England win 5th Test to save series; Australia retain urn
England beat Australia in the 5th and final Ashes Test at the Kennington Oval. Although the visitors were 140/0 while chasing 384, England took all 10 wickets on Day 5 to emerge triumphant. David Warner, Usman Khawaja, and Steven Smith scored fifties, but Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali powered England's win. While the five-Test series ends in a draw (2-2), Australia retain the urn.
How did the match pan out?
England racked up 283 after being put to bat. Mitchell Starc took four wickets. Australia took a 12-run lead after being bundled out for 295. Fifties from Zak Crawley, Joe Root, and Jonny Bairstow helped England post 395. Starc and Todd Murphy shared eight wickets. Although Warner, Khawaja, and Smith fared well, Australia perished for 334. Woakes and Moeen took seven wickets combined.
A record opening stand for Australia
England resumed day four on 389/9 before folding for 395. Australian openers Khawaja and Warner were watchful and poised. The duo added 140 runs, now the third-highest opening partnership for Australia in men's Ashes in England this century. The top two spots are held by Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden (185 and 158). Khawaja and Warner went past Warner and Chris Rogers's stand (114).
Warner attains these feats
Warner, who slammed a 106-ball 60 in his final Ashes innings, has now been involved in eight 100-run opening partnerships in the Ashes. The Australian opener broke Jack Hobbs's record (24) of being involved in the most 100-run opening partnerships in Tests.
Khawaja, the highest run-getter, completes 5,000 Test runs
Khawaja played another magnificent knock, having smashed a 145-ball 72. Khawaja racked up 496 runs from five Tests at an average of 49.60 in Ashes 2023. He finished the series as the highest run-scorer. During the innings, he also completed 5,000 runs in Test cricket. Khawaja, who made his Test debut against England in 2011, has 15 hundreds and 24 fifties in Test cricket.
Stuart Broad bows out!
After announcing his retirement from the game at the close of Day 3, Stuart Broad was given a guard of honor by the Australia players when he came out to bat. He ended his batting show with a six of Mitchell Starc before being dismissed by Murphy. Broad finished with 3,662 runs in Tests at 18.03. Versus Australia, he ended with 1,019 runs.
First Englishman to complete 150 Ashes wickets
During the Test, Broad became the first Englishman to complete 150 wickets in the Ashes. Overall, he became just the third bowler to attain this feat, joining the Australian duo of Shane Warne (195), and Glenn McGrath (157). In the preceding clash, Broad became the second pacer after his team-mate Anderson to complete 600 wickets in the ultimate format.
138th appearance of Broad and Anderson together
The Oval Test marked the 138th appearance of Broad and James Anderson together in the format. They broke the record of South Africa's Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher (137 Tests together). The English fast-bowling duo is only behind India's Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who played 146 Tests in tandem. Notably, Broad and Anderson are the only pacers with 600 Test wickets.
Alex Carey enters this list
As per Cricbuzz, Carey has become the sixth Australian wicket-keeper to have registered 25-plus dismissals in an Ashes series. While Ian Healy (1993, 1994/95, 1997) and Adam Gilchrist (2001, 2002/03, 2006/07) got to this mark multiple times, Rod Marsh (1982/83), Brad Haddin (2013), and Paine (2017/18) did it once. Carey registered 21 catches and five stumpings in the 2023 series.
Starc takes eight; most wickets in Ashes 2023
Starc took a total of eight wickets in the 5th Test, recording four-fers in both innings (4/82 and 4/100). As a result, Starc finished the series as the leading wicket-taker. He snapped up 23 wickets from four matches at an average of 27.09. Notably, the left-arm seamer was dropped for the series opener. Broad follows Starc with 20 wickets.
Twin fifties for Smith
Smith slammed twin fifties at the Oval (71 and 54). His 54-run knock in the second innings helped Australia stay alive in the run-chase. The middle-order batter shared a 95-run stand with Travis Head before Australia suffered a batting collapse. It was Smith's 39th half-century in Test cricket. As many as nine of these scores have come in England.
Smith surpasses Steve Waugh
Smith has now registered 25 scores of 50+ runs in men's Ashes Tests, the third-highest an Australian batter. He surpassed former captain Steve Waugh, who recorded 24 such scores. Legends Sir Donald Bradman (31) and Allan Border (29) own the top two spots, respectively.
Career-best figures for Muprhy
Australia's Murphy had a decent outing with the ball in the second innings. Although he went for runs, the spinner scalped crucial wickets and finished with 4/110 on Day 4. These are now his best figures in Test cricket. Notably, Murphy recorded the second-best bowling figures by a spinner in Ashes 2023, only behind Nathan Lyon (4/80, 1st Test).
Crawley enters record books
England opener Crawley smacked the first ball of Ashes 2023 to the boundary. He did the same on the first ball of the series' final innings and hammered a quickfire 73(76). Crawley finished as England's highest run-scorer of the series (480 at 53.33). He has the most runs by an England opener in an Ashes series since Alastair Cook (766 runs in 2010/11).
Here are the key battles
Bairstow scored a fiery half-century in England's second innings, having scored 78 off 103 balls. Starc brought an end to his innings. The left-arm pacer has now dismissed him 12 times in Test cricket. On the other hand, Woakes dismissed Warner in both innings at the Oval. The England seamer got rid of Warner for the sixth time in the format.
