Ashes Best Rivalry Moments: A Shortlist for Legends & Larrikins
If you reckon your weekends are packed, let me tell you, the history of the Ashes is like a blockbuster boxset on steroids full of jaw-dropping twists, underdog miracles, and thunderbolts downing English stumps and their batters! I’ve jumped into the archives, cracked open a cold one, and pulled out some of the greatest Ashes moments in recent times which are well worth talking to your mates about in the pub. So, pull up a seat, unclip your belt, and get ready for a joyride as Joe Fortune takes you through cricket chaos, Aussie brilliance and Pommie heartbreak.
The Birth of The Ashes – The Demon Sparks a Rivalry
Back in 1882, Australia won at The Oval and England had an existential crisis so deep the press declared English cricket dead and wrote an obituary. Someone joked that the ashes of English cricket would be taken to Australia and there we go, the greatest rivalry in sport was born and here are some of my legendary moments in recent times.
Shane Warne – “Ball of the Century”
Top of the list, always. Warnie’s 1993 delivery to Mike Gatting wasn’t just a ball, it was a declaration that leg-spin was back. It pitched outside leg, ripped like a cyclone, and clipped the top of off. Gatting, who was supposed to be England’s best batter of spin, looked like he’d seen a ghost. Cricket had officially changed forever as suddenly it wasn’t all about having loads of fast bowlers, but you could have a spinner destroying the opposition!
Steve Waugh – Last-Ball Ton on The Final Day
Next on my list we head to the SCG in 2003. One ball left in the day, Waugh on 98. The entire nation held its breath. In classic Waugh fashion under pressure, limping with a dodgy calf he smashed the last ball through cover for four. Ton secured. Crowd erupting. Goosebumps everywhere. That was true Aussie grit personified from one of our greatest ever captains. The fact that he did it against the Poms in an Ashes series made it even more special.
Peter Siddle – Birthday Hat-Trick Magic
On his 26th birthday, Siddle celebrated the best way a fast bowler should: by absolutely demolishing England. Three balls, three wickets… first up was Cook, this followed by removing Prior and then the moment I can’t stop watching, he got out Stuart Broad! Boom, boom, boom. If you’ve ever wondered what being bloody ecstatic looks like, this is it, Peter Siddle running arms-out after ripping out three hapless Poms on his birthday with a ferocious crowd in full voice.
Steve Harmison – The Worst First Ball in Ashes History
I couldn’t complete my list without including at least one Pom… Now look, we’ve all had bad first days at work but none quite like Steve Harmison in the 2006/07 series opener at the Gabba. England had been hyped to the moon having won the Ashes in 2005, this was going to be the year England will win down under not least as Harmison is breathing fire. First ball of the series? He sends down a delivery so wide it nearly needed its own postcode. It sailed so far right it bypassed the slips, the keeper, the concept of sanity and was collected by his skipper Andrew Flintoff at second slip, that right Second slip!
A delivery so shocking, so spiritually upsetting, it instantly set the tone for the entire series. Australia went on to dominate, and Harmison’s ball entered cricket folklore as the ultimate “Oh no, not like this” moment. Every time us Aussies think of it, we smile. Every time England think of it, a small tear rolls down their collective cheek. Beautiful.
Mitch Johnson – Pace, Venom & Ashes Terror 2013/14
Johnson didn’t just bowl fast he bowled like he was trying to avenge 2009, 2010/11, and every English test match he had ever played in. A moustache that radiated fear. Batsmen flinched before the ball even left his hand. It was carnage. It was art. It was Australian.
Mitch Johnson in the 2013/14 Ashes series wasn’t just a fast bowler — he was a one-man whirlwind of pace, venom, and sheer Aussie terror.
Walking onto the Gabba pitch, Johnson looked like he’d been forged from pure adrenaline and BBQ smoke. Every delivery was a challenge, a dare, a small apocalypse aimed at England’s fragile middle order. Batsmen flinched before the ball even left his hand; some ran, some prayed, some just stared in disbelief. By the end of the series, Johnson had taken 37 wickets, each one a statement that Australia had arrived with teeth bared.
Why These Moments Hit Hard
It’s not just about the stats. It’s about:
- The drama — a single ball shifting history.
- The courage — Waugh’s ton, Johnson’s rampage.
- The chaos — let’s be honest, Harmison’s ball gave us joy.
- The folklore — from the 1800s to now, it’s mythmaking in real time.
Ashes moments live forever because they’re unpredictable, emotional, and, let’s face it, bloody hilarious at times. Mike Gatting still looks confused at how he got bowled!
Joe Fortune’s Manifesto: Why You Gotta Watch the Ashes
- Because it’s the purest form of drama beyond reality TV.
- Because one ball can make or break a career or a nation’s mood.
- Because nothing bonds Aussies like watching England collapse.
- Because legends don’t just play the Ashes — they become the Ashes.
Final Thoughts
The Ashes isn’t just a cricket series. It’s a saga. A theatre production. A mix of skill, chaos, and questionable hairstyles. And whether it’s Warnie spinning magic, Siddle blowing candles off English wickets, or Harmison firing a ball into a dimension not yet discovered — it all adds to the legend. Over the course of this summer in the Ashes, anything can happen and usually does. But England has only won one series in Australia since 1987 and your mate Joe here reckons with a few more great moments from our boys in the baggy green it won’t be happening this time!