Ian Botham, David Gower, Bob Willis, Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain recall Ashes highs

Every Ashes series brings its own highs and lows - as our Ashes Panel knows only too well!

David Gower, Sir Ian Botham, Bob Willis, Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain have reflected on their greatest achievements - or otherwise - against Australia...

David Gower

A lot of the highs in my career were to do with the Ashes. Leading England to victory in 1985 stands out, especially the final Test at The Oval which is one of my favourite matches of all time; everything went to plan from the toss. I added 351 with Graham Gooch before we bowled them out, enforced the follow-on and bowled them out again to seal the series 3-1 and let the champagne flow!

Being part of the side that won in Australia in 1986/87 was magic because we produced a cracking finish after a very poor start to the tour. Although it almost tends to be 'de rigueur', we were touted as the worst side to ever land in Australia. For a month we tried to prove it and lo and behold we managed to go on and win the Test series, as well as the B&H Perth Challenge and the World Series Cup.

So we weren't too bad after all! Everyone in the squad played their part, which was hugely satisfying. The first Test was the key to the series because after the start we had we were a slightly nervous dressing room, and I was part of that. But in the first Test at Brisbane things started to click into place. Beefy played one of his knocks again when he smacked it around the place on his way to 138. I remember Merv Hughes taking the second new ball and Beefy swatting him out of the ground in the same way that he had done to Lillee in 1981.

Bob Willis

It was a tough assignment, but certainly skippering England in the 1982/83 Ashes was a tremendous honour. The only drawback was that we were shorn of 15 of our best players due to the rebel tour of South Africa! After going 2-0 down we went into the last Test with a hope of drawing the series after an incredible finish to the Boxing Day Test when 'Goldenballs' Botham managed to induce an edge from Thommo with few runs to spare.

But 1981 tops that because it was such an extraordinary series. It quite rightly became known as Botham's Ashes and the memories, especially my 8-43 at Headingley, will stay with me forever. I was bowling for my Test match career. After losing the first Test and drawing the second we looked down and out at Leeds; if we'd lost there would have been wholesale changes. I managed to persuade Mike Brearley that I was too old to bowl up the hill at Headingley. I changed ends and the rest is history.

They were 56-1 chasing 130 to win. What was extraordinary was that you could feel the pressure going from our dressing room to theirs after we took two wickets just before lunch. People said I was in another world after that, in a cocoon of concentration; the modern cliché would be 'in the zone'.

I didn't want to be distracted by having to set the field or celebrating wickets. I just wanted to get back to my mark as fast as I could. Mike said 'don't worry if you overstep the line and bowl a few no-balls, just bowl as fast as you can', because the pitch was deteriorating and it was pretty unpleasant batting against a fast bowler on that surface.

Sir Ian Botham

Everyone always wants to talk about 1981, which is fair enough, but often I feel it's at the expense of the 1986/87 series which as far as tours go, was one of the most satisfying I have ever been on. The great thing ab