Inside England’s 2005 Ashes binge – from wee at No10 to Trafalgar Square party
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The 2005 Ashes series has gone down as one of the greatest series ever played between England and Australia’s cricket teams.
Each match provided a thrilling spectacle – one being decided by two runs, one drawn with just one wicket remaining and another won by three wickets.
England were demolished in their first Test at Lord’s before staging one of the all-time great comeback wins at Edgbaston. The drama went down to the final Test at the Oval, where England drew to end Aussie dominance and claim the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.
What followed were legendary celebrations that captured the hearts of the nation as much as the actual performances.
READ MORE: England sent fierce warning over Australian star 'vital' to Ashes series
The drunken photo of Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen with their loose ties and bleary eyes outside of No10 Downing Street is iconic. But the booze-filled antics began a day before when England were crowned winners.
The players were already deep into their celebrations when manager Phil Neale came in at 11pm to inform them there would be a bus tour at 9.30am the following morning. That wouldn't deter the players.
"Most of us didn't go to bed," fast bowler Simon Jones recalled.
Fellow bowler Matthew Hoggard revealed how, after a night of partying and drinking in the team hotel, England’s stars were treated to a champagne breakfast.
Who was your favourite England player from the 2005 Ashes series? Let us know in the comments section.
Edgbaston hero Steve Harmison later said: “We should never have gone on that bus trip. Nobody wanted to go on that bus trip. We just wanted to be left for two days in a hotel.”
But the fast bowler also admitted the combination of drunken behaviour and an open-top bus parade probably endeared them to the public even further.
Two England buses made their way from Mansion House to Trafalgar Square, greeted by thousands of Londoners packing out the streets and cheering from windows. It came as a huge shock given that, as Hoggard put it, England had expected “three men and a dog” to turn up.
The bus tour itself saw Pietersen spray champagne from down onto adoring fans, while Geraint Jones held a Dalek doll with the words “Australians exterminated” attached to it.
England were greeted by the High Sheriff at Mansion house, but not before fan-favourite Flintoff tripped off the bus to knock him “flat on his backside."
Team-mates claim the iconic all-rounder lifted up the High Sheriff up and said: “What the f*** have you come as?”
Drinks continued to flow at Mansion House before England’s heroes were whisked off to Trafalgar Square for the final part of the 90-minute bus tour. There, they stood battered, belting out a rendition of ‘Jerusalem’ with thousands of fans.
One bright spark decided to end the day by taking the players to meet the Prime Minister at No.10 Downing Street. Then leader Tony Blair instantly knew he was in for a nightmare as soon as the players scrambled off the bus.
They were taken straight through the Prime Minister's house and into the garden, where they were topped up with some more alcohol.
Hoggard recalled the fascinating story where one player decided to urinate in the garden.
“We hadn’t been shown the bathrooms on the way through so one of our fraternity decided to ‘water’ a lovely bank of rhododendrons,” the Yorkshiremen said.
Hoggard also revealed another major blunder on his part as they were leaving.
He added: “We get to the famous black door and across the road is a group of photographers. Blair said ‘I wonder what those want?’ to which I replied ‘They want a photo, you n*b.’”
Rather than being left to their own devices to party, there were more public appearances the following day. Flintoff was set for an appearance on morning breakfast TV, but had made the schoolboy error of falling asleep on the bus to the hotel post-parade.
Harmison, determined to get one back over his prankster teammate, picked up a black permanent marker and according to Hoggard: “Put the word c*** on his forehead, t**t on his cheek, glasses and a moustache.”
“Flintoff came off the bus with his jacket over his head. Everybody thought he was too drunk but I know his face was full of expletives.”
The now Top Gear presenter made it safely to his television appearance, his face red raw after scrubbing off the ink with the help of a gallon of turpentine oil.
- England Cricket Team
- Cricket
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