The Ashes: A lesson from 2005

England have won the Ashes, and the nation rejoices and 2005 can now finally be looked upon as a fond memory.  But, as we celebrate, England must learn the lesson from their previous triumph over Australia – don’t get carried away.

In 2005, English cricket sat on it’s laurels, indulged in a Trafalgar Square bus parade, a trip to Downing Street and MBEs all round.  The ball was well and truly dropped, the team that won the Ashes never played together again and 18 months later Australia won 5-0.

Now the Ashes have been regained again it will be up to Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower to ensure that the team remains focused on the series in South Africa and the lead-up to the next Ashes down-under.

Michael Vaughan wrote an excellent piece for the Telegraph after the 3rd day on exactly this subject.  If England wish to become the best team in the world – and there is still some distance to go – now is the time to be examining every facet of English cricket for improvements.  Not just the England team, but the domestic structure, grass roots and so on.

There is still some work to do on the team.  They must adjust to life after Freddie, continue to overhaul their batting lineup and settle on their ideal pace-attack.  Do they stick with Ian Bell, give Ravi Bopara more time to develop or try the likes of Joe Denly?  Do they switch to a four-man bowling attack or continue with five?  Does Harmison still have a role to play, or are there any young bowlers who can come in?  What of the spinners: Monty or Adil Rashid to support Swann?

In a way, the schedule for this summer will make that easier to accomplish, with a one-day series and T20 matches to follow almost immediately, and then the Champions Trophy after that.  There won’t be as much time to dwell on this success with the never-ending international merry-go-round.

But this will also give the ECB a chance to do what they do best: nothing.  The structure for the domestic season in 2010 has been a running issue all summer, and was essentially resolved by default.  Who could imagine that it could be left so late?  Would the FA still be fussing about major changes with less than 12 months to put them into effect?  Actually, don’t answer that question…

So, congratulations to England for winning the Ashes but, this time, let’s think of it as a beginning rather than the final triumph.

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