The 2005 Ashes are widely seen as the greatest series between England and Australia.
The hosts came out on top 2-1 against one of the best Aussie sides to ever play the game and the England celebrations are legendary.
Just like Jack Grealish dancing the night away in Istanbul, Ibiza and Manchester in his full kit, England’s winners stayed in their whites throughout the night to celebrate their historic achievement.
This was the first time England had won the iconic series in nearly 20 years and many of that famous squad certainly let their hair down. It could be argued that even this party would test the resolve of Grealish and co.
One man who was crucial to England’s win was talkSPORT’s Steve Harmison.
The fast bowler grabbed the final wicket of Mike Kasprowicz to seal victory at Edgbaston in the second Test and was a key member of the team.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com about the notorious party that followed the fifth and final test at The Oval, he said: “We all stayed in the dressing room after the game until about 11pm.
“The bus had to leave between 11 and 12, which broke up that part of it.
“We could have stayed in there all night. We could have stayed there for a few days – the lads had a great time.
“We were dancing around like idiots, and then, the dressing room doors opened, and you had half of each team in each dressing room.”
The respect between the two sides was reflected by that moment at The Oval in south London on Monday 12 September.
But as the Aussies went home, the party was only starting for England.
When asked about the number of beers drank, Harmison said: “I have no idea!
“There was nobody not drinking because celebrating was as important as winning.
“Freddie [Flintoff] and I didn’t leave the hotel bar.
“Freddie was one of the only ones who kept drinking all the way through. I think I left at 6:45am, but nobody slept.”
But despite being up since Sunday morning and drinking for the whole of Monday evening, the squad went to Downing Street for what is now an infamous trip.
“We were told we were going on a bus trip, which quite a few of us weren’t happy about.
“As a part of the bus trip, you go to Downing Street, which was a shambles. They didn’t want us there. It was a photo opportunity for the Prime Minister [Tony Blair].
“We had to go. We had no choice.
“I hadn’t slept for a day-and-a-half, and we hadn’t had a drink for a little bit because there was no alcohol in Downing Street.
“But there were some great moments. One of our fast bowlers [Matthew Hoggard] called the Prime Minister a knob.
“There is a myth going around that somebody urinated in the garden. He [Simon Jones] says it’s true, but I am unsure.”
But that wasn’t the end of the day, and the victorious England players headed to Trafalgar Square to meet their adoring public.
Harmison is still stunned by the number of people who turned up to celebrate with this brilliant team.
“It was a surreal experience, and then, to go around Trafalgar Square and see the number of people, it was like ‘wow’.
“People were hanging out of office windows and climbed up lamposts.
“I thought it would be embarrassing, but it was ridiculous and phenomenal.
“It [The Ashes] was on terrestrial TV, so nine-and-a-half million people watched the Edgbaston Test on Sunday morning.
“So we knew it was big, but we didn’t grasp how big it was until we got around that corner.
“It was a great celebration. Freddie tried to sing Suspicious Minds in front of 250,000 people. He got the first line out before they cut the microphone, which is a shame because the big lad can sing, but not after a night-and-a-half on the sauce.”
If England win the 2023 Ashes, starting with the Test at Edgbaston, it’s unlikely the celebrations will be as big because cricket has changed.
But those 2005 stories are legendary, and they rightly celebrated a truly iconic win in fine style.
According to Harmison, “the celebrations are still going,” and why not.
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