It was a magical time for lovers of the game – the like of which hadn’t been witnessed before and will probably never be seen again.

The summer of 2005 was a time when arch rivals England and Australia battled out arguably the most memorable series in Test history.

Ashes fever gripped the nation.

Men, women and children, who had shown little interest in the game before, were captivated by the titanic struggle between the old enemies.

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It was a time when England heroes like Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen strode the hallowed turf of grounds such as Edgbaston and Trent Bridge like colossus.

And Australian villains, in the nicest sense of the word, such as captain Ricky Ponting and spin bowling wizard Shane Warne, were ultimately conquered in glorious fashion.

There were unbelievable twists and unfathomable turns as the Three Lions finally ended an 18-year wait to get their eager hands on the treasured little urn, which means so much to followers of the game from both countries.

At the centre of it all was Michael Vaughan, the England captain.

Unassuming to many, the Yorkshire cricketer was not only a brilliant batsman with his elegant strokeplay, but also possessed an iron will and a shrewd tactical brain.

This Saturday, memories of that unforgettable summer will no doubt be rekindled when Vaughan is guest speaker at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium as the Cherwell League celebrates its 40th anniversary with a gala dinner and presentation of awards.

The series possibly reached its zenith when thousands of fans, including yours truly, circled Old Trafford in vain, unable to get into the ground to see the last day of the third Test, which ended in the most thrilling of draws.

It was then that Vaughan was really struck with the magnitude of what he was involved in.

“My greatest Ashes memory is seeing 20,000 people locked out of Old Trafford,” he said.

“I thought there was a bomb scare when I arrived at Old Trafford on that day.

“I arrived at 9.30, went on the balcony and the ground was full.

“As I said to the boys, ‘This is special’.

“We went out of the dressing room just to warm up and the whole ground lifted and stood to their feet to cheer us.”

Marvellous memories.

It promises to be quite an evening at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.

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