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,
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