 England had enjoyed good form leading up to the series, with a 3–0 One Day International victory, and success in New Zealand; however, after winning convincingly in the first Test the host team struggled.Graham Thorpe and Nasser Hussain both scored over 400 runs for England, with Andrew Caddick the leading wicket-taker.This was the only Ashes series between 1987 and 2005 in which England won a match before Australia had already taken an unassailable lead in the series.