Geraint Jones has revealed how he battled back from one of the toughest weeks of his England career to take the crucial catch which silenced a vocal band of critics among the Edgbaston crowd.
The England wicketkeeper bore the brunt of the criticism in the immediate aftermath of the opening Test defeat at Lord's after missing two regulation catches to aid Australia's progress to a convincing 239-run triumph.
Leading former players, including ex-Australian captain Allan Border, suggested Jones should come under serious scrutiny for his place but he battled back superbly at Edgbaston to take the crucial final catch which secured a nail-biting two-run victory in front of a tense capacity crowd.
That leg-side catch, taken after Michael Kasprowicz had gloved a short delivery from Steve Harmison, sparked frenzied celebrations in the stand and on the pitch where England celebrated the closest victory in Ashes history.
Jones, taunted throughout the game by a group of Australian supporters who questioned his upbringing in Brisbane, immediately raised his gloves in triumph and gestured in their direction.
"I'd been getting a bit of stick off the Aussie supporters behind me all day and it was nice to get that crucial catch," he explained.
"It was probably the most important catch of my career so far and I think the emotions were running a bit wild.
"I think I got a bit carried away and pointed towards them when we won. I think a few bleeps might be required if it's ever played back on television!"
That uncharacteristic show of feeling at the end of an emotional-rollercoaster of a morning session gave some indication of the pressure Jones had been put under since his Lord's errors.
Despite public shows of support from coach Duncan Fletcher and several teammates in the lead-up to the Edgbaston Test, Jones was well aware he needed to produce a much better performance behind the stumps if he was to end the doubts over his ability to perform at the highest level.
He disappeared into the safe environment of friends and family and in particular relied on the support of his fianc>e Jen and rejoined the squad in Birmingham absolutely determined to put on a better show.
"I got my share of criticism after Lord's, but it's something I have to take," he conceded, after being named in an unchanged squad for Thursday's Third Test.
"I was very thankful I was at home during the break in the Tests because I spent a bit of time by myself out on the golf course just relaxing, just chilling out and getting away from all that.
"I think that time away was pretty vital leading into this Test. The support of friends and my family was also very important, especially Jen who was very supportive. It was great they were there to see the win at Edgbaston and be able to go over to them in the crowd after we'd won.
"I was really disappointed with my performance at Lord's after putting down a couple of catches and I wanted to come back and do well at Edgbaston.
"I took a couple of good catches here when Ashley Giles was bowling in the first innings and the winning catch, so hopefully it's going a bit of the way towards showing what I'm about."
