A Hollywood screenwriter probably couldn’t come up with a better ending. Stuart Broad had the England fans celebrating for the last time when he got out Todd Murphy and Alex Carey.
These were the last two wickets to fall at the Oval and the Englishmen won the match by 49 runs to secure a tied series result at 2-all.
However, Pat Cummins’ team did enough to ensure that the Ashes Memorial Trophy remains in Aussie hands.
“I have played a lot of cricket with Broady and he is an incredible player. It feels like he was destined to take the last few wickets,” said Ben Stokes.
What a way to bow out….@StuartBroad8 delivering in an Ashes series AGAIN! ????
What a player???? #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/ugM9oSt0xw
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 31, 2023
The England captain is proud of his players’ fighting spirit – it is not in any team’s pants to make up for a 2-0 deficit.
“Like I told Pat; test cricket needed this series. After all, Test cricket is the purest version of the game and it is very difficult to lose your passion for red-ball cricket.”
Chris Woakes was named England’s player of the series after he scored 79 runs and took 19 wickets.
Mitchell Starc was Australia’s best player with his 23 wickets.
- Summary of the scorecard:
England 283/10 in 54.4 overs: Harry Brook 85, Ben Duckett 41 and Mitchell Starc 4/82.
Australia 295/10 in 103.1 overs: Steve Smith 71, Usman Khawaja 47 and Chris Woakes 3/61.
England 395/10 in 81.5 overs: Joe Root 91, Jonny Bairstow 78 and Mitchell Starc 4/100.
Australia 334/10 in 94.4 overs: Usman Khawaja 72, David Warner 60 and Chris Woakes 4/50.
