London, August 16: The Ashes triumph of 2005 was one of England’s most cherished achievements in recent times, but veteran pacer Steve Harmison wants the current squad to come forward and create their own history by winning the current series.
”I’ve got my memories, but that is all they are. That is all that 2005 is. People keep going back to it as though it was somehow relevant to now. It isn’t. It has gone,” Harmison, a member of the 2005 England squad, said.
”Now the story is all about what happens at The Oval this week. After Headingley we’ve got to come back strong, but the team that plays this match can rewrite everything. And whether I’m in it or not, I’ll tell the guys playing to embrace it and enjoy it. ”I loved 2005, don’t get me wrong. But this is a young side who are just trying to bed in with each other, learn about each other, getting each other’s game with a new captain and a new coach. If we can win it off the back of all that, then it would certainly be some achievement,” he added.
The 30-year-old is not yet confirmed of a place in the side for next week’s final Test at The Oval, but if given a chance, would like to bow out on a triumphant note in what his most certainly the last Ashes series of his career.
”I’m not taking anything for granted. But whatever happens, by the end of the match I will have played my last Ashes Test. Even if England still want me between now and then, I can’t see myself going Down Under in 2010. ‘So I would dearly love the chance to finish my battles with Australia on top after some great times and some pretty poor times,” the right-armer was quoted as saying by the ‘Daily Mail’.
Recounting the final momments of the final Test in 2005, a nostalgic Harmison said,”we knew the match was over Kevin Pietersen had batted them out of it on the last day, we had come off for bad light and there was no going back out.” ”But we were waiting for Vaughan to come back from seeing the umpires to confirm they were about to go out on the pitch and officially signal the end of the match.
”Then the door opened, Michael walked in with this huge grin on his face and a clenched fist to say it had been called off. For five minutes we were the only people in the world who knew we had actually, finally, truly won the bloody Ashes. What happened next in there was unbelievable. Just knowing we had won and nobody and nothing could take that away now… I won’t say it was better than sex, but it was as good as,” he added.
—-Agencies