This Ashes has already equaled 2005 with three tests of pure drama.

Give ten to Ben Stokes, who promised to have fun and whose English side was the most fun. Photo: Getty Images/Richard Heathcote

The series is electrified, the nation is enchanted. The location of the urn is still far from settled, but it's time to make one cold-blooded certainty: The Ashes of 2023 already deserve to be bracketed with the convulsive dramas of 2005, a summer that has served as a touchstone for transcendent sports ever since. When two best friends, Mark Wood and Chris Wakes, celebrated England's quartet victory in front of the hectic West Terrace, you could hardly imagine a duel could be closer or more convincing.

The absurdly tense win margin—two wickets, 43 runs, three wickets—hardly tells the story. For this is a rivalry on a broken edge and diplomatically, with tensions between the two countries so acute that there has been an obscene uproar over whether Alex Carey, the Australian goalkeeper, paid for a haircut. It turned out that he did it with a pathetic apology from Sir Alastair Cooke, not a natural gossip. If this is the kind of animosity that can be fueled by a single visit to a hairdresser in Leeds, then it is incomprehensible to the mind what shenanigans await in Manchester in 10 days.

In each of the three tests, the result was shrouded in doubt until the last minutes. It's an almost unheard-of sequence: even in 2005 there were patches of lopsidedness, not least the 239-run punch that opened up Australia at Lorde. But after 18 years, the only predictable element is unpredictability, with wild fluctuations in momentum testing even the toughest constitution. On the second morning, the air seemed to be sucked out of Headingley as England raced to their doom at 87 by five. By the fourth day, the mood had turned to fearful euphoria as the departing hordes in green and gold were treated to a massive «we win 3-2» serenade. «/>Ashes in 2005 inspired the nation: millions of people watched the exciting series on free television. Photo: Getty Images/Hamish Blair

According to Wood, Harry Brook, the England Revival choreographer who presented 75 of the most precious performances in his young life, didn't say too much in the middle. And no wonder, because the situation is too dangerous for idle chatter. When Johnny Barstow cut into his stumps, leaving his teammates at six and still 80 behind, Brook and the Thailanders faced a binary equation. Lose, and the show threatened to fail more evenly than the pitch pudding they serve in Edgbaston. A win and England could start a comeback to inspire a generation. No pressure then, Harry.

Finally, Brook bent over and rushed towards Pat Cummins in the back, in a final paroxysm of fear. But the defining feature of this Baseball-bred team is that they will never be reproached for playing too aggressively, running from anywhere. And, of course, when Wood got to #9, his reaction was not to wince in horror, but to smash any clumsy overseas shipment. With one huge dash to the football stands to support the limp 32 Wuxes, the job was done. A week earlier, these two were not on the team list. Now they were the heroes of Headingley, the twist of the storyline is amazing even by the standards of a dizzying series.

Parallels with 2005 are not easy to draw. Because this vaunted series, along with Ian Botham's pyrotechnics in 1981, represented one of those lightning-in-a-bottle moments when cricket could legitimately claim national event status. The sense of theater was so strong that even Brian Lara stopped by the Oval on his way to the airport. Demand for tickets for the fifth day at Old Trafford was so overwhelming that officials had to leave 20,000 fans behind the gates. But to see the rapturous applause that greeted Wakes' determined runs here was to acknowledge that history repeats itself.

There are notable differences. The 2005 series will always be fondly remembered as the last Ashes to air free-to-air, and cricket was given such prominence in the primetime schedule that soap lovers, thanks to a few packed late night screenings, wondered what had happened to Hollyoaks. When Matthew Hoggard and Ashley Giles finally pushed England to the Trent Bridge line, 8.4 million people tuned in. That's seven times more than Sky Sports, today's broadcasters, have recorded for a single event in their lifetime.

Also, you can prove that the two classes of 2023 are struggling to imitate their ancestors 2005 in the pure quality of their game. You would think that England conceded too many catches to defeat pedigree adversaries Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting. But such hypotheses are inaccurate. The fact remains that this streak sells itself through absolute equality.

It's a tribute to what we've seen so far, that a score could be as likely as a 3-0 in an Australian match. favor, as in England. Instead, it's Australia 2-1, with England reminding all their doubters here that they're never more dangerous than in the chase. In the hustle, intrigue and ferocity of the competition, this Ashes delivers not only a never-ending rush of nostalgia, but also a feast for the senses.