1970–71 Ashes series

The 1970–71 Ashes series was the 45th edition of the long-standing cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 27 November 1970, the two sides ended up playing seven Tests; six were originally scheduled, but one extra Test was added to compensate for the abandoned Third Test.

Australia went into the series as the holders of the urn, having successfully defended it in 1968, drawing the series 2-all. However, they went into the 1970-71 series having suffered a demoralising 4-0 series defeat in South Africa. Meanwhile, England had gone undefeated in Test cricket since losing at Old Trafford in 1968. Ray Illingworth was appointed captain after the incumbent Colin Cowdrey had injured an Achilles early in 1969, and led England to series victories against West Indies and New Zealand during that English summer.

The Test matches were scheduled for five days with six hours play each day, with a rest day on the Monday, and overs were eight balls long. It formed part of the MCC tour of Australia in 1970–71 and the matches outside the Tests were played in the name of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Ray Illingworth's England team beat Bill Lawry's Australians 2–0 and regained the Ashes, the only full Test series in Australia in which the home team failed to win a Test. "The Momentous Series of 1970–71" was pivotal in cricket history and "essentially ushered in the modern period of Test cricket". It was the first Test series to have more than five Tests and the first One Day International in cricket history was played in Melbourne; like the first test match in history it was won by Australia.

Ray Illingworth's use of hostile, short-pitched fast-bowling by John Snow, Ken Shuttleworth, Bob Willis and Peter Lever heralded the dominance of fast bowling in the 1970s and 1980s, as did the decline of behaviour by players as the England team united under against ineffectual management, biased umpires, tabloid press and hostile crowds. Snow's 31 wickets (22.83) was the most by an England bowler in Australia since Harold Larwood, and has not been exceeded since. Geoff Boycott had his most prolific series with 657 runs (93.85), John Edrich made 648 runs (72.00), which kept him at the crease for a record 33 hours and 26 minutes, and Brian Luckhurst 455 runs (56.87). Together these three opening batsmen added 995 runs (90.45) for the first wicket with five century and three half-century opening stands.

Rod Marsh, Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Terry Jenner, Alan Thomson, Kerry O'Keeffe, Ross Duncan, Ken Eastwood and Tony Dell made their debuts for Australia and Bob Willis, Brian Luckhurst, Ken Shuttleworth and Peter Lever for England. It also saw the retirement of Bill Lawry and Garth McKenzie from the Australian team and Don Bradman after 35 years as a selector. The WACA Ground in Perth saw its inaugural Test match, the first new venue in an Ashes Test since the Brisbane Cricket Ground at Woolloongabba in 1928–29.