Return of the Urn...

Wattaa series!! Finally, Brit-mania ruled. The *Ashes* are England's. What a proud moment for a country which was deprived of this success for almost ~18 years/ 8 Ashes encounters. Vaughan.. Hats off to U and your resurgent team of professionals.

Needing a Draw, coming to the final Test at The Oval, English achieved it by the virtue of bad weather and STAR of the show, Kevin Pieterson. Truly, England cricket's brash young thing,(who has spent most of his life in South Africa and hailed as a "Traitor" in his homeland) Kevin Pietersen, whose blond mohawk finished drenched with sweat after a magnificent match-saving 158. As luck favours the brave, he over-rode his luck thrice. This magnificient feat overshadowd the batting guile of Ashley Giles, with his career-best 59.

Freddie Flintoff, was adjudged the "Man of the Series for England" and also won the inaugral "Compton-Miller Man of the Series". This Yorkshire lad, will have those winning moments etched on his memoirs. What a proud moment to get back the little urn to his country, in front of his young kid(buoy.. he is veryyyy cuteeee).

One GREAT man, which I feel sorry for was SHANE WARNE. Cruelly, he was the villain for Australia on the final day, who spilled a sitter of a chance off Pietersen at slip, off Brett Lee's bowling, when the England batsman was on 15. He bowled his heart-out the whole series( albeit his personal issues), but was not enough to retain the Urn. Although he will bow out of his final Test series in England as a loser, he had the honour of matching his 1993 feat of a wicket with his first ball(Ball of the CENTURY) with his 2005 feat of snaring a wicket with his last ball. Hats Off Shaine!! You were a true advertisement to the art of "Leg-Spin" on the field( Hope it was off the field too ;) )

Ricky, you missed out on your first Ashes Outing. The difference between the two teams in this Series was Vaughan had 4+ genuine bowlers, while Ponting was reduced to 2+ most of the time.

Watching the series game after game, I gotcha know that those 22 players were playing for a trophy which never existed...Zonked!! its True.There is, however, no doubting the seriousness of the competition. Australia versus England at cricket is the longest and most ferocious international sporting rivalry in existence. Excerpts from one the ASHES History :

The Ashes were born when the upstart colonials beat England at The Oval in 1882 - prompting a mock obituary in an English sporting newspaper which referred to the "ashes" of English cricket. The only tangible trophy is a small urn supposedly containing the ashes of a bail presented to England captain Ivo Bligh in 1883.

This too was a stunt, but the intervening years have lent it respectability. It sits now in the museum at Lord's.

Now its in the hands of resurgent England Team. Victorious Members name would be imprinted on the English fans mind.

Marcus Trescothick
Andrew Strauss
Michael Vaughan
Ian Bell
Kevin Pieterson
Andrew Flintoff
Paul Collingwood
Geraint Jones
Ashley Giles
Matthew Hoggard
Stephen Harmison
Simon Jones

As the Australian premiere put it across [Quote] It's been an amazing cricket series, a wonderful series for the game of cricket[UnQuote]. Buoy!! hope we get this kind of cricketing entertainment years to come. Time for Champagne and party...