By Guest - May 07, 2025 08:36 PM
England has known nothing but pain when touring Australia to contest the coveted Ashes Series. Since their last triumph in the land down under way back in 2011, 15 tests have been played on Aussie soil across three different series. The tourists have lost 13 of them, drawing the other two. This year, the two nations will battle again, and they will do so in Australia.
The hosts have clung on to the tiny urn for the better part of a decade at this point, twice drawing away from home, as well as picking up three straight routs on home turf. As such, the betting sites can't see anything other than a comfortable Aussie victory. Top online betting sites offering cricket odds currently price Australia as a mighty -175 favorite to win the upcoming series, with their greatest rivals +265 underdogs.
But while England have suffered in their recent trips down under, they have managed to upset the odds on foreign soil before. Here is what happened the last time England beat their greatest rivals in their backyard.
Heading into the 2010/11 Ashes Series, cricket had perhaps never been at a higher point throughout its illustrious history. Five years prior, England beat Australia on home turf in possibly the greatest series ever played. With superstars such as Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen, and captain Michael Vaughan taking center stage, the English managed to rip the urn away from their rivals for the first time in some 18 years.
Australia reclaimed the urn with a whitewash in 2007, before England then won 2-1 in a thriller on home turf in 2009. Both sides then went into the 2010/11 clash feeling that they could emerge victorious, but the two sides were heading in opposite directions.
The tourists had one of their strongest squads in generations. Openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook were perhaps the two finest opening batsmen on the planet, while Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, and the aforementioned Pietersen produced a middle order stacked with quality. With the ball, both James Anderson and Stuart Broad were lethal, while Graham Swann was arguably England's greatest-ever spin bowler.
The Aussies, meanwhile, were a team in transition. Only captain Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, and Michael Hussey remained from their most recent Ashes triumph four years prior. However, in the form of pace bowler Mitchell Johnson, they had an X-Factor that could swing the tide in their favor. Something had to give.
Following their dismal showing the last time they headed to Australia, England knew that they had to avoid being blown away early if they were to have any hope of emerging victorious. However, it looked as though history would repeat itself when they were dismissed for just 260 in their first innings of the first test in Brisbane, with Peter Siddle's blistering birthday hat trick the highlight. The hosts then piled on the runs in their first knock, notching up 481 and leaving the tourists 221 runs behind and needing an absolute miracle if they were to avoid defeat.
Somehow, though, that miracle came. Openers Strauss and Cook put on a whopping 188-run first-wicket stand before the former was stumped off the bowling of Marcus North for 110. Trott then picked up where his skipper left off, racking up 135 runs of his own in addition to Cook's 235, taking England to a scarcely believable 517/1 before they declared. Australia managed 107 runs in their response before time ran out, and the contest was finished as a draw.
From the second test onwards, it was one-way traffic. England dominated the second test in Adelaide, amassing another mighty score with the bat. A stunning 227 from Pietersen, in addition to yet another century from Cook, saw them score 620 runs for just five wickets by the time they declared. With Australia bowled out for 245 in their first innings and then a further 304 in their second, England won by an innings for the first time in 24 years.
Australia fought back in the third test at the WACA, winning by 267 runs thanks to stunning displays with the ball from pace bowlers Johnson and Ryan Harris. But from then on, England were relentless.
The Boxing Day test at the MCG is arguably the biggest event in all of Australian sport, but on this occasion, they were the victims inside Melbourne's biggest sporting cauldron. On day one, the hosts were skittled for just 98 runs as replacement Chris Tremlett took four wickets for just 20 runs. England would then take over with the bat once again, posting a whopping 513 all out, before dismissing the hosts for just 258 and claiming another innings victory.
In the fifth and final test in Sydney, it was more of the same. Australia was bowled out for 280 in their first innings, and England would again go on a tear with the bat. Centuries from Cook, Bell, and wicketkeeper Matt Prior saw the tourists post a score of 644, meaning that the hosts needed 364 just to make their rivals bat again. Ultimately, they couldn't do it, and they were bowled out for 281 to hand the English their third innings victory of the series.
The 3-1 series win was England's first on Australian soil in 24 years, and it proved that they could stand up to the famous, ruthless crowds and conditions down under. Fast forward 15 years and Ben Stokes and Co. will have to channel the heroes of yesteryear if they are to upset the odds in this year's Ashes Series.
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