It's not great from this angle!

As Ben Stokes clubbed his way to a nervetingling century paving the way for the most unlikely of Test victories Headingley was buzzing with excitement and anticipationWhen Stokes finally hit the winning runs the ground erupted as a famous Test match heist had been achieved My thoughts immediately turned to Edgbaston 2005 when England won another close Ashes Test but then it was the ball eventually conquering the batAt Edgbaston in 2005 England won by two runs at Headingley in 2019 they scraped home by one wicket In 2005 it was Englands strongman allrounder Andrew Flintoff who claimed the player of the match award with seven wickets and 141 runs in a dazzling performanceIn 2019 the award indisputably went to the highly competitive neversaydie England allrounder Stokes Stokes claimed four wickets and scored 143 in the matchFlintoffs influence was spread throughout the match 68 and 73 with the bat and three and four wickets with the ball Stokes on the other hand saved his supreme effort until the last plundering 135 not out including the bulk of the 76 needed for victory when the ninth wicket fellAfter three Tests in 2005 the situation was one Test win each and a draw exactly like in 2019However in 2005 it took a monumental innings at Old Trafford by Ricky Ponting mdash the best Ive seen to save a match mdash to maintain the equilibrium after three Tests And therein lies the major difference between these two enthralling series the quality of the battingTo be fair the batsmen in the 2019 series have faced challenging pitches especially when you consider the quality of the bowlingIn 2005 England passed 400 three times and on two other occasions they cleared 300 comfortably Its hard to imagine the current flawed lineup attaining such heightsFor their part Australia didnt reach 400 in the series but they came close four times Thats surprising when the batting lineup included such highclass performers as Ponting Matthew Hayden Damien Martyn Michael Clarke Justin Langer and Adam GilchristThere was also class in an England lineup that featured Andrew Strauss Michael Vaughan Kevin Pietersen Ian Bell and Flintoff It says something about the quality of both bowling attacks that those highclass lineups were contained to such an extent Another difference in the two absorbing series is the availability of the Decision Review System DRS in 2019 This is not necessarily progressThe flaws in the DRS have been amply displayed in this Ashes series The most controversial being Australias senseless waste of a review meaning they had no comeback when Stokes was adjudged not out to Nathan Lyon with only two runs required for an England victoryThis highlights the fact that reaching the right decision mdash something the ICC declared was their intention when the system was introduced mdash is not guaranteed when you have a finite number of reviewsEven worse was the dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne at Lords when he was caught close to the ground by Joe Root This was referred to the third umpire and as is usually the case certain angles appeared to show the ball may have touched the ground before reaching Root This is flawed evidence because of the foreshortening effect of television and should never be utilised to decide catchesAs a result of this flaw crowds tend to boo the fielder visualising him as a cheat and the batsman is then likely to distrust the fielder Both those unwarranted eventualities could be avoided if slow motion replays werent used to decide catchesControversy aside if the 2019 series continues to provide a similar level of drama and tension to the magnificent 2005 Ashes contest then well all be well and truly entertained The 2005 Ashes mdash along with the 196061 TiedTest series between Australia and the West Indies mdash is the best Ive witnessed for both quality and excitementThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont represent those of the paperCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates