My second thread also stems from a desire to get past the England implosion
and look back on happier times. What are your top Ashes innings of all time? Why were they so great? I'll do my personal top 5 for England - for me great Australian innings were just painful
There's an unashamed recent bias - I'm not that old, so anything before the 90s I only know by hearsay. And let's face it, there weren't many great innings played by Englishmen against Australia in the 90s.
5: Michael Vaughan, 183, 5th test, Sydney 2003
A lost series, but Vaughan was the shining light that proved to England that Australia could be tamed. His final, and best innings of the summer set up a rare win and prevented an England whitewash, but more than that, this innings (and the match in general) signified a change in England. They would go on to win series in the summers of 2003 and 2004, and then the Ashes in 2005. It all began here.
4: Jonathan Trott, 119, 5th test, the Oval 2009
On debut, after a horrible defeat for England at Leeds, and with the Ashes on the line, Trott played a magnificent innings that took the game beyond Australia. England were wobbling at 39-3 when he came to the crease, and wickets kept dropping, but Trott did what we later learned he did best: calmly accumulated, looked after his partners, and annoyed the bloody hell out of Australia.
3: Kevin Pietersen, 227, 2nd test, Adelaide 2010
Not just the number of runs, but the style in which he did it. England were on a high after not losing at Brisbane for the first time in 25 years, and Anderson had given England a great edge with his early wickets restricting Australia to 245, but it was KP's innings that totally demoralised Australia and set the scene for the first triumph down under in 25 years. Outrageous shots were the norm, and Australia looked pretty silly for trying to target his 'weakness' against left arm spin, as Xavier Doherty was spanked for more than five an over.
2: Kevin Pietersen, 158, 5th test, the Oval 2005
A lot of fifth tests here, but maybe innings mean more when the Ashes are on the line. Second entry for KP, and the innings that brought the Ashes home after such a long, long time. His dismantling of Brett Lee was a sight to behold, and even Warne, who had such a magnificent series had no answer. Ok, he was dropped on 15, but when you get dropped you make it count. He did.
1: Mark Butcher, 173*, 4th test, Headingley, 2001
Or maybe the Ashes on the line means nothing. A corollary to my other thread, I think the 2001 Australians were one of, if not the best XI of all time. An innings, the one innings of the summer that rendered them human, that took on McGrath, Warne, Lee and Gillespie and won. Not only that, but the match situation, a very hard chase and hardly any time to do it, and yet Butcher pulled off an incredible win against the odds. Bravo.
So, what are your favourites?