Some Test series are defined by a single match-up. With the 2005 Ashes being used to fill every gap in the broadcast schedule during this year’s edition, there have been plenty of chances to see the full suite of performances but the duel that decided the result surely has to be Andrew Flintoff taking down Adam Gilchrist.
However powerful Australia’s batting from the late 1990s through the first decade of the 2000s, there were plenty of times when the team was saved by Gilchrist. Until his arrival Australian wicketkeepers had averages in the 20s and chipped in with a few runs. A No 7 who averaged over 50 for most of his career and finished with 17 centuries completely changed the game. That is what England had to neutralise and Flintoff was able to do it.
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