Ben Stokes looking to emulate Freddie Flintoff as England plot 2005 Ashes repeat of sorts

One Test all with two to play and England’s victory a nail-biting classic for the ages. Now when have we been here before?

The parallels with the 2005 Ashes – widely revered as the greatest Test series in history – are there even if the mechanics are slightly different.

After going down to defeat in the First Test to Australia 14 years ago, England’s heart-stopping win to square the series came in game two at Edgbaston rather than game three at Headingley but the feeling as the teams head for the home straight locked together is of two nations spellbound once more.

For England captain Joe Root, transfixed and inspired by that series as a teenager, the snowball effect for cricket is the wider context of the ‘Miracle of Headingley’.

Test cricket is the hot sporting topic again – just as it was when Andrew Flintoff was doing his majestic thing.

“2005 is the example – games like that will change people’s perceptions of cricket for sure,” said Root.

“The World Cup certainly did that in many ways and I think this will for Test cricket. It was a great advert for the game, great advert for this format, and for Ashes cricket as well.”

The two teams pause for breath this week – which is probably a blessing for all concerned – but when they lock horns again at Old Trafford next week all eyeballs will be on Manchester.

To expect a repeat of Leeds across the Pennines is asking for the clouds to rain diamonds but golden Ashes summers have a habit of taking on a life of their own.

So when the dust settles at the end of the summer will we be looking back at a series to match that of 2005?

What 2019 undeniably does have in common with 2005 is an England folk hero.

For Flintoff 14 years ago, who topped 400 runs and took 24 wickets, read Ben Stokes now as the all-action all-rounder who can do no wrong.

Just as ‘Freddie’ was the name on everyone’s lips then, Stokes’s heroics have penetrated way beyond cricket’s traditional boundaries.

A domestic example. I arrived home on Sunday night from Headingley to find the cat – a ginger who formerly went by the name of Biscuit – rechristened Stokesy.

But to put the supporting acts on the same level is erroneous.

What made 2005 so compelling was the fact that in English conditions it was the two best sides in the world at the time going at each other.

Australia’s had the greatest spinner in the game in Shane Warne and a wonderful, if ageing, cast of A-listers around him; England had Kevin Pietersen and a superb four-pronged seam attack spearheaded by Flintoff.

By contrast these England and Australia sides are flawed entities.

Neither has anything approaching a reliable batting line-up, nor the consistency of performance which would mark them out as a world-beating side. Headingley showed that.

England’s first innings of 67, which inadvertently paved the way for one of the great sporting comebacks, was as soft-centred as the way in which Australia, with their fielding gaffes, crumbled under pressure on the final afternoon.

The echoes from 14 years ago lie in the equality of the two teams rather than the quality of them but ironically it is their shared vulnerability which threatens to make 2019 the natural successor to 2005.

Neither side can be relied upon to put clear water between the other in either of the remaining two Tests so the upshot is likely to be more wild volatility.

It may not be A-grade but it could still be epic. Strap yourselves in for the ride.

source: express.co.uk