Absorbing Ashes matches 05

Some say the 2009 Ashes didn't live up to 2005 for its nail-biting drama. It might not have had any thrilling finishes like Edgbaston four years ago, but it was every bit absorbing.
From Collingwood's obdurate knock and the unlikely rearguard action of Anderson and Panesar at Cardiff - and English fans must be looking back at that in a new, appreciative light - Flintoff's heroics at Lord's, Australian supremacy at Headingley, and then England's Broad-side at the Oval, the summer has been one long tale of the unexpected.
Right to the last day drama. There was a moment when Ponting and Hussey were well set that some England fans, despite the statistical improbability, would have feared the worst. Even when Haddin was playing his natural game, you wondered if we were set for one last twist.
Now England must come up with a strategy to avoid these Ashes peaks-and-troughs and strive for more consistency by the time they head Down Under in 2011.
For if there's one certainty, just like after 2005, the Aussies will come back hard.