Cricket 'Goldens': Ashes 2005 Opener, Failed Bombings In London, Shane Warne 'Smoking' On Lord's Balcony At Stumps

The first Ashes Test in the year 2005 was no less than an event as it kicked off the English summer for Cricket enthusiasts. Australian captain Ricky Ponting's 'daredevil' move to bat first became a 'blessing in disguise' for the hosts. A strong Australian batting line-up got wrapped up inside 190 with heavy cloud cover over Lord's Cricket Ground. However, the situation didn't do any favours to England's batters either.

England's Kevin Pietersen stood firm in an otherwise inconsistent England batting line-up, which got reduced to 92 for 7 on Day 1 at stumps.

Australian legendary pacer Glenn McGrath completed his tally of 500 Test wickets, marking a momentous occasion in his esteemed career.

Failed Bombings In London

The day of 21 July 2005 was also marked as a desperate attempt by terrorists to rock the city of London, where Day 1 of the first took place. Referred to as 21/7 attacks, the attempts were follow-up strikes by four terrorists targeting the city's transport system two weeks after the deadly 7/7 bombings that took the lives of 52 people.

No casualty was reported as the detonators malfunctioned. However, the incident did create panic among the crowds.

Shane Warne's Smoke At Lord's Balcony

The 'unapologetic' Shane Warne was one of the few Cricketers who lived their life care-free. Smoking, which is frowned upon for any Sportsperson, was one of Warne's tools to relax after a scintillating day of test match Cricket.

His famous image of smoking at the Lord's balcony was an answer to the constant scrutiny the media had on him. Former teammate Michael Clarke once stated that Warne valued his smokes greatly, as he would trade his spare clothes in camp just to make sure he had enough.

"He would always leave the things happening off the field, off the field. Generally, Warnie would have a smoke as he was walking onto the ground. He will try to hide it somewhere. And when he finished his smoke and put it out, he knew that it was game time. He crossed that line and whatever he had going off the field, he would leave it there, go and do his stuff on the field and when he came back, he knew it was still going to be there,” Clarke said on the Uncensored Podcast.

Some Trivia From The Eventful Day At Lords:

- One of England's great players, Kevin Pietersen, made his Test debut for the country.

- England pacer Steve Harmison took a fifer (5/43) to dismantle the Australian batting line-up.

- Justin Langer, who top-scored in the innings, got hit by a vicious bouncer symbolising England's renewed aggression.