Second Test at Lord’s from June 28; Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon score an unbroken 55 for ninth wicket as Australia defeat England in the Edgbaston epic – 18 years after another Ashes classic on this ground. Lyon is dropped on two by Stokes after a tough one-handed chance is missed.
Australia beat England in Ashes: At a noisy and enchanted Edgbaston, Australia edged England by two wickets late on day five to win an iconic Ashes match. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon finished a thrilling 281-run chase.
An engrossing and twisting game, which started with Zak Crawley smoking Cummins for four on the first ball, continued to captivate throughout the rain-delayed fifth day. After 18 years since the 2005 epic on this ground, where England won by two runs, the game earned the fitting conclusion it deserved.
When Joe Root caught and bowled Alex Carey (20), leaving Australia 254-8, England appeared to be in position to win this year. This came shortly after captain Ben Stokes had put an end to Usman Khawaja’s tenacious fight after he followed his first innings tonne with 65 from 197 deliveries.
However, following a match that will go down in cricket lore, Cummins (44 not out) and Lyon (16 not out) scored an unbroken 55 as the tourists secured their greatest successful chase in an Ashes match since 1948.
Lyon was dropped on two by the home captain at square leg, as he couldn’t hold onto what would have been a staggering one-handed grab. Later, the visiting captain secured the victory by hitting a winning four, slicing the ball away while Harry Brook sent it over boundary at deep third.
The decision to declare on 393-8 on day one, made by Stokes, will face questioning, but it could potentially be praised as it ensured an incredible start to a series that has the potential to be one of the best ever.
After dinner on day five, with Australia 209-6, Stokes entered the game for his first innings session. He struck in his second over, bowling Khawaja with a leg cutter off an inside edge.
Captain’s Decision Pays Off as Australia Seizes Victory in Final Overs
The captain’s decision to wait to use the second new ball paid off, as spinner Root quickly caught Carey after dropping him. Cummins, however, followed up by hitting the old Dukes twice for sixes in Root’s subsequent over, and Australia’s required run rate was soon under 30.
With Australia 254-8, Stokes introduced the new ball, and Lyon immediately hammered it past mid-off for four off Stuart Broad. Cummins then picked up a boundary off Ollie Robinson through extra cover after Zak Crawley’s blunder on the rope.
After a string of singles and dots, Australia’s confidence increased when Lyon expertly chipped Broad over mid-on for another four. Cummins then collected the game-winning four.
Electrifying finish after a dreary beginning at Edgbaston
Heavy rain caused the postponement of Tuesday’s morning session, and Australia, the Ashes-holders, resumed their innings with a score of 107-3 and a required target of 174 runs at 2:15 p.m.
The Edgbaston Test continued to seesaw, much as it had in 2005 when Australia pursued an uncannily similar target of 282. The rainy start was replaced with a white-hot afternoon.
This time, Australia won, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series, which will resume at Lord’s on Wednesday, June 28.
Australia fell from 61-0 to 89-3 as a result of Broad’s dismissals of Marnus Labuschagne (13) and Steve Smith (6) late on day four, after Robinson had nicked off Broad’s former adversary David Warner (36).
On Monday afternoon, when the players finally entered the pitch, the crowd’s roar was equally audible; they were hoping for a spectacular conclusion to this box office Test and got it.
Close fielders surrounded nightwatchman Scott Boland, but he managed to survive the first 30 minutes before he nicked a full ball from Broad to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, resulting in his dismissal. Boland had experienced a bouncer earlier, which might have influenced his expectations.
Khawaja was either unable to get going against tight bowling or content to plod along, sensing runs might be easier to come by against Moeen Ali later in the innings. Broad’s third strike of the innings had a similar effect to his first two, causing the England supporters to erupt, but there was no eruption from Khawaja.
Intense Battles and Adrenaline-Fueled Swings Shape Riveting Cricket Encounter
Australia scored only 21 runs in the first hour with no off-the-bat boundaries, while Travis Head (16 off 24) also got off to a poor start, struggling to thread the ball through the tightly packed pitch on the off-side.
After a few beers, Head welcomed Moeen’s arrival by hitting two fours, including one off a first-ball long hop. However, Head left the game in the next over after clipping a peach of a delivery that spun and bounced to slip. Root made the catch, and the England fans sang Moeen’s name proudly and loudly.
Two days after bowling Khawaja for 141 and giving him an expletive-filled send-off, Robinson and Khawaja got into a heated argument during the riveting cricket match. The argument occurred during the afternoon drink break, which only served to heighten the intensity.
Even though Moeen bowled some dreadful deliveries while nursing a burned index finger on his bowling hand, Khawaja (143 balls) and Cameron Green (28) were unable to advance the score.
Before the game swung in favour of the hosts early in the fourth session when Green inside-edged the jubilant Robinson onto his stumps, making it 192-6, Australia was 183-5 at tea and may have had the upper hand.
As soon as Stokes entered the game for his first stint of the innings, the match received another adrenaline boost, and it continued to be enthralling from that point on.