Cricinfo - England v Australia 1990

Slogout Game

Fantasy

Video

Cricinfo 3D

Betting

Shop

Live Scorecards
Fixtures | Results
3D Animation

England v South Africa
Sri Lanka v India
Bangladesh v Australia
Canada Tri-Series
ICC Champions Trophy
County Cricket
ICC Intercontinental Cup

Current and Future Tours

News
Photos | Wallpapers

Cricinfo Magazine

Match/series archive
Records
Statsguru
Players/Officials
Grounds

Women's Cricket
ICC
Rankings/Ratings

Wisden Almanack

Games
Fantasy Cricket
Slogout

Daily Newsletter
Desktop Alerts
Toolbar
Widgets

A brief history of the Ashes Part Six

England v Australia 1990 - present

Jenny Thompson

Series home | 1861- 1888 | 1890- 1914 | 1921- 1938 | 1946- 1970 | 1970- 1989

1990-91

Cricinfo | Wisden Almanack
Despite an apparently strong side, England's first series of the nineties was their most shambolic - and there was some stiff competition for that miserable accolade. Like a fool and his money, England soon departed from some encouraging positions, giving as good as they got until their batting unexpectedly folded time and again. At Brisbane, a first-innings lead mutated into a ten-wicket defeat, but worse came at the MCG, where Bruce Reid wrecked them with 13 wickets. England lost six wickets for three runs, an astonishing collapse even by their standards. Reid took 27 in all in four Tests, while David Boon topscored with 530 series runs, as Australia , well led by Allan Border, took the Ashes on merit. Still, England weren't helped by the injuries to Angus Fraser, Allan Lamb and Graham Gooch; nor by David Gower and John Morris's escapade in a Tiger Moth. Gooch's humourless reaction helped England's laughing stock status soar and while they drew at Sydney and Adelaide , they nosedived again at Perth in the final Test, when Craig McDermott crushed them with 11 wickets.
Australia 3 England 0 Drawn 2

1993

Shane Warne's first Ashes delivery was too good for Gatting and a taster of what was to come © Getty Images

Cricinfo | Wisden Almanack
Just two days in, Shane Warne's first Ashes delivery claimed Mike Gatting and a whole new fan-base. Warne, then 23, later called his wonder ball at Old Trafford a fluke, but the damage to England's already fragile psyche was done. He went on to take 34 wickets in all and with Tim May, Paul Reiffel and Merv Hughes the bowling unit was formidable; they didn't even call in a replacement when their main strike bowler Craig McDermott flew home after twisting his bowel. Hughes shouldered the extra burden with a will that Wisden said "at times came close to heroism". Then there were the batsmen - there was a century apiece for all of Australia's top seven, with David Boon making three tons, while Ian Healy chipped in behind the stumps with 26 dismissals. With the series already lost, Mike Atherton replaced Graham Gooch as captain for the fifth Test and he led a relieved England to victory in his second match, the final Test at The Oval. It was their first win against Australia in 19 Tests, but - in what was to become an all-too-familiar theme - it was too little, too late.
Australia 4 England 1

1994-95

Cricinfo | Wisden Almanack
For Australia, a new captain in Mark Taylor but the same old winning brutality and they strolled to a 3-1 victory. It was no surprise: Craig McDermott and Shane Warne led a potent bowling attack, with Warne's 8 for 71 wrapping up the Brisbane Test after Taylor, as was his wont, had declined to enforce the follow-on. Warne added a hat-trick in the second Test at Melbourne . England did win at Adelaide , much to everyone's astonishment, but Perth was a much more familiar script, a 329-run defeat. This was also Gooch and Gatting's swansong, an ignominous end to some impressive careers. They weren't helped by a catalogue of injuries, including Alec Stewart's broken finger, which deprived them of his and Mike Atherton's opening partnership for much of the series, and the psychological blow of losing the strike bowler Devon Malcolm on the eve of the first Test. Yet once again Australia were simply too strong, as were even their Academy XIs, who beat England twice in some demoralizing warm-ups.
Australia 3 England 1 Drawn 1

1997

Steve Waugh's influence on Australia's Ashes dominance through the nineties was immense © Getty Images

Cricinfo | Wisden Almanack
With the series just twenty overs old, there were eight wickets in the bag - and they were England's. Were their fortunes turning at last? The pulsating four-day victory in that Test at Edgbaston, including a Nasser Hussain double-century, allowed a nation to believe. But Australia, with a superior bowling artillery and batting depth, soon turned those dreams to nightmares, bossing a rain-affected draw at Lord's and digging deep to quickly rediscover their dominance. They levelled with a big win at Old Trafford, Steve Waugh striking an heroic ton in both innings, the second of which was a one-handed century; followed up with an innings win at Headingley, and then sealed the Ashes again with another thumping triumph at Trent Bridge. Their attacking flair in those victories showed just what made Australia world beaters and although England pulled off victory in the dead rubber at The Oval, with Phil Tufnell taking 11 for 93, the series scoreline flattered to deceive.
Australia 3 England 2

1998-99

Cricinfo | Wisden Almanack
Australia continued imperious, outclassing England in every department on their way to their sixth successive series win. Losing the toss five times didn't help England , but class will out and it did. Only a last-day thunderstorm could save England from defeat at Brisbane , but they were blown away by an Australian hurricane at Perth inside three days. The Ashes were Australia 's in time for Christmas, but not without gifting England a hatful of wickets and needing Steve Waugh to rescue his side several times. Michael Slater was imperious with three second-innings centuries which set up unbeatable leads. Even the absence of Shane Warne, unavailable till the last Test, couldn't halt Australia 's charge, and Stuart MacGill proved an able deputy, backed up by the 34-year-old Colin Miller. England 's only seasonal cheer came from Dean Headley, who spearheaded an amazing 12-run win at Melbourne - and Darren Gough, with a reverse-swinging hat-trick in Sydney - but otherwise they were turkeys. Australia were handed for the first time a crystal replica of the Ashes urn, but if they had gazed into the future they mightn't have liked what was (eventually) to come.
Australia 3 England 1 Drawn 1

2001

McGrath's hold over Atherton was embryonic of England's struggle to compete with their opponents over this period © Getty Images

Cricinfo | Wisden Almanack
"We can open up some old scars," threatened Steve Waugh before the series. His Australians were favourites once more, but England believed they had a chance, following four wins and a draw in their last five series. Alas, the crest of England's wave was like one lapping at the beach - Australia's force was more tidal and they swept to their seventh successive Ashes victory in 11 days. Australia very nearly secured a whitewash, the only blip on that horizon a generous declaration at Headingley and the best performance of Mark Butcher's career. Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, who shared 63 wickets in the series, and the revolutionary arrival of Adam Gilchrist as a rampaging counterattacking No. 7 - note his whirlwind 152 at Edgbaston and 90 at Lord's - did for England . The scars weren't just inflicted by Australia : injuries to the batsmen Thorpe, Hussain and Vaughan and to the left-arm spinner Giles didn't help. But one man wasn't going to let injury affect him. Well, he was Australian. Despite tearing his calf muscle at Trent Bridge, Steve Waugh came back for the fifth Test at The Oval, his final appearance on English soil, and this Waugh hero hobbled on one leg to a bloody-mindedly brilliant 157 not out.
Australia 4 England 1

2002-03

Cricinfo | Wisden Almanack
The series was lost before a ball had been bowled. A defensive Nasser Hussain chose to field at Brisbane: backfired was an understatement: Australia were 364 for 2 by the close and an ill-balanced England, already shorn of Gough and Flintoff, never recovered. By the second Test the result of the series - eight Aussie wins on the spin - was already taken for granted and attentions turned to debating if this really was the best Australian side of all time. "In full flight, Australia's cricketers were wondrous to behold," Wisden noted, although these weren't the sentiments shared by a despairing Stewart who announced this was the largest gap between the two sides he had known. An ill-tempered series was over in just 11 days, including being terrorized by Brett Lee on a Perth flyer. Two crumbs provided scant comfort - Vaughan proved cool and collected (his 633 runs earning him the Man of the Series award) a cruising victory in the fifth Test at Sydney, albeit a dead rubber. Caddick, in his final Test, took 10 wickets, and England were given a glimpse of a brighter future, however distant it may have seemed.
Australia 4 England 1

2005

Cricinfo | Wisden Almanack
After 16 years of effortless Australian dominance, England finally regained the Ashes in one of the most thrilling series of all time. At Lord's in late-July, 17 wickets tumbled on a frenzied first day, but Australia emerged triumphant with a 239-run win. Ten days later at Edgbaston, however, McGrath trod on a stray cricket ball and the course of the summer had irrevocably changed. A thrilling match ensued, in which Flintoff and Warne emerged as the two kingpin performers. England won at the last gasp, by 2 runs, and carried their momentum onto Old Trafford , where 10,000 fans were turned away on the final morning as secured a draw with their last pair at the crease. A Flintoff century at Trent Bridge put England firmly on top, but Lee and Warne refused to give up the ghost, combining superbly as England lost seven wickets in their pursuit of 129. The win, however, meant that England needed only avoid defeat at The Oval. That didn't seem entirely likely as they slumped to 126 for 5 before lunch on the final day, but Kevin Pietersen cracked a blistering maiden Test century to put the result beyond doubt. Cue scenes of jubilation across a captivated nation.
England 2 Australia 1 Drawn 2

Jenny Thompson is assistant editor of Cricinfo