HUW TURBERVILL: Nasser Hussain was being hailed as the best England captain since Mike Brearley but the Ashes proved a peak he could not conquer during his time in charge. The tour of 2002/03 was arguably the worst in England's history
"I enjoyed playing against Australia more than any other team, especially in their own country. The nets and facilities were absolutely fantastic, and it was a great place to bat. I’ve really no bad memories, except we didn’t win much – it was like Groundhog Day!" Mark Butcher
Nasser Hussain was being hailed as the best England captain since Mike Brearley. Working closely with Duncan Fletcher, a resourceful and logical coach, England had achieved some outstanding victories, none better than in the summer of 2000 when they won back the Wisden Trophy from West Indies after 27 years.
Though Australia had won the Ashes series in 2001, expectations for the winter of 2002/03 were not unrealistic, particularly if Michael Vaughan could continue his fine form with the bat.
The Ashes proved a peak that Hussain could not conquer during his time in charge, however. The tour of 2002/03 was arguably the worst in England’s history. It was the eighth series in succession that Australia won, and they secured the Ashes 11 days, or 10 playing days, into the series. Alec Stewart claimed it was "the largest gap I’ve ever known."
Mind you, these Australians were pretty good. That team have been widely acknowledged as their best. Even Keith Miller admitted as much, saying that they were better than Don Bradman’s 'Invincibles' of 1948.
I asked Hussain if he thought the 2002/03 Australians were, indeed, as good as Miller suggested. "They were one of the greatest sides of all," he said. "I would have loved to have seen them play the West Indies team of the 1980s.
"In Steve Waugh, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie they had brilliant cricketers. People say that they beat us because they had greater mental toughness than us, but I believe it was down to skill.
Keith Miller said Australia's side were better than Don Bradman's 'Invincibles' [Nick Wilson/Getty Images]
"Their bowlers put four balls out of six in the right area every over, whereas previous attacks had maybe managed two out of six. Eventually we found the same formula in 2005, with four quality fast bowlers backed up by Ashley Giles." That, however, was two and a half years away.
One of the successes of the Hussain era was the new-ball partnership of Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough. The former had been controversially omitted from the Ashes trip four winters earlier, but the captain insisted on taking him this time.
"I changed the selection policy [from the 1998/99 tour]," he said. "I have no intention of criticising the policy of Alec and David Lloyd – under them we came as close to beating Australia than at any time since I started playing for England, so their selection policy cannot have been too bad. But my policy was to pick the best cricketers, and then it was up to you to manage them, even if they were different, or bad tourists."
The selectors gave Gough all the time that they possibly could to prove his fitness. He was struggling with a knee injury, but England accepted that he was a risk worth taking. Besides, the rest of the attack had never taken a Test wicket in Australia. They also picked promising allrounder Andrew Flintoff, who had a double hernia operation after the penultimate Test of the summer.
Neither played in any of the Tests in Australia, and the backlash against the selectors, now chaired by David Graveney, was fierce. When Flintoff arrived in Australia he could not even run, to the apparent amazement of Fletcher. He was sent to the ECB’s National Academy (finally England had followed the model set by the Australians) in Adelaide to rehabilitate.
"It was awful," wrote Flintoff. "The side weren’t doing well, I was a spare part and I wasn’t getting any sympathy.” He was sent home in mid-December and only returned for the second final of the VB Series, ahead of the 2003 World Cup.
He wished he had brought forward the date of his operation and insisted he had adhered to his rehabilitation programme with Lancashire physio Dave Roberts; Fletcher believed he did not, however, and wrote: "I did not blame him publicly but inside I was seething."
Injuries have plagued England’s recent tours to Australia, but 2002/03 was something else. The list was never-ending. Simon Jones had a rib problem at the start of the trip, then suffered an horrendous injury in the first Test.
Marcus Trescothick could not throw because of a shoulder injury, while a bruised hip ruled John Crawley out of the second and third Tests. Stewart bruised his hand and missed the fourth Test, and Giles had his left wrist broken in the nets by Steve Harmison, who did not play in the first Test because of sore shins.
Caddick’s sore back kept him out of the third Test. Chris Silverwood – who been called up for Jones – managed only four overs in the Perth Test. Alex Tudor – another late draftee – was struck a brutal blow on the head by Brett Lee in the same match. Craig White missed the final Test with a muscle injury. Finally, Jeremy Snape, who was in the one-day party, broke his thumb facing Lee.
England had 31 Test and one-day players in their party at various times, and were moved to appoint a full-time medical officer, Dr Peter Gregory, after the tour started.
For the first time in Australia England dispensed with the one-off appointment of a tour manager, and Phil Neale, the former Worcestershire captain, was now permanent operations manager. He was praised for keeping it all together.
Andrew Flintoff [Stu Forster/Getty Images] and Darren Gough [Tom Shaw/Getty Images] travelled to Australia but didn't play due to injury
"The start of the tour was an absolute shambles – one of the most disappointing moments of my captaincy," said Hussain. "Flintoff was obviously our up-and-coming allrounder, and Gough was our best bowler, but the whole build-up just went from bad to worse. Goughie was in tears and his wife rang me to see if he was all right."
Crawley, who was on his third Ashes tour, told me: "I think England changed the selection policy as a result. They should never pick players who cannot go and play straightaway. It’s disconcerting to have injured players around."
Fletcher defended the policy, however, writing: "What people did not appreciate was that we did have a back-up plan and I thought we were justified in giving those three [Flintoff, Gough and Jones] as long as possible to recover. If we had not, we would have just been going with a second-rate bowling attack."
England were also without Graham Thorpe. He had been missing since the first Test against India because of domestic problems, but said he had hoped to be available for the Ashes. It was not to be.
"I put no pressure on him at any stage as his life was in turmoil," said Hussain. "Losing him was a massive blow, though, as he was our best batsman."
The situation was even more complicated for Hussain because his wife was due to give birth to their second child during the Ashes. They made the brave decision for her to be based in Perth where his sister lived, which meant he arrived in Australia before his team. Mike Gatting was among the critics of that decision, but what the Hussains did was a tremendous personal sacrifice.
"The injuries and absentees seemed to affect us for every Ashes series, home or away, until 2005, when we finally managed to field our first-choice side for most of the series," Mark Butcher told me. "We knew it was going to be hard work, but we were actually quite confident. Australia were a great side, but we had achieved some notable results. I didn’t play in Pakistan and Sri Lanka [2000/01], but those wins were terrific. It did not require such a leap of imagination to think that we could win."
However badly England played and however hampered they were by injuries, though, there is no doubt Australia were awesome.
Mark Waugh had retired just before the series, but they still had a formidable batting line-up: Matthew Hayden scored three centuries and smashed 496 at an average of 62, Gilchrist struck 333 at 55 (at a strike-rate of 102), while Justin Langer waded in with 423 at 52, Ricky Ponting 417 at 52, Damien Martyn 320 at 40 and Steve Waugh 305 at 38.
At the age of 36, however, Waugh was coming under pressure to maintain his form and appease what he called the 'When are you retiring?' circus.
Australia always seem ruthless in the way they usher senior players into retirement. In addition to that perfectly adequate batting performance, Waugh also became Australia’s most successful captain, however: he made it 33 wins out of 44 Tests when they went 4-0 up at Melbourne, beating Allan Border’s record of 32 in 93.
Both captains were under pressure during the series. There were suggestions at various times that the Hussain era was also drawing to a close. Waugh said in many ways Hussain’s hands-on style was what England needed, but admitted: "At times he went over the top with his badgering of bowlers, appearing to be more of a nuisance than a help."
Steve Waugh [Nick Wilson/Getty Images]
There was an impression that Hussain was so passionate, if he could have run in to attack the crease with his bowlers, he would have done. He was willing them on to bridge the gap, because Australia’s bowlers took 91 wickets in the series, while England’s took 63.
McGrath managed 19 wickets at an average of 20, Gillespie 20 at 24, Warne 14 at 24 and Andy Bichel 10 at 35 (memorably including Hussain, who was bowled by an exquisite leg-cutter in the second innings at Adelaide). Only Stuart MacGill, who took 12 at 40, and Lee (13 at 41) were less successful, although the latter’s tally should also perhaps be boosted by the number of players that he injured.
In addition to their duties as openers, Langer and Hayden were also the unofficial chief sledgers. That was the ugly side of such a great team who, despite their victorious cricket, were far from universally popular with the Australian public.
While Stewart had one of his best series against Australia with the bat, Hussain, Crawley and Butcher had their moments and Caddick also had a reasonable series with 20 wickets at 34, undoubtedly the biggest success story was their future captain, Vaughan.
He scored centuries at Adelaide, (despite aggravating his knee injury), Melbourne and Sydney to make it seven in 12 Tests. McGrath traditionally earmarked opponents’ key batsmen at the start of series, and had named Vaughan as his number one target, but this rather silly ritual made no difference. With his sublime driving and sweet swivel-pulling, Vaughan was elegance personified. "He was as good as it gets," said Hussain.
England arrived in Perth in mid-October to find a country basking in the adulation it was continuing to receive still for a triumphant staging of the Olympic Games two years earlier. However, the country was still troubled financially, however, with insurers HIH, communication company One Tel and Ansett Airlines all collapsing in the months before the tour. Australian cricket was also mourning the death of Sir Donald Bradman in February 2001.
Ahead of the Tests, Hussain said that he hoped his side would "compete". However, it was a sentiment that was leapt upon by McGrath, and it did not take long to see that this half-fit England team faced a winter of struggle when they lost their opening game to an ACB Chairman’s XI by 58 runs.
To the consternation of former players like Alec Bedser, one of the features of the Fletcher era was that tours, including the Ashes, were being truncated. It was claimed that the modern player was not prepared to accept being away from home for such long periods – frustrating for fans who then see those same players sign up for lucrative Twenty20 competitions.
In 2002/03 there were only three first-class games other than the Tests, and those were played over three days, not four. England were in Australia for about 100 days, compared to the eight months that their predecessors spent away in 1946/47.
The 2002/03 schedule was complicated by the staging of the one-day Champions Trophy (the ‘mini-World Cup’) in September, but England went into the first Test woefully under-prepared. They had drawn two-day and three-day games against Western Australia at Perth (the second match was notable for a Hussain hundred and five wickets in the second innings for Jones).
Then a Vaughan century in the three-day draw with Queensland confirmed his fitness after minor surgery on his knee at the end of the previous summer. Flintoff bowled 26 overs in that match, but that did him more harm than good. Martin Love struck 250 for the hosts – England were to see more of him that winter.
Hussain wrote in his Sunday Telegraph column that his "worst nightmare" would be working out what to do if he won the toss at Brisbane on the first morning of the series. Well, he did win it, and his decision to allow Australia first use of a superb batting surface disturbs him to this day. He said: "I still think now to myself, 'Why?' Without making excuses, I had so much going on. My brain was scrambled!"
Matthew Hayden [Hamish Blair/Getty Images] and Jason Gillespie [Tom Shaw/Getty Images] topped the run and wicket charts for Australia
He felt that there had been a "good covering of grass" on the pitch, and said that the absence of Gough and Flintoff had made him "clutch at straws". He was "pessimistic about bowling the Aussies out twice". Even bumping into his former Essex team-mate, Derek Pringle, who implored him not to bowl first the day before, failed to dissuade him.
"I think Nasser had spoken to the Queensland guys, and they put opponents in quite regularly because there was often some dampness in the pitch," said Crawley in his defence.
The cautious Trescothick also agreed with the decision, as did Fletcher, who said he was persuaded by a pitch appraisal from Rod Marsh, who was running England’s academy. Fletcher said Marsh had written that the "best days for batting on that pitch were two, three and four".
Waugh also admitted he would have done the same, but felt as if England had made the decision for the wrong reasons, and were "working themselves into the game". They were not attacking enough, and did not bowl enough bouncers.
Butcher was less forgiving of the decision, though, and told me: "We had a look at the pitch, and I don’t think we even had a conversation about what we should do if we won the toss – it was so obvious. 'Bloody hell, we want to get in on this one!' I thought. Then the bombshell! Our mouths fell open."
Hussain’s decision was as catastrophic as those made by Len Hutton at Brisbane in 1954/55, Peter May in 1958/59 and Mike Denness in 1974/75 (both at Adelaide), David Gower at Headingley in 1989, and Joe Root this winter at the Gabba.
It started badly, and got worse. Vaughan let the second ball of the series through his legs at gully, although Jones looked sharp and dismissed Langer with his ninth delivery. Catastrophe followed, though, as Jones suffered one of the worst injuries seen on a cricket field.
Both sides had been warned about diving on the newly laid, sandy outfield, but Jones let his enthusiasm get the better of him, and his studs stuck in the ground. He ruptured knee ligaments as his leg bent back on itself.
As he lay near the boundary, elements of the Brisbane crowd barracked him, and a can of drink was thrown at him; that happened, hopefully, before the full extent of the injury became apparent. "I couldn’t believe what was happening to us," said Hussain.
Crawley said it was "horrendous", while Butcher said: "It was a desperate blow for Simon and the team, another real kick in the teeth. He had looked so good against Queensland, reversing it at pace, and taking wickets with the old ball; it is great when you have somebody who can do that in your attack in Australia."
By stumps on day one, Australia had reached 364 for 2, and England had dropped four catches. "It was our worst day’s cricket in at least five years," said Hussain. Hayden on his home ground went on to hammer 197, and put on 272 for the second wicket with Ponting in only 253 minutes. By now Hussain was lamenting England’s decision to dispense with Bob Cottam as bowling coach because of his age, and replace him with Graham Dilley.
England fought back well on day two, with Giles taking four wickets and Caddick three, but then Warne blasted 57 to take Australia’s total to 492.
Fletcher was nevertheless pleased that some of England’s plans had worked, with the exception of those directed at Ponting. The coach said that they nearly dismissed Hayden early on with the ‘well-directed leg-side bouncer’ they had planned for him.
Hussain was mortified, however, with even one member of his own team asking him teasingly, "Is it still doing a bit, skip?"; he was also greeted with comments like "Good toss to win, skip?" as he went out to bat. At least he managed a reply of sorts, making 51.
Trescothick struggled with his feet movement against the Australians, particularly McGrath, but he struck an assertive 72. Vaughan made a confident 33, Butcher hit 54 and Crawley was unbeaten on 69, but no one could go on to make the major innings that England needed. They collapsed from 268 for 3 to 325 all out, with McGrath taking four wickets.
Hayden scored another century, an aggressive 103, Martyn made 64 and then Gilchrist struck a rapid 60 not out as Australia declared their second innings on 296 for 5, setting England 464 to win. Despite 40 from Butcher, they crumbled feebly to 79 all out. Their last seven wickets falling in 13 overs. In their Test history, England had only lost by more runs three times.
Hussain missed the draw against Australia A at Hobart after his wife was induced in Perth, before the second Test at Adelaide. Trescothick clearly had not learnt the lessons of Brisbane, though, and put the hosts in. Only an unbeaten 174 from Rob Key secured a draw.
That earned him selection for the second Test at Adelaide in place of the injured Crawley. But he could manage one run in each innings, as England lost by an innings and 51 runs.
England won the toss and batted this time, making 342. Vaughan had twisted his knee practising his fielding just before the start, but was persuaded to play, and, after having an injection, made 177.
The innings was controversial, however, for he appeared to be caught at point by Langer for 19, but he stood his ground, and the third umpire Steve Davis reprieved him after replays could not settle the issue (they rarely do in such cases).
He also had a bone fractured in his shoulder by Gillespie, but he bravely combined with Hussain for a stand of 140, with the captain making 47. Vaughan was finally out with only four balls left on day one, as England lost their last seven wickets for 47 to be 342 all out. Gillespie wrapped the tourists’ innings up with a spell of 4 for 10.
"Vaughan played amazingly well," said Crawley. "His form against India, Sri Lanka and Australia was incredible. It was a real shame he was not able to repeat that on a regular basis from then on. When he was in full flow, there was no one better to watch."
With Caddick struggling with a back problem and Harmison looking drained, England did not help themselves by putting down five chances. Langer (48) and Hayden (46) put on 101 for the first wicket, and Ponting, with 154, Martyn (95) and Gilchrist (54) took the hosts to 552 for 9 declared, White taking 4 for 106.
It was no surprise to see England dismissed for 159 at 3.48pm on the fourth day. Stewart made 57, and passed 8,000 Test runs, while Vaughan managed 41 this time, but McGrath, with four wickets, and Warne, who took three, were ruthless. If England had held on that evening, they would have achieved a draw, as the fifth day would have been washed out.
After the match Merv Hughes called for Hussain to be sacked, and the captain spelt out how hard it would be for his side to fight back in the series, saying: "They want to beat us 5-0. They’ll be completely cut-throat, they’ll show no mercy at all."
Michael Vaughan [Hamish Blair/Getty Images] and Andy Caddick [Nick Wilson/Getty Images] were England's leading run-scorer and wicket-taker, respectively
Butcher said: "The form of Vaughan and White were the only real bright lights. Vaughan batted as well as I’ve seen anybody. It was absolutely beautiful and was the making of him. He’d only had one problem the summer before – he kept getting out [twice] in the 190s! There was some talk about him not opening in Australia so that he was not exposed to McGrath, but he handled it."
The Australians were even more clinical in the third Test at Perth, winning by an innings and 48 runs. Four years earlier the Ashes had been all over before Christmas for the first time; this time, as Vic Marks put it so succinctly, it was all over before the Advent calendars were opened. The Waca wicket had become lightning quick, and Waugh predicted: "Blood will be spilled on the world’s quickest pitch and courage will win the day."
England, without Caddick and Crawley, won the toss, but could make only 185. Key had looked good for his 47, but gave his wicket away, being dismissed by medium-pacer Martyn just before tea, while Lee took three wickets.
Australia showed that they had wasted their chance on a true track by piling up 456, Martyn making 71 and Ponting 68. Silverwood’s injury caused some controversy. He had hurt his ankle at the end of the previous summer, but the ECB tried to convince the media – without a great deal of success – that this was a new injury. Again White stuck to the task, taking 5 for 127, but Harmison had the yips and repeatedly lost his run-up on the second morning.
England were then bundled out for 223, the knockout blow being delivered by Lee to Tudor. The ball shot between helmet and grille and smacked him just above his left eye. He feared that he would lose his sight. Stewart held his hand and assured him he would be all right, and a concerned Lee asked him, "Are you OK, mate?" He was taken off on a stretcher and the innings soon ended, with Stewart remaining undefeated on 61.
Hussain was annoyed that Stewart had exposed Harmison and the tail, however, and Trescothick admitted: "I came as close to being physically frightened on a cricket pitch as I have ever been in my life."
Butcher and Vaughan were involved in two run-outs together, one in each innings, adding to the tourists’ embarrassment, and Waugh admitted that some of the victories had been "a bit hollow".
A demoralised England then stumbled into limited-overs action, suffering three more humiliating reverses. In Sydney they lost to New South Wales and Australia A, and were then beaten by a Prime Minister’s XI, led by Mark Waugh, in Canberra. Ian Botham said that the results were so bad that an academy side should represent England instead.
To make matters worse, Fletcher called it "terrible" that during the latter match no England player stood up to acknowledge or shake hands with Prime Minister John Howard when he came into the dressing room.
It was no sort of preparation for the triangular VB Series, and, despite Nick Knight’s 111, England lost by seven wickets to Australia at Sydney. Their 89-run defeat to the hosts at Melbourne two days later, thanks to hundreds from Gilchrist and Ponting, was equally emphatic, although Australia suffered a blow when Warne was taken off on a stretcher after dislocating a shoulder trying to save a single off his own bowling.
At least England managed to beat Sri Lanka twice, the first win at Brisbane, thanks to Hussain’s 79, and the second at Perth that saw Paul Collingwood score his maiden one-day century.
Returning to the Ashes series, Australia made light of Warne’s absence, beating England by five wickets in the fourth Test at Melbourne starting on Boxing Day, to give Waugh his record-breaking win as captain.
Love was finally awarded his Test debut after those two double-centuries against England. He had played 129 first-class games, the longest wait for an Australian to be awarded a Test cap.
Alec Stewart [Adam Pretty/Getty Images]
England put up a bit of a fight at the MCG, which was once again undergoing renovation work. Australia piled up a daunting 551 for 6 declared, with Langer (250) and Hayden (102) constructing an enormous stand of their own once more, this time 195, while debutant Love made 62 not out.
Waugh was under pressure when he arrived at the cease, however, and Hussain brought Harmison on to bowl before giving Langer a single to bring his opposing number immediately on strike.
"It was under-10 stuff by Nasser, intended to take the piss out of me and a cheap-shot ploy," said Waugh, who was spurred on to make 77. You would have thought England would have learnt not to motivate him with sledging or such slights by now.
England’s reply of 270 was once more inadequate, although White showed his fighting qualities with an aggressive, unbeaten 85 in the country where he grew up, but in the knowledge that he had pulled an intercostal muscle while bowling the day before, and that his tour was over. Gillespie was again the outstanding performer for the hosts, taking 4 for 25.
England fought harder following on, making 387, with Vaughan scoring 145 to beat Dennis Amiss’s England record of 1,379 runs in a calendar year. There was also a maiden Test half-century from Key, as MacGill was made to work hard for his five wickets, at a cost of 152. He was struggling to repeat his success from four years earlier, with England playing him better now under Fletcher.
Australia needed 107 to win, but suffered some anxious moments, losing five wickets.
Harmison had taken two of them early on and had Waugh ‘caught behind’, but England hardly heard the edge because of the noise of the crowd, and the appeals were half-hearted and belated. This was the only criticism aimed at James Foster, who had kept tidily in place of the injured Stewart.
Waugh was then caught by a euphoric Hussain, only for a no-ball to be signalled, and although Waugh was dismissed soon after, England’s moment had passed. Caddick took three wickets, but Australia did just enough, thanks to Ponting’s 30.
Fletcher gathered his team for a dressing-room huddle, and although he did not enjoy giving motivational speeches, he felt that it was necessary ahead of the fifth Test at Sydney. His words may have had some effect, as England built on their Melbourne momentum of the second half of the match to take their customary consolation win, by 225 runs.
The victory prevented their opponents becoming only the second Australian side to win the Ashes 5-0, after Warwick Armstrong’s men in 1920/21. It was their first home defeat for four years. England’s victory was based on attritional cricket, during which Hussain proved he had character in abundance.
It was Waugh’s 156th Test, matching Border’s Australian record number of caps, and an intense debate raged in Australia as to whether it should be his last. Australia’s chairman of selectors, Trevor Hohns, had said: "At the moment, Stephen has our support until the Sydney Test. The decision is then up to him whether he wants to continue or not. If he does, he will be judged on form like any other player."
Waugh felt that doubled the pressure on him. He was hoping to extend his career at least to the forthcoming series in the West Indies. His wish to go out when he was ready was granted, when he played one of the greatest innings in Ashes series.
England had won the toss and although Australia were without McGrath, who had a side strain, and Warne, Lee was soon posing problems. Swinging the ball both ways, he dismissed Vaughan for nought.
Butcher finally recaptured his form, however, cover-driving beautifully on his way to 124 in England’s 362. "I was batting for my career, so I look back really fondly on that innings," he said.
Shane Warne (centre) [Tom Shaw/Getty Images]
Hussain also made 75 (combining with Butcher for a stand of 166, England’s highest for the third wicket at Sydney, a record that was only to last only until the second innings) while Stewart struck an unbeaten 71.
Batting at No.7, he had gone to hospital with a rash across his face, but doctors were unable to offer a diagnosis, and he recovered to surpass Geoff Boycott’s tally of 8,114 Test runs, becoming England’s third highest run-scorer in Tests.
Caddick then took three early wickets, bringing Waugh in at 56 for 3. Hussain once more turned to Harmison, but Waugh rose to the occasion magnificently, cover-driving emphatically and carving boundaries over the slips.
"I was loving batting," he said, while Hussain admitted: "Whatever I did, I couldn’t seem to stop him." The final over of the second day began with Waugh needing five to complete his hundred. Stewart said to him: "Do you write your own scripts these days?"
Rookie off-spinner Richard Dawson, who was struggling to make an impact in the series, was entrusted with the final over, and his first three balls were defended. Waugh then square-drove the fourth delivery for three runs.
It looked as if he would be going to bed two runs short, but Hussain appeared to set the field to allow Gilchrist to push a single and allow Waugh to return to the strike. Hussain, playing a full part in the drama, had a long talk to Dawson, eking out the tension, and telling him to bowl it fast and straight, as he expected Waugh to play a slog-sweep.
It was a quicker ball on off stump, with Hussain admitting: "It was pretty much the ideal ball. He only gave Steve about two inches of width outside off stump."
But Waugh leaned back and hammered it through extra cover for four. There was an unbelievable roar, as he equalled Bradman’s 29th Test hundred, passing 10,000 Test runs along the way, to follow in the footsteps of Border and Sunil Gavaskar. "It was great to be involved in that moment," admitted Hussain.
Waugh was out swiftly the next morning, but Australia took a one-run lead thanks to Gilchrist’s 133 (he reached his hundred from only 94 balls). Matthew Hoggard had finally enjoyed some success in the series, taking 4 for 92, while Caddick took 3 for 121 and Harmison 3 for 70. The tension had gone for England now, and they accepted nine catching chances out of nine. They then seized control, making 452 for 9 declared, with Vaughan scoring 183, including 27 fours, as he feasted on MacGill.
He "had an utterly brilliant series that settled the issue of who should be England’s next captain firmly in his favour," wrote the other obvious candidate, Trescothick. "He batted like the best player who’d ever lived."
Caddick took 7 for 94 as Australia were dismissed for 226. Hussain said: "He was always a world-class performer if he had something to work with"
"The SCG is one of my favourite grounds, and it was a great win, considering that Australia side was so fantastic," said Butcher. "Any win against them – whether the series was live or dead – was a major achievement. Their batsmen scored runs with such tempo and aggression.
"When we finally beat them in 2005 it was because we had batsmen who could be equally aggressive, and a battery of quick bowlers. The side hadn’t changed, as well, and had been on a consistent run."
In the process of losing at the SCG, Australia bizarrely lost their status at the top of the ICC Test rankings to South Africa.
Switching back to one-day mode, the Test win should have put England in good spirits, but they lost to a Don Bradman XI at Bowral, despite 127 from Owais Shah.
In the VB tri-series, Australia, who were without Warne, McGrath and Gillespie for most of the tournament and also had neither of the Waugh brothers, were looking exceptional, and they lost only one of their eight group games, to Sri Lanka at Perth.
Again they found themselves in trouble off the field, though, when Darren Lehmann shouted a racist obscenity at the Sri Lankans at the Gabba after being dismissed; he was banned for five matches.
England lost all four of their group games to Australia, including at Adelaide, despite a magnificent spell from swing bowler James Anderson, who had been drafted in from the academy – he conceded only 12 runs in 10 overs (for one wicket) at the age of just 19.
England managed to secure a place in the final – repeating their performance of 1998/99 – with a 19-run win against Sri Lanka at Adelaide, Knight making 88.
Warne was back for the finals, but had announced that these would be his last one-day internationals in Australia. It was a triumphant farewell for him, as Australia once again won 2-0. The first match, at Sydney saw England bowled out for 117, Bichel taking 4 for 18, and Australia romping home by 10 wickets.
The second, at Melbourne, was a tighter affair, with 60s from Vaughan and Stewart taking England within five runs of victory. Warne was chaired off on his home ground, with no one suspecting the scandal that was to follow. At the World Cup soon after it was announced that he had failed a doping test after taking a diuretic.
He insisted it was to make him look slimmer; others pointed out that diuretics were masking agents for steroids, which could have allegedly hastened his return from a shoulder injury. He received a 12-month ban from all cricket.
Lee was Australia’s star of the tournament, taking 18 wickets at an average of 18, while Knight shone for England, scoring 461 runs. Some players were suffering from burn-out, however, with Trescothick falling for a pair of ducks in the finals.
So yet another winter in Australia ended in failure for England. There was a small consolation for supporters of the Ashes series, however. In 1998/99 the future of five-Test Ashes series was queried because they had become so one-sided, but this time the Australians announced that the crowds were so good that the format was assured.
However, after eight consecutive series wins for Australia, the pendulum was finally about to swing back to England. Hussain relinquished the captaincy to Vaughan soon after a frustrating World Cup that saw England eliminated after they had refused to play in Zimbabwe in protest at the regime of Robert Mugabe.
Their Test victory at Sydney offered a hint of things to come, and Vaughan and Fletcher continued to build on Hussain’s solid work. In 2005, England were finally ready once more to launch a serious assault on the Ashes.
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Ashes Chronicles – Part 2: Bedser carries struggling England as Close has a nightmare in 1950/51
Ashes Chronicles – Part 3: Typhoon Tyson blows Australia away in 1954/55
Ashes Chronicles – Part 4: England find series a drag in 1958/59
Ashes Chronicles – Part 5: Illy blasts ‘The Sussex Tour’ – 1962/63
Ashes Chronicles – Part 6: Air travel spooks England in 1965/66
Ashes Chronicles – Part 7: Illingworth shows bottle at Sydney in 1970/71
Ashes Chronicles - Part 8: Denness encounters Lillee-Thomson firestorm in 1974/75
Ashes Chronicles - Part 9: Packer defections allow Brearley to call the shots in 1978/79
Ashes Chronicles - Part 10: England forced into swift return to face Lillee's heavy metal
Ashes Chronicles - Part 13: Gower’s flighty nature leaves Gooch fuming in 1990/91
Ashes Chronicles - Part 15: MacGill the destroyer as Headley inspires Melbourne moment in 1998/99
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