‘Never ever give up’ is the motto of the Aussies when they enter the cricket field. This is perhaps the legacy carried forward from Steve Waugh, one of the greatest Australian captains in the history of the game. The Australian team has displayed this character on several occasions and they have managed to pull off many stunners. Ricky Ponting, though not as charismatic as Waugh, infused the same theory into every game they played. Australia’s 2 runs defeat in their 2005 Ashes encounter is a wound the team still carries after long 4 years.
The second test of the 2005 Ashes series was a cliffhanger and England held their nerve to beat Australia by mere 2 runs, which eventually cost Australia the Ashes. England started the final day as favorites to win the match. Australia needed 107 runs to win with just a couple of wickets in hand. As the day progressed, we saw a determined Shane Warne, Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz fighting hard with all their limited batting skills in pursuit of an highly unlikely victory. The last pair added a valuable 59 runs before Kasprowicz was given out for a ball he didn’t nick.
The grieving memory of that blip is still haunting the Australians and if they manage to defeat England this time around, they can make a come back to the series and can heal the wounds of the defeat in 2005.
