Michael Vaughan reveals Geoffrey Boycott's jibe that turned the tide of 2005 Ashes

The 2005 Ashes series is widely acknowledged as one of the most remarkable and closely-fought Test battles in cricketing folklore. Under the leadership of Michael Vaughan, hosts England defied all odds to defeat a rampaging Australian unit, who were also ranked No.1 in the ICC Test rankings at the time. The host’s 2-1 win over Ricky Ponting and co. meant that England had regained the urn for the first time since the 1986-87 Australian summer.

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2005 Ashes series: Michael Vaughan indirectly credits Geoffrey Boycott for a memorable win 

In a recent Sky Sports podcast with Nasser Hussain, cricketer-turned-commentator Michael Vaughan revisited the memories of his victorious 2005 English summer. In the opening Test at Lord’s, the home side slumped to a 239-run defeat as Australian pacer Glenn McGrath romped through the English batting order with match-haul of 9-82. Trailing 0-1 in the series, Michael Vaughan recalled the moment when the entire England team expressed their ebullience upon learning about McGrath stepping down from the second Test.

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England batsmen made the most of McGrath’s absence as they stacked up over 400 runs before stumps in an entertaining opening day of the match. A rising star at the time, Kevin Pietersen, scored a well-paced 71 off 76 balls to pile on the Australian misery in Edgbaston. In the podcast, Michael Vaughan recalled that he stumbled on to English commentator Geoffrey Boycott in the parking lot after Day 1.

According to Vaughan, Boycott acknowledged him for an entertaining day of cricket before saying “you won’t win cricket matches batting like that!”

2005 Ashes series: Michael Vaughan’s moment of defying an English legend

The English captain then revealed that throughout the remainder of the match, he could only think about what the veteran had told him earlier. The match ultimately went down to the wire with England holding their nerves for a 2-run series-levelling win. Michael Vaughan then evoked his running celebration after their thrilling victory where he admitted to thinking “I’d proven Geoffrey Boycott wrong!”.

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Revisiting Edgbaston thriller and 2005 Ashes

England’s 2-run win in Edgbaston set a platform for their historic victory in the biennial event. Middle-order batsman Kevin Pietersen emerged as the leading run-scorer across five Test matches with 473 runs. Meanwhile, Australian captain Ricky Ponting scored 359 runs which included a match-saving 156 at Old Trafford. Despite Kevin Pietersen’s heroics with the bat, dynamic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was awarded the Compton–Miller Medal for his 402-run tally and 24-wicket series haul.

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