London: The entire Ashes-winning England cricket team was honoured in Britain’s new year honour list on Saturday.

England captain Michael Vaughan, Coach Duncan Fletcher, and chairman of selectors David Graveney were all awarded OBEs.

The rest of the squad, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick, receive MBEs.

The last England team to win the Ashes, David Gower’s 1985 side, did not receive such instant acclaim from the honours committees.

Eventually Gower, in 1992, Graham Gooch (1991), Mike Gatting (1987) and Ian Botham (1992), were all awarded OBEs. Others, including Allan Lamb, John Emburey and Phil Edmonds, went unrecognised.

Of Ray Illingworth’s Ashes winning 1971 side, awards went to Illingworth (CBE, 1973), John Edrich (MBE, 1977), Geoffrey Boycott (OBE, 1981), Keith Fletcher (OBE, 1985), Derek Underwood (MBE, 1981) and Bob Willis (MBE, 1982).

Colin Cowdrey, who died in 2004, was appointed CBE in 1972, knighted in 1992 and became the first man raised to the peerage for services to cricket in 1997.

However, Andrew Flintoff spoke of his “shock at being awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) medal.

For the Lancashire allrounder it was just the latest award in 2005 which also saw him crowned the BBC’s sports personality of the year, Man of-the-Ashes Series, domestic and international Player of the Year.

“It is something of a shock, to be honest. Both my family and myself are very proud to have won it,” Flintoff said.