2005 English cricket season the background due to the second Ashes Test, where England took on Australia at Edgbaston Cricket Ground for the second Test of the five-match series. England carried a 0–1 series deficit into Edgbaston, and after three days of cricket England led by 106 with two Australian wickets left to grab. Shane Warne, Brett Lee (Australia's top-scorer with 43 not out) and Michael Kasprowicz cut 104 of those runs off the target, but Kasprowicz gloved Steve Harmison behind to Geraint Jones, to leave England 2-run winners and the series tied at one-all. The English youth team were the first English representative
Australian cricket team in England in 2005 and mutual respect between the teams which characterised the series. England's two run victory is the narrowest result in Ashes cricket history (there have been two Tests won by a margin of only three runs). It is also the second-narrowest-run victory in all Test cricket history. (other narrow victories given here) With the series square after England's close win in the second match at Edgbaston in Birmingham, the stakes of the third Test at Old Trafford in Manchester had risen significantly. The day began with England winning the toss, and choosing to bat first, thus giving Shane Warne a chance