England beat Australia at The Oval: Ashes 2023 in numbers
England beat Australia in the 5th Test at The Oval as the five-Test Ashes 2023 ended with a 2-2 draw. The series saw many ebbs and flows for both teams, but there were some exceptional performances on display throughout the course. This Ashes series started on an incredible note, and the ending was as exciting as it gets. Here's more.
Khawaja finishes with most runs in Ashes 2023
Australian opener Usman Khawaja continued his purple patch since his comeback to Test cricket. The 36-year-old finished the 2023 Ashes series as the highest run-getter. He slammed 496 runs in five tests at an average of 49.60. The tally included fifties and a solitary ton in this series. His highest score of 141 came in Edgbaston where Australia won by two wickets.
Khawaja broke this Ashes record
Khawaja was exceptional at Edgbaston, having scored 206 runs combined in both innings. As per Bharath Seervi, he became the first Australian opener to score a century and a fifty in an Ashes Test in England in over 30 years. The last to achieve this was Mark Taylor who slammed 136 and 60 at Headingley in 1989. Khawaja batted five days of this Test.
Second-most runs scored by Australian opener in Ashes (this century)
Khawaja's record of 496 runs in this Ashes series puts him in the joint-second spot among Aussie openers in Ashes in this century. David Warner, with 523 runs in the 2013-14 Ashes is at the top. Matthew Hayden also scored 496 runs in 2002-03 Ashes.
First Englishman to scalp 150 Ashes wickets
Stuart Broad became the first Englishman to scalp 150 wickets during the fifth Test at the Oval. He dismissed Travis Head to complete 150 wickets. He is only behind the Australian duo of Shane Warne (195) and Glenn McGrath (157) in this elite list of Ashes wickets. Broad has scalped 153 wickets in 40 Ashes Tests at 28.96 (4W: 6, 5W: 8).
Starc finishes with 23 wickets
Mitchell Starc silenced his critics by scalping 23 wickets in the 2023 Ashes. The Australian pacer finished as the highest wicket-taker in this series. He has scalped 23 wickets in four Tests at 27.08 (4W: 2, 5W: 1). Broad was the only other bowler with 20-plus wickets in this Ashes series. Starc's solitary fifer (5/78) came at Headingley where England won the match.
Chris Woakes was named England's Player of the Series
Since his introduction in the Headingley Test, Chris Woakes has changed England's fortunes with his sensational swing bowling. He scalped 19 wickets in three Test matches at an average of 18.15. He provided England with more teeth in their bowling as he finished with seven wickets in the fifth Test. His crucial contribution of an unbeaten 32 also helped England win at Headingley.
