10 Defining Moments of the Ashes so Far

Despite a damp squib of an ending to the third Test, the 2013 Ashes has lived up to all the pre-series hype and expectation.

There has been enough drama, controversy, action and moments of athletic excellence to showcase why Test cricket is one of the world's greatest sporting spectacles.

England edged a nail-biting first Test at Trent Bridge before blitzing the Australians at Lord's to take an imposing 2-0 lead in the five-game series.

However, Michael Clarke's men fought back at Old Trafford and were unfortunate to be denied the chance of victory by some classic English summer conditions.

So, although the destination of the famous Ashes urn has been decided, there's still two more intense clashes remaining and plenty of psychological blows to be struck before England travel to Australia in the winter.

Let's take a look at the ten most memorable moments of the 2013 Ashes so far.

Agar Breaks Records in Blasting 98

It's fair to say not many people outside of Australia had heard of Ashton Agar when he walked out to bat in his first ever Test innings.

The Baggy Greens had stumbled to 117 for nine and the arrival of the gangly number eleven prompted many England supporters to make the familiar trip to the bar, thus avoiding the inevitable rush during the change of innings.

A couple of hours later and cricket had a new superstar as the debutant smashed 14 boundaries, including two sixes in a staggering innings of 98.

The fun was brought to an end when Graeme Swann managed a well-taken catch in the deep but Agar and Phillip Hughes, who made 81, had added 163 to bring their side back into the contest and record the highest-ever partnership for the tenth wicket in Test cricket.

Broad Refuses to Walk

England all-rounder Stuart Broad opened a can of worms when he failed to walk after blatantly edging a ball behind in the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.

After hitting the Nottinghamshire man's blade, the ball struck Brad Haddin and ballooned to first slip where Michael Clarke took a comfortable catch.

However, the Australians celebrations were cut short when umpire Aleem Dar amazingly didn't raise his finger and Broad refused to take the gentlemanly route and walk.

Unfortunately the simple solution of reviewing the incident through the DRS was unavailable due to the Baggy Greens having already used up their appeals.

Broad, on 37 at the time, added another 28 runs that turned out to be vital.

Bell's Vital Ton Underpins England Fightback

Australia sensed blood as Ian Bell came to the crease at Trent Bridge, with England in front by just 66 runs with seven second innings wickets remaining.

However, the man crudely dubbed 'The Sherminator' by Shane Warne produced the most important century of his career, to guide his side out of the woods, up the hill and into the five-star hotel with infinity pool.

Normally one of cricket's most aesthetically pleasing batsman, Bell limited his array of shots and produced an innings of patience and sensibility to score 109 runs off 267 balls.

The ton laid the backbone of a total that turned the whole game around and left Australia facing a daunting target of 311 to win.

Anderson's Masterly Spell

The classic Trent Bridge Test Match could have gone either way until a heroic display of bowling from Jimmy Anderson pushed England over the line.

In the morning session of the final day, Australia had moved on to 207 for six, just 104 short of their target, when Ashton Agar edged Anderson to Alastair Cook in the slips.

This was the first wicket of a marathon Flintoff-esque spell from the Lancastrian paceman who bowled with pace, skill and accuracy to also claim the scalps of Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc.

However, led by a dogged Brad Haddin innings, Australia edged to within 14 runs of their target in a palpable nerve shredding atmosphere that had the crowd and TV viewers on the edge of their seats.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and when Anderson had the stubborn Aussie wicket-keeper caught behind, albeit after a lengthy trial by DRS, Trent Bridge erupted like it was happy hour in Hooters.

Bell Tolls Again at Lords

The dust had barely settled at Trent Bridge before the two sides locked horns again at Lord's a few days later.

And it was that man Ian Bell who scored his third consecutive century in as many games against the Aussies to guide his team to a par first innings total of 361.

This innings was a little more fluid than his impressive knock at Nottingham but no less important.

When the diminutive stroke-maker came to the wicket, the Australians were in full flow and had reduced England to 28 for 3.

203 balls and 14 boundaries later, Bell was holding his bat aloft, England were breathing more comfortably and the honours board inscriber was preparing his tools.

Swann Gets the Honours at Lords

On and off the pitch, you can't keep Graeme Swann quiet, and the slow bowler delivered at Lord's to rip the heart out of Australia's first innings.

After adding a quickfire partnership of 48 in just seven overs with Stuart Broad to boost England's first innings total, Swann switched to his main discipline.

Aided by some careless batting he extracted sharp turn and bowled with his usual metronomic accuracy to pick up a five wickets and leave the Baggy Greens in big trouble and 223 runs behind.

It was the Nottinghamshire man's second 'Michelle' at headquarters after picking up five for 62 against Pakistan in 2010.

Root Cements Opening Spot

All queries about Joe Root's promotion to the top of the order were answered by the Yorkshireman during a sublime innings of 180 that left Australia facing an almost impossible challenge.

Despite witnessing a flurry of early dismissals from the safe end of the wicket, the baby-faced strokemaker progressed serenely to his maiden ton as an opener.

The marathon knock included 20 boundaries and occupied the crease for a few minutes short of eight hours leaving the Aussies an unlikely target of 583.

The youngster seems unfazed by pressure and already England's run records, currently under threat by Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen, could one day be within his reach.

Captain Clarke Leads Australia Fightback

At Old Trafford, Michael Clarke capitalised on winning the toss for the first time in the 2013 Ashes by scoring a magnificent 187.

By no means his most fluent innings, the 314-ball stay at the crease was the right-handers' 23rd career century.

The Australian captain has remained calm under intense pressure even stating that his side could still win the Ashes.

With his side needing victory in Manchester to have any chance of regaining the urn, a first innings total of 527 put Australia into a position of considerable strength for the first time since they bowled England out on the opening day at Trent Bridge.

Kevin Pietersen Strokes Measured Century

Normally the sight of Kevin Pietersen swaggering to the crease is a reassuring sight for England's fans, but with just 85 runs in the bank so far this series his form seemed to have deserted him.

But the sight of James Taylor circling like a vulture seems to have revived the unorthodox run machine who dominated the third day of the third Test by scoring 113.

His troublesome calf injury seemed to be forgotten as England's batting talisman played an innings that yielded 14 boundaries but at a slightly slower than usual strike-rate of 54.85.

To underline his value to this side, when he reached 80, Pietersen overtook Graham Gooch as England's leading run scorer across all-formats.

Rain Saves England in Manchester

When a potentially gripping final day of the third Test got underway at Old Trafford all three results were technically possible.

And with one eye on the weather forecast and having already endured a delayed start, the Aussies attacked like frenzied dogs, tearing into England's top order.

Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen fell quickly with the building pressure starting to make every delivery look like a hand-grenade.

England's players and fans began scanning the sky and praying for precipitation. Rumours that Tim Bresnan started doing a rain dance remain unproven.

Alas, much to the men from Down Under's disappointment, for once the meteorologists were correct. The heavens opened, the fans retired to the bars and the radio and TV commentators put their feet up as the archive footage was dusted off.

Michael Clarke's frustrated men sat in their dressing room knowing that their opponents had successfully retained the famous urn with two games still to be played.