Moving On: Lessons From 2005

Having spent the last few months trying to replicate the summer of 2005 on and off the pitch, we now want things to head in a very different direction. And if the immediate post-victory signs are anything to go by, they will.

Sunday's scenes from the Oval may have been comparable with four years ago, but the after-party and player and press talk have been anything but. The 2005 Ashes was one of the greatest series ever played; an excellent England team peaked to beat an almighty Australian one. In a way, it was too good. The fans were left wondering if they'd ever witness cricket of such excitement and quality again; the players were left wondering if they'd ever play so well again.

Of course, as a team, and for many, as individuals, they didn't. The class of 2005 partied hard - and in hindsight thank goodness they did revel in their most glorious moment - before failing to trump it, or even adequately build on it - winning only one of their next four series before the chastening experience that was the Ashes tour 06-07.

This year is different. There has been considerably less partying, the opposition were not the greatest side in the world, and the gulf between the two sides was small. No England players, except Andrew Strauss, will be left wondering if they can better themselves, or worrying that they've peaked.

Strauss surely has; Ashes winning captain, series leading run-scorer and Man of the Series. It doesn't get any better. But he will be excited about his team improving to an extent where they don't rely on him as much as they did this series.

The immediate challenge for the Test side, is South Africa this winter. This is key. Not only does it provide an opportunity to build on Ashes success by targeting a series win against probably the best side in the world, but it represents their biggest challenge between now and the next Ashes, with Bangladesh (twice) and Pakistan being England's only other Test opposition in that time.

Michael Vaughan knows what lies ahead better than anyone, having been in Strauss's position four years ago. In Tuesday's Telegraph he wrote, "When we win, we have to focus on winning again. When we score a hundred, the next step must be to score another hundred. Never relax and revel in the glory of winning. Whatever [the players] did between Headingley and the Oval was perfect: we must adopt that attitude every week."

There was a rueful undercurrent to Vaughan's piece - he knows all that now, but was unable to implement it then. This Ashes win was excellent and must be used as a starting point on which to base Vaughan's vision. Crucially, Flower and Strauss are better placed to make that happen than Fletcher and Vaughan were four years ago.

Maybe 2005's greatest legacy will turn out to be a revised and improved approach to the all-important what happened next phase.