After England won the second Ashes Test by 2 runs — the narrowest Ashes victory in history — Andrew Flintoff walked to Brett Lee, who sat dejected on the pitch, knelt beside him and consoled him. The photograph became cricket's most iconic image of sportsmanship.
The 2005 Ashes was the series that saved Test cricket's relevance in England. Sixteen million people watched the final day of Edgbaston on terrestrial television — the highest cricket audience in Britain in over a decade. Australia needed 107 in their second innings to win, with Flintoff's England bowling.
Australia had fallen to 137/7 — still needing 170. Lee and Warne then put on 45 together. Kasprowicz joined Lee — and they added 59 more, taking Australia to 197/9. 282 needed. Still 85 short. But they kept going. 220. 230. 240. England's nerves were visible. 264. 278. 280. 281. 282. England needed one wicket. Australia needed two runs.
Simon Jones came in. Off the last ball of his spell, Geraint Jones took a catch down the leg side — Kasprowicz gloved it. England had won by 2 runs. Edgbaston erupted. The players mobbed each other. Lee sank to the ground near the batting crease.
Flintoff — Man of the Match, who had taken 7 wickets and scored over 100 runs in the match — walked across the pitch. He knelt beside Lee and put his arm around him. He spoke quietly to him. Lee — the losing bowler — sat in the dust of Edgbaston with his head bowed, and Flintoff stayed with him.
Sport has produced few images more powerful. Two opponents, one winner and one loser, one act of genuine human kindness on a cricket field.
Australia 254/9 — Lee and Kasprowicz take it to 282, England need last wicket
Kasprowicz gloves to Geraint Jones — England win by 2 runs
Flintoff kneeling beside Brett Lee on the Edgbaston pitch — the iconic image
August 4-7, 2005
Second Ashes Test, Edgbaston
Day 4 morning
Australia chase 282 — fall to 137/7
Day 4 afternoon
Lee and Kasprowicz take Australia to 282 — 2 runs needed from last wicket
Day 4 late afternoon
England win by 2 runs — Flintoff consoles Lee on the pitch
England went on to win the 2005 Ashes series 2-1 — their first Ashes win since 1987. The series was celebrated with a bus parade through London. Flintoff's Edgbaston performance (7 wickets, 68 and 73 runs) is considered one of the greatest all-round Ashes performances.
The Edgbaston 2005 Test is the greatest Test match of the modern era — a 2-run margin, the lead changing three times, an entire nation watching. Flintoff's consolation of Lee elevated a sporting contest into something approaching moral beauty.
The photograph of Flintoff consoling Lee is the most reproduced cricket image in the 21st century. It appears in cricket books, motivational posters, and coaching materials as a definition of what sport can be at its best. The match itself is consistently voted the greatest Test ever played.
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