Australia captain Pat Cummins saw another Ashes defeat at the Kia Oval as a missed opportunity but was proud to play in a series he feels will be remembered like the 2005 edition.
The visitors saw history repeat itself after they were dismissed for 334 to lose by 49 runs in the final Ashes match of the summer to give England a series-levelling success, having experienced the same disappointment four years ago in south London.
While the fourth Test wash-out in Manchester confirmed the urn would return home with Australia, they arrived in London eager to secure a first series win here since 2001, but came up short despite leading the five-match series 2-0 after victories at Edgbaston and Lord’s.
Cummins said: “I think because we’ve had really good series, especially at home and we’ve had a lot of success, the bar gets raised.
“So, coming over here retaining the Ashes feels like a little bit of a missed opportunity but in 2019 we were all pretty happy about a retained Ashes. I don’t think we should lose sight of that.
“It’s a huge achievement to come over here and win and get ourselves into many winning positions. Yeah, again we just kind of missed what we’ve come here hoping to achieve but winning the World Test Championship (against India) and retaining the Ashes is a pretty successful tour.
“Once we reflect on it, we’ll be proud that we’ve retained it and it’s been a wonderful tour but we all got up today hoping we’d win 3-1.”
In keeping with the narrative of the series, day five ebbed and flowed, with Australia losing three early wickets before Steve Smith and Travis Head guided them to 264 for three, only 120 runs off a record-breaking target at the Kia Oval.
Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali combined again during an extended evening session to swing the momentum back in England’s favour before Stuart Broad claimed the dream finish with the last two wickets to sign off from cricket in style.
An enthralling series concluded at 6.25pm on its final day and after the build-up was dominated by talk of another instalment like 2005, Cummins believes this match-up delivered with the contrasting styles of England’s aggression and the pragmatism of Australia adding to a thrill-a-minute two months.
“It has been one of the best things about the last eight weeks, just walking around the streets, you always expect one idiot every now and then but there hasn’t been any,” Cummins reflected.
“Everyone has been amazing and just talking about the cricket and how much they’ve loved it. I know it is the same back in Australia, big viewers, lots of people interested in cricket, so how good is that? It doesn’t get any better.
“I was a bit young for 2005 but that series gets talked about a lot and it feels like this one will be the same.”
England’s roaring fightback after rain wiped out two hours of play on Monday ensured Australia’s celebrations of retaining the urn were hollow with no confetti cannons fired.
Cummins faced plenty of scrutiny and criticism after rain earned them a draw at Old Trafford following three days of being outclassed by England.
The Aussie skipper added: “Whether we like it or not, Ashes tend to define eras or legacies. If that’s the case for this one, it is something we can be really proud of.
“Both the last two series over here we’ve retained the Ashes and that doesn’t happen very often.
“In terms of criticism, it happens. There are plenty of people out there watching at home and in the crowd, it’s part of the job.
“I think it is one of those series where every game was really close. We got on the right end of it in the first two games and unfortunately couldn’t get over the line in the last two, which is disappointing but overall a really good tour.”
Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock
Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.
The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.
After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.
Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*).
"It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.
"When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"
Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.
"Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."
During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.
Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.
"I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.
"The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.
"It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."
Salt century gives England winning start to West Indies T20 series
Phil Salt hit a superb century as England drew first blood in their T20 series against West Indies, with a commanding eight-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval.
Salt's unbeaten 103 off 54 balls was the highlight for the tourists, who successfully chased down their target of 183 with 19 balls to spare.
The West Indies endured a difficult start and were reduced to 18-3 and later 117-8, with Saqib Mahmood (4-34) and Adil Rashid (3-32) doing the damage.
However, the hosts managed 65 runs in the last 5.2 overs to finish at 182-8, with Gukadesh Motie knocking 33 off 14 balls along the way.
Salt kick-started England's chase with 50 off just 25 deliveries taking them to 73-1 after six overs, with Will Jacks (17) dismissed with the final ball of the powerplay.
Jos Buttler's first match after four months out lasted just three minutes, as the skipper was caught by Motie for a golden duck.
However, it proved a false dawn for West Indies, with Salt and Jacob Bethall (58 from 36 balls) safely steering England to victory.
Data Debrief: Salt completes hat-trick of hundreds as Bethell makes historic half-century
England put their disappointing ODI series behind them, making history with the highest T20 chase at the Kensington Oval.
Salt was the hero with his third T20I century, all of which have come against West Indies in the past 12 months.
Bethell also made history on Saturday. Aged 21 years and 17 days, he become the youngest England player to score a 50 in a T20I.
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
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