Ashes flashbacks: Recapping rare moments of English positivity during Down Under drought

Think back to some of England’s best Ashes moments in Australia in recent history – what comes to mind?

Probably tearing through the Aussies for 98 on day one of the Boxing Day Test, possibly the 517-1 at the Gabba or Kevin Pietersen’s double ton at Adelaide, maybe James Anderson immediately silencing Mitchell Johnson at the non-striker’s end or even the sprinkler celebration on the outfield of the SCG.

They all have one thing in common, as they occurred during the memorable triumph in 2010-11, as you are all fully aware by now, was also the last time England won a Test match Down Under.

Ever since, it has been an all too familiar case of off-field sagas and waking up to news of another batting collapse or day of toil in the field.

But with hope in the air around the upcoming series, beginning in just over one week’s time, we take a look back at the few moments England fans were rewarded with something to shout about during the hugely disappointing past three visits.

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Wood’s pink-ball barrage (2021-22)

The 2021-22 Ashes series culminated at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart – a new Ashes venue as a replacement for Perth’s Optus Stadium due to COVID regulations.

With Australia holding a 3-0 lead and retaining the urn, the second pink-ball Test of the series followed a similar pattern as the hosts established a 115-run lead in the first innings after another dismal display with the bat by England.

Unlike the makeup of the current touring squad, Mark Wood was the sole speedster in the group four years ago and proved a rare plus point as England’s leading wicket-taker, coming out fighting for the final innings to claim career-best figures and offer Joe Root’s side the faintest hope of registering a first victory in Australia for 11 years.

Ultimately, the win never materialised or was even close for that matter, but the Durham man, who was expensive in the first innings, provided a burst full of hostility and spirit, charging in off the long run to record figures of 6-37 as Australia were dismissed for 155 in Tasmania.

His ferociously quick and accurate spell of short-pitched bowling accounted for three prized wickets – Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Travis Head – and for the first time in a long while, the Aussie batters looked genuinely unsettled, which made his earlier omission from the pivotal Day-Night second Test at Adelaide all the more baffling.

There was uncertainty as to whether Wood’s persistent injury troubles would see him in contention for another Ashes tour but after having last played a Test in August 2024, it is hoped the 35-year-old – who helped revitalise the comeback draw in 2023 – could play a role over the series as a major boost to England’s prospects, with more express alternatives at their disposal to share the workload this time around.

SCG finale (2021-22)

Any occasion England did not lose a Test match in Australia is worth celebrating to some degree because it has only occurred twice across their last 15 Tests, even if the draw at Sydney in the fourth Test of the 2021-22 series was as close to a defeat as possible.

The England side of today would relish a final day chase of 388, but at 3-0 down and heavily wounded, there was never a realistic belief the 2021-22 cohort would truly threaten a target underpinned by Usman Khawaja’s second century of the match.

After slipping from 193-4 to 218-7, the door opened for Australia, and the wicket of Jonny Bairstow left the hosts with ten overs to finish the job, but England’s tail had other ideas.

The ninth-wicket partnership between Stuart Broad and Jack Leach lasted nearly nine overs with spin in operation from both ends due to fading light, before Steve Smith found the outside edge of Leach’s bat for his first Test wicket since 2016, leaving Broad and James Anderson to survive two remaining overs.

The pair successfully negotiated a nerve-shredding 12 deliveries to rescue an unlikely draw and whilst it had little relevance to the outcome of the series, it did at least restore a hint of pride and bring some relief from an otherwise miserable tour as England averted a potential third 5-0 whitewash in five series.

The tail standing firm was not the only highlight from the SCG Test, with an emotional Bairstow roaring in celebration late on day three after a superb defiant 113 – England’s only century of the series – a rare standout moment having walked out to the middle with his side 36-4 following 53 consecutive dot balls and copping a viscous blow to this thumb which would later rule him out of the fifth Test.

Cook doubles up again (2017-18)

Alastair Cook’s name is synonymous with the historic 2010-11 success, in which the opener dominated the scoring charts with 766 runs at a staggering 127.66 average, including an unbeaten 235 at the Gabba.

But six years later, after England had already surrendered the urn by the time the Boxing Day Test came around, Cook produced some belated cheer with another marathon innings as the visitors enjoyed a rare period of dominance on Australian soil at the MCG.

The left-hander’s ten-and-a-half-hour vigil at the crease displayed both fluency and measuredness throughout for his 244* – the fifth Test double century of his career – with scoring particularly profitable square of the wicket and entered the record books for the highest score by a visiting batsman at Melbourne Cricket Ground, surpassing Sir Viv Richards’ 208 back in 1984.

In remaining unbeaten, Cook’s epic knock was also the highest individual score by any batsman carrying his bat through a Test innings (later beaten by New Zealand’s Tom Latham in 2018) and the first England player to do so since Michael Atherton at Christchurch in 1997.

What made the former captain’s majestic effort even more impressive was that his previous six innings had only yielded 83 runs, and there was immense scrutiny on a player who proved just why he had been the bedrock of England’s batting for the previous decade.

Cook’s masterclass in determination and application had given the tourists a sizeable 164-run first innings lead to press for victory, but a draw nevertheless ended an eight-game losing streak Down Under, with an all-time great of English cricket forever etched in the history at one of cricket’s most iconic venues.

Malan’s maiden Test ton (2017-18)

Just one Test prior to Cook’s 244, another England man was raising their bat aloft, but one at the other end of this Test career.

A 30-year-old Dawid Malan had only made his international debut that English summer but was one of three Ashes rookies in the top five as England arrived aiming to retain the urn once more after previous home success.

At 2-0 down heading to Perth, England experienced a much-needed positive day one with the bat on a typically lively surface as Malan led a recovery from 131-4 to 368-5 with a maiden Test century, alongside fellow centurion Jonny Bairstow.

The left-hander played an emotional 140 at number five with exceptional judgment, showcasing eye-catching cover drives and cut shots that we would come to see regularly over the next few years.

The less said about the rest of the Test, the better, as Australia still went on to secure an innings victory, despite England’s score of 403, with Steve Smith’s double ton ensuring the hosts regained the urn at the final Ashes Test played at the WACA Ground.

It was a breakthrough performance from England’s top run-scorer that tour, though it proved to be his only Test hundred in a 22-match career, with most of his success coming as a member of the white ball sides.

Stokes announces himself amid nightmare tour (2013-14)

There was very little to look back on with fondness from the disastrous 5-0 rout in 2013-14, which set in motion England’s struggles in Australia ever since.

Amidst humiliation after humiliation at the hands of a fired-up Mitchell Johnson, a 22-year-old Ben Stokes made his Test debut in Adelaide as a replacement for Jonathan Trott, and he only had to wait for his second match at the WACA Ground in Perth for a maiden Test century – the only England player to reach three figures on the tour.

His superb 120 off 195 balls in the second innings ultimately proved in vain as England, chasing a record 504, slipped to a 150-run defeat to concede the Ashes after three consecutive series victories, but there was a fighting spirit from their new all-rounder, who applied rare pressure on the Australian bowling attack with some powerful ball striking, despite the circumstances around him.

The fifth Test in Sydney also showcased his talent as the pick of the bowlers, as he claimed a maiden Test five-wicket haul with 6-99, dismissing captain Michael Clarke, centurion Steve Smith, and the in-form Brad Haddin, while Australia finished day one bowled out for 326.

England were reeling at 23-5 in response after another top order capitulation, but Stokes once again did not shirk the challenge and made a top score of 47 to ensure his side avoided the follow-on at the very least, before an entertaining 16-ball 32 cameo in the second innings as wickets continued to fall around him at an alarming rate.

Perhaps it’s destiny that the boy who began his Test career at the start of England’s recent slump Down Under now returns as their leader, aiming to inspire a historic triumph for the first time in 15 years.

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