs ahead with five wickets remaining.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
The afternoon session was anchored by Pietersen, the beneficiary of three dropped catches, who scored his maiden Test century, with obdurate support from Collingwood and Giles. The session saw only two wickets fall, Collingwood was caught acrobatically by silly mid-off Ponting for 10, and Jones (1) decisively bowled when he was deceived by a rapid Shaun Tait delivery. Pietersen was finally dismissed for 158, a superlative innings including 15 fours and 7 sixes, while Giles added 59 and Harmison was dismissed for a duck to bring Australia in to bat with fewer than 19 overs remaining.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
As the Australians began their innings, it was clear that not enough time remained for them to make up the 341 runs by which they trailed. Almost immediately they were offered the light; and having accepted it, both teams had to return to the dressing rooms to wait for a formal finish. The situation became somewhat farcical. With the match effectively over, the crowd were eager for the Ashes to be presented to England, and the celebrations to begin.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
After a period of some uncertainty and confusion, at 18:17 BST umpires Koertzen and Bowden removed the bails and pulled up the stumps to signal the end of the match. Australia had scored just four leg byes in their second innings, making it the only innings in Test cricket history in which every run was an extra. With no result in this fifth and final Test, England took the series 2–1, regaining the Ashes for the first time since 1987.


2005 Ashes series, Match details, Fifth Test: England v Australia (8–12 September)
Pietersen, having scored his maiden Test century at a crucial point, was voted Man of the Match by Channel 4 viewers. Flintoff was chosen by Australian coach John Buchanan as English Man of the Series while English coach Duncan Fletcher selected Warne as the Australian Man of the Series. The new Compton–Miller medal for the overall man of the series (as selected by each side's chairman of selectors: Trevor Hohns and David Graveney) was also presented to Flintoff. Finally, the replica urn was presented to Vaughan, thus ending the series in favour of the home side.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Post-match reactions
Immediately following the final match, Elizabeth II sent a congratulatory memo to Michael Vaughan and the team, saying: "My warmest congratulations to you, the England cricket team and all in the squad for the magnificent achievement of regaining the Ashes... both sides can take credit for giving us all such a wonderfully exciting and entertaining summer of cricket at its best."


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Post-match reactions
Political leaders like Prime Minister Tony Blair, Conservative leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy also sent their congratulations. Blair stated that "By bringing the Ashes back after so long, you have given cricket a huge boost and lit up the whole summer".


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Post-match reactions
Howard added "... Vaughan, his team, and all involved, should be proud of this achievement and the manner in which they have played during this extraordinary summer of excitement and tension."


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Post-match reactions
"England's victory is historic, and I send hearty congratulations to the team... It has been impossible not to get caught up by the excitement and sense of good will in the past few days," stated Kennedy.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Post-match reactions
On the other end of the ledger Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard (who was in New York for a UN summit and was given the bad news by an aide during a luncheon with the Asia Society) was gracious in his congratulations to England.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Post-match reactions
"Look, there's natural disappointment but it's a situation where you give credit to the team that won," Howard stated, noting that there would not be a national day of mourning. "They will no doubt celebrate and that will be difficult for some, but that's the nature of these contests and we should not take anything away from England... They played very well. It's the best team that England has had for a very long period of time."


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, England team parade
On Tuesday 13 September, England, along with their Women's Ashes-winning counterparts, were feted with a 90-minute bus tour from Mansion House to Trafalgar Square, where they were greeted by tens of thousands of Londoners and cricket fans in a celebration of their momentous achievements (to the surprise of Matthew Hoggard, who expected "three men and a dog").


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, England team parade
Thousands of people also lined the streets along the parade route as the two buses made their way to Trafalgar Square. While the rest of the team simply enjoyed the sights, 5th Test Man-of-the-Match Kevin Pietersen sprayed champagne from the bus onto joyous revelers on the street, while wicketkeeper Geraint Jones held onto a Dalek doll with the words "Australians exterminated" attached to it.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, England team parade
At Trafalgar Square, the crowd was treated to a victory celebration for both England teams, and before the ceremony closed the square broke into a rendition of "Jerusalem", which had become an unofficial hymn for the team during the 5th Test. Interviews were carried out with all members of the men's team and Clare Connor, the captain of the women's team, by David Gower and Mark Nicholas, while the ceremony was broadcast live in the UK on BBC One, Channel 4 and Sky Sports News and around the world. Afterwards, the side was entertained by the Prime Minister as guests of honour at 10 Downing Street, then returned the urn to its sacred home at Lord's for safekeeping.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Australian criticism
Almost immediately criticism began in Australia; the Sydney Morning Herald immediately took issue with the fact that not only was captain Ricky Ponting out-thought by his opposite number Vaughan but the side was too old and simply did not score the runs when they were needed. The Age of Melbourne criticised the team for opening their big mouths once too often, hitting at Australia's earlier whitewash boast. Psychological warfare, The Age went on to state, is great when it works but when it backfires those who are responsible ought to be brought to account.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Australian criticism
Former fast bowler Dennis Lillee was particularly scathing. Writing in Perth's The West Australian, he stated that all who perpetrated this "disaster" must be sacked and Shane Warne be appointed the captain in place of Ponting (because of how Warne had delivered time and again in the series). Losing to other sides is not the end of the world, stated Lillee, but losing the Ashes is.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Australian criticism
Former captain Steve Waugh defended the side, calling it "a very good side, a really experienced side. They will be disappointed but they will move on from it" he said, but also conceding that the selectors were likely to ponder a few changes given that only three of the Australia team at The Oval were aged under 30. "They'll have a couple of players in mind which they will bring in the side over the next couple of years".


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Australian criticism
Along with Waugh, selector and former batsman David Boon defended their selections. "Sometimes you're going to have to make a hard decision to keep a subtle rotation going through so you don't have mass retirements... But you've also got to pick the best cricket team you possibly can to represent your country", he stated. "If we keep producing cricketers who are 25 plus, they're mature, they're ready to play, they've still got a seven or eight-year career, then we're doing OK."


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Ponting hits back, the axe falls
Ponting was confronted by a large media pack shortly after his arrival at Sydney Airport and said he wasn't aware of Lillee's comments. "I'm not concerned about those things. As long as I am doing the right thing by everyone in my dressing room as the team and the coaching staff, well then that's all I can do... But as long as I am looking after the guys in my dressing room, then I'll be happy," Ponting stated, adding that he wished to remain captain.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Ponting hits back, the axe falls
Ponting also responded to Lillee's comments that Warne should be captain, and that he made more decisions than Ponting during the series: "I like to talk to a lot of guys out on the field and use their ideas and thoughts. I'll go to Gilly (Adam Gilchrist) and even Matty Hayden, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn... The way I think is not going to be right 100 percent of the time, but that's the way I do it. Warne has got a cricket brain as good as anybody around. But I wouldn't agree [he was the pseudo captain]."


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, Ponting hits back, the axe falls
Regardless, when the Australian side for the Johnnie Walker ICC Super Series was announced, three members of the Ashes-losing side were dropped: Damien Martyn was retained only for the ODI squad, while Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz were dropped altogether. Brad Hodge, Stuart MacGill and Shane Watson were added in their places. While Cricket Australia officials assured that these omissions were not a signal that the Test careers of these three players were over, many experts said otherwise. However, all three players made successful returns to the Test team in early 2006. Lillee once again called for the replacement of Ponting as captain with Warne after the squad announcement, however this was once again rejected.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, England's epilogue
With England's victory in the series, the top of the ICC Test Championship rankings ladder changed slightly as the English closed in on the top-ranked Aussies. In a BBC interview the week after the series, Simon Jones claimed that the English should one day be regarded as the best, despite statistics and the Test Championship rankings speaking otherwise.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, England's epilogue
"The Ashes series was talked about so much. People were wondering if England could do it and Glenn McGrath said Australia would win 5–0, but we beat them 2–1 and could have been 3–1 up after Old Trafford," Jones told the BBC. "Australia are statistically the best side in the world, and rightly so. They've played so much great cricket over the past 10 years and built up an advantage on the points system... But I think that's changing and hopefully we will have the mantle one day."


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, England's epilogue
Meanwhile, as Pakistan and India prepared for the Ashes keepers' visit in the winter, with the Pakistanis relishing the opportunity to test their mettle against the side that took down the Australians, Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer stated, "England have done well but they have still to create that aura of invincibility of the West Indies of the 1970s and 80s and Australia recently. The side which does well in all three departments will win the series and we have to be very disciplined against England, who have quality batsmen and bowlers." Pakistan would later defeat England at home with a 2-0 margin.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, England's epilogue
Following their performances in the series both Andrew Flintoff and Michael Vaughan were given the Freedom of the City in their home towns of Preston and Sheffield.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, England's epilogue
On 29 September, the Royal Mail issued a set of four stamps commemorating the Ashes victory. The stamps cost 68p, which is, incidentally, the cost of sending first-class mail to Australia.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, England's epilogue
In the 2006 New Year Honours, 11 of the 12 playing members of the England team were awarded the MBE, with captain Vaughan awarded the OBE, for their roles in the successful Ashes victory. There was some critical comment that the limited role of some did not warrant the honour.


2005 Ashes series, Legacy, England's epilogue
However, after the following series in which Australia regained the Ashes in a 5–0 whitewash, the English public began to criticise the celebrations of the previous year. This issue also flared up during the Test series when Warne commented on Paul Collingwood's MBE for scoring 17 runs during the 2005 series. Former England captain Geoff Boycott criticised the fact that the MBE had been awarded to the whole side when Warne, who had already taken over 600 wickets by then, had not been honoured.


2005 Asia Series
The first Konami Cup Asia Series was held in November 2005 with four teams participating. The champions from the domestic leagues in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan along with a team of all stars from China's domestic league took part in the competition. All games were held in the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The tournament was sponsored by the Nippon Professional Baseball Association and Konami. The Chiba Lotte Marines defeated the Samsung Lions in the title game to win the championship for Japan. Outfielder Benny Agbayani was named the MVP of the series.


2005 Asia Series, Matchups, November 11
Attendance: 18,911    Time: 2:20Note: Game ended at seventh inning due to mercy rule


2005 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
The 2005 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season (APRC) was an international rally championship organized by the FIA. The champion was Finnish driver Jussi Valimaki.


2005 Asian Airgun Championships
The 2005 Asian Airgun Championships were held in Bangkok, Thailand between 12 and 19 September, 2005.


2005 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships
The 23rd edition of the Men's Asian Amateur Boxing Championships were held from August 29 to September 4, 2005 in Phan Đình Phùng Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.


2005 Asian Archery Championships
The 2005 Asian Archery Championships was the 14th edition of the Asian Archery Championships. The event was held in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, India from November 4 to November 10, 2005 and was organized by Asian Archery Federation.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships
The 2005 Asian Athletics Championships were the 16th edition of the international athletics competition between Asian nations. It was held in Incheon, South Korea between 1–4 September 2005.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 10,000 metres
The men's 10,000 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 100 metres
The men's 100 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1–2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 100 metres, Results, Heats
Wind: Heat 1: +0.1 m/s, Heat 2: +0.3 m/s, Heat 3: 0.0 m/s, Heat 4: +0.3 m/s


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 110 metres hurdles
The men's 110 metres hurdles event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1st and 2nd.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 1500 metres
The men's 1500 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 20 kilometres walk
The men's 20 kilometres walk event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 200 metres
The men's 200 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 3–4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 200 metres, Results, Heats
Wind: Heat 1: 0.0 m/s, Heat 2: +0.1 m/s, Heat 3: +0.3 m/s


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase
The men's 3000 metres steeplechase event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay
The men's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1–4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2–4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 400 metres
The men's 400 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1–3.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 400 metres hurdles
The men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2–4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 5000 metres
The men's 5000 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's 800 metres
The men's 800 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2–4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's decathlon
The men's decathlon event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 3–4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's discus throw
The men's discus throw event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's hammer throw
The men's hammer throw event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's high jump
The men's high jump event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's javelin throw
The men's javelin throw event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 3.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's long jump
The men's long jump event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1–2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's pole vault
The men's pole vault event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 3.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's shot put
The men's shot put event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Men's triple jump
The men's triple jump event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2–3.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 10,000 metres
The women's 10,000 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 100 metres
The women's 100 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1–2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 100 metres hurdles
The women's 100 metres hurdles event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1–2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 1500 metres
The women's 1500 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 20 kilometres walk
The women's 20 kilometres walk event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 200 metres
The women's 200 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 3–4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay
The women's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 4 × 400 metres relay
The women's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 400 metres
The women's 400 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1–3.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 400 metres hurdles
The women's 400 metres hurdles event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2–4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 5000 metres
The women's 5000 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 3.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 800 metres
The women's 800 metres event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 3–4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's 800 metres, Results, Final
Note: Santhi Soundarajan originally finished second with 2:04.01 but was later disqualified after failing a gender verification test.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's discus throw
The women's discus throw event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's hammer throw
The women's hammer throw event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 3.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's heptathlon
The women's heptathlon event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1–2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's high jump
The women's high jump event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's javelin throw
The women's javelin throw event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's long jump
The women's long jump event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 4.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's pole vault
The women's pole vault event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 2.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's shot put
The women's shot put event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1.


2005 Asian Athletics Championships – Women's triple jump
The women's triple jump event at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships was held in Incheon, South Korea on September 1.


2005 Asian Badminton Championships
The 2005 Asian Badminton Championships was the 25th edition of the Asian Badminton Championships. It was held in Hyderabad, India from September 6 to September 11, 2005 as a four-star tournament.


2005 Asian Baseball Championship
The 2005 Asian Baseball Championship was the 23rd installment of the tournament. Japan won the competition for the second consecutive time.


2005 Asian Canoe Slalom Championships
The 2005 Asian Canoe Slalom Championships were the 4th Asian Canoe Slalom Championships and took place from July 1–2, 2005 in Naein-chun, Inje, South Korea.


2005 Asian Canoe Sprint Championships
The 2005 Asian Canoe Sprint Championships was the 11th Asian Canoe Sprint Championships and took place from December 17–20, 2005 in Putrajaya, Malaysia.


2005 Asian Cross Country Championships
The 8th Asian Cross Country Championships took place on March 12, 2005 in Guiyang, China. Team rankings were decided by a combination of each nation's top three athletes finishing positions.


2005 Asian Cycling Championships
The 2005 Asian Cycling Championships took place at the Punjab Agricultural University's Velodrome, Ludhiana, India from 11 to 18 December 2005.


2005 Asian Fencing Championships
The 2005 Asian Fencing Championships was held at the Likas Sports Complex, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia from 25 July to 30 July, 2005.


2005 Asian Indoor Games
The 1st Asian Indoor Games were held in Bangkok, Thailand from November 12 to 19, 2005.


2005 Asian Indoor Games, Emblem
The “Logo” of the 1st Asian Indoor Games itself comprises 9 sparkling stars that represent the opinions of the Asian people at large:


2005 Asian Indoor Games, Emblem
The sun is the symbol of the Olympic Council of Asia. The redline, the blue line and the golden line forming like an “A” shape, together with a Thai roof, represent the Asian continent and the Asian Games. The golden line that resembling Thai smile, expressing a warm welcome to visitors.


2005 Asian Indoor Games, Mascot
Each sport discipline is animated with an elephant, thus giving the appearance of its cartoon movements in all events to be competed in the 1st Asian Indoor Games 2005. Children and other people alike will be fond of them, pleasant to look at them and keeping them for a souvenir after the end of the Games.


2005 Asian Indoor Games, Mascot
The blue and athletic elephant was named Hey and the yellow and plump one was Há. They were to convey the meaning of amusement, merriment and relaxation, thus in a way reflecting the natures of the Asian Indoor Games a great deal.


2005 Asian Indoor Games, Participating nations
There are 37 Asian countries confirmed to participate in the game.


2005 Asian Judo Championships
The 2005 Asian Judo Championships were held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 14 May to 15 May 2005.


2005 Asian Junior Badminton Championships
The 2005 Asian Junior Badminton Championships is an Asia continental junior championships to crown the best U-19 badminton players across Asia. This tournament were held in Tennis Indoor Senayan, Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, Jakarta, Indonesia from 11–17 July. In the team event, South Korean boys', and the Chinese girls' team won the gold medal respectively. In the individual event, China won three gold medal in the boys' singles, girls' singles and girls' doubles event, while South Korea won two gold medal in the boys' and mixed doubles.


2005 Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships
The 11th Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships 2005 were held in New Delhi, India, from  23 ‐ 28 July 2005. It was organised by the Table Tennis Federation of India under the authority of the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).


2005 Asian Karate Championships
The 2005 Asian Karate Championships are the 7th edition of the Asian Karate Championships, and were held in Macau, China from 19 to 22 May, 2005.


2005 Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship
The 2005 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship was the 6th staging of the AVC Club Championships. The tournament was held in Liaqut Gymnasium, Islamabad, Pakistan. Rahat CSKA of Kazakhstan won the tournament in round robin format.


2005 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship
The 2005 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship was the 13th Asian Championship, which took place from September 20 to September 27, 2005 in Suphanburi, Thailand.


2005 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship, Pools composition
The teams are seeded based on their final ranking at the 2003 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship.


2005 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship, Pools composition
* Kazakhstan withdrew, Vietnam moved from Pool C to B.


2005 Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship
The 2005 Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship (1st tournament) took place in Bangkok from 26 June–2 July. It acts as the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2005 Men's Youth World Handball Championship in Qatar.


2005 Asian Table Tennis Championships
The 17th Asian Table Tennis Championships 2005 were held in Jeju-do, South Korea from 27 August to 2 September 2005. It was organised by the Korea Table Tennis Association under the authority of Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).


2005 Asian Tour
The 2005 Asian Tour was the 11th season of the modern Asian Tour, the main men's professional golf tour in Asia excluding Japan, since it was established in 1995. Thaworn Wiratchant won the Order of Merit, becoming the first player to pass $500,000 earnings in a season.


2005 Asian Tour, Tournament results
The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Asian Tour events he had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for Asian Tour members.


2005 Asian Tour, Leading money winners
There is a complete list on the official site .


2005 Asian Weightlifting Championships
The 2005 Asian Weightlifting Championships were held in Dubai in United Arab Emirates between September 23 and October 1, 2005. It was the 37th men's and 18th women's championship. The event was organised by the Asian Weightlifting Federation.


2005 Asian Weightlifting Championships, Medal table
Ranking by all medals: Big (Total result) and Small (Snatch and Clean & Jerk)


2005 Asian Women's Amateur Boxing Championships
The 3rd edition of the Women's Asian Amateur Boxing Championships were held from August 5 to August 12, 2005, in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei.


2005 Asian Women's Club Volleyball Championship
The 2005 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship was the 6th staging of the AVC Club Championships. The tournament was held in Ninh Bình, Vietnam.


2005 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship
The 2005 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship was the 13th Asian Championship, which took place from September 1 to September 8, 2005 in Taicang, China.


2005 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, Pools composition
The teams are seeded based on their final ranking at the 2003 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship.


2005 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, Pools composition
China (Host & 1st) Thailand (4th) Hong Kong North Korea Philippines Kazakhstan


2005 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, Pools composition
Japan (2nd) South Korea (3rd) Chinese Taipei Vietnam India Australia


2005 Asian Women's Youth Handball Championship
The 2005 Asian Women's Youth Handball Championship (1st tournament) took place in Bangkok from 26 June–1 July. It acts as the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2006 Women's Youth World Handball Championship in Canada.


2005 Asian Wrestling Championships
The 2005 Asian Wrestling Championships were held in Wuhan, China. The event took place from May 24 to May 29, 2005.


2005 Asian Youth Boys Volleyball Championship
The 2005 Asian Youth Boys Volleyball Championship was held in Azadi Volleyball Hall, Tehran, Iran from 13 to 19 May 2005.


2005 Asian Youth Boys Volleyball Championship, Pools composition
The teams are seeded based on their final ranking at the 2003 Asian Youth Boys Volleyball Championship.


2005 Asian Youth Girls Volleyball Championship
The 2005 Asian Youth Girls Volleyball Championship was held in Mandaue Sports Complex, Mandaue City, Philippines from 24 to 31 May 2005.


2005 Asian Youth Girls Volleyball Championship, Teams
The teams are seeded based on their final ranking at the 2003 Asian Youth Girls Volleyball Championship.


2005 Astro Wah Lai Toi Drama Awards
The 2005 Astro Wah Lai Toi Drama Awards (simplified Chinese: Astro华丽台电视剧大奖2005; traditional Chinese: Astro華麗臺電視劇大獎2005), presented by Astro in Malaysia, was an awards ceremony that recognises the best Hong Kong television programmes that had aired on Malaysia's Astro Wah Lai Toi in 2005.


2005 Astro Wah Lai Toi Drama Awards
The ceremony took place on 7 January 2006 at the Sunway Pyramid in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was televised live on Astro's Cantonese channel, Astro Wah Lai Toi.


2005 Astro Wah Lai Toi Drama Awards, Winners and nominees
Winners are 100% based on popular vote. Top five nominees are in bold.


2005 Atlanta Braves season
The 2005 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 40th season in Atlanta and the 135th season overall. The Braves won their 11th consecutive division title under Manager of the Year Bobby Cox, finishing 2 games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves lost the 2005 Divisional Series to the Houston Astros, 3 games to 1.


2005 Atlanta Braves season
Tim Hudson joined the Braves' rotation and rookies Jeff Francoeur, Kelly Johnson and Brian McCann had their first seasons with Atlanta in 2005.


2005 Atlanta Braves season, Player stats, Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2005 Atlanta Braves season, 2005 National League Division Series, Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros
Houston wins series, 3–1. Game 4 was a thrilling series clinching 18 inning victory for Houston, and has been cited by many critics as "The greatest first round game in MLB history".


2005 Atlanta Braves season, Awards and honors
Andruw Jones and John Smoltz represented the Atlanta Braves in the 2005 All Star Game. Jones hit a home run and Smoltz took the loss in the game.


2005 Atlanta Falcons season
The 2005 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise’s 40th in the National Football League (NFL). It began with the team trying to defend their NFC South division title and 11–5 record in 2004. The Falcons started 6–2, but injuries on defense caused them to finish the second half 2–6 to finish the season 8–8. Bright spots included the Falcons ending their Monday Night Football jinx by going 3–0, and on Thursday, November 24, the Falcons played on Thanksgiving Day for the first time in franchise history with a 27–7 victory over the Detroit Lions. On the next-to-last game of the regular season, the Falcons were eliminated from postseason contention with a 27–24 overtime loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons failed to improve over their 11–5 season, therefore finishing with a .500 record and once again failed to attain back-to-back winning seasons.


2005 Atlanta Falcons season, Images
The Thanksgiving Day game between the Falcons and the Detroit Lions


2005 Atlanta mayoral election
The 2005 mayoral election in Atlanta, Georgia took place on November 8, 2005 alongside other Atlanta municipal races. Incumbent Mayor Shirley Franklin faced no serious opposition and was re-elected with 90.49% of the vote.


2005 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2005 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Championship was held from May 25–28 at Fifth Third Field in Dayton, OH. It featured the top two regular-season finishers of each six-team division, plus the next two best finishers. Top-seeded Rhode Island defeated George Washington in the title game to win the tournament for the first time, earning the Atlantic 10's automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Tournament.


2005 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding and format
The league's top six teams, based on winning percentage in the 24-game regular season schedule, qualified for the field. The top two teams in each division qualified for the tournament automatically; the two division winners, Rhode Island in the East and George Washington in the West, received the top two seeds and byes through to the second round of the double elimination tournament.


2005 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team
The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team. Rhode Island second baseman Wayne Russo, one of four Rams selected, was named Most Outstanding Player.


2005 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team
Rhode Island's Josh Nestor (2004) and George Washington's Ryan Roberson (2003) were second-time selections.


2005 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2005 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament was played from March 9 to March 12, 2005, at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. The winner was named champion of the Atlantic 10 Conference and received an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. George Washington won the tournament. The top two teams in each division received first-round byes. George Washington earned the conference's only bid to the NCAA tournament.


2005 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket
All games played at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. * - Overtime


2005 Atlantic Championship
The 2005 Toyota Atlantic Championship season was contested over 12 rounds. 14 different teams and 27 different drivers competed. In this one-make formula all drivers had to utilize Swift chassis and Toyota engines. This season also saw a C2-class running older Swift chassis and Toyota engines. In C2-class 12 different drivers competed, but none of them for the whole season. The Toyota Atlantic Championship Presented by Yokohama Drivers' Champion was Charles Zwolsman Jr. driving for Condor Motorsports.


2005 Atlantic Championship, Final driver standings
Race 3, 4, 5 and 6 only one additional point awarded to the fastest qualifier, because only one session was held for each race.


2005 Atlantic Championship, Final driver standings
In all races not all points were awarded (not enough competitors).


2005 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament was held at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, FL from May 25 through May 29. Georgia Tech won the tournament and earned the Atlantic Coast Conference's automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2005 Atlantic Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2005 AHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 2nd Atlantic Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. It was played between March 9 and March 19, 2005. Play-in and quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the semifinals and championship games were played at the Quinnipiac home venue: Northford Ice Pavilion in Northford, Connecticut. By winning the tournament, Mercyhurst received the Atlantic Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


2005 Atlantic Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play and a play-in game. All games in the tournament are single-elimination. The play-in game consists of the eighth and ninth seeds competing to decide the final qualifier. In the quarterfinals, the first seed plays the winner of the play-in game while the second and seventh seeds, the third and sixth seeds and the fourth and fifth seeds play to determine who advances to the semifinals. of the four remaining teams, the highest and lowest remaining ranked teams play each other with the other two teams facing one another to determine the championship participants. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament.


2005 Atlantic Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Conference Standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2005 Atlantic Indoor Football League season
The 2005 Atlantic Indoor Football League season was the league's first overall season. The league champions were the Richmond Bandits, who defeated the Erie Freeze in American Bowl I.


2005 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2005 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Melching Field at Conrad Park on the campus of Stetson University in DeLand, Florida from May 26 through 28. Stetson won its fifth tournament championship to earn the Atlantic Sun Conference's automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2005 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top six teams (based on conference results) from the conference earn invites to the tournament.


2005 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Tournament Most Valuable Player
Shane Jordan was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Jordan was an outfielder for Stetson.


2005 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2005 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 3–5 at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.


2005 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament
Central Florida defeated top-seeded Gardner–Webb in the championship game, 63–54, to win their fourth (and second consecutive) Atlantic Sun/TAAC men's basketball tournament.


2005 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament
The Golden Knights, therefore, received the Atlantic Sun's automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Tournament.


2005 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
With the Atlantic Sun's membership remaining stable at eleven teams, no changes were made to the tournament format. As such, only the top eight teams from the conference tournament were eligible for the tournament. These eight teams were seeded based on regular season conference records and were all entered into the quarterfinal round.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in history, until the record was broken 15 years later. The season broke numerous records at the time, with 28 tropical or subtropical storms recorded. The United States National Hurricane Center named 27 storms, exhausting the annual pre-designated list and resulting in the usage of six Greek letter names, and also identified an additional unnamed storm during a post-season re-analysis.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season
A record 15 storms attained hurricane status, with maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph (119 km/h); of those, a record seven became major hurricanes, which are a Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Four storms of this season became Category 5 hurricanes, the highest ranking on the scale.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season
The four Category 5 hurricanes that developed during the season were: Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In July, Emily reached peak intensity in the Caribbean Sea, becoming the first Category 5 hurricane of the season, later weakening and striking Mexico twice. In August, Katrina reached peak winds in the Gulf of Mexico but weakened by the time it struck the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. The most devastating effects of the season were felt on the Gulf Coast of the United States, where Katrina's storm surge crippled New Orleans, Louisiana, for weeks and devastated the Mississippi coastline.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season
Katrina became the costliest U.S. hurricane, leaving $125 billion in damage and 1,833 deaths. Rita followed in September, reaching peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico before weakening and hitting near the border of Texas and Louisiana. The season's strongest hurricane, Wilma, became the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, as measured by barometric pressure. Lasting for ten days in October, Wilma moved over Cozumel, the Yucatán peninsula, and Florida, causing $19 billion in damage and 48 deaths.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season
The season's impact was widespread and catastrophic. Its storms caused an estimated 3,912 deaths and approximately $171.7 billion in damage. It was the costliest season on record at the time, until its record was surpassed 12 years later. It also produced the second-highest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) in the Atlantic basin, surpassed only by the 1933 season. The season officially began on June 1, 2005, and the first storm – Arlene – developed on June 8. Hurricane Dennis in July inflicted heavy damage to Cuba. Hurricane Stan in October was part of a broader weather system that killed 1,668 people and caused $3.96 billion in damage to eastern Mexico and Central America, with Guatemala hit the hardest. The final storm – Zeta – formed in late December and lasted until January 6, 2006.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts
Ahead of the formal start of the season, various groups issued forecasts for the number of named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes in the upcoming season, including Colorado State University (CSU), the Cuban Institute of Meteorology (InsMet), Tropical Storm Risk (TSR), and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Some forecasts predicted how many tropical cyclones would affect a particular country or territory.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts, Pre-season forecasts
The first of these forecasts was issued by CSU, which predicted on December 5, 2004 that the season would be above average and feature 11 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 intense hurricanes. They also noted that the Caribbean and the entire United States coastline faced an increased risk of a major hurricane making landfall. TSR issued its first forecast a few days later and predicted that the season would feature 9.6 tropical storms, 5.7 hurricanes, 3.3 major hurricanes, and predicted that the accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating would be 145.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts, Pre-season forecasts
During January 2005, TSR increased its forecast to 13.9 tropical storms, 7.8 hurricanes, 3.6 major hurricanes, and predicted that the ACE rating would be 157. CSU issued its first updated forecast on April 1, increasing their prediction to 13 tropical storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes, with a continued risk of a major hurricane landfall in the Caribbean or United States. The increase was based on the Atlantic continuing to warm and a strong belief that El Niño conditions would not persist into the hurricane season.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts, Pre-season forecasts
On May 2, the Cuban Institute of Meteorology (InsMet) issued their seasonal forecast, which predicted that the season would feature 13 tropical storms and 7 hurricanes. This was followed on May 16 by NOAA, who predicted a 70% chance of above normal activity, with 12–15 tropical storms, 7–9 hurricanes, and 3–5 major hurricanes. CSU issued its second forecast update on May 31, revising its forecast to 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes; by this point, the group believed El Niño conditions were unlikely.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts, Midseason outlooks
In their July forecast update, TSR anticipated that the season would be exceptionally active and well above average; the group increased their forecast to 15.3 tropical storms, 8.8 hurricanes, and 4.1 major hurricanes, with an ACE rating of 190. By the end of July, seven tropical storms and two major hurricanes had developed within the basin, which prompted CSU, InsMet, NOAA and TSR to significantly increase their seasonal forecasts at the start of August. In their August 5 update, CSU predicted that 13 more storms would form, with seven more hurricanes and three more major hurricanes.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal forecasts, Midseason outlooks
At the start of September, CSU updated their forecasts and predicted that eight more storms would form, with six more hurricanes and three major hurricanes. By the end of September, 17 named storms had developed, of which nine had developed into hurricanes and four had become major hurricanes. Within their final update for the year, CSU predicted that October would feature three named storms, two hurricanes and one major hurricane.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season is second only to the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season as the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record. The 28 nameable storms (27 named storms and one unnamed subtropical storm) set the record for most storms, surpassing the total of 20 from 1933. A total of 7 named storms formed before August 1, which exceeded the record of 5 set in 1997 and was later beaten in 2020. The fourth named storm developed at a then-record early date that was later surpassed in 2012.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
The fifth though eleventh and the thirteenth and onward named storms developed at then-record early dates that were later surpassed in 2020. Further, the months of July and November set records for number of named storms, with 5 and 3, respectively. The 2005 season featured 15 hurricanes, surpassing the previous record of 12, set in 1969.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
Of the 15 hurricanes, 5 formed in September, with the season becoming only the sixth to feature 5 in that month. The 2005 season also featured a record seven major hurricanes, one more than the previous record, set in 1926, 1933, 1950, 1996, and 2004. The four Category 5 hurricanes were also a record. The season's activity was reflected with an ACE rating of 250, the second-highest value on record in the Atlantic basin, after the 1933 season.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
The extremely active 2005 hurricane season was a continuation of an extended sequence of active years for tropical activity in the Atlantic. Tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic Ocean between 1995 and 2004 was more active than any other decade in reliable record. With the exception of two years in which El Niño conditions were prevalent (1997 and 2002), all hurricane seasons were individually above average. This was associated with an active phase of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO), with a similar period of elevated tropical activity occurring between 1950 and 1969.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary
The anomalously frequent formation of tropical storms and hurricanes reflected the emergence of unusually warm sea surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) predicted in May 2005 that the conditions associated with this active multi-decadal signal would continue into the 2005 hurricane season, providing favorable conditions for tropical cyclogenesis in the tropical Atlantic.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary, Record activity
Chylek and Lesins (2008) determined that the likelihood of a season generating as much tropical activity as 2005 was less than 1 percent. The consecutive occurrence of hurricane seasons as active as 2004 and 2005 in the Atlantic was unprecedented. While environmental conditions favorable for the development of tropical cyclones were analogous to other active seasons, they were more pronounced and encompassed larger areas in 2005.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary, Record activity
The CPC determined that this environmental enhancement was primarily driven by four factors: the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation, the reduction of atmospheric convection in the tropical Pacific, record-high sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean, and conducive wind and pressure patterns across the western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The multidecadal oscillation increased the potency of conducive environmental factors for tropical development, including the increased strength of subtropical ridges in the northern and southern Atlantic and the eastern Pacific.


2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Seasonal summary, Record activity
This amplified the African easterly jet and enhanced upper-level easterlies, attenuating wind shear detrimental to tropical cyclogenesis across the central tropical Atlantic and the Caribbean. Frequent lulls in convection over the tropical Pacific also contributed to the strength of these ridges, focusing hurricane activity in the Atlantic. Most of the tropical storms and all major hurricanes in the Atlantic in 2005 formed when a lack of convection was present near the International Dateline, while a brief uptick in storms near the International Dateline led to a lull in tropical cyclogenesis in the Atlantic for the first half of August.