Highlights of 2009: England's New Stars Shine at the Oval

In the end, it was all so simple. Win the toss, bat first, then bowl the opposition out with a sizeable deficit, post an improbably high target with two and a bit days left, bowl them out with plenty of time to spare. One suspects that for England, an Ashes victory will never be as easy as that though. Yes, with hindsight it seems so simple, but this was a series that twisted and turned, and although it lacked the sense, present in 2005, that this was cricket of the highest quality, the 2009 Ashes would earn its own place in history as another series of compelling high drama.

England's win secured the Ashes in dramatic fashion

The ten-day gap between the fourth and fifth tests turned out to be the best marketing tool that anyone could have dreamed up, something administrators would do well to heed in light of the number of back-to-back tests in modern schedules. The media was filled with speculation about selection, particularly the England number three position vacated by the out of form Ravi Bopara. Would Mark Ramprakash, the great unfulfilled talent of his era alongside Graeme Hick, earn a fairytale recall? Should Marcus Trescothick come out of retirement for a swansong? Should Ian Bell, another man under pressure, retain his place? Amazingly, given the havoc that constant chopping and changing had wreaked upon past England sides, some pundits advocated a complete gutting of the middle order to reinvigorate a team that had been humiliated in the third test at Headingley.

As it was, the selectors chose the man they had been lining up for the role, the form player of the domestic scene. Despite his South African accent, Jonathan Trott would be cast as England’s saviour.

In any event, two stars were born at the Oval. Trott looked composed in his first innings, as England struggled on a difficult pitch, and was unfortunate to be run out for 41. England fans were initially disappointed with their first innings total of 332, but with each passing over it became apparent that on this pitch, it would be a competitive score. It looked even more competitive after the Australian reply, when Stuart Broad, heir to Andrew Flintoff’s role as all-rounder, came to the fore in his predecessor’s final test match. In a possibly career-making performance, Broad took 5-37, all of them top order wickets, and suddenly England were in the driving seat.

Stuart Broad seized the momentum for England on day two

Broad’s performance was the moment his career came into focus, as his potential suddenly turned into achievement. Bowling at a good pace, with a disciplined line and length, and an ability to bowl wicket-taking deliveries on a pitch that responded to him, he seized the moment, and the initiative. For an afternoon, a sort of mania overtook the Oval, and every time the tall Englishman ran in to bowl, anything seemed possible. The feeling was reminiscent of Kevin Pietersen’s assault on Brett Lee’s bowling on the final day at the Oval four years prior, a sense of momentum inexorably shifting.

Then it was over to Trott, whose nerveless second innings century brushed all the selection controversy aside almost effortlessly. Combined with Andrew Strauss’ second half-century of the match and some quickfire cameos from the tail, including a Flintoff farewell knock, England now had a commanding lead on a deteriorating pitch.

Australia dug in manfully as Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke fought for all they were worth. However, with Broad establishing himself as England’s new all-round star, Andrew Flintoff gave the younger man one final lesson in seizing the initiative, running Ponting out with a jet-propelled throw. It was now a matter of if, rather than when, England would win. Steve Harmison, for possibly the last time for England, and Graeme Swann, fresh from a quickfire 63 with the bat, and after a summer in which he had become a bona-fide match-winner, did the rest.

Flintoff celebrates Ponting's run-out with his team-mates

The final five wickets fell in only eight overs, making what had been an attritional fourth day seem strangely surreal under the August sun. England had won the Ashes at for the second time in four years, and like the previous win in 2005, it had been a series that had reminded the world just how compelling test cricket could be. It was not a definitive series, Australia were no longer the world’s best side, and England were not about to fall into 2005’s trap of thinking that they had arrived. However, the home nation had seen new stars emerge, and both nations could look forward to a rivalry that seemed as intense and competitive as it had ever been.