After many years of travelling to Australia and getting soundly beaten, the Ashes of 2010/11 was a welcome change for English cricket fans as, for once, their side was the superior team.
There was nothing to choose between the two sides at the first Test, at the Gabba, Brisbane, a match affected by both rain and bad light.
England won the toss and batted, but Peter Siddle made headlines, doing a hat-trick on his 26th birthday on his way to figures of 6-54. England were all out for 260, Ian Bell top-scoring with 76 and Alastair Cook scoring 67.
Australia then seemed to take a firm grip on the Test with 481, Michael Hussey making 195 and Brad Haddin 136.
English sides in the past would have crumbled facing such a first-innings deficit, but this team proved to be different when they batted again. Andrew Strauss and Cook put on 188 for the first wicket. And, after Strauss was out for 110, Cook and Jonathan Trott combined in an unbeaten stand of 329.
Cook went out to make an unbeaten 235 and Trott 135 not out when England declared at 517/1.
Australia needed 297, but, with no time left to produce a result, they had to content themselves by making 107/1 when the two captains shook hands on the draw.
The teams moved to Adelaide for the second Test match, where it was Australia’s turn to win the toss and bat. Hussey again starred, with 93, and there were fifties for Haddin and Shane Watson, but only one other man got into double figures and they were all out for 245. James Anderson took 4-51.
This time it was England’s position to assert themselves, Cook making 148 and Trott 78 before Kevin Pietersen struck 227, including 33 fours and a six. With Bell then making an unbeaten 68, England were able to declare on 620/5, meaning Australia needed 375 just to make England bat again.
That ultimately proved beyond them, despite 80 from Michael Clarke, 57 from Watson and another half century from Hussey. Graeme Swann took 5-91 as Australia were all out for 304.
England had won by an innings and 71 runs.