Australian cricket team in England in 2005 During this innings, McGrath took his 500th Test wicket. Australia then fared considerably better in their second innings to win the first Test by 239 runs. After another drawn three-day match, this time against Worcestershire, came a pivotal moment of the series. While warming up for the second Test at Edgbaston, McGrath injured his ankle stepping on a cricket ball and was unable to play in the Test. At the last moment, Michael Kasprowicz was included in the team, but Australia had lost their bowling spearhead. Having won the toss, the Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, decided to bowl first on
Test matches in England in 2005 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. 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. With no result in this fifth and final Test, England took the series 2–1, regaining the Ashes for the first time since 1987. Kevin Pietersen, having scored his maiden Test