On 2005-09-13 09:20, kenetiks wrote:
You people are strange inded

Thousands cram London to bask in glow of Ashes triumph

Thousands of jubilant English cricket fans have flocked into London to hail the players who wrested the sport's biggest prize, the Ashes, back from traditional foes Australia.

From dawn, when some of the England players were still celebrating in the bar upstairs, supporters gathered outside the team hotel, keen to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

Tens of thousands of people were expected to flood out of offices to cheer the team on an open-topped bus as it drove through the centre of the city towards a celebration rally in Trafalgar Square.

England's 2-1 victory in the hugely dramatic five-match series - clinched with a draw in the final Test which ended on Monday, has revived interest in the sport, which has lost out in recent years to the popularity of football.

The triumph sent waves of euphoria across the country with millions of fans, many of whom stopped work to watch the last few overs, jumping and whooping in delight, singing in the streets and piling into bars to toast the moment.

Flag-waving fans clambered onto rooftops and hung out of windows to join in celebrations that lasted long into the night, while a jubilant 23,000-strong crowd at The Oval cricket ground in London, where the last Test was played, flooded into the streets.

The jubilant faces of captain Michael Vaughan, winning batsman Kevin Pietersen and all-rounder Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff, were plastered all over Tuesday's newspapers, which revelled in one of the finest Ashes series on record.

Ahead of the parade, Queen Elizabeth II hailed the team for their "magnificent achievement", while Prime Minister Tony Blair said the dramatic seven-and-a-half week battle with the Australian side "lit up the whole summer".

The upsurge in interest in cricket means England stars such as player of the series Flintoff and Pietersen are likely to make millions from endorsements and advertising.

Tuesday's victory parade promised to be yet another distraction from work.

The champion cricketers were due to board the bus along with members of the England women's cricket team - who won their own Ashes against Australia last month, at Mansion House, central London.

After the celebration in Trafalgar Square, the players were scheduled to head to Lord's, the north London home of English cricket, where the original Ashes trophy is kept because it is too fragile to move.

On 2005-09-13 08:57, BackSlash *Jack* wrote:
You own nowt now

Rugby + Cricket = England!

Now we just need the Football worldcup...