By 1894-95, England and Australia had been competing on equal terms for 18 years, with the Ashes firmly established as a biennial fixture in the sporting calendar. But interest in the game had never been as high as this, certainly not for any sporting contest outside England. Only once before, in 1884-85, had a rubber been stretched over five games, and thanks to an investment made by the Pall Mall Gazette, England was kept abreast of developments by long cable messages on each afternoon of the Tests. The excitement was equalled in Australia, and the grounds in Sydney and Melbourne made a fortune from gate receipts, netting a profit of more than £7000. Fittingly, the series turned out to be a classic.

The stage was set in the grandest fashion by England's extraordinary win in Sydney. Australia looked to be out of reach when they posted 586 in their first innings, thanks to a double-century from Syd Gregory and 161 from George Giffen. England were unable to avoid the follow-on, despite some resourceful batting by the tail, and though they fared much better second time around, thanks to Albert Ward's 117, a heavy defeat seemed inevitable.

Chasing 177 for victory, Australia reached 113 for 2 by the close of the fifth day. But then God stepped in to demonstrate that, as was widely presumed at the time, He really was an Englishman. The heavens opened, the ground was drenched by an overnight deluge and, to top it off, the sun shone brightly the following morning. On a drying surface, Bobby Peel tore through the Australian batting.

Peel was supposedly the worse for wear after a night on the tiles, but his left-arm spin proved irresistible. Australia lost their last eight wickets for 36, and their 10-run defeat was the first of only three times that a side has won a Test after following on.

England had had a lucky escape, but they didn't look likely to capitalise in the second Test at Melbourne when they were skittled for 75 on another rain-ruined pitch. Giffen broke with tradition by fielding first on winning the toss, the first such instance in Test history, and was immediately rewarded when Archie MacLaren fell to the first ball of the match, another first. But Tom Richardson bowled superbly to limit Australia's lead to 48, at which point Drewy Stoddart played the definitive captain's innings. His 173 remained the highest score by an England captain for 80 years, until surpassed by Mike Denness in 1974-75. Australia's target of 428 was unrealistic and they fell well short.

But Australia's luck improved in the next two matches. England were clobbered by 382 runs at Adelaide, undone by the intense heat and the allround efforts of Albert Trott, who marked his debut with 110 runs without being dismissed and second-innings bowling figures of 8 for 43.

England fared even worse at Sydney. Stoddart chose to bowl first in yet another rain-affected match, and though Australia were floundering at 51 for 6, some inspired hitting from Harry Graham and Trott carried them to a more-than-useful 284. England had no hope at all when rain drowned the wicket and wiped out the entire second day's play. On resumption, they lost all 20 of their wickets in less than a day, for totals of 65 and 72.

The to-ing and fro-ing of the series had Australia gripped, and their interest was rewarded in the decider with the most intense encounter yet. Unlike the previous matches, the weather at Sydney stayed true throughout, and the upshot was a humdinger of a Test - the so-called Match of the Century - in which no quarter was given for five days. Australia's first-innings 414 was matched by England's 385, thanks to MacLaren's maiden hundred, before Richardson bowled his heart out to restrict Australia to 267. Trott failed for once, bowled for 0 by Richardson, but no other Australian failed to reach double figures.

Chasing 297, England closed on 28 for 1, and Stoddart's dismissal to the very first ball of the following day left the odds stacked against them. But Jack Brown blazed a glorious century - his first 50 came in only 28 minutes, a record to this day - and Ward defended resolutely to take England to the brink. Both men fell with victory in sight, but MacLaren and Peel completed the victory, and the Ashes were secured.

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