Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.
Venue - Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham [June 2023].
In the summer of 2023, Australian Cricket Team toured England to defend their Ashes title. Prior to this Series, Australia defeated India to lift their maiden ICC Test Championship Mace, whereas the English thrashed their neighbor Ireland at Lords. Furthermore over the last one year, England have been blowing away every cricket team coming their way. The credit for the same goes to their dynamic Captain Ben Stokes and Coach Brendon McCullum. Their Baz Ball style of play has taken the cricketing world by storm. On the other hand, the Aussie Bowlers have slayed every batting line-up of the world. As a result everyone was expecting a strong contest between the two arch rivals and powerhouses of the game.
On a batting friendly wicket, English Captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat first. And Boy! What a start we had to the game. Opener Zak Crawley smashed the first ball of the game for a boundary. Pat Cummins was shocked to see that. The crowd was up and roaring. The momentum was set. The Ashes had begun. It is interesting to note that the Hosts continued their attack throughout the day, whereas the Aussies too kept on picking up wickets at regular interval. It was a classic encounter between the bat and the ball. Riding upon Joe Root's brilliant 118*, England declared at a score of 393/8. In response the Aussies scored 386 in their first innings. Usman Khwaja scored a solid 141 from 321 deliveries and took his team closer to the English total. Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson were the leading wicket takers for the English as both of them picked up 3 wickets each.
England started their second innings seeking to increase their slim lead and got as far as 26/0 in 6.5 overs before play was interrupted by rain. However post rain, the Aussies started strong as both the English openers, Duckett and Crawley, fell to Cummins and Boland, in the space of just four deliveries. The visitors were on a roll, but the English were lucky as the rain stopped the play again.
On Day 4, England started their innings at 28/2, however in the 17th over, Cummins dismissed Pope for 14. It was indeed one of the finest deliveries of the game. Four runs shy of a half-century, Root (46) was stumped by Carey off Lyon as Harry Brook turned the attack to Australia. In the 34th over, Brook too was dismissed for 46, once more off the bowling of spinner Lyon. Bairstow was called out LBW by umpire Erasmus in the final over before the lunch break, but the call was reversed after a review because the ball missed the leg stump. England led by 162 runs at lunch of Day 4.
After lunch, Bairstow (20) was dismissed cheaply by Lyon, and three over later, Stokes too was dismissed by Cummins for 43. In the 55th over, England lost their eighth wicket when Ali (19) gloved to Carey off Hazlewood. Robinson was then dismissed by Lyon for 27 and the very next ball, James Anderson reverse-swept Lyon for four. Baz Ball Cricket at its very best. However the last wicket fell soon as Anderson was taken by Cummins for a score of 12, leaving England 273 all out and giving Australia a 281-runs target to win the first Test.
Khawaja hit two straight fours to start Australia's chase in the first over. The first victim, Warner (36), was caught behind by Robinson in the 18th over. Four overs later, Labuschagne was out for 13, capping an underwhelming Test by his standards. After another four overs, Smith was caught behind by Broad for just six runs, sending nightwatchman Scott Boland to the crease. With three more cricket sessions to go and Australia needing 174 runs to win, Boland and Khawaja managed to survive till the end of play.
Due to bad weather, the play on last day did not start until 2:15pm. In the eighth over of the day, Australia lost their fourth wicket when Boland (20) was caught behind by Broad. After Ali had Head caught by Root in the 45th over, Australia had just five wickets left and were still 138 runs behind the target. Khawaja and Cameron Green led Australian attack to tea on 183/5, needing 98 more runs to win the test.
Following tea, Robinson struck out Green for 28, and then Stokes removed Khawaja for 65, bringing Captain Cummins to the crease. When the new ball was available, England opted not to use it, and they were rewarded as Alex Carey was caught and bowled by Root. With only two wickets left, Australia still needed 54 runs to win. It seamed England had the game. But, this is when Captain Cummins stepped up. He along with Nathan Lyon batted sensibly and took their team to a famous test win at the English Fortress of Birmingham. No one expected that Aussies can win the game after Carey's dismissal. But, this is Ashes Cricket. An arena wherein the impossible happens. It is where the players become legend and a game of cricket turns into a folklore.
To watch the highlights of this test, click on the URLs below-
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