Test matches in England in 2005 Test matches in England in 2005 There were seven Test matches played in England in 2005. The first two were against Bangladesh, the bottom-ranked test team. England started this series ranked second in the LG ICC Test Championship table. The remaining tests were played for the Ashes against Australia, the top-ranked team in the world. The series is widely regarded as one of the best ever played. Michael Vaughan won the toss and put Bangladesh in to bat at 10.30am on the first day at Lord's. The first ten overs of bowling by Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard were lacklustre,
Graeme Swann match Test series which England won 3–1, although he was only needed to bowl two overs in the first Test as the seamers bowled Pakistan out for 182 and 80. Swann also was not required in the first innings of the second Test at Edgbaston, before taking Test-best figures of 6–65 in the second innings as England took a 2–0 series lead. At The Oval, Pakistan won by 4 wickets, though Swann did take match figures of 7–118. In a remarkable Test at Lord's, England won by an innings and 225 runs victory, despite being 102–7 in their innings, with