Cummins Grit Sees Australia Home in Edgbaston Thriller

Cummins Grit Sees Australia Home in Edgbaston Thriller

Rarely can the Ashes have been contested between two sides in such good form, with Australia recently crowned world champions and England having won 11 of their previous 13 Tests. There was a huge sense of anticipation before the game started, and not just at a packed Edgbaston. For both teams the main selection question was over their pace line-up. Australia needed to decide who would accompany their skipper Pat Cummins between Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, and it was the latter, the one who offered something different with his extra pace and different angle of delivery as a left armer, who lost out. England were also torn between James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood, and, like Australia, chose to leave out the paciest of their quartet in Wood.

Having won the toss on a gloriously sunny day, England chose to bat first and Zak Crawley crunched the first ball from Cummins to the ropes, despite the fact he’d started with a man out on the backward point boundary. For all their insistence that Bazball wasn’t a concern to them, it’s hard to imagine too many other Ashes series starting in this way. It wasn’t long before Ben Duckett edged Hazlewood behind, playing a bit of a nothing shot. On 40, Crawley got a life when the faintest of edges off Boland wasn’t heard by anyone, but there was no reprieve for Pope on 31, when he was LBW to Lyon. Soon after, Crawley went to fifty off 56 balls, but on the stroke of lunch he was caught behind for 61 off Boland with the score on 124 for three.

That wicket brought Harry Brook to the crease to join Yorkshire team-mate Joe Root. Brook was scoring fluently but gave a chance at third man which Head couldn’t hold on to, before he fell for 32 after the ball ricocheted onto his stumps off Lyon. Stokes came out to a great reception but feathered an edge to Alex Carey on 1 off Hazlewood – at 176 for five, England were on the verge of messing things up badly. Meanwhile, Root was making serene progress, going to his fifty off 74 balls. At tea, it was 240 for five.

After the tea break, Root and Bairstow continued to make steady progress, and Bairstow went to his fifty off 58 balls in his first Test innings since last August. Their 11th hundred partnership came up in 127 balls as the Yorkshire pair worked hard to put England in a stronger position. On 68, Bairstow was dropped by Carey, but the tourists’ luck was in: the following over, Bairstow charged down the wicket to Lyon, missed the ball and was stumped by a distance, out for 78 off 78 balls.

That brought Moeen Ali to the crease for his first Test innings since September 2021, and you had to go back to 31 January 2019 for his last Test fifty. He didn’t last long, falling for 18 in identical fashion to Bairstow, the tenth time Lyon had got him. Broad made 16 before he played an extravagant slog, only for the ball from Cameron Green to crash into the stumps. Robinson played sensibly to support Root, who reached his 30th Test century (his fourth v Australia and his third at this ground) off 145 balls – it was a superb effort. The call went out to accelerate and Root hit two more sixes before Stokes declared on 393 for eight off 78 overs – the earliest declaration in Ashes history – giving England a few overs to bowl at Australia’s openers before the close.

With David Warner taking the first ball, Broad was given the first over, having dismissed the Australian 14 times in Tests, with Robinson partnering him at the other end. It was the first time since Lord’s 2009 that Anderson hadn’t taken the new ball. By the close, Australia had reached 14 without loss.

England started the second day building the pressure on Australia’s openers, and eventually it told as Warner tried to slash at one from Broad, only to edge it onto his stumps. Things immediately got even better as Marnus Labuschagne edged Broad to Bairstow, first ball: 29 for two and Broad was on a hat-trick. Within an hour of play starting, Brook was given an over – Stokes yet again showing real imagination in his tactics, always looking to surprise the opposition. Then, just before lunch, Stokes trapped Steve Smith in front for 16, much to the batter’s disbelief, and at the break it was 78 for three.

Early in the afternoon session, Usman Khawaja went to only his second fifty in England, taking 106 balls to get there as, with a more positive Travis Head, he looked to accumulate his way back into contention and the pair’s fifty partnership came up in 83 balls. Moeen kept bowling without someone at deep mid-on or deep mid-off, as Stokes sought to keep the pressure on, even at the cost of some boundaries. Head sometimes looked uncomfortable to the short stuff, but he went to his fifty off 60 balls. Almost immediately after, he came down the pitch to Moeen and chipped it to mid-wicket where Crawley took a great catch: 148 for four. It could have got even better, but Bairstow missed a regulation stumping to remove Green second ball. At tea, it was 188 for four.

Early in the evening session the fifty partnership arrived off 105 balls, and the runs began to flow and England began to look a bit tired, but then Moeen got one to turn sharply into Green and bowled him through the gate for 38. Khawaja, who’d had such a disappointing record in England before, celebrated with huge emotion when he went to his hundred off 199 balls. Carey was dropped on 26 by Bairstow, who was showing some signs of rustiness, and, for all the runs he scores, the missed chances were reducing the benefit over Ben Foakes – and, like Australia, England were showing themselves fallible in the field. That became even more true when, with the second delivery with the second new ball, Broad bowled Khawaja on 112, only for it to be called a no-ball. The latest fifty partnership was reached in 85 balls. Carey went to fifty with an edge that went under Root, taking 69 balls to get there. Soon after, play ended for the day with Australia 311 for five, and it had been their day.

At the start of the third day, England desperately needed early wickets, so when Bairstow dropped a tough, low chance to remove Carey off Anderson, it felt like the it might set the tone for the day, a mood which was reinforced when the hundred partnership was reached after 179 balls. Finally, Carey was beaten by Anderson to make it 338 for six, and the mood in the crowd changed, but Cummins came out swinging. England’s lead was down to just 21 when Robinson, bowling to a highly original field, saw Khawaja charge at him and the ball beat his defences – the opener was finally out for a hugely important 141 off 321 balls. Australia’s tail was exposed and faced a barrage from Broad in particular. Lyon was caught on the boundary, trying to pull Robinson for six. Boland popped one up to silly mid-off to give Broad a well-deserved third wicket. Finally, Cummins was caught out by Stokes off Robinson, and Australia were all out for 386, trailing by just 7 runs. It was all perfectly poised.

Unusually, there was no early blizzard of boundaries as England sought to set a big target when they came out to bat after lunch, but then the rain came and England went off at 26 without loss. After a long delay, the openers were back out in murky conditions and found the ball was doing much more. Duckett fell to a brilliant low catch in the gully by Green off Cummins, and Crawley then edged Boland behind. Finally, with thunder rumbling around the ground, England scurried for shelter in trouble at 28 for two, and that was it for the day.

First ball of the fourth day, Root showed his intent by trying to reverse ramp Cummins; he missed that one, but didn’t miss his next two, which went for six and four respectively. Root and Pope had just added 50 in 45 balls when Cummins bowled an unplayable inswinging yorker to bowl Pope. Brook greeted Lyon with a succession of boundaries and he dominated the fifty partnership that took 47 deliveries to achieve, but once again Australia clawed their way back when Root was beaten in the flight by Lyon and stumped by a distance. It was 129 for four. When Brook pulled Lyon to mid-wicket just before lunch, it looked worse for England, who went in on 150 for five, having made 127 runs in the session for the loss of three big wickets.

The afternoon began with Stokes unleashing a flurry of shots, taking the lead beyond 200, but then Bairstow missed a reverse sweep, and Lyon had his third wicket, LBW. The pattern kept on repeating itself: every time England were taking charge, a wicket fell to bring Australia back. Stokes was LBW to Cummins soon after that and there was a chance Australia might be chasing less than 250. Moeen was caught behind hooking, leaving just the bowlers to eke out as many runs as possible. Robinson did well before punching Lyon to mid-on on 27, leaving it to the bowling veterans to finish the innings: Anderson reverse swept his first ball for four, but he soon perished, edging Cummins to Carey. All out for 273, it meant Australia needed 281 for victory.

Australia came out for the evening session in search of their fourth highest Ashes successful run chase, and their best since 1948. In the first over, bowled by Anderson, Khawaja edged one, but Bairstow and Root looked at one another as the ball flew between them. After that, he and Warner progressed steadily, putting on fifty for the first wicket in 91 balls, but then Robinson found a faint edge on Warner’s bat to remove him for 36. Labuschagne didn’t stay long as Broad found the edge with a beauty. Broad followed it up with another lovely delivery to remove Smith, who edged it to Bairstow. Boland came out as nightwatchman and saw his side through to the close, by which time the score was 107 for three.

The final day began with Australia needing 174 more runs for victory, while England were looking for seven wickets, but the whole of the morning session was lost to the rain, and it was 2.15pm when the action resumed. A hefty crowd had waited patiently, expecting more thrills; they weren’t disappointed.

For a while, normal gritty Test cricket broke out. It took more than 30 minutes before Broad found the edge for a third time, removing Boland for a career-best 20. Moeen came on and in his first over got one to turn and bite, and Head could only guide it to Root: 143 for five – Australia were roughly halfway to their target, but so were England. To get there, however, England needed to remove Khawaja, who continued on, reaching his fifty off 143 deliveries in a display of anti-Bazball grit. But the mood of Bazball was being captured in the stands, where England’s waistcoat-clad football manager, Gareth Southgate, was seen urging the fans to chant for Moeen, whose sore finger was clearly causing problems. This is what the Ashes does to people. At tea, it was 183 for five, with Australia 98 short of victory.

England needed a quick wicket, and they got it when Green, on 28, chopped onto his stumps off Robinson. At 203 for six, Stokes finally brought himself on to bowl and in his second over a slower ball induced an inside edge onto Khawaja’s stumps, who was gone for 65. Root was keeping things tight at one end, and nearly had Carey caught and bowled when he drilled one back to the bowler. Cummins gave an even harder, low chance back to Root, which was again spilled. With the new ball available, Stokes persisted with Root and he was given a third chance when Carey smashed the ball back at him; this time he clung on: 227 for eight.

Lyon, one of Robinson’s ‘three No 11s’, came out to join his skipper. Given how easily England had wrapped up the first innings, they were now favourites as they moved into the last hour. Cummins launched Root for two sixes, persuading Stokes to bring back Broad, and in his first over he nearly had Lyon, who hooked him into the deep and Stokes himself failed to cling on to a superb effort as the ball flew over his head. For once, the field was spread as England sought catches in the deep, before the new ball was finally taken. Broad and Robinson gave everything, but the runs ticked along and the fifty partnership came up in 65 balls, and the Australians were on the verge. It was appropriate that Cummins hit the winning runs, finishing on 44 not out, to secure a thrilling two-wicket win.

Khawaja was named Man of the Match, but Cummins must have run him close. England stressed the positives, but I suspect there will be a few changes for the second Test. I’d expect both sides to rotate their seam attack for Lord’s, with Mark Wood and Mitchell Starc coming in, probably for Anderson and Hazlewood. Will Moeen retain his place, especially given his sore finger, or might they bring in Chris Woakes, who has a remarkable record at the ground? Bearing in mind England spinners have taken just six wickets in the last four Tests at Lord’s, it might not be the worst swap. Relieving Bairstow of the gloves to bring in Foakes will cause huge issues with the rest of the batting order, but there’s no doubt his errors behind the stumps were costly. Indeed, both sides dropped more catches than you’d expect.

Although Stokes remained proud of the decision to declare late on the first day, it always felt like a big gamble on a placid pitch to ignore what extra runs might have been scored. But for all of that, if England maintain this sort of intensity and aggression throughout the series, you feel that Australia’s resilience will be ground down and that England can still emerge victorious. There’s no doubt there will be a lot more excitement to come in this series after a Test that fully lived up to the hype beforehand.