Ashes 2015: What the series means to some of the leading figures of the Ashes, including Alan Davidson and Bob Willis

As old rivals England and Australia prepare to do battle again, in their own words leading figures from both sides recall the moments and memories that will always keep the series special

The Ashes Urn at Trent Bridge (Getty Images)

Alan Davidson, Australian all-rounder between 1953 and 1963, now aged 86

I remember as a young boy my grandfather showing me a picture of the (Australian) team going on the ship to England in 1938. I said ‘One day Grandad, I’m going to do that’. I was nine years’ old and that was my dream. The Ashes is the pinnacle of all cricket.

I made my debut at Nottingham in 1953 and a bloke called Alec Bedser, who for me was the finest medium pace swing bowler that I ever played against or saw, bowled me for four in my first innings.

The Test matches in those days were played in a way that meant there was a real camaraderie between players. I can still remember playing in Sydney where it was a very hot and humid day and the Englishmen were waiting in our room with a cold beer as we came off the field at the end of the day’s play. The following day the Englishmen were in the field and we did the same for them. Competition was intense, competition never wavered in any shape or form but there was a friendship that was created. When we meet up we don’t shake hands – it’s always with a bear hug.

Alan Davidson in action in 1955 (GETTY IMAGES)

Funnily enough I went over to London for the fast bowlers’ reunion four years ago and for the first time in 1961 I stayed in a hotel. Every time I’d been to England since retiring I had stayed with Ramon Subba Row. He was the opening batsman for England and I was the opening bowler for Australia. Our friendship is something that you can’t describe – the respect we had for one another. That’s something that’s missing today. It makes me extremely sad. Those friendships you make are so special.

I won’t be in England this summer, I’m a bit ancient for that kind of travel. There’s a young guy called Neil Harvey coming over, though. He’s only eight months older than me.

Jim Parks, played two Ashes series in 1964 and 1965, now 83

As a young English cricketer all you wanted to do was to play in the Ashes against Australia and even now, almost 50 years after I played my final Test, those matches are the ones that really stand out.

You were great friends with the opposition, although you tried like hell to beat them. Wally Grout, the Australian keeper, was a really good friend of mine and we would always have a drink together after each day’s play, whether it was one dressing room or the other. It was marvellous really. I was a batsman for 10 years before I started keeping so Wally really taught me a lot. He was very, very helpful.

Bobby Simpson was a good friend too. I kept when he scored 300 at Old Trafford (in 1964) and we talked all the time, almost after every ball. There was no sledging, no aggro. That said I was pretty relieved when I caught him on 311. It was the first chance he had given.

That was a great series, we had a strong side with the likes of Colin Cowdrey and Kenny Barrington, who was a tremendous player, and Fred Trueman was still steaming in then too. He was the best bowler to keep to because he would run the ball away from the right-handers all the time so you felt you were in business.

I played against Australia in Australia the following year and that was a fantastic experience. You would get non-stop comments from fans on the Sydney Hill, which is no longer there, of course, but it was great, it was all good humoured.

Tours were far longer back then. We would start in Perth, which didn’t host Test matches at the time, and then we would travel all around the coast to Brisbane. Then you would work your way back once the Test series had started - you had been in the country for two months before you came up against the Aussies. We were away six months in 1965 and if you wanted to ring home you had to book a phone call. It was the same for Australia when they were here. Life has changed a lot. But I think the Ashes still hold their charm.

Bob Willis – England opening bowler between 1971 and 1984, now 66

Obviously the Headingley match is the one everyone remembers (Willis took 8-43 as England achieved a miraculous victory) and that was really fairytale stuff - straight out of Boy's Own. It did get to the stage where I thought I could take a wicket with every ball before Dennis Lillee started cutting short of a length balls to third man. I had to pitch it up to get those final two wickets. The only slight disappointment were the post-match celebrations - because there weren't any. We all had to disappear to play in the Gillette Cup for our counties the following day.

People always talk about the 1981 series but for me, it’s 1974/75 in Australia which really sticks in the mind. It was terrifying. They launched Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson at us, pre-helmets on some pretty lively pitches. It was pretty scary stuff in terms of the pace of bowling. I’ve seen many quicks over the years but I still think that Thomson, before he had his shoulder injury, was the quickest I’ve ever seen.

It was really just a case of trying to get a few runs before they got to you. The fast bowlers union went out of the window pretty quickly on that tour, it disappeared into the distance, although they didn’t bowl as many short deliveries at the tail-enders as the West Indies bowlers did.

It’s difficult to compare eras and batsmen played differently when they didn’t have helmets on. But although there were some very nasty injuries in terms of broken fingers and David Lloyd’s much-publicised blow in the nether-regions from Thommo, there weren’t too many serious injuries. It was certainly intimidating stuff though.

(Getty Images)

A lot of people said it was my fault that it (the Bumper War) started because we played on a green uneven pitch in Brisbane in the first Test of the series. I bowled plenty of short stuff at them and we bowled them out relatively cheaply (Willis took 4 for 56 as the Aussies were dismissed for 309). We didn’t quite realise just how consistently quick and accurate Dennis and Jeff were going to be. Perhaps I should have pitched it up a little bit more. Now I’m constantly telling bowlers to do just that from the commentary box.

The Aussies like to play their sport hard. You just have to cite Allan Border’s change from being all smiles in defeat in 1985 to being Mr Grumpy and winning four years later. I never understand why any professional sportsman would be effected by a sledge but I’m sure it will be spicy at times this summer. The England New Zealand series, though, was really the epitome of how cricket should be played. Both teams had a smile on their face, applauded one another’s successes and there wasn’t any ill-feeling at all. It was played in a great spirit, which is exactly how it should be.

Sky Sports will show every ball of the Ashes summer live from 8 July

Geoff Marsh, Australian opener, played in three Ashes series between 1986 and 1992

We arrived at Heathrow (in 1989) and were immediately labelled the worst Australian team ever to tour England. Our boys took that on board and it was mentioned at every team meeting and every training session. I think we went through the entire tour losing just once [Australia won the Test series 4-0] and that was early on, on a bad wicket at Worcester. We were a young side and we were really just trying to be the best that we could be. We had a great coach in Bobby Simpson and he worked that team harder than any team in the world - that’s why we knew we were going to be successful.

When we left England there was a real sense that we were a team going places. The likes of Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh had terrific tours and there were so many good performances from the young kids coming through. Allan Border led from the front in his first innings of the Test series at Headingley. He got 60 odd but it was really the manner in which he scored his runs that stood out. That set the tone for the whole tour and the guys just followed in his footsteps.

For every young Australian, to go on an Ashes tour is really special. It’s something you dream about as a kid and once you get your Baggy Green it’s the England series that you look forward to.

Celebrate: Mark Taylor and Geoff Marsh hail their ’89 Ashes stand of 329 (Getty Images)

My two sons (Shaun and Mitchell) are in England this summer. I said to them that every cricketer in Australia wants to go on that tour. To drive into Lords, to walk up those stairs and into that dressing room - that’s a special thing for any Australian. I hope they can get a game – if they can’t then they can hopefully still be part of a successful tour.

Simon Jones, England Ashes winner in 2005, now 36

It still feels fresh in the mind. My autobiography is coming out any time now and I was asked if I wanted to watch any of the 2005 series to remind myself of anything. I said I didn’t need to – I could remember it like it was yesterday.

That really just shows how great that series was and the kind of spirit it was played in. As a bowling group I think we really peaked at the same time. We had been together for a long time and we were all very comfortable with each other. We all knew each other’s games inside out.

As the series went on we really felt as though we were part of something special, the excitement was just building everywhere we went. There were people being locked out of cricket grounds. Unbelievable.

I remember the ball I bowled to Michael Clarke at Old Trafford. The crowd were a little bit quiet so I gave them a little bit of a gee-up. I stood at the top of my mark and as I was running in the crowd were screaming and shouting. I got the in-swinger perfectly on the right length and line and Clarkey just shouldered arms. I thought my head was going to pop if I’m honest. It was the best feeling I’ve ever had on the field.