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2001 Ashes Series
2001 Ashes test; Headingley
Date	5 July 2001 – 27 August 2001
Location	England
Result	Australia won the five-Test series 4–1
Player of the series	Glenn McGrath (Aus) and Mark Butcher (Eng)
Teams  England  Australia Captains Nasser Hussain (1st and 4th–5th Tests) Michael Atherton (2nd and 3rd Tests) Steve Waugh (1st–3rd and 5th Tests) Adam Gilchrist (4th Test) Most runs Mark Butcher (456) Mark Waugh (430) Most wickets Darren Gough (17) Glenn McGrath (32)
← 1998–992002–03 →

In 2001, the Australia national cricket team toured England and Ireland to play county matches and the 2001 Ashes series. The Ashes series was played from 5 July to 27 August.

Australia comfortably won the Test series 4–1 and retained the Ashes, which were in their possession since 1989. The players of the series were Glenn McGrath from Australia and Mark Butcher from England. The England captain Michael Atherton finished his international career after the fifth and final test of the series.

As of 2023, this remains the last time Australia have won an Ashes series in England.

Background

The five match Ashes series was played from 5 July to 27 August.

Prior to the series, the Australian team played tour matches against English teams in:

• Worcestershire County Cricket Club
• Middlesex County Cricket Club
• Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
• Marylebone Cricket Club
• Essex County Cricket Club
• Somerset County Cricket Club
• Hampshire County Cricket Club
• Sussex County Cricket Club

Tour matches refer to County cricket matches and international one-day matches.

They also played a one-day series against Ireland. These games were played between the five matches played in the Ashes series.

Australia also played in the NatWest Series with England and Pakistan.

Australia team

Coach

The coach of the team was John Buchanan, who coached the team between 1999 and 2007. Buchanan had previously led the Queensland cricket team to their first Sheffield Shield title. In his tenure as coach, Australia won three Cricket World Cups.

Captain

The Australian team was captained by Steve Waugh who had captained the side since 1999 to what cricket editor S Rajesh described as their "most successful peak in decades".

Vice-captain was wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who was described as "instrumental" to the team's success. The Australian batting side was headed by Damien Martyn, with the "Dream Team", bowling side including Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie.

Selection before the Tour

Much of the team prior to the series had been playing in English County Cricket competitions. Through this, they made up 6 of the top 12 run scorers in two county divisions.

During the selection of the team, batsman Justin Langer was originally not chosen by Steve Waugh. However, Justin Langer replaced Michael Slater for the last match of the Ashes series.

The selection committee for the 2001 team was Trevor Hohns, Andrew Hilditch, David Boon and Allan Border. All four were the selection committee from 2000 to 2005.

Changes to the team

Due to the success of the team during the series the team remained unchanged between the tests. Between the 3rd and 4th Tests, Steve Waugh was injured after tearing his calf midway through the 3rd test but returned after a 19-day therapy plan.

The team had been successful previously holding a record of 16 consecutive wins between 1999 and 2001. In the series Gilchrist, Martyn, and both Waugh brothers made nearly 1500 runs together. McGrath and Warne were described as "unstoppable", combining 63 wickets at 18, becoming "one of the most dominant one-two acts" in an Ashes series.

The Australian team had 17 players. In a poll by the Australian Cricket Network among cricket fans, 7 players were named as the "Best Australian Ashes players". Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Waugh, Gilchrist, Warne and McGrath all featured.

Australia squad

England Team

Injury

General

According to a study on the 2001 international cricket season, injuries ranged from 19.0 injuries per 10,000 players in domestic matches to 38.5 injuries per 10,000 players in One Day Internationals. This is, however, an average of Australian teams. Within the 2001 international matches there were 22.2 injuries per 10 000 player hours. Studies done on injuries in cricket rely on the definition of injuries being made clear, either incorporating any reasons for a player to miss a match or criteria for an injury including the roles a player may have in a series.

Team injuries

Originally in the team party, Nathan Bracken was chosen to play in the one-day tests but injured a shoulder. Ashley Noffke was brought in to replace him but was replaced himself after damaging ankle ligaments at a practise. Brett Lee then was brought in to play in the one-day series, as well as the Tests.

Steve Waugh injured himself between the Second and Third tests in the Ashes series, in a promotional game of squash between Waugh and No 1 Squash player Sarah Fitz-Gerald for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. He began to play in the Third Test but ripped his calf in the game having a 5-centimetre tear. Waugh missed the Fourth Test, but together with the Australian physio, he devised and successfully followed a 19-day recovery plan in order to return for the final test.

Ireland tour

Captain Steve Waugh did not travel for the Ireland leg of the tour due to his calf injury. Adam Gilchrist was also not in Ireland, so Ponting was named captain for the series. In the team, Hayden and Mark Waugh had played in 1993 in Dublin, while Waugh, Langer, Ponting and McGrath had all played in Eglinton in 1997.

The Irish team had no players from the 1993 competition but Derek Heasley, Andy Patterson and Kyle McCallan had both played in 1997.

England tour

Australia played six other first-class and three other List A games.

In the first-class games Damien Martyn had the highest batting average with an average of 104.66 runs per game, with 9 games played. He also had the most runs between the English and Australian teams with 942 runs, followed by Ponting, Gilchrist and Mark Waugh with 844, 663 and 644 runs respectively.

Shane Warne took the most wickets in the first-class games with 42 wickets. He also took the most catches in the first-class series with 13 overall, followed by Mark Waugh and Ponting with 12 and 11.

Adam Gilchrist took the most dismissals with 31, beating Seccombe with 10.

First-class

Worcestershire vs Australians

Australians	v	Worcestershire
351 (87.2 overs) Damien Martyn 108 (149) Christopher Liptrot 3/37 (17 overs)		163 (63.4 overs) Anurag Singh 62 (117) Nathan Bracken 3/29 (13 overs)
360/8d (67 overs) Ricky Ponting 65 (62) Matthew Rawnsley 3/108 (24 overs)		188 (57.3 overs) David Leatherdale 72 (113) Glenn McGrath 4/31 (12.3 overs)

• Australia won the toss and elected to bat.

M.C.C vs Australia

Australians	v	M.C.C
390 (74.5 overs) Simon Katich 168* (167) Joe Dawes 4/74 (19 overs)		124 (38.3 overs) Mark Richardson 64 (115) Colin Miller 4/41 (8.3 overs)
294/8d (78 overs) Steve Waugh 105 (127) Charl Willoughby 3/66 (21 overs)		280 (72.2 overs) Jimmy Adams 81* (140) Colin Miller 3/87 (23 overs)

• Australians won the toss and elected to bat.

Essex vs Australia

Australians	v	Essex
405/5d (87 overs) Adam Gilchrist 150* (149) Justin Bishop 2/70 (18 overs)		231 (64 overs) James Foster 74 (115) Jason Gillespie 5/37 (16 overs)
569/9d (120 overs) Matthew Hayden 98 (109) Peter Such 5/131 (39 overs)

• Australians won the toss and elected to bat.

Somerset vs Australia

Australians	v	Somerset
348/3d (74 overs) Ricky Ponting 129 (130) Jason Kerr 1/52 (17 overs)		267 (68.2 overs) Aamer Sohail 50 (120) Damien Fleming 6/59 (17 overs)
335/4d (81 overs) Damien Martyn 176* (231) Shoaib Akhtar 2/9 (7 overs)		240 (70 overs) Mike Burns 59 (96) Simon Katich 3/21 (4 overs)

• Australians won the toss and elected to bat.

Hampshire vs Australia

Australians	v	Hampshire
97 (30.4 overs) Ashley Noffke 28 (52) Alan Mullally 5/18 (11.4 overs)		354 (114.1 overs) Robin Smith 113 (277) Ashley Noffke 3/66 (22.1 overs)
389/9d (109.1 overs) Matthew Hayden 142 (215) Shaun Udal 4/149 (47.1 overs)		134/8 (24.3 overs) Neil Johnson 37 (29) Shane Warne 4/31 (5 overs)

• Hampshire won the toss and elected to field.

Sussex vs Australia

Sussex	v	Australians
355/4d (91 overs) Richard Montgomerie 157 (266) Damien Fleming 2/67 (20 overs)		86/2d (21 overs) Michael Slater 46* (70) Billy Taylor 2/39 (4 overs)
67/5d (20 overs) Murray Goodwin 28* (28) Damien Fleming 3/20 (8 overs)		339/2 (63.5 overs) Ricky Ponting 147* (170) Jason Lewry 1/52 (11 overs)

• Australians won the toss and elected to field.
• Australians target was set to 337 to score minimum of 68 overs to win.

List A

Middlesex vs Australians

Australians  232 (44.2 overs)	v	Middlesex 233/4 (47.1 overs)
Ian Harvey 84 (65) Paul Weekes 3/36 (10 overs)		Ben Hutton 73 (105) Ian Harvey 1/36 (10 overs)

• Middlesex won the toss and elected to field.

Northamptonshire vs Australians

Australians  234/3 (50 overs)	v	Northamptonshire 234 (50 overs)
Damien Martyn 101* (131) Darren Cousins 2/27 (10 overs)		Michael Hussey 73 (106) Michael Bevan 2/24 (4 overs)

• Northamptonshire won the toss and elected to field.

Other One Day: Ireland vs Australians

Ireland	v	Australians  86/1 (23.4 overs)
		Matthew Hayden 52* (74) Conor Armstrong 1/21 (4.4 overs)

• Ireland won the toss and elected to field.
• Match was abandoned due to heavy rain.

The Ashes Series

1st Test

England	v	Australia
294 (65.3 overs) AJ Stewart 65 (82) SK Warne 5/71 (19 overs)		576 (129.4 overs) AC Gilchrist 152 (143) MA Butcher 4/42 (9 overs)
164 (42.1 overs) ME Trescothick 76 (113) SK Warne 3/29 (10.1 overs)

England was all out for less than 300 runs in the first innings, despite a 103-run partnership between Alec Stewart and Andy Caddick for the 10th wicket. England collapsed in the second innings from 142/2 to be all out for 164.

2nd Test

England	v	Australia
187 (63.3 overs) MA Atherton 37 (92) GD McGrath 5/54 (24 overs)		401 (101.1 overs) ME Waugh 108 (170) AR Caddick 5/101 (32.1 overs)
227 (66 overs) MA Butcher 83 (159) JN Gillespie 5/53 (16 overs)		14/2 (3.1 overs) ML Hayden 6* (8) D Gough 1/5 (2 overs)

3rd Test

England	v	Australia
185 (52.5 overs) ME Trescothick 69 (93) GD McGrath 5/49 (18 overs)		190 (54.5 overs) AC Gilchrist 54 (59) AJ Tudor 5/44 (15.5 overs)
162 (57 overs) MA Atherton 51 (104) SK Warne 6/33 (18 overs)		158/3 (29.2 overs) ME Waugh 42* (45) RDB Croft 1/8 (1 over)

Shane Warne was named man of the match for 8 wickets. Adam Gilchrist took 10 fours and made 54 with Gillespie taking 27. In the first innings they were all out for 122. Shane Warne took 6 for 33 in the first innings with Jason Gillespie taking 3 low order wickets making England out for 162. Steve Waugh had to retire from the game due to injury.

4th Test

Australia	v	England
447 (100.1 overs) RT Ponting 144 (154) D Gough 5/103 (25.1 overs)		309 (94.2 overs) AJ Stewart 76* (83) GD McGrath 7/76 (30.2 overs)
176/4d (39.3 overs) RT Ponting 72 (72) D Gough 2/68 (17 overs)		315/4 (73.2 overs) MA Butcher 173* (227) JN Gillespie 2/94 (22 overs)

Australia elected to bat first and held a lead of 138 after the first innings. In the second innings, Australia declared on 176/4, setting England a target of 315 for victory. They reached this with six wickets in hand, thanks to an unbeaten 173 by Mark Butcher. Butcher was named Player of the Match, for what Gilchrist described as "one of the great Ashes innings".

5th Test

Australia	v	England
641/4d (152 overs) SR Waugh 157* (256) U Afzaal 1/49 (9 overs)		432 (118.2 overs) MR Ramprakash 133 (232) SK Warne 7/165 (44.2 overs)
		184 (68.3 overs) (f/o) D Gough 39* (57) GD McGrath 5/43 (15.3 overs)

Australia elected to bat first. In the first innings, Australia was 641/4 and chose not to bat again. Over England's two innings, Glenn McGrath took 7 wickets overall. In England's first innings, they scored 432 runs and in the second took 184.

Shane Warne was described as Player of the Match, with Mark Butcher and Glenn McGrath named as Players of the Series.

Players of the Series

Australian – Glenn McGrath

During the 2001 Ashes series, McGrath passed Dennis Lillie's record of 355 dismissals, becoming the highest wicket taker among Australian fast bowlers. He still holds that record, having extended it to 563 Test wickets. Internationally, he is second only to England's James Anderson with 704.

McGrath played all five matches in the Ashes series. He bowled the most maiden overs with 56, 14 ahead of Jason Gillespie on 42. He bowled 194.2 overs, conceding 542 runs. McGrath took the most wickets through the series with 32 with best figures of 7/76. The 2001 Ashes was described as a display of his consistent style.

English – Mark Butcher

Butcher had not played for England since their tour to South Africa in 1999–2000, missing five straight tours between January 2000 and July 2001. However, a resurgence in form led to a call-up for the Ashes series.

He played in all five Tests, but after scoring just 14 runs across the two innings in the 3rd Test, he was due to be dropped for the 4th; however, the team's captain for the 2nd and 3rd tests, Michael Atherton, intervened and Butcher kept his place in the team. He went on to score 173 not out in the second innings in a performance described as "amazing", as England went on to win the match by 6 wickets. It was termed by Adam Gilchrist, the Australian wicket keeper, as "one of the great Ashes innings".

References

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External sources

• Tour results at Cricinfo.com
• CricketArchive – tour itineraries

Annual reviews

• Playfair Cricket Annual 2002
• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2003

References

v t e The Ashes
List of Ashes series
1850	1884 1886 1888 1890 1893 1896 1899 1882–83 1884–85 1886–87 1887–88 1891–92 1894–95 1897–98
1900	1902 1905 1909 1912 World War I 1921 1926 1930 1934 1938 World War II 1948 1901–02 1903–04 1907–08 1911–12 1920–21 1924–25 1928–29 1932–33 1936–37 1946–47
1950	1953 1956 1961 1964 1968 1972 1975 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 1950–51 1954–55 1958–59 1962–63 1965–66 1970–71 1974–75 1978–79 1982–83 1986–87 1990–91 1994–95 1998–99
2000	2001 2005 2009 2013 2015 2019 2023 2002–03 2006–07 2010–11 2013–14 2017–18 2021–22
Non-Ashes Australia v England Test series 1876–77 1878–79 1880 1881–82 1882 1945 1976–77 1979–80 1980 1987–88 2027
Matches in white background were played in England, yellow – in Australia.

• The Ashes
• 2001 in English cricket
• Australian cricket tours of England
• International cricket competitions in 2001
• 2001 in Australian cricket
• Australian cricket tours of Ireland