Most exciting Test Series in the present millenium

[Guest Hiten.]

No cricket series can ever match the excitement and competition of Ashes 2005. Pity Poms can never be as good as they were in '05 series. 5-0 to Aussies.

Obviously you haven't seen India vs Australia test series 01. Sure it was not an extended entertainment but it was exhilarating till it lasted

[Guest Gunner]

Obviously you haven't seen India vs Australia test series 01. Sure it was not an extended entertainment but it was exhilarating till it lasted

Don't you mean 2003-04, I found it more hard fought and exciting.

[graphic23]

Don't you mean 2003-04' date=' I found it more hard fought and exciting.[/quote'] Both the ones in the '03 and '03-04 seasons were awesome series, but I still hold that the '01 was the best. :--D The last two were good competitive ones (though the one in India last October, we dominated a little too much :D )

[Pak_Forever]

'01 India-Australia series was a good one. SA also played a highly competitive series against Australia recently, but all those series are mere nothing in front of Ashes '05. That series had everything a cricket fan can ask for.

[Mamu]

'01 India-Australia series was a good one. SA also played a highly competitive series against Australia recently' date=' but all those series are mere nothing in front of Ashes '05. That series had everything a cricket fan can ask for.[/quote'] I guess it depends on your definition of "entertainment". I am also quite certain your bias against India is also weighing down here. If you ask any Englishman or Australian for that matter they will any day take the 1981 Ashes over the 2005 Ashes for sheer entertainment and turnaround. And the 01 India Aus 2001 pretty much followed the 81 Ashes script.

[Mr. Wicket]

If you ask any Englishman or Australian for that matter they will any day take the 1981 Ashes over the 2005 Ashes for sheer entertainment and turnaround.

05 was a better series. Better teams overall, better quality/spirit to the games, and better performers. Australia had a much poorer side then, England were a good side on paper but a lot of their guys underperformed (Boycott, Gatting, Gower who had a shocking series) and aside from the first test where Alderman/Lillee blew England away, it really was a bit boring unless Botham or Willis were out there. The MAJOR highlights of that series are of course the Headingley turnaround (Botham's knock + Willis' 8-for - the latter IMO being the real performance of the match), Botham's five for in the Edgbaston test and then his hundred at Old Trafford which is among the very best knocks I've watched on TV. The rest though was generally boring... Tavare and Boycott grinding around for an age, Border batting for days and everyone else f-cking up, and Lillee bowling brilliantly at first in the series but visibly tiring and being less effective as the tour went on. The 05 Ashes is significantly more entertaining... between McGrath's mastery at Lord's (and KP's debut), the entire Edgbaston game (which literally gave me half a dozen heart attacks on the final morning), the Old Trafford match and finish, Flintoff's ton and Warne's superhuman effort to **** up England's TB chase and then all the drama at the Oval. Plus it's got Paul Collingwood scoring 7 at the Oval, an innings so outstanding it earned him an MBE! [That said, if PF thinks the 01 Ind/Aus series wasn't comparable to the 05 Ashes, he needs to see a surgeon to get his head extricated from his ar$e]

[Laaloo]

I think the series where Inzi made a hundred and fifty and wasim akram blasted the aussies. I think if you mentioned that then it would have been the most exciting series. Oh wait!

[Mamu]

05 was a better series. Better teams overall, better quality/spirit to the games, and better performers. Australia had a much poorer side then, England were a good side on paper but a lot of their guys underperformed (Boycott, Gatting, Gower who had a shocking series) and aside from the first test where Alderman/Lillee blew England away, it really was a bit boring unless Botham or Willis were out there. The MAJOR highlights of that series are of course the Headingley turnaround (Botham's knock + Willis' 8-for - the latter IMO being the real performance of the match), Botham's five for in the Edgbaston test and then his hundred at Old Trafford which is among the very best knocks I've watched on TV. The rest though was generally boring... Tavare and Boycott grinding around for an age, Border batting for days and everyone else f-cking up, and Lillee bowling brilliantly at first in the series but visibly tiring and being less effective as the tour went on. The 05 Ashes is significantly more entertaining... between McGrath's mastery at Lord's (and KP's debut), the entire Edgbaston game (which literally gave me half a dozen heart attacks on the final morning), the Old Trafford match and finish, Flintoff's ton and Warne's superhuman effort to **** up England's TB chase and then all the drama at the Oval. Plus it's got Paul Collingwood scoring 7 at the Oval, an innings so outstanding it earned him an MBE! [That said, if PF thinks the 01 Ind/Aus series wasn't comparable to the 05 Ashes, he needs to see a surgeon to get his head extricated from his ar]

I still would take the 81 over 05. Not just me but many. U seem to be understating the value of what Botham did. What Botham did was (dare i say ) more impactful -- than even what Laxman did. Dont forget Botham did it with both bat and ball. BTW I thought we are talking about a series from just a pure entertainmental value -- where did the quality of players come from ? Sure enough Aus was a far better side in 05 -- but those sides in 81 did not lack quality players. I disagree there.

[Mr. Wicket]

Quality players usually are entertaining. Chris Tavare is hardly a quality player, and watching him grind out 30 off 120 balls is hardly entertaining. Less so than say, Ponting blasting a brilliant half century at Edgbaston or Warne counterattacking in a blaze in Old Trafford. (And while the sides in 81 didn't lack quality players, the quality players barely turned up. Note David Gower and Kim Hughes.) Then again Mamu, how much of the 81 series have you actually WATCHED to make such a comparison? Twenty minutes of highlights that skip out all of the Border/Tavare bits and some of England's dire bowling beyond Botham and Willis? Or are you just going by effusive old almanack reports and writeups?

[Mamu]

Quality players usually are entertaining. Chris Tavare is hardly a quality player, and watching him grind out 30 off 120 balls is hardly entertaining. Less so than say, Ponting blasting a brilliant half century at Edgbaston or Warne counterattacking in a blaze in Old Trafford. (And while the sides in 81 didn't lack quality players, the quality players barely turned up. Note David Gower and Kim Hughes.) Then again Mamu, how much of the 81 series have you actually WATCHED to make such a comparison? Twenty minutes of highlights that skip out all of the Border/Tavare bits and some of England's dire bowling beyond Botham and Willis? Or are you just going by effusive old almanack reports and writeups?

Everything -- commentary I heard, Sportstar articles, clippings, little bit of highlights, almanac reports and writeups and hearing it from people who actually watched it first hand -- ofcourse you have to take everything into consideration when you come up with such a decision.

[Mr. Wicket]

Everything aside from actually sitting down in front of a TV for a few hours and watching a day's play (and doing so for a number of other games)? No wonder you come to such a conclusion. Watching != reading articles. Also keep in mind that the Sportstar didn't send staff over to England to cover most series (especially those without India) - they just went off scorecards and the obviously OTT hype in the English press.

[Chandan]

I'll say that '01 series vs Australia has been the most exciting series of this millenium. I watched every minute of that series, '05 Ashes and the two series against SA this year. 2001 series beats all hands down when the series was won or lost in the last session by just 2 wickets. God!! Nothing can beat that excitement!

[King Tendulkar]

2001 series by miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiles. That 2001 series will live in my memory till I die!

[Zap_Brannigan]

Remember the 2001 series was more important than ashes due to other factors off field too. 1st was that Aus had won 15 matches in a row (1st test in that series was their 16th) 2nd was that Ind was Aus "final frontier" as they havent won here for over 30 years 3rd S Waugh celebrating at the end of day 2 in the eden garden test

[Don Sharma]

For me... 1. The Ashes '05 2. Border-Gavaskar Trophy '01 3. Saffies-Oz in Australia '08/'09