From the Ashes: Glenn McGrath on what happened after his 2005 injury at Edgbaston

From the Ashes is simply a caller bid of features and podcasts which excavation deeper into tales of pain, despair and sometimes triumph successful cricket's fiercest and astir storied Test series.

It is simply a sporting sliding-doors infinitesimal up determination with the overthrows deflected disconnected Ben Stokes' bat successful the 2019 World Cup final, the Russian linesman keeping his emblem down successful 1966 and Babe Ruth deciding determination was much wealth successful hitting than pitching.

The 2 Tests missed by 1 of the top accelerated bowlers to ever play the crippled - McGrath besides sat retired the 4th astatine Trent Bridge with an elbow occupation - were won by England by margins of lone 2 runs and 3 wickets, famously giving them a archetypal Ashes bid triumph successful 18 years.

Until Edgbaston, McGrath and Australia were flying.

Yes, England's caller and fearless cognition nether Michael Vaughan had rattled the Aussies successful the archetypal Test astatine Lord's, but the tourists inactive won by 239 runs. McGrath took 9 wickets successful the match, including his 500th successful Test cricket, celebrating the landmark by pulling connected a brace of garish golden boots.

Mining boots would person been much usage to McGrath that greeting successful Birmingham when, for immoderate reason, the Australians arrived aboriginal for the archetypal time of the 2nd Test.

"Routines are precise important to cricketers, routines are precise important to me, but we changed our regular earlier that game," McGrath, present 53, tells BBC Sport.

"I usually get retired conscionable successful clip for the warm-up to start, past disconnected you go. On this day, our manager John Buchanan decided to permission fractional an hr earlier than we would usually do. When we got retired acceptable to go, determination was inactive fractional an hr earlier the warm-up started.

"We had a look astatine the transportation and were lasting astir chatting. Brad Haddin picked up a rugby league shot and we were passing it backmost and forth. He rates himself, but threw a rubbish walk that bounced halfway and rolled on the ground.

"I turned to prime the shot up, but what I hadn't seen were the cricket balls that had been enactment retired for erstwhile we did commencement the warm-up. My archetypal measurement was connected the ball. I inactive don't retrieve seeing it, but I retrieve feeling it.

"To deliberation if we'd conscionable stuck to the mean routine."

• TMS podcast: From the Ashes: Glenn McGrath

Glenn McGrath is crestfallen aft lasting connected a stray cricket shot which would pb to him being ruled retired of the 2005 Ashes Test astatine Edgbaston

McGrath was carted disconnected the outfield and consecutive to infirmary for a scan that revealed 2 ruptured ligaments and bony harm successful his close ankle. He got backmost to Edgbaston conscionable successful clip to perceive the stadium announcer telling the assemblage helium was retired of the Test.

Ordinarily, the wounded would person enactment him connected the support for six weeks. Australia physio Errol Alcott instantly told the property McGrath would miss the 3rd Test the pursuing week. With his information successful the bid hanging successful the balance, McGrath had to ticker England triumph 1 of the astir melodramatic Tests of each time.

"It was pugnacious sitting determination watching," helium says. "Not truthful overmuch that we lost, but I ever wonderment what affirmative interaction could I person had connected the team.

"It's not truthful overmuch the bowling impact, it's the interaction connected the intelligence authorities of the opposition. All of a sudden, I'm not playing. I'd bowled good astatine Lord's, past I'm out, which gives a assistance to the absorption that wouldn't person been determination otherwise."

How Australia could person utilized McGrath's metronomic accuracy erstwhile England were piling up 407 connected the archetypal day, oregon erstwhile Andrew Flintoff was counter-attacking connected time three.

It was McGrath's replacement Michael Kasprowicz who was the past antheral to autumn connected a heart-stopping Sunday morning. Kasprowicz had made 20 successful a last-wicket basal of 59 with Brett Lee erstwhile helium gloved Steve Harmison down the limb broadside to springiness England triumph by 2 runs, their narrowest triumph successful presumption of runs successful Test history.

"If we had got those past 3 runs, it would person killed the bid determination and then," says McGrath. "England's assurance would person been shattered."

By this point, though, McGrath and Alcott were moving hard to get the paceman backmost to fitness. McGrath was adjacent waking up done the nighttime to person treatment.

In the run-up to the 3rd Test astatine Old Trafford, the Australians visited Manchester United, which was erstwhile McGrath archetypal started to jog (he besides swapped shirts with Ryan Giggs). Seven days aft stepping connected the shot astatine Edgbaston, McGrath was backmost playing Test cricket.

"Cricket and bowling is each astir consecutive lines. If I had to dodge and weave, I would person had nary chance," says McGrath. "I decidedly wasn't 100%, but I felt I was bully enough."

His 0-86 was the lone clip successful 14 Tests successful England that McGrath failed to instrumentality a wicket successful the archetypal innings. Though helium picked up 5 successful the second, helium was aided by England's propulsion for speedy runs. The 5.52 runs an implicit helium conceded was the worst system from a spell of much than 7 overs successful McGrath's full Test career.

"I thought I bowled OK, but compared to Lord's, I was not rather the aforesaid bowler," helium says.

McGrath astatine slightest survived 9 deliveries astatine fig 11 arsenic Australia clung to a gully connected a 5th time erstwhile thousands of spectators were locked retired of a bursting Old Trafford. He had played his portion successful keeping the bid level, lone for wounded to onslaught again anterior to the 4th Test astatine Trent Bridge.

"I physically couldn't vessel due to the fact that of the symptom my elbow was in," helium says.

"It came from obscurity and I don't cognize wherever it went to due to the fact that a mates of days aboriginal I was fine. It was conscionable that greeting of the match, I could not bowl."

Whether oregon not the elbow occupation was a effect of over-compensating for the injured ankle, McGrath's lack was again captious for the Australians, who had besides been forced to driblet his out-of-form new-ball spouse Jason Gillespie.

As England nervously chased 129 to triumph successful Nottingham, Kasprowicz and debutant Shaun Tait were targeted for a combined 43 runs from their six overs. Lee and Shane Warne were near to enarthrosis the onslaught and shared 7 wickets to astir vessel Australia to an Ashes-saving victory.

"Straight aft the Test and successful the years that followed, Warney ever said if we had 20 much runs we would person won," says McGrath.

McGrath returned for the 5th and last Test astatine The Oval. As Australia pushed for the triumph that would person denied England the urn, helium removed Vaughan and Ian Bell with successive deliveries connected the last day, lone for an inspired Kevin Pietersen to marque a maiden Test period that sealed the Ashes.

McGrath had tasted decision successful an Ashes bid for the archetypal and lone time, leaving The Oval outfield arm-in-arm with Warne successful what would beryllium their last Test successful England.

"It was a bittersweet moment," helium says. "It was pugnacious sitting watching those Tests and not playing, but the interaction that bid had connected the crippled itself was brilliant."

Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne took 352 Ashes wickets betwixt them

McGrath had been the scourge of England batters and would beryllium again, claiming 21 wickets successful the 2006-07 5-0 cleanable sweep, his past Test bid earlier retirement.

As for 2005, tiny margins decided possibly the top bid ever. McGrath, a antheral who took 87 wickets astatine an mean of 19.34 successful England, was relegated to a relation connected the periphery.

"I'm not going to beryllium present and accidental we would person won, it whitethorn person been precisely the same," helium says.

"I loved playing cricket successful England. The conditions implicit present suited maine down to the ground. It was perfect.

"I similar to deliberation I would person had a affirmative interaction connected the team, but we'll ne'er know."

The men's Ashes begins connected 16 June, with the multi-format women's Ashes getting nether mode 2 days later. BBC Sport volition person broad sum crossed TV, vigor and online of some series.