Having retained the Ashes at home in 1972, England arrived Down Under in 1974 completely unprepared for an Australian side led by two tearaways named Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson.

Labelled the worst Australian side to land on English shores, Allan Border's 1989 Ashes team shocked the pundits and sparked an era of dominance that would last well into the 21st century.

Considered one of the greatest Ashes contests of them all, the 2005 series in England would set the gold standard for the Anglo-Australian rivalry.