The Ashes: How 2002-2003 Set Michael Vaughan on the Path to 2005 Glory

Six months later, Vaughan replaced Hussain as Test captain. His task was to reshape an England team that had suffered from years of Ashes batting. Only four of Sydney’s XI reached the First Ashes Test at Lord’s in 2005.

“It wasn’t a couple of years ago that I woke up and thought, ‘We have to beat Australia,’ because the only way to beat Australia is to win the previous games,” Vaughan says. “You can’t suddenly get into the Ashes to beat this team after not beating other teams.

“It became clear that we were going to have a fresher team, a younger team, a team that had very little baggage. What was very clear in 2002-03, and understandably so, was that as soon as we lost the first Test, it was ‘here we go again’, because a lot of those players had been around in the England team in the 1990s.”

Those unforgettable eight weeks of summer in 2005 etched the names of Vaughan and his players into English cricket folklore. Steve Harmison draws blood from Ponting, picks up Andrew Strauss. Kevin Pietersen’s hair and Gary Pratt’s direct hit. Andrew Flintoff struck out. Bowling by Andrew Flintoff. Andrew Flintoff drinks alcohol.

Due to injuries that occurred even before the series ended, the class of 2005 never played together again.

“That moment when you win is the best moment, but it’s also very frustrating because it’s all over,” Vaughan says. “It was hard to deal with all the stress and pressure, but the adrenaline you get from being in a series like that. And when it’s over, you wonder what’s next.”

Vaughan didn’t know it at the time, but lifting the urn was his last act as an Ashes cricketer. Troublesome knees meant he played just two more Tests in the 18 months that followed, including missing out on defense in Australia in the 2006-07 season. Under Flintoff and a shadow of the team that won in 2005, England lost 5-0 to an Australian side determined for revenge.

“We were pretty beat up, and we were going to get beat up when I played,” Vaughan says. “We stabbed the bear.

“It was hard to watch, because a lot of my teammates were playing. Once we beat Australia once, they wouldn’t let us beat them twice, especially in their own backyard.”

Vaughan tearfully resigned as captain of England in 2008, although he still considered playing in the 2009 Ashes under Strauss. The form and knees did not allow this. In the four years between Ashes series played in this country, Vaughan has gone from winning captain to former cricketer. He retired at the age of 34.

“Straussi called me and said he wanted me to play in county cricket and we would take a look, but my body was exhausted,” says Vaughan. “I couldn’t do the training or work.

“There was a weird morning that I woke up and thought, ‘Come on, let’s try to get this batting spot.’ I was thinking there’s an opportunity.

“I may have retired too young, but I would have royally embarrassed myself in 2009.”

Given his lofty place in modern English cricket history, Vaughan played relatively few Ashes Tests – 10 of them, five away and five at home.

He will forever be remembered for what he achieved in 2005. This would not have been possible without what happened in 2002-03.