The Ashes is a famous and historic test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the longest-running and most prestigious rivalries in International Cricket. The series gets its name from a satirical obituary published in the English newspaper “The Sporting Times” in 1882 after Australia defeated England on English soil for the first time. The obituary stated that English cricket had died and “the body will be cremated, and the ashes taken to Australia”.

The contention that took place that year was the most entertaining and riveting like never before.

First Test: Pat Cummins plays a Captain’s knock

This one at Edgbaston, Birmingham, raised a lot of eyebrows after the surprising declaration by the England captain Ben Stokes in the first innings after they opted to bat. Australia fell short by 7 runs in their first innings to grant England a lead. The Englishmen couldn’t capitalize very much in their second innings and set the Aussies a target of 281 to chase in the final innings. Australia had a good start but in between lost their way for a while. It came to a point where people were mighty sure England would pocket this test. But, then came the surprise and Australia’s captain Pat Cummins played a crucial innings in the end to get his team over the line. The star performer of this test was Australia’s Usman Khawaja who was adjudged the Man of the Match. Nothing to take away though from Joe Root’s century in the first innings and a crucial 46 in the second.

Second Test: Stokes almost pulls of a heist

The match at the Lord’s Stadium, London, was all about Jonny Bairstow’s stumping conundrum and how Australia managed to escape the “Stokes’ scare”. England opted to bowl and got Australia all out for a mammoth 416 in the first innings. In reply, England could manage 325 leaving the Aussies a big lead of 91 runs. The Australians used that lead to the fullest and set the Englishmen a target of 371.

Amongst the top 5, Ben Duckett scored 83 but the others got out very early. Then, came Ben Stokes and played a blinder. His 155 is an inning that will be etched in the memories of the fans for a long time to come. Next, came an incident that will be debated for a long time. After a ball was bowled by Cameron Green, Bairstow left it and started walking towards his partner with no indication to the keeper Alex Carey or the slip cordon. So, Carey aimed a direct hit at the stumps and appealed to the umpire. Bairstow was found short of his crease and was declared out. This definitely did not go down well with the English fans but they couldn’t do anything except accept the situation and move on. Unfortunately, Stokes’ 155 couldn’t get the team over the line. Australia went 2-0 up in the series. Steve Smith was the Man of the Match for his century in the first innings.

Third Test: England back on the road to victory

The match at Headingley, Leeds was an important one from England’s point of view. They had to win this test to stay alive in the series. This match saw the return of Mark Wood and Chris Woakes to the side as well. Once again, England opted to bowl. The Baggy Greens folded for 263 that included a century from the all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and an excellent 5-fer by the English pacer Mark Wood. In reply, the Englishmen were all-out for 237 which included a crucial 80 from the captain Ben Stokes and a 6-fer by the Aussie captain and pacer Pat Cummins. This gave the Australians a lead of 26. They went on to bat and set England a score of 250. The final innings had its bit of ups and downs, especially with Mitchell Starc’s 5-fer but England managed to win the match. The duo of Mark Wood and Chris Woakes who made a return to the side won it for them. Mark Wood was adjudged the Man of the Match for 7 wickets and 40 runs in the match.

Fourth Test: Australia Retain the Ashes

This one at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, was the one that was also crucial for England. Rain played a spoil-sport in this match. As it happened before, England opted to bowl and got Australia all out for 317. In reply, England amassed 592 thanks to Zak Crawley’s 189 and handy contributions from Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow.

Australia had a huge task on their hands. They didn’t have a great start and the morning session was washed out. But, after resumption, Marcus Labuschagne’s 111 kind of got them back on track. Soon after he perished, a few other batsmen fell quickly. Next on the crease were Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green. During their batting, rain interrupted the game and the final session was washed out. The last day was completely washed out and so were England’s hope of winning the Ashes. The match ended in a draw. So, Australia retained the Ashes. Zak Crawley was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Fifth Test: England makes it 2-2! Stuart Broad bids goodbye

The final test of The Ashes ’23 in Kensington Oval, London had its moments along with the fans’ expectations from their own teams. The Australians wanted to win an Ashes series outside their home but England were determined to draw it. This time, Australia put England to bat first. The Englishmen folded for 283 with the highlight being Harry Brook’s 85 and handy contributions from Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood. The Aussie bowler Mitchell Starc managed to steal a 4-fer. The Aussies managed a meagre lead of 12 runs.

In reply, England batted with great intent, the highlight this time being Joe Root’s 91 and other handy contributions. Stuart Broad hit a sixer of his last ball in International Cricket. They set the Baggy Greens a target of 384. The Australians got off to a wonderful start with the 140-run partnership between the openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja. The duo played out Day 4 and went into stumps unscathed. At the end of the day, England’s, Stuart Broad, announced his retirement from international cricket, saying the ongoing test would be his last. The final day of the last test of the series finally saw a wicket fall. By that time, Australia were still in the contest. After the openers fell, Steve Smith and Travis Head continued to keep the scoreboard ticking. Once they also perished, the others fell pretty soon and Australia got all out within no time, resulting in England’s victory by 49 runs. Stuart Broad signed off in style by taking the last wicket of the match and his career as well. The Player of The Match and Series was Chris Woakes. From the Australians, The Player of The Series was Mitchell Starc.

All in all, it was an enthralling series to watch. Each match had its own share of fun and delight. The fans were surely treated to an electrifying series of test cricket!

Image source: The Cricket World