Australian cricket team in England and Ireland in 2001

2001 Ashes Series
2001 Ashes test; Headingley
Date	5 July 2001 – 27 August 2001
Location	England
Result	Australia won the five-Test series 4–1.
Player of the series	Glenn McGrath (Aus) and Mark Butcher (Eng)
Teams  England  Australia Captains Nasser Hussain (1st and 4th-5th Tests) Michael Atherton (2nd and 3rd Tests) Steve Waugh (1st-3rd and 5th Tests) Adam Gilchrist (4th Test) Most runs Mark Butcher (456) Mark Waugh (430) Most wickets Darren Gough (17) Glenn McGrath (32)
← 1998–99 2002–03 →

In 2001, the Australia national cricket team team travelled England and Ireland to play county matches and the 2001 The Ashes series. Australia won the Test series 4–1 and retained the Ashes, that had been in their possession since the 1989 Ashes series.

The Ashes series was played from 5 July to 27 August. The series was retained by the Australian team 4-1, continuing the streak of victories since 1989. The players of the series were Glenn McGrath from Australia and Mark Butcher from England. The England captain Michael Atherton finished his international career after the fifth and final test of the series.

The Australian team played tour matches against English teams in:

· Worcestershire

· Middlesex cricket club

· Northamptonshire County Cricket Club

· M.C.C

· Essex Cricket League

· Somerset County Cricket Club

· Hampshire County Cricket Club

· Sussex County Cricket Club

Tour matches refer to County cricket matches and international one-day tests.

They also played a one-day series against Ireland. These games were played between the five matches played in the Ashes series.

Australia also played in the NatWest Series with England and Pakistan.

History of the Ashes[]

The Ashes is the annual cricket series played between Australia and England. It has been called ‘a rivalry to match any in sport'.^[1]

Origin[]

Australia and England have played Test matches in cricket since 1877, first in Melbourne but The Ashes series only began in 1882. It was named ‘The Ashes’ following the 1882 game, in which Australia won its first test match in England by 7 runs in a match over two days. A mock obituary was published in The Sporting Times by Reginald Shirley Brooks stating the death of English cricket in the match and that ‘the body will be cremated, and the ashes taken to Australia’.

The official trophy for the Ashes Series

English captain at the time, Ivo Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley, later Lord Darnley promised to ‘regain those ashes’ leading to a group of Victorian ladies presenting him with a six-inch terracotta urn with the ashes inside. It remains disputed what was burnt inside. The daughter-in-law of Lord Darnley stated it was the remains of her mother-in-law’s veil, though some claim it was a cricket ball burnt.^[2]

The specific urn was cared for by Lord Darnley, then presented to the Melbourne Cricket Club before being transferred to Lord's where it remains.^[3]

The series was officially known as ‘The Ashes’ following a book by former English cricket captain Pelham Warner, who penned a book on the 1903/1904 tour called ‘How we recovered The Ashes’.^[4]

The trophy played for in the Ashes series, however, is a MCC commissioned trophy played for since 1998/99.

Australian Team[]

Coach[]

The coach of the team was John Buchanan (Australian cricketer), who coached the team between 1999-2007.^[5] Buchanan had previously led the Queensland cricket team to their first Sheffield Shield title.^[6] In his tenure as coach, Australia won 3 Cricket World Cups.^[7]

Captain[]

The Australian team was captained by Steve Waugh who had captained the side since 1999 to what cricket editor S Rajesh described as their 'most successful peak in decades'.^[8]

Steve Waugh. Former Australian Cricket Captain - captained the side to success in the 2001 Ashes Series

Vice-captain was wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who was described as 'instrumental' to the teams success.^[9] The Australian batting side was headed by Damien Martyn, with the 'Dream Team', bowling side including Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie.^[10]

Selection before the Tour[]

Much of the team prior to the series had been playing in English County Cricket competitions. Through this, they made up 6 of the top 12 run scorers in two county divisions.^[11]

During the selection of the team, batsman Justin Langer was originally not chosen by Steve Waugh. However, Justin Langer replaced Michael Slater for the last match of the Ashes series.^[12]

The selection committee for the 2001 team was Trevor Hohns, Andrew Hilditch, David Boon and Allan Border. All four were the selection committee from 2000 to 2005.^[13]

- Trevor Hohns is a former Australian batsman. He played for the Australian team from 1989 to 1991.^[14]

- Andrew Hilditch is a former Australian batsman. He played for Australia from 1979 to 1985.^[15]

- Allan Border is a former Australian batsman. He played for Australian from 1978 to 1994.^[16]

- David Boon is a former Australian batsman. He played for Australia from 1984 to 1996.^[17]

Changes to the team[]

Due to the success of the team during the series the team remained unchanged between the tests.^[18] Between the 3rd and 4th Tests, Steve Waugh was injured after tearing his calf midway through the 3rd test but returned after a 19-day therapy plan.^[19]

The team had been successful previously holding a record of 16 consecutive wins between 1999 and 2001.^[20] In the series Gilchrist, Martyn, and both Waugh brothers made nearly 1500 runs together. McGrath and Warne were described as ‘unstoppable,’ combining 63 wickets at 18, becoming ‘one of the most dominant one-two acts’ in an Ashes series.^[21]

The Australian team had 17 players. In a poll by the Australian Cricket Network among cricket fans, 7 players were named as the ‘Best Australian Ashes players.’ Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Waugh, Gilchrist, Warne and McGrath all featured.^[22]

Australian Team[]

^[23]

England Team[]

^[24]

Injury[]

General[]

According to a study on the 2001 international cricket season, injuries ranged from 19.0 injuries per 10 000 players in domestic matches to 38.5 injuries per 10 000 pays in one day internationals.^[25] This is, however, an average of Australian teams. Within the 2001 international matches there were 22.2 injuries per 10 000 player hours.^[26] Studies done on injuries in cricket rely on the definition of injuries being made clear, either incorporating any reasons for a player to miss a match or criteria for an injury including the roles a player may have in a series.^[27]

Team injuries[]

Originally in the team party, Nathan Bracken was chosen to play in the one-day tests but injured a shoulder.^[28] Ashley Noffke was brought in to replace him but was replaced himself after damaging ankle ligaments at a practise. Brett Lee then was brough in to play in the one-day series, as well as the Tests.^[29]

Steve Waugh injured himself between the Second and Third tests in the Ashes series, in a promotional game of squash between Waugh and No 1 Squash player Sarah Fitz-Gerald for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.^[30] He began to play in the Third Test but ripped his calf in the game having a 5-centimetre tear. Waugh made a 19-day recovery plan and played in the Third Test, taking 6 for 33, but did not bat.^[31]

Ireland Tour[]

For the Ireland games, Captain Steve Waugh did not go to Ireland due to injury and didn’t play the fourth test.^[32] Adam Gilchrist was also not in Ireland, so for the series Ponting was named captain.^[33] In the team, Hayden and Mark Waugh had played in 1993 in Dublin, while Waugh, Langer, Ponting and McGrath had all played in Eglinton in 1997.^[34]

The Irish team had no players from the 1993 competition but Derek Heasley, Andy Patterson and Kyle McCallan had both played in 1997.^[35]

England Tour[]

Australia played six First-Class one day international games.

In the First-Class games Damien Martyn had the highest batting average with an average of 104.66 runs per game, with 9 games played.^[36] He also had the most runs between the English and Australian teams with 942 runs, followed by Ponting, Gilchrist and Mark Waugh with 844, 663 and 644 runs respectively.^[37]

Shane Warne took the most wickets in the First-Class games with 42 wickets. He also took the most catches in the First-Class series with 13 overall, followed by Mark Waugh and Ponting with 12 and 11.^[38]

Adam Gilchrist took the most dismissals with 31, beating Seccombe with 10.^[39]

First-class[]

First class cricket is the highest competitive level of domestic cricket. It is the last stage before a player can enter international competitions. They are often played alongside international series to develop domestic players.^[40]

Worcestershire vs Australians[]

The game was played from the 1st to the 3rd of June at New Road in Worcester. Australia won by 360 runs.^[41]

Australia won the toss and elected to bat.

1–3 June 2001 Scorecard

Australians	v	Worcestershire
351 (87.2 overs) Damien Martyn 108 (149) Christopher Liptrot 3/37 (17 overs)		163 (63.4 overs) Anurag Singh 62 (117) Nathan Bracken 3/29 (13 overs)
360/8d (67 overs) Ricky Ponting 65 (62) Matthew Rawnsley 3/108 (24 overs)		188 (57.3 overs) David Leatherdale 72 (113) Glenn McGrath 4/31 (12.3 overs)

Australians won by 360 runs New Road, Worcester Umpires: Michael Dixon (Eng) and Allan Jones (Eng)

M.C.C vs Australia[]

25–27 June 2001 Scorecard

Australians	v	M.C.C
390 (74.5 overs) Simon Katich 168* (167) Joe Dawes 4/74 (19 overs)		124 (38.3 overs) Mark Richardson 64 (115) Colin Miller 4/41 (8.3 overs)
294/8d (78 overs) Steve Waugh 105 (127) Charl Willoughby 3/66 (21 overs)		280 (72.2 overs) Jimmy Adams 81* (140) Colin Miller 3/87 (23 overs)

Australians won by 280 runs Arundel Castle Cricket Ground, Arundel Umpires: Tony Clarkson (Eng) and Neil Bainton (Eng)

• Australians won the toss and elected to bat.

The game was played at Arundel Castle Cricket Ground in Arundel. Australia won by 280 runs.

Simon Katich got the most runs from the Australian side with 168 not out in the first innings.

Jimmy Adams, the M.C.C. captain, had the most runs from Marylebone Cricket Club with 81 runs not out in the second innings.^[42]

Essex vs Australia[]

29 June–1 July 2001 Scorecard

Australians	v	Essex
405/5d (87 overs) Adam Gilchrist 150* (149) Justin Bishop 2/70 (18 overs)		231 (64 overs) James Foster 74 (115) Jason Gillespie 5/37 (16 overs)
569/9d (120 overs) Matthew Hayden 98 (109) Peter Such 5/131 (39 overs)

Match drawn. County Ground, Chelmsford Umpires: Ian Gould (Eng) and Trevor Jesty (Eng)

• Australians won the toss and elected to bat.

The game was played from the 29th of June to the 1st of July in 2001 at the County Ground in Chelmsford. The match was a draw.

Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee, Colin Miller and Glenn McGrath did not bat.

Australia won the toss and elected to bat.^[43]

Somerset vs Australia[]

13–16 July 2001 Scorecard

Australians	v	Somerset
348/3d (74 overs) Ricky Ponting 129 (130) Jason Kerr 1/52 (17 overs)		267 (68.2 overs) Aamer Sohail 50 (120) Damien Fleming 6/59 (17 overs)
335/4d (81 overs) Damien Martyn 176* (231) Shoaib Akhtar 2/9 (7 overs)		240 (70 overs) Mike Burns 59 (96) Simon Katich 3/21 (4 overs)

Australians won by 176 runs County Ground, Taunton Umpires: Michael Dixon (Eng) and Mervyn Kitchen (Eng)

• Australians won the toss and elected to bat.

The game was played from the 13th to the 16th of July 2001 at the County Ground in Taunton. Australia won by 176 runs.

Simon Katich, Wade Seccombe, Damien Martyn, Ashley Noffke, Damien Fleming and Colin Miller did not bat.

Australia won the toss and elected to bat.^[44]

Hampshire vs Australia[]

28–30 July 2001 Scorecard

Australians	v	Hampshire
97 (30.4 overs) Ashley Noffke 28 (52) Alan Mullally 5/18 (11.4 overs)		354 (114.1 overs) Robin Smith 113 (277) Ashley Noffke 3/66 (22.1 overs)
389/9d (109.1 overs) Matthew Hayden 142 (215) Shaun Udal 4/149 (47.1 overs)		134/8 (24.3 overs) Neil Johnson 37 (29) Shane Warne 4/31 (5 overs)

Hampshire won by 2 wickets The Rose Bowl, Southampton Umpires: John Steele (Eng) and Bob White (Eng)

• Hampshire won the toss and elected to field.

The game was played from the 28th to 30th of July in 2001 at The Rose Bowl in Southampton.

Hampshire won the toss and elected to field.

Hampshire won the game by 2 wickets.^[45]

Sussex vs Australia[]

8–10 August 2001 Scorecard

Sussex	v	Australians
355/4d (91 overs) Richard Montgomerie 157 (266) Damien Fleming 2/67 (20 overs)		86/2d (21 overs) Michael Slater 46* (70) Billy Taylor 2/39 (4 overs)
67/5d (20 overs) Murray Goodwin 28* (28) Damien Fleming 3/20 (8 overs)		339/2 (63.5 overs) Ricky Ponting 147* (170) Jason Lewry 1/52 (11 overs)

Australians won by 8 wickets County Ground, Hove Umpires: Graham Burgess (Eng) and Nigel Llong (Eng)

• Australians won the toss and elected to field.
• Australians target was set to 337 to score minimum of 68 overs to win.

The game was played from the 8th to the 10th of August at the County Ground at Hove. Australia won by 8 wickets.

Australia won the toss and elected to field.

Australia’s target was set to 337 to score a minimum of 68 overs to win.

Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist, Wade Seccombe, Brett Lee, Damien Fleming, Ashley Noffke and Colin Miller did not bat.^[46]

List A[]

List A Matches are domestic One-Day games, one level below international One – Day games. It is the equivalent of what first-class cricket is to the Test matches.^[47]

Middlesex vs Australians[]

5 June 2001 Scorecard

Australians  232 (44.2 overs)	v	Middlesex 233/4 (47.1 overs)
Ian Harvey 84 (65) Paul Weekes 3/36 (10 overs)		Ben Hutton 73 (105) Ian Harvey 1/36 (10 overs)

Middlesex won by 6 wickets Lord's, London Umpires: Barrie Leadbeater (Eng) and Alan Whitehead (Eng)

• Middlesex won the toss and elected to field.

Northamptonshire vs Australians[]

7 June 2001 Scorecard

Australians  234/3 (50 overs)	v	Northamptonshire 234 (50 overs)
Damien Martyn 101* (131) Darren Cousins 2/27 (10 overs)		Michael Hussey 73 (106) Michael Bevan 2/24 (4 overs)

Match tied County Ground, Northampton Umpires: Nigel Cowley (Eng) and David Shepherd (Eng)

• Northamptonshire won the toss and elected to field.

Other One Day: Ireland vs Australians[]

12 August 2001 Scorecard

Ireland	v	Australians  86/1 (23.4 overs)
		Matthew Hayden 52* (74) Conor Armstrong 1/21 (4.4 overs)

No result Ormeau Cricket Ground, Belfast Umpires: Ernest Cooke (Eng) and Trevor Henry (Ire)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
• Match was abandoned due to heavy rain.^[48]

The Ashes Series[]

1st Test[]

5–8 July Scorecard

England	v	Australia
294 (65.3 overs) AJ Stewart 65 (82) SK Warne 5/71 [19]		576 (129.4 overs) AC Gilchrist 152 (143) MA Butcher 4/42 [9]
164 (42.1 overs) ME Trescothick 76 (113) SK Warne 3/29 [10.1]

Australia won by an innings and 118 runs Edgbaston, Birmingham Umpires: SA Bucknor (WI) and G Sharp (Eng) Player of the match: AC Gilchrist (Aus)

The game was played from the 5th to the 8th of July at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. Australia won the First Test by an innings and 118 runs.

Adam Gilchrist was named Player of the Match, with 152 runs hit from 143 balls.

Shane Warne took the most wickets with 8 for 100 runs. Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh both scored centuries in the first innings.

England was all out for less than 300 runs, despite a 103-run 10th wicket partnership between Alec Stewart and Andy Caddick. England subsided in the second innings from 142-2 to be all out for 164 runs.^[49]

2nd Test[]

19–22 July Scorecard

England	v	Australia
187 (63.3 overs) MA Atherton 37 (92) GD McGrath 5/54 [24]		401 (101.1 overs) ME Waugh 108 (170) AR Caddick 5/101 [32.1]
227 (66 overs) MA Butcher 83 (159) JN Gillespie 5/53 [16]		14/2 (3.1 overs) ML Hayden 6* (8) D Gough 1/5 [2]

Australia won by 8 wickets Lord's, London Umpires: SA Bucknor (WI) and JW Holder (Eng) Player of the match: GD McGrath (Aus)

The game was played from the 19th to the 22nd of July at Lord's in London. Australia won the second test by 8 wickets.

Glenn McGrath was named Player of the Match 5 wickets in the first innings. Australia scored 401 runs in the first innings and 14-2 in the second. Mark Waugh scored a century in the first innings.

England scored 187 runs in the first innings and 227 in the second innings.^[50]

3rd Test[]

2–4 August Scorecard

England	v	Australia
185 (52.5 overs) ME Trescothick 69 (93) GD McGrath 5/49 [18]		190 (54.5 overs) AC Gilchrist 54 (59) AJ Tudor 5/44 [15.5]
162 (57 overs) MA Atherton 51 (104) SK Warne 6/33 [18]		158/3 (29.2 overs) ME Waugh 42* (45) RDB Croft 1/8 [1]

Australia won by 7 wickets Trent Bridge, Nottingham Umpires: JH Hampshire (Eng) and S Venkataraghavan (Ind) Player of the match: SK Warne (Aus)

The game was played from the 2nd to the 4th of August at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Australia won the 3rd Test, retaining the Ashes with a 7-wicket victory.

Shane Warne was named Player of the Match.

England won the toss and chose to bat first. England was all out for 185 runs in the first innings and 162 in the second. Alex Tudor took 5 for 44 against the Australia batting side.

Shane Warne was named man of the match for 8 wickets. Adam Gilchrist took 10 fours and made 54 with Gillespie taking 27. In the first innings they were all out for 122. Shane Warne took 6 for 33 in the first innings with Jason Gillespie taking 3 low order wickets making England out for 162. Steve Waugh had to retire from the game due to injury.^[51]

4th Test[]

16–20 August Scorecard

Australia	v	England
447 (100.1 overs) RT Ponting 144 (154) D Gough 5/103 [25.1]		309 (94.2 overs) AJ Stewart 76* (83) GD McGrath 7/76 [30.2]
176/4d (39.3 overs) RT Ponting 72 (72) D Gough 2/68 [17]		315/4 (73.2 overs) MA Butcher 173* (227) JN Gillespie 2/94 [22]

England won by 6 wickets Headingley, Leeds Umpires: DR Shepherd (Eng) and S Venkataraghavan (Ind) Player of the match: MA Butcher (Eng)

The 4th test of the series was played on the 16th to the 20th of August at Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds. England won by 6 wickets.

Australia elected to bat first. Australia gained the most runs in the first innings, taking 447 to England’s 309. In the second innings Australia declared on 176/4, setting England a victory target of 315. They reached this with six wickets in hand, thanks to an unbeaten 173 by Mark Butcher.

In the first innings Darren Gough took 5 wickets for England. Glenn McGrath took 7 in the first innings. Mark Butcher was named Player of the Match, for what Gilchrist described as ‘one of the great Ashes innings’.^[52]

5th Test[]

23–27 August Scorecard

Australia	v	England
641/4d (152 overs) SR Waugh 157* (256) U Afzaal 1/49 [9]		432 (118.2 overs) MR Ramprakash 133 (232) SK Warne 7/165 [44.2]
		184 (68.3 overs) (f/o) D Gough 39* (57) GD McGrath 5/43 [15.3]

Australia won by an innings and 25 runs The Oval, London Umpires: RE Koertzen (SA) and P Willey (Eng) Player of the match: SK Warne (Aus)

The 5th, and final test, was played from the 23rd to the 27th of August at The Oval in London. Australia won by an innings and 25 runs.

Shane Warne was described as Player of the Match, with Mark Butcher and Glenn McGrath named as Players of the Series.

Australia elected to bat first. In the first innings, Australia was 641/4 and chose not to bat again. Over England’s two innings, Glenn McGrath took 7 wickets overall. In England’s first innings, they scored 432 runs and in the second took 184.^[53]

Players of the Series[]

Australian – Glenn McGrath[]

Glenn McGrath had an international cricket career lasting 14 years, playing for Australia from 1993 until 2007. He made his international debut on the 12th of November in 1993 against New Zealand.^[54]

During the 2001 Ashes series he passed Dennis Lillie’s record of 355 dismissals, becoming the highest wicket taker amongst Australian fast bowlers.^[55] He still maintains that record with 563 in his whole career.^[56] Internationally he is second only to England’s James Anderson with 614.^[57]

McGrath played all 5 matches in the Ashes series. He took the most maiden overs with 56, second being Jason Gillespie on 42.^[58] He played 194.2 overs, conceding 542 runs.^[59] McGrath took the most wickets through the series with 32 with his best average coming to 7/76.^[60] His average over his whole career came to 10/27. The 2001 Ashes was described as a display of his consistent style.^[61]

English – Mark Butcher[]

Mark Butcher was an English left-handed batsman, and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler. He first played for the English cricket team in 1997 and captained the team in 1999 against New Zealand. Prior, he played county cricket for Surrey.^[62]

Before the 2001 Ashes series he retired from international cricket but joined again as a Test No. 3 in 2001.

Butcher played in the 3rd and 4th tests but was out late in the 3rd. He was originally going to be dropped from the team for the 4th test, but co-captain of the 2nd and 3rd tests Michael Atherton refused.

His performance in the 4th Test of the series was described as ‘amazing’ with 173 runs not out against the Australian team at Headingley. It was termed by Adam Gilchrist, the Australian wicket keeper, as ‘one of the great Ashes Innings’.^[63]

References[]

External sources[]

• Tour results at Cricinfo.com
• CricketArchive – tour itineraries

Annual reviews[]

• Playfair Cricket Annual 2002
• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2003

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Ashes, 2001.