This English summer was much more than two teams playing Test cricket in the United Kingdom. World Champions Australia arrived with the Ashes Urn to challenge the hosts’ newly discovered formula of playing the game – ‘Bazball’. The likes of India and New Zealand already have had the taste of it and it was to be seen if the ‘Kangaroos’ could dodge it.
Birmingham hosted the first game and the opening day saw England’s unthinkable innings declaration at 393/8. Some called it a smart ploy while others termed it a stunt to woo the audience, some new phenomenon from the Bazball book of playing Test cricket. Whatever that was, the end result was an epic failure.
Joe Root’s unbeaten 118 was countered by a colossal Usman Khawaja century and a rapid fifty from Travis Head. The tiny first innings-lead gave high hopes to England which were again dashed by Pat Cummins who played a captain’s knock in the chase of 281 with just 2 wickets in hand.
Ben Stokes & Co couldn’t turn fortunes at Lord’s but finally, found respite in Leeds. The return of Mark Wood and Chris Woakes put England back on track with a 3-wicket win. And when they thought to draw level with Australia in Manchester, rain robbed them outright. Despite dominating the fourth Test from the word go, England were brought down to their knees, not by the arch-rivals but by the notorious weather.
Ashes 2023 Live Score ENG vs AUS 5th Test
The final day was washed out, the game ended in a draw and with an unassailable 2-1 lead, Australia retained the Ashes. Now, even if England win the final Test at The Oval, starting Thursday, the urn will travel back to the Australian shores.
So where did England lose? On June 16 when they made that gallant declaration? Or is it the collateral damage of the adrenaline-filled bazball? Well, different people have different theories.
One of them is former England captain Sir Alastair Cook who believes that not the declaration but an ‘unusual Australian way’ of playing the game kept England at bay for a couple of weeks.
Responding to a News18 Cricketnext query at a select media interaction arranged by Somy Sports Network, Cook said it was Australia’s tactic to tackle the English hype. The legendary former opener added if the visitors could win the Ashes 3-1, which would be their first since 2011, they can proudly toast their beers.
“I don’t put it down to that declaration. England were ahead pretty much all the way in that first Test. The opportunity missed was at the end. How many times would you back yourself as a side for 50 runs with 2 wickets left? Let’s say 9 times out of 10, to win that game.
“But ironically, that was the first and the only time in this series when Australia have been aggressive towards England. That Pat Cummins innings when Carey got out, he was suddenly on the front foot. He got a great reward for a great innings,” Cook said.
“Australia have been quite passive in this series, trying to sit back and force England to make mistakes. Which, I’d say, is an unusual Australian way. The proof of putting those tactics right will be better seen at The Oval. If they win the series 3-1, they can put down their beers aside and say, ‘We got that tactic right.’
“But it feels like England would have deserved 2-2. Probably, they dominated more days than Australia have,” the former English captain added.
‘The cricket we play best suits the individuals we have’
No matter how many times did England fail in their approach, Ben Stokes stood firm about not changing the mindset. The English captain believes that the so-called ‘bazball’ is their cup of tea and not necessary for other teams to have a sip from it.
“It’s not fair of me to say that’s how every team should be playing or thinking about it. Every team has their own way of operation, teams find a way that best suits the individuals they have in their team,” Stokes told reporters on the eve of the last Ashes Test.
“The cricket we play best suits the individuals we have in this team,” he added.
England show faith in Anderson
The hosts announced an unchanged playing XI for the fifth Ashes Test, hoping to end the series 2-2. The retention of James Anderson was a little surprise as the legendary speedster’s performance in this series hasn’t been paramount.
But Stokes believes Jimmy is the greatest and is looking as good as ever.
“James Anderson is the greatest fast bowler to play the game and he’s still looking as good as he was two years ago,” said Stokes at The Oval on Wednesday.
“Although he’s not had the impact or the wickets he would have liked to in this series, he’s a quality bowler and quality performer. To have nearly 700 Test wickets is phenomenal, and to be able to do it all around the world as well,” he added.
(Watch the LIVE coverage of The Ashes: England vs Australia 2023 5th Test on Sony Sports Ten 5 channels from 27th July to 31st July 2023 at 3:30 pm IST)
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