Australian fans 'devastated' by Ashes loss
- 00:01:09
- ITN
Australian fans 'devastated' by Ashes loss
England have regained the famous urn, replicating the efforts of the class of 2005. We take a look at the team's key men. ANDREW STRAUSS The Middlesex batsman is unlikely to receive the lavish praise given to Michael Vaughan for his leadership four years ago, but he has nevertheless been a rock. His impressive 161 set up victory at Lord's - and was England's only three figure score until Jonathan Trott's dramatic score at The Oval - and thereafter he was the side's go-to man with the bat. It seems hard to believe poor form cost him his place in the side in 2007, as he now looks a nailed on fixture as both run-maker and captain for years to come. Calm in demeanour and selection - especially following the debacle at Headingley - Strauss' measured leadership empowers the less experienced men in the side. STUART BROAD An unlikely hero in the end, as even going into the series decider there were questions being asked about his place in the side. Broad's position as the team's top wicket-taker was earned almost on the sly until he broke cover with his career-making intervention in the first innings at The Oval. His five-wicket haul undermined the tourists' resolve beyond repair, while he can also point to six wickets at Headingley and a pair of thrilling counter-attacking 50s to back his claims to all-rounder status. Expect questions about his wicket-taking capacity or ability to make the move from number eight to seven to be shelved for some time. ANDREW FLINTOFF While the now retired Flintoff would readily accept his extended lap of honour as a Test cricketer suffers by comparison to his 2005 pomp, his final Ashes series provided an almost perfect microcosm of his 79 Test career. He revelled in moments of true sporting heroism (his fevered, crowd-pleasing, knee-shattering spell to put England 1-0 up at Lord's), fell frustratingly short at times and fought - occasionally losing - a battle with his own physical fitness. His run out of Australia captain Ricky Ponting on the final day of the fifth Test will live long in the memory, as will his powerful 74 at Edgbaston, and it is instructive of his effect on others that when he was declared unfit to take the field in Leeds, it precipitated the team's worst performance by a distance.
ITN | August 23, 2009
