Australia drew first blood in the 2023 Ashes as Pat Cummins led his side to a heart-pounding victory over England at Edgbaston.
The first Test of the series swung backwards and forwards for the full five days, before the tourists finally secured a two-wicket win at 7.20pm on day five – 80 minutes after the scheduled close.
Captain Cummins played the decisive hand, hitting an unbeaten 44 in a ninth-wicket stand of 55 with Nathan Lyon. Watching Australia chase down 281 was a gut-wrenching result for an England team that had been responsible for making a result possible in the first place.
A frustratingly placid pitch and two rain-shortened days meant a draw should have been the likeliest outcome, but their rapid rate of scoring – 5.03 an over in the first innings and 4.11 in the second – moved the game forward at pace. Ben Stokes’ audacious declaration to set up the game had a similar effect.
Stokes looked to have set up an England triumph when he defied his long-standing knee injury to remove player-of-the-match Usman Khawaja for 65, but in the end they could not finish the job and will head to Lord’s down 1-0 with four to play.
Selection gamble leaves England in a spin
When England persuaded Moeen Ali to come out of retirement after almost two years as a white-ball specialist, they knew it was a roll of the dice. In the end the gamble cost them during a tense finale as the all-rounder was unable to play a full role due to a painful open blister on his right index finger. He was able to contribute just seven overs at a time when he should have been a key weapon, with Joe Root’s part-time off-breaks accounting for 15. Moeen did manage to dismiss Travis Head, but he was also the team’s most expensive bowler and was a bystander at the business end. Will England double down in the second Test or send for back-up?
Half-chances add to England’s missed opportunities
Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow faced criticism for his glovework earlier in the match, with four possible chances getting past him. But England saw another couple of fiendishly difficult openings go begging off Australia’s match-winning duo. Root got a hand to a low return catch while Cummins was still in single figures, but could only parry it, while Stokes came desperately close to a sensational take in the deep as Lyon hit out. He leapt into the air and plucked the ball out of the sky, but could not keep it under control as he came crashing to the ground. Had either of those fiendishly hard chances stuck, England would surely have been celebrating at the close.
Australia’s best ever Ashes chases
- 404/3 - Headingley, 1948
- 315/6 - Adelaide, 1902
- 287/5 - Melbourne, 1929
- 282/8 - Edgbaston, 2023
- 276/4 - Sydney, 1898
Big number
View from the dressing room
Losing sucks. But even if we're on the wrong end of the result here, we proved we can go toe-to-toe throughout the whole game against Australia.— Ben Stokes felt the sting of defeat but saw plenty of positives from England's performance.
It's been a tough few months. Dad was here in 2019 with Mum, so having him here was really special. I went with him to see Bruce Springsteen (at Villa Park) on the first night as well.It's been a good week.'— Pat Cummins, whose mother died earlier this year, spent some quality time with father Peter in Birmingham.
What comes next
While the dust settles on a thrilling week, things are only beginning to get going in the women’s Ashes. Attention moves quickly from West Midlands to East Midlands, with the one-off Test between Heather Knight’s England and Alyssa Healy’s Australia starting in Nottingham on Thursday. For the men’s squads there is time for a few days off before renewing hostilities at Lord’s next Wednesday.
