England
Zak Crawley The shot with which he started the match was hardly bettered all game, and was the start of a fine innings. Unlucky to then be batting in those few wild second-innings minutes. 7
Ben Duckett Nicked off twice, to a notably poor shot in the first innings. Never leaving the ball is a jolly jape, but there’s a time and a place ... 5
Ollie Pope Fell to one good delivery and one superb one: a batter can’t really be blamed sometimes. Hours of selfless service at short leg. 6
Joe Root Stumped for the first time in his Test career, but 164 runs for once out, those awe-inspiring reverse scoops and an excellent effort with the ball on the final day made for an outstanding performance. 9
Harry Brook Batted well in both innings, was extraordinarily unlucky with his freak dismissal in the first and fell to an outstanding catch in the second. Moderate numbers, but very promising signs for the series ahead. 8
Ben Stokes The vibes. The declaration. The umbrella fields. Bowling when knackered and still dismissing Khawaja. Take the result out of it, he made this game great. His team did lose, mind. 8
Jonny Bairstow Batted well, in the first innings particularly, but made crucial errors behind the stumps to keep the wicketkeeping debate rumbling. 5
Moeen Ali Ended the match with 37 runs, three wickets and a hole in his finger. His return was not as painful to watch as it was to play but it wasn’t an overwhelming success either. 5
Stuart Broad Has a supernatural ability to manufacture drama, and but for the excess of no-balls both bowling and crowd-rousing have been on point. 8
Ollie Robinson Took key wickets at crucial moments, bowled with great discipline and batted with impressive control (until he biffed one to long-on). 8
Jimmy Anderson The least impressive of England’s three seamers, at times he looked like he was not having much fun. Strangely subdued on Monday evening, but Anderson bowled well on the final day. 6
Australia
Usman Khawaja The opener didn’t necessarily get the pulse – or the scoreboard – racing but he was almost impeccable with the bat in both innings. 9
David Warner Not a great start to the series for Warner, who was dismissed by Broad for the 15th time in his career in the first innings, but his partnership with Khawaja was the largest in either side’s second knock. 6
Marnus Labuschagne An excellent catch to dismiss Brook in the second innings, but the world’s best Test batter barely contributed with the bat for Australia. 5
Steve Smith Of the matches in which Smith has been dismissed twice, this was his ninth worst in terms of total run contribution (five of the bottom eight were also in England). 5
Travis Head Several fielding errors on the first day made him the target of the Hollies Stand, which he dealt with with humour. Half-century in the first innings. 6
Cameron Green Produced another miracle catch for the highlights reel, but bowled only eight overs and with the bat got two starts without going big. 6
Alex Carey Kept wicket superbly, sometimes standing up to the seamers, and continued his recent good form with the bat. Looks a huge asset to his side. 7
Pat Cummins Some very conservative fields, but bowled superbly in England’s second innings – that ball to Pope is almost worth a 10 on its own – and led the way in an incredible run chase. 9
Nathan Lyon A craftsman, Lyon bowled beautifully and handled that late‑overs pressure as coolly as he had five days of Edgbaston banter. “To be honest I absolutely love the crowd,” he said. 8
Scott Boland With just two wickets, Boland did not have the impact anticipated when he was chosen ahead of Mitchell Starc, though he was a fine nightwatchman in the second innings. 5
Josh Hazlewood A low‑key performance on his return to the Australia side, taking three wickets and batting only once in the match. 6
• This article was amended on 21 June 2023. Moeen Ali ended the match with 37 runs and three wickets, not 39 runs and two wickets as an earlier version said.
