England’s bid to regain the Ashes is over as a drawn fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford meant Australia kept hold of their 2-1 lead and the urn.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the reasons why England came up short in their bid to claim the urn for the first time since 2015.
Leach ruled out
Trusted spinner Jack Leach has had terrible luck with injuries and illness in his career but a stress fracture in his lower back a couple of weeks before the series began was a particularly cruel blow. Up until that point, Leach had been an ever-present in the ‘Bazball’ era, taking three five-fors and a 10-wicket match haul in 13 Tests, emboldened by Ben Stokes’ more attacking leadership. Leach being ruled out – and a dearth of county spinners – meant England had to hastily revisit their plans for Australia.
Declaration on the opening day
England had Edgbaston rocking and Australia on the ropes, with Joe Root starting to unleash his full repertoire after reaching his century, but Stokes wanted a crack at the opposition before stumps. He called Root and Ollie Robinson in with England on 393 for eight, coughing up the chance of going well past 400 for four overs at David Warner and Usman Khawaja, both of whom survived until stumps. Even though England eked out a slender first-innings lead, the tense climax that later unfolded meant England really could have done with the extra runs to put Australia under the pump.
Dropped catches
Fielding has been England’s weak link, with questions over Jonny Bairstow’s return as wicketkeeper just 10 months after a horrific broken leg increasing with every missed chance – eight in total. In Birmingham, his fluffed stumping of Cameron Green and drop of Alex Carey cost England 78 runs, although the hosts were profligate in general. Root and Stokes were unable to hold on to tough chances off Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon respectively, the fine margins that proved the difference in Australia’s win.
Moeen’s finger
Leach’s absence led to Stokes sending out an SOS to the more mercurial Moeen Ali, who reversed his Test retirement. He has returned just six wickets at an average of 64.5 and been outshone by part-timer Joe Root at times. This was evident in the opener in Moeen’s first Test in nearly two years, where the increased workload caused a blister on his spinning finger that then burst, impinging his ability to land the ball in the right areas. He was unreliable in Australia’s run-chase, sending down 14 overs, one fewer than Root, who was much more dangerous only for Cummins and Lyon to get Australia home.
Happy hookers
At 188 for one in response to Australia’s 416 at Lord’s, England were cruising. Australia turned to a bouncer barrage in desperation on an unhelpful pitch and the hosts obliged. First Ollie Pope, then Ben Duckett – two short of a first Ashes century – and linchpin Joe Root all flapped uncertainly as England lurched to 222 for four. Harry Brook later fell into the trap as England coughed up a big first-innings lead, with suggestions – rejected by the dressing room – they had taken an attacking approach too far.
Carey outsmarts Bairstow
The stumping heard around the world. Bairstow ducked a bouncer from Green then, believing the ball to be dead, immediately strode down the wicket after scratching his back foot in his crease. However, Carey gathered the ball and immediately threw the poles down. Cummins upheld the appeal and while the incident awoke the beast inside Stokes, the Yorkshireman’s perfectly legal dismissal left the England captain with just bowlers for company as they fell short in the chase. The issue mushroomed to the extent that the Prime Ministers of both countries had their say over the ‘spirit of cricket’.
Rain
Defeats at Edgbaston and Lord’s meant England needed to be note-perfect – and have a little fortune – to regain the urn. They rebounded at Headingley and were totally dominant at Old Trafford, bagging a 275-run first-innings lead to leave Australia shell-shocked. The writing looked to be on the wall when they slid to 113 for four at the end of day three but there was just a 30-over window over the weekend – with a Sunday washout – because of atrocious weather in Manchester. The idea that England should have declared earlier to give themselves more time to bowl out their opponents was arguably voided by them taking just one more scalp as Australia closed to within 61 with five wickets left.
Brandon King named captain as West Indies squad named for three-match T20I series against South Africa
Brandon King has been appointed captain of the West Indies squad named to face South Africa in the upcoming three T20 International series at Sabina Park in Kingston starting Thursday, May 23. The squad has been gearing up for this exciting and highly anticipated series with a training camp held at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. The selection panel has confirmed that Brandon King will have Roston Chase as his vice captain. Both appointments are on an interim basis.
King was set to lead the West Indies A-Team on the recently concluded T20 tour to Nepal before he was withdrawn due to injury. Chase, appointed instead, went on to lead the A-Team to a series win against Nepal.
The West Indies Men’s squad for the series is as follows: Brandon King (Captain), Roston Chase (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Alick Athanaze, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd and Hayden Walsh Jr.
Alzarri Joseph and Sherfane Rutherford will be added to the squad if their respective franchises do not reach the Indian Premier League (IPL) Final. Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran are both rested for the series and will join the squad in Trinidad on Monday, 27 May.
“These are among the last competitive T20 International matches before the start of the World Cup,” said lead selector Desmond Haynes. “Players have the opportunity to fine-tune their skills and ensure they are as prepared as they can be for the World Cup, whether they are in the final squad or reserve pool.”
White Ball Head Coach Daren Sammy also commented on his objectives for this series stating, “We have not played together as a team since the Australia series, but we just completed a very high-intensity training camp in Antigua. Now we have the chance to integrate some of our players returning from the IPL and build some momentum as a group going into the World Cup.”
Tickets for the T20I Series against South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica are available now to buy online from the Windies Tickets service, at WINDIES TICKET PORTAL. Fans who purchase online will benefit from a 20 per cent discount compared to the box office prices, with tickets ranging from the most premium seats with the best-shaded views in the stadium through to affordable standard seats or mounds/grounds entry.
Match schedule:
- 23 May 1st T20I West Indies v South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica 2:00 pm JT/3:00 pm ECT
- 25 May 2nd T20I West Indies v South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica 2:00 pm JT/3:00 pm ECT
- 26 May 3rd T20I West Indies v South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica 2:00 pm JT/3:00 pm ECT
West Indies won the last T20 International played at Sabina Park against New Zealand in August 2022, which was the last time international cricket was played at this historic venue.
IPL: Royals miss top-two chance after washout against leaders KKR
Rajasthan Royals were denied their shot at a top-two Indian Premier League finish after rain saw a clash with Kolkata Knight Riders abandoned without a ball bowled on Sunday.
The Royals finished third in the group stage of this year's IPL after four straight losses preceded the washout in Guwahati.
In-form Royal Challengers Bengaluru awaits in the Eliminator for Rajasthan on May 22, with the former on a six-match winning streak to reach the playoffs.
Pat Cummins' Sunrisers Hyderabad will face leaders Kolkata, whose last two games have been abandoned, in the first qualifier in Ahmedabad the day before.
IPL: Sunrisers cruise to victory to boost second-place hopes
Sunrisers Hyderabad eased to a four-wicket win over Punjab Kings on Sunday to boost their chances of finishing second in the Indian Premier League.
Prabhsimran Singh helped Punjab set a target of 215, but Hyderabad chased that down with relative ease to go second, a position they will finish in should Rajasthan Royals lose to the table-topping Kolkata Knight Riders later on Sunday.
After the Sunrisers won the toss and put Punjab in to bat, Prabhsimran top scored with 71 runs from 45 deliveries, while Atharva Taide (46 off 27) and Rilee Roussouw (49 from 24) also impressed as the Kings, already out of playoff contention, finished on 214/5.
Hyderabad's chase got off to a terrible start as Travis Head was bowled with the first ball of the innings, but the Sunrisers' other opener Abhishek Sharma helped to steady the ship alongside Rahul Tripathi.
Abhishek smashed his way to 66 off 28 deliveries before he was dismissed, while an important innings from Heinrich Klaasen (42 from 26) set the Sunrisers up for victory.
Abdul Samad and Sanvir Singh finished the job as the Sunrisers reached their target with five balls to spare, and they can now look ahead to their playoff campaign.
Data debrief: Abhishek wastes no time
The Sunrisers overcame Head's second IPL golden duck thanks to a brilliant innings from Abhishek, who reached his half-century in just 21 balls and finished with a strike rate of 235.71.
Tripathi and Klaasen achieved strike rates of 183.33 and 161.53 respectively, while Nitish Kumar Reddy also finished with 37 from 25 deliveries as Hyderabad made light work of a daunting target.
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