Six months later, Vaughan replaced Hussain as Test captain. His mission was to reshape an England team scarred by years of Ashes beatings. Only four of the XI from Sydney made it to the first Ashes Test at Lord’s in 2005.
“It wasn’t two years of waking up and thinking, ‘we’ve got to beat Australia’, because the only way to beat Australia is to win the games before,” says Vaughan. “You can’t suddenly arrive in an Ashes to beat that side having not beaten the other teams.
“It became obvious we were going to have a fresher team, a younger team, a team that had very little baggage. What was very clear in 2002-03, understandably, once we’d lost the first Test it was ‘here we go again’, because a lot of those players had been around the England side in the 1990s.”
Those unforgettable eight weeks of summer in 2005 etched the names of Vaughan and his players into English cricketing folklore. Steve Harmison drawing blood from Ponting, and Andrew Strauss’ catch. Kevin Pietersen’s hair and Gary Pratt’s direct hit. Andrew Flintoff’s batting. Andrew Flintoff’s bowling. Andrew Flintoff’s drinking.
Because of injuries that occurred even before the series ended, the class of 2005 never played together again.
“That moment when you win is the best moment, but also quite deflating because it’s all over,” says Vaughan. “All the stress and pressure were hard to deal with, but you get adrenaline from being in a series like that. When it’s over you wonder what’s next.”
Vaughan did not know it at the time, but lifting the urn was to be his last act as an Ashes cricketer. His troublesome knees meant he played only two more Tests in the 18 months that followed, including missing the defence in Australia in 2006-07. Under the captaincy of Flintoff, and a shadow of the team that won in 2005, England were dismantled 5-0 by an Australia side determined for revenge.
“We got absolutely hammered, and would have got hammered with me playing,” says Vaughan. “We poked the bear.
“It was hard to watch, because a lot of my mates were playing. Once we beat that Australia team once, they weren’t going to allow us to beat them twice, especially in their own backyard.”
Vaughan tearfully stepped down as England skipper in 2008, although still with thoughts of playing in the home Ashes of 2009 under the captaincy of Strauss. Form and knees didn’t allow it. In the four years between Ashes series played in this country, Vaughan went from winning captain to former cricketer. He retired at the age of 34.
“Straussy rang me and said he wanted me to get runs in county cricket and we’d have a look, but my body was knackered,” says Vaughan. “I couldn’t do the training or the work.
“There was the odd morning I woke up and thought, ‘come on, let’s have a go at getting that batting slot’. I was thinking there was a chance.
“I probably retired a little bit too young, but I would have royally embarrassed myself in 2009.”
Considering his lofty standing in recent English cricketing history, Vaughan played relatively few Ashes Tests – 10 of them, five away and five at home.
He will forever be remembered for what he achieved in 2005. It would not have been possible without what happened in 2002-03.