The Nineties and early 2000s were a period of utter dominance for Australia, who rattled off eight Ashes series in succession. With giants of the game like Mark Taylor, Merv Hughes, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting and Steve and Mark Waugh coming to the fore, the Aussies developed an aura of invincibility.

Home or away, it didn’t matter. Australia picked four wins Down Under and four in Blighty. Overall, between 1989 and 2005 they won 28 of 43 Ashes fixtures against England, drawing eight and losing just seven.

Here is the story of England’s seven bright spots amid a prolonged storm of grey.

Atherton’s England break their duck

6th Test, The Oval, 19-23 August 1993 – England won by 161 runs

England had absolutely nothing to lose by the sixth Test of the 1993 Ashes, because everything had already gone wrong.

Australia held a 4-0 lead. Graham Gooch had resigned the captaincy after losing the fourth Test and chairman of selectors Ted Dexter was stepping down too. To somehow make matters worse, Graham Thorpe broke a finger in the nets an hour before the toss.

Martin Bicknell had pulled out a day before the Test through injury. Angus Fraser had only played a few games prior after a hip injury which had sidelined the fast bowler for over two years.

It’s fair to say that Michael Atherton, at just 25 years old, could hardly have assumed the England captaincy in less auspicious circumstances.

Atherton won the toss and elected to bat first on a quick-looking wicket at The Oval. It proved a good decision, as Atherton himself (50), Gooch (56), Graeme Hick (80) and Alec Stewart (76) all made substantial scores as England posted 380 in the first innings.

So far so good. Now England’s bowling attack had to produce. Fraser, back in the side for the first time in 31 months, was joined by Devon Malcolm and Steve Watkin, the leading wicket-taker in county cricket that year.

The three seamers blended perfectly, reducing Australia to 196-8 on the second afternoon. Ian Healy’s unbeaten 83 helped the away side avoid the follow-on, but they finished on 303 to give England a handy 77-run first-innings lead.

Australia declared on 176-4 after a run-a-ball 72 from Ponting to leave the hosts a target of 315. Even to the most rose-tinted of England supporters it looked improbable, given what had come before.

When Atherton and Marcus Trescothick fell to leave England 33-2 it appeared nigh-on impossible. But Butcher had other ideas, compiling a belligerent and brilliant unbeaten 173 alongside captain Hussain (55) and Ramprakash (32) to get them home for the loss of four wickets in just 73.2 overs.

Vaughan prevents a whitewash Down Under

5th Test, Sydney Cricket Ground, 2-6 January 2003 – England won by 225 runs

Picture the scene: England are 4-0 down coming into the final Test in Sydney. They’ve been beaten by a margin of 384 runs, an innings and 51 runs, an innings and 48 runs and five wickets. It hasn’t been a fair fight. They are battered and bruised and likely looking forward to flying home.

England won the toss and chose to bat first. Butcher made 124, Hussain 75 as they posted a respectable but not daunting score of 362. Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist then scored centuries of their own, but Australia only managed 363. It was game on; England just needed a big second-innings total.

That’s where Vaughan came in. Despite getting a duck in the first innings, the England opener was in fine form and he showed it, scoring a fantastic 183 in over six and a half hours at the crease, and allowing Hussain to declare on 492-9 and set 452 for victory.

Caddick ensured they got nowhere close to that, taking 7-94 to bowl the Aussies out for 226 and finish the series with a flourish.