Test Match Special - Simon Jones: The 2005 Ashes and me

Episode Date: July 18, 2025

Simon Jones remembers England’s 2005 Ashes glory, in what could be the most iconic and influential summer in English cricketing history.Watch How To Win The Ashes on BBC iPlayer right now. The documentary takes a deep dive into one of sport’s fiercest rivalries. Cricket legends from both sides of 2005’s bitter rivalry, including Simon Jones, Andrew Strauss, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist, bring to life the on-field heroics that captured the nation, and ended 20 years of Ashes hurt for England.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. The Dakar Rally is the ultimate off-road challenge, perfect for the ultimate defender, the high-performance Defender Octa, 626 horsepower twin turbo V8 engine and intelligent 6D dynamics air suspension. Learn more at landrover.ca. This podcast is brought to you by Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. With Wise, you can send, spend, and receive up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps. Plus, Wise won't add hidden fees to your transfer. Whether you're buying souvenirs with pesos in Puerto Vallata or sending euros to a loved one in Paris, you know

you're getting a fair exchange rate with no extra markups. Be smart. Join the 15 million customers who choose Wise. Download the Wise app today or visit Wise.com. T's and Cs apply. from BBC Radio 5 Live Hello, I'm Henry Moran. Welcome to the TMS podcast and in this special episode we revisit the incredible summer of 2005 from the perspective

of England fast bowler Simon Jones. Available an eye player right now is How to Win the Ashes 2005, a documentary 20 years on from arguably the most iconic and influential summer in English cricketing history. How to Win the Ashes

takes a deep dive into one of sports, fiercest rivalries. Cricket legends from both sides of 2005's bitter rivalry, including Simon Jones, Sir Andrew Strauss, Glenn McGraar and Adam Gilchrist bring to life the on-field heroics that captured the nation and ended 20 years of Ash's hurt for England. The Glamorgan bowler was part of the fast bowling quartet of himself, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmeson, and Andrew Flintoff, which ripped through Australia on the way to England's ashes glory. And here is.

to win the Ashes 2005, in the words of Simon Jones. You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. I just heard the bell toll down there, outside the long room door. I thought there's something to my tummy that. There's a few butterflies fluttering around. When we went through that long room and we walked down the stairs, and we walked through, erupted. It erupted.

And I remember Kev turning around going, oh my good God, it's going on here. And it was, I honestly took you, almost shocked us really. Because normally it's all the members and they're a bit subdued, a bit stayed, a bit posh. This day, they were going, oh, people are saying, oh, take these f*** down and all this kind of stuff. Yeah. We were just like, here we go. As Michael Vaughn now steps out onto Lords. So then, I think Vaughney'd sensed that the boys were proper revved up for her.

He got us into a circle and he had a chat with us and he kind of added to it and he said, we've been waiting for this for years and years and years this is our time, let's take him down and he brought him out for 186, I think it was. Now, Harmie started the time, brilliantly. He pinned Langer. Harmison goes in and Langer lets the ball hit him.

He turned his back on that short ball and he's taken that ball high up on the arm and he's walking away. So the first bruising of the Ashes series has occurred from the second ball. and the head hit Pondin which never happens by the way Harmeson it is then again

in Bowes there to Ponte short Oh and Ponte got into all sort of trouble I think they'd hit him on the helmet It's got through the visor And there's a bit of blood there Oh dear And no one meant to check in them And I think the Australians

I've seen some kind of documentaries on it On 2005 and they said This was a different team Like I remember Gilchrist saying They seemed like a pack of wolves And they were coming in for the kill and it was he was banned on

we wanted to take these boys down and I think the only difficult we had that test match was just gonna grow he just bowed like he does it lords he loves it

he rattled through us and unfortunately we lost him in four days he could sense he was just looking and I was thinking you're shit so he was a swift

a couple of beers and then we left Vorni got us together in the dressing room before we all obviously packed up and got ready to go home he said right

lads we start the series of edge boston nil-nil we go again Glenn McGrath rolled his ankle in warm-ups I was the spy we were warming up and we could see a bit of a kerfuffle going on so we're thinking what's happened over there because you always want to check if people are right

you know so Flett sent me over he rolled a ball and I had to go and get the ball told him look and he looked like he looked big a ghost McGra he looked in serious pain and he rolled his ankle but then for Pondon to win a toss on a bowl

it kind of summed up their mindset I think is slightly arrogant we've lost our best bowler but we'll still put him in and I'm thinking okay and then we got

400 and a day wasn't it it just Trez and Strauss by it's so brilliantly Brett Lee went the five and over I think it was well it's Lee now in Bowes from Scottish

Southies forward driving that goes through the covers before it's a lovely stroke You know, they missed McGraw, massively, that test match. Well, worn, inevitably, is going to continue to a very deep set field, except for a slip. And he's bowling now to Flintoff. He's in. He bowled. He bowled. He bowled.

And that's the end of it. Flintoff came down the wicket, tried to swing worn out of the ground at midwicket, miss. And his leg stumps on the ground. The middle stumps almost on the ground. And England all out for 182. Clintoff bowed worn to 73 and England's lead 281 Australia's target 282 and the members in front of us already standing we started off so well and then kind of got ourselves into a position where right we can win this I think we needed two wiggis in the last day and then you read Shane worn baton like he does

here comes again and bowls to warn who carves out from through the offside, he'll get four. This is the danger, of course, of bowling short. So we never ever thought ourselves, oh, this is going to be a walk in the park. But at the same time with the attack we had, we should roll him over 99 times of 100 within 10 overs. And it didn't happen.

258 for 9. Harmison goes galloping in again. He's there. He bowls to Kassovic. A terrible ball down the leg side. Jones can't stop it. Four buys. A shocking ball. It was a tester for the keeper.

But that betrays one or two nerves, I reckon. 20 to win. As a score was going down, we were thinking, geez, what's going to happen here? Everyone was not panicking, but there was that nervous energy. You see, the crowd were feeling it as well. The Aussies were piping up, having to go Geron Jones. I dropped that catch on the boundary as well. One wicket for England, 15 runs for Australia.

Here comes Flint off, and it's short, and he catches it. Upper cut down to the boundary. It's dropped, dropped a third man, and they get a run. Oh, there was the chance for England to wrap the game up. Fred was bowling, and Kaspovich was buying. Fred's bowling quickly, as he normally did. And I was feeling down there, and I was seeing himself, I can't pick the ball up here.

even when they were just blocking it or it was going through the gearine I couldn't pick it up so then Casper's played this like glance because Freda Bowdoin slightly wide one and it's coming to me and I've seen it because it was higher than pitch level but then I've lost it so I'm running in thinking where's this ball I'm trying to track it and trying to find it and I'd lost it in the crowd and it was Simon Jones coming in He moved a little late and then going forward on the upper cut stroke from Kasparovich.

He got his hands under it and spilt the chance. I would have been a great catch. Diving forward to those, about nine inches above the ground. I mean, tough one. And I thought, my God, I've just dropped the ashes, yeah? They got too in your lap. We're not going back from this. So I was thinking to myself, oh my God, what have you done?

I was thinking my P-45 is going to be in the post. then, obviously, Harmi got Kasper. England's striving for this last wicket. They've been doing that for a while. Harmison comes up in bowls and Kasparovich goes back and Parry's one as he caught down the leg side. There's an appeal for it catches out. England of won.

England of won by two runs. Wow, what a finish. What an incredible test match. That is astonishing stuff. It was horrendous to win with two runs needed, to win like we did. That was far. It was horrible. It was horrible.

Good morning and welcome to Test Match Special on BBC Radio 4198 Longwave, 5 Live Sports Extra on digital and on the internet. And today this incredible Ashes series continues. It's the first day of the third Empower test. First morning without test match. I'm stickler for time I'm always early so me and Kev had travelled in together that day we got in we were warming up

at say quarter past nine we got in for eight and the crowd was full then the ground was full we were warming up the lads said they felt like primary league footballers because they were having to give

a football to warm up and there was a massive crowd in there shouting and jeering and stuff and that's when harm he was late that day he did like a little lion so he had to have a police escort to the ground

because the traffic was that bad so he's following his police car in and they turned away 10,000 people it was just obscene it was obscene the amount of people that wanted to come and watch this test match and it was just like wow

this is something to behold it you don't get these days but I don't think that would ever happen again, ever. But it just shows how much people want to support us, really. So just four days after what many people have called the greatest test ever, England and Australia, meet again.

And one thing's for sure, interest in cricket has never been greater and if the players can generate the same level of excitement and entertainment as at Edgebuston. First, the team news, and I have to tell you the remarkable news that Glenn McGraw is playing for Australia today.

It's an incredible recovery from that ankle injury of his and it means that both sides are at full strength. Old Trafford, yeah. It was... You're talking about when you're playing a series like that

and against a team like that you want to feel as if you're contributing and old traffic was perfect for me. Really abrasive square ball was reversing after 19 overs, 20 hours. That's real early and once I have the old ball in my hand and it's reversing I couldn't be more happy. I know what I'm doing and I find it really easy to to bowl with that and make plans. The big one for me was when I got Clark and he left it shoulder and arms. The crowd had got quiet and I've spoken about it before and I'd gone to top of my mark and I felt as if come on, give us a bit of backup here so I'd just given a jeer up and they all reacted and then that next ball I'd

thought well I've done two o's of a way swing to him trying to set him up here or go the and swimner and it came out perfectly it couldn't come out any better if I tried 263 for five the sun shining as jones runs away from the Stripford end past umpire bowden he bursts the right-handed clerk out about him that's wrong him he left it alone and he was horror-struck to see his off-stump flat on the ground. Jones is the boy. And he's left it and he said, ah, because he went past him. And then I've just seen the stump cartwheeling and Geron Jones is sprinting towards me.

And it's one of those situations where you kind of dream of where you make plans in your head. And they rarely come off, but that one did. and you can see the relief on Vaughney's face as captain as well because Claude was superb crickler and he was just getting into his groove and stuff so he was a vital wicket so yeah it was a big moment of the game Clark disconsolately dragged himself away

having bended very very well and without any inconvenience from his injuries as far as one could see you there was an old couple in the crowd and he could see them hugging and it was as if they were thinking right these are special moments that you see in sport it's like in rugby or football

whatever it is it's a I was there kind of moment so yeah that was that was nice very nice you see great balls on TV and stuff but then for one of your balls you've bowled to be one of them yeah it's a special feeling and I love the fact that people

are still playing it now and what's that 17 18 years ago it's a long time but still people think it's one of the best balls ever been involved. So yeah, if you go on Twitter, that's all you see. It's people, the best noise in cricket, people want to, there's the noise that's stumped made.

People want to as their ringtone and stuff. It's really, I don't know, really proud one of me, yeah. The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. To embrace the impossible requires a vehicle that pushes what's possible. Defender 110 boasts a towing capacity of 3,500 kilograms, a weighting depth of 900 millimeters, and a roof load up to 300 kilograms.

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go-turkia.com. I've been watching Fred sinking a load of red bulls. I thought, I'll have a crack of that. You know, you feel a bit like lethargic, whatever it was. And I got cramp, and I mean the worst cramp ever and I couldn't bowl and I was devastated because you only needed one wicket and I yeah there's no point being on the field because I couldn't run or anything and now we are down to the last ball this is it the last ball of the match can Harmeson summons something up something special something remarkable listen to the crowd they're all on their feet even the members are on their feet

They're urging on Steve Harmeson to do something here, to do it for England. He's on his way. Lee waits for him. Harveston goes in and bowls. It's a full toss. And Australia have saved the game. The match is drawn. One of the most gripping climaxes there can surely have been, certainly in modern cricket. You have to give Australia credit.

have battled throughout today. They've survived the 98 overs today. They're congratulating each other there on their balcony and quite rightly so. I wasn't on the pitch at the time but I know Hoggy's relayed the story a few times. He said the four and he got the boys in Huddle and he said look at that. He said look at that dressing room there. He said that's the Australian celebrating a drawl. You'd never ever see that again and you've never seen it before either because of that. they only celebrate victories and he was bang on they were so relieved that they didn't go to one down I think as the series progressed you could actually sense

that the Aussies were respecting us more whereas first test now they thought we're just the same old England but as we were series went on you could see they were panicking as well they knew with the bowling attack we had we could put them in all all sorts of trouble. Traubridge with my uncle, he just wasn't getting any better. And the doctor came in and give me some local anaesthetic. Obviously, it felt like when he got to the dentist and he mouse numb, but my foot was. To obviously get the FIFO was special in a sense that I think I'd been labelled by some of the

commentate this as a one-trick pony just throw them the old ball and that's all he can do but then to get the fifer with bowling conventional swing with a newer ball that was nice it was nice it was just like giving them a bit of a middle finger you know I I'd like to back myself to bowl with

any kind of with the ball in any kind of condition really so yeah to get another fifa and back to back was immense and here comes Jones in both Ponte, point in four to little bad, LBW, Biel. Umpike's out. Monty is out, LBW to Jones.

He's half as half forward. Umpire partner, looked and looked and looked, and then came the finger, rather faster than the look. You'll see what I mean. And it's Jones in now, up to the wiggie bolts, carriage carriage drive, he's caught in the gully, he's gone, he drove it straight into the handslair of Strauss, and so England have got the wicket that they wanted.

And Jones is now into Belgium, two slips and two gullies. and here he is Jones is in he bowels and won oh he's got out he's caught there in the covers a leading edge

he was trying to play that to leg and he just doled up to Bell when we made him follow on Hoggy tells the story he reckons that I was going

yeah yeah make him follow on make him follow on and then I wasn't there I was in hospital but I didn't do that and Gary Pratt is coming to extra cover

Hoggards going out to deep cover, Vaughn's at mid off, Harmeson at mid on, Peterson is going from mid-wicket to square leg and Giles is back on the fine leg boundary. It was an awkward situation where we've done it throughout the series where after the spell he ran off, changed his shirt, you're entitled to, you get the 12th man on, you're allowed to be off for two overs, I think it is, and then you go back on. But Ponton was kicking off because you can see we were doing it all the time. Well, your lads can do it as well.

It's not an issue. But he thought we were obviously up to something like checking out on our stats or something. No, mate, we don't think that deeply about stuff. We just get on with it. And that's when you go run out by Gary Pratt, wasn't it? And here comes Andrew Flintoff. In now to Pontingy Bowls. Ponting comes forward, plays out in the offside,

big every quick single. Pratt shot on to hit them. They could let it probably run out. A marvellous piece of fielding by Gary Pratt. And Umpa Alim Dar. Signals for the third umpah and the England players think they've got him. They're all-round Pratt congratulating him. Well, it was a marvelous piece of fielding.

I've heard it to riot. I'd burn it to riot. I'd burn it to riot. I'd burn it to riot. He was kicking off on him and Fletch had a couple of words from the balcony. And I was told that Pondon was screaming up the stairs at Fletch. and Fletch was loving it, absolutely loving it, because he nearly got into his head. But I was in hospital at the time.

I came back with one of those air cast boots on, and that was me done then. It was just, yeah, it wasn't great. Excellent piece of fielding, and I've got a funny feeling. Ricky Ponding might have himself in a bit of trouble here. The words were exchanged out there, and I see Alan Dars coming down to the other end

to talk to his mate, something's happening here. Ricky Pining kept on looking back. I don't know what's going on, but there were words said for sure and certain out there. And I don't know what they were, but who cares, really? It's out there. It's all over and done with now. He's out.

England need two to win. Warren comes in and bowls to Giles. It turns out away through me to wicket. That's it. England have won the test match. The Bassman complete there two. They're raising their backs as they do so. And what a climactic finish to another remarkable test match,

the third in succession in this outstanding series. And who would have thought it? That England, with one test match to play, now lead in this series by two matches to one. We had to try and find a way to get me fit for the... the last test so I went to a hyperbaric chamber in the Wellington Hospital next to Lodes I was in there six hours a day breathing in just pure oxygen it was slightly different because I was in there with like five other people some of cancer one guy

a gangrene trying to and you weren't talking because you were these masks on but it felt a bit much to me in a sense that right these guys are trying to recover from cancer or whatever it is and I'm just saying you're trying to get fit for a test match it just felt a bit wrong but I had to do what I was told did that for three or four days and then the last resort was Kirk said do you believe in like faith healers and stuff I was like oh I said surely not matter so he got a faith healer run to the hotel and she came in to see me And a poor lady, I was just like, I wasn't open-minded enough to deal with it at the time.

And she was like, put her hands over my ankle and she was like, oh, can you feel any heat? I was like, why are you on about? And Kirk left her and smiling because he could see my face. I was just, no, this is a waste of time. So we did everything we possibly could try and get fit for that last test, but it just didn't happen. Yeah, the fifth test was a time. tough one because I had to watch it rather than playing it. And I found it odd that Duncan Fletcher stated to me that

I could only go to the test on the second or third day because he didn't want any distractions for the players on day or either of the test, day one and two. I was a bit of a bit of a kick in the guts, really. I felt I could have been useful about the changing of my stuff and, you know, I have a chat with my mates. really. So I did, I respected his wishes and I went in there and that test was, you know, Kev got 150, 150 odd, batted like absolute god, hoggy, bowed brilliantly, so did Fred and

Harmy and Jailo. So watching it was nice, seeing your mates do well, but then the feeling of not contributing was difficult. That really was difficult and he felt like a bit of a spare spare part walking around the dressing room and it's not the same it's not the same yeah then to obviously get towards the end of that test you know the fans were putting umbrellas up as if it was going to start raining and they're all getting in on it and you can see that the you know the umpires were checking the light all the time it was like theater really and then to see rudy go out with the other umpire and flick the bales off that's when we started celebrating It looks as though the officials...

I'm getting some news, Jim. Apparently, the umpires are going to come out and take the bales off. Right. And that is going to be the moment that this game is over and England win the ashes. No one in the crowd actually knows what's going on here. There's been no public address announcement about this. We've just got inside word up here. This is what's going to happen.

They are inspecting for light. They're really just going through the motions here. The umpires are going to their respective ends. and in the most extraordinary manner. The bales are removed by Umpire Fowden. He throws one in the air. And England have won the ashes. Finally, in the most bizarre ending,

oh, let the crowd speak for themselves. I think with the experience you've got to play in the game, there's no way we could have gone back out there with a light, etc. and so we kind of knew this has got to happen it's whether the empires are strong enough to do it or not and they were

and then the voice just erupted but it was a funny feeling that I remember sitting in dress rooms and some of the lads are celebrating and whatnot but then there's a moment you just sit down and he feels as if this weight has been taken off his shoulders and we've actually achieved

what we set up to achieve been like, what, three years ago. It was nice to look around that dressing room and you could see how all the lads were the same. They were just drained. And you could just sense that we've actually shared this together as well. So, yeah, it was different, but there was almost a feeling of relief that it was over.

This summer's done now. We can relax a bit, have a few beers and enjoy each other's company again without the kind of expectation on you to perform all the time. I lost 8 kilo that summer just wasn't eating wasn't sleeping properly

and he was just like he couldn't concentrate on anything apart from the cricket. He couldn't switch off and that was the hard part of it was you couldn't not get away from it. Why did we win? We were the better team. We should have won 3-1 I think

Old Trafford we should have won. We should have won that. But yeah, we were the better team. And I love saying that because when you talk with that Australian side, to say you're better than them, yeah, I'll take that. Simon Jones on England's 2005 Ashes victory. If you like that from a member on IPlayer right now is How to Win the Ashes 2005 featuring Jones as well as Sir Andrew Strauss, Glenn McGraugh and Adam Gilchrist. Head to IPlayer and just search for how to win the ashes. But for now, that's it for this TMS podcast. Make sure you're subscribe. so you never miss an episode.

Thanks for listening. Hello, Chris Jones here from Rugby Union Weekly. We're all over the Lions Tour of Australia, pre-match podcast, post-match podcast, on the Whistle podcast from all the Lions matches down under. We also have a special Lions Top Ten series. We're two greats of Lions Rugby, Matt Dawson, Jamie Roberts,

and we've been ranking everything from icons to controversies. We've got moments, tours. Tries. You're in the controversies, Matt, right at the top. Jamie, you're in the controversies too? Indirelli, not your fault. It is all there. Two men who have been there, done it, and won it on a Lions tour.

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