The 2005 English cricket season was the 106th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. Before it began, a resurgent England cricket team had won four Test series in a row, going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series, winning both Tests by an innings. This was followed by a tri-nations one-day tournament that also featured Australia. Australia still started the Test series as favourites but most fans expected England to put up a challenge.
Despite losing the first Test by 239 runs. England came back to win the second and fourth Tests, and draw the third and fifth, to win the Ashes for the first time since 1986–87. It was the 72nd test series between the two sides with England finally winning 2-1. Andrew Flintoff dominated with both bat and ball for England, scoring 402 runs – more than any Australian – and taking 24 wickets – more than any Australian bar Shane Warne. Warne also had a spectacular series, with 40 wickets at a bowling average of 19.92, and 249 runs, but most of his efforts came in losing causes – such as making 42 with the bat in the second innings of the second Test.
In domestic cricket, Nottinghamshire won the County Championship, for the first time since 1987, and Durham enjoyed promotion in both the shorter and the longer form of the game. Surrey, the 2000 and 2002 Championship winners, were relegated in the Championship, and played in Division Two in both the Championship and the National League in 2006. Hampshire Hawks won the 50-over knock-out C&G Trophy, but were relegated in the National League, which Essex Eagles won in emphatic fashion, as they lost only one game and had a 14-point gap to the runners-up, Middlesex Crusaders.
The Australian women also toured England at the same time as the men, and England won the Women's Ashes 1–0 after two Tests. However, the Australian women won the ODI series 3–2. To round off the season, investors in partnership with Leicestershire arranged an International 20:20 Club Championship, which Pakistani side Faisalabad Wolves won.
Roll of honour
Test series: England beat Bangladesh 2–0 over two Tests. England regained the Ashes, beating Australia 2–1.
ODI series: England and Australia shared the NatWest Series (a tri-nations tournament also featuring Bangladesh). Australia beat England 2–1 in the three-match ODI NatWest Challenge.
Twenty20 International: England beat Australia in the one Twenty20 International that was played.
County Championship: Division One winners: Nottinghamshire - Division Two winners: Lancashire
Totesport (one-day) League: Division One winners: Essex Eagles - Division Two winners: Sussex Sharks
C&G Trophy: Winners: Hampshire - Runners-up: Warwickshire
Twenty20 Cup: Winners: Somerset Sabres - Runners-up: Lancashire Lightning
Minor Counties Championship
Winners: Cheshire and Suffolk shared title
MCCA Knockout Trophy
Winners: Norfolk beat Wiltshire by six wickets
Second XI Championship
Winners: Kent II - Runners-up: Gloucestershire II
Second XI Trophy
Winners: Sussex II beat Essex II by eight wickets
Wisden
Five Players: Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, Brett Lee, Kevin Pietersen, Ricky Ponting
International 20:20 Club Championship: Winners: Faisalabad Wolves - Runners-up: Chilaw Marians
Women's Tests: England beat Australia 1–0 in the two Test series to win the Ashes for the first time since 1963
Women's ODIs: Australia beat England 3–2 in the five-match series
Women's Twenty20 Internationals: Australia beat England in the one Twenty20 International that was played
Under-19s "Tests": England beat Sri Lanka 3–0 in the three-match series
Under-19s "ODIs": England beat Sri Lanka 2–0 in the three-match series
Ashes tour
County Championship
National League
C&G Trophy
Twenty20 Cup
Month by Month review
April
The cricket season started early, on 8 April, with MCC playing the Champion County, or at least it would have done if the rain had not delayed the start till the next day. The other games played were all between the first-class counties and university sides. The first matches showed a bumper crop of centuries, with little joy for bowlers, but there were no surprises. The MCC ended up beating Warwickshire.