Radio 5 Live,·24 Jul 2025,·55 mins Available for over a year

To mark the 20th anniversary of the 2005 Ashes, Test Match Special has collaborated with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra to tell the story of the greatest series of all time. Through a specially curated playlist performed by the Philharmonic, TMS archive, and narration from legendary actor Charles Dance, we’re taken back to a time when the nation went cricket mad.

Glenn McGrath treading on the ball, the thrilling finish at Edgbaston, thousands locked out at Old Trafford, Gary Pratt’s runout of Ricky Ponting, and that famous final day at the Oval are all remembered, as is the bus journey through London the day after.

And there’s also space for the Philharmonic’s performance of BBC Cricket iconic theme music – Soul Limbo.

Music performed:

• SCENESET: Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Montagues and Capulets
• LORD’S: Camille Pepin: Les Eaux Celestes for orchestra, movements 2 & 3
• EDGBASTON: Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5, last movement
• INTERLUDE: John Adams: Tromba Lontana
• OLD TRAFFORD: Gustav Holst: The Planets, Uranus
• TRENT BRIDGE: John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine
• SHANE WARNE INTERLUDE: Igor Stravinsky: Petrushka, The Shrovetide Fair, Dance of the Coachmen and Grooms
• OVAL: Hubert Parry, arr. Elgar: Jerusalem and Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 3, 4th movement
• CELEBRATIONS/TRAFALGAR SQUARE: Georges Bizet: Carmen, prelude
• REFLECTIONS: Thomas Ades: Arcadiana, Movement 6, O Albion
• CREDITS: Soul Limbo, arr. Peter Willmott