The Ashes is a cricket competition between Australia and England. The first ever Ashes was hosted in 1882. Thus, this rivalry between the two nations is extremely bitter and tasty. In this article, we take a look at a few key moments in Ashes history. Find out more below.
Key Moments in Ashes History
Today, the Ashes is known as one of the biggest rivalries in sport between two nations. As of writing, the Ashes has so far played 72 times between the two nations. Australia has won 34 of those meetings. England has won 32 of those encounters. The remaining six series have resulted in a draw.
The 2021-2022 Latest Ashes Series
Most recently, the 2021/22 Ashes encounter between the two nations resulted in a victory for Australia. Playing in their home down under, Australia won the five series match by 4-0. This ensured that the nation retained the Ashes. Having beaten England on their home turf in the 2017-2018 series and the 2019 series resulting in a 2-2 draw.
The Final Test
The fifth and final Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground was the decider in what was a pulsating series that had everything. The first match at Adelaide Oval was fascinating as Australia recovered from 180-7 to post 370, forcing England to follow on for the first time in 71 years.
Thereafter came highlights galore, including three centuries in the fourth Test at Perth and a record-equalling seventh-wicket stand of 242 between Joe Root and Sam Curran in Melbourne.
The fifth and final Test of the series lived up to its billing as a classic. It was a match that swung back and forth but in the end, Australia won by 19 runs, taking the series 4-1. This was the first time that England had lost an Ashes series in Australia since 2017-18. Australia had started the series as favourites and they ended up as winners.
The final Test of the series was a classic, with the result being in doubt right till the last over. Australia had made two changes to the team that had played in the third Test. They brought in Chris Lynn and Hilton Cartwright for Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Swepson. England made one change with Mark Stoneman being replaced by James Vince. The final Test was played in Sydney between November 25 and 29.
Warner’s Double Century and Hazlewood’s 9 Wickets
Warner was the hero of the first innings as he scored a brilliant double century, which was the highest score by any batsman in the series. His efforts helped Australia recover from 180/7 to post 370. In the process, he became only the fifth batsman in Test history to score two double centuries in a calendar year.
The first innings had seen plenty of drama. Firstly, England would have fancied their chances after Australia had lost early wickets but Warner was the one who kept them afloat. He scored a brilliant hundred, with the highlight of the innings being a classic cover drive for four that raced to the boundary.
In the second innings, Wahab Riaz created a lot of trouble for England with his left-arm spin. He took a couple of wickets and also troubled the batsmen with his persistent bowling outside the off stump.
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc was in top form and he got a lot of wickets in the second innings, finishing with figures of 5/74. Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings and the highlight of his bowling was when he got rid of both openers, knocking out the stumps of both Joe Root and Alastair Cook.
Cummins & Starc Take 8 Wickets in an Innings
The third Test saw an incredible spell of bowling by Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins who took 8 wickets in an innings. Cummins is only the third Australian fast bowler after Jeff Thomson and Ray Lindwall to have taken 8 wickets in an innings.
Cummins had a dream start to his Test career in Australia, where he was fast bowling. However, he got injured and missed the last two Tests in Australia. He returned to play the third Test of the series and he was not out of place, taking 8 wickets in the first innings. The third Test was played at the Perth Stadium between December 2 and 6.
Smith and Paine Celebrate by Draping Themselves in the Australian Flag
The Australian skipper, Steve Smith, and his deputy, Tim Paine, celebrated their win in the series by draping themselves in the Australian flag. This was a sweet moment for both the cricketers after they had lost the series in England.
Smith and Paine had played in the previous series as well and had lost in the final Test at the Oval. Their celebrations were seen as indication of their relief after having winning a series in Australia. The emotions of the two were understandable because they were playing in front of Australian spectators, who are known to be very passionate about their cricket.
The Root and Poynter Show at the SCG: Root Scores 151, Poynter 150 not Out
The final Test match was a great show of batting as both the teams posted huge totals. There was also a record-equalling seventh-wicket stand of 242 between Joe Root and Sam Curran. Before that, there was a partnership of 151 between Root and Tom Poynter, who was making his debut in Test cricket. Poynter batted for nearly seven hours and scored 150 not out batting at No. 9.
This was the first time that a batsman had scored a 150-plus score batting at No. 9. So, both the teams posted huge totals and it was left to the bowlers to do the rest. Australia went with the same bowlers that played in the second Test. However, England replaced Mark Stoneman with Jack Leach in the team. However, both the teams struggled to contain the batsmen and were left to rue the missed catches.
Key Moments in Ashes History: The Bottom Line
The series was a classic and the five Tests contained everything that is great about Test cricket. The series saw a lot of twists and turns which kept the spectators on their toes. There were brilliant individual performances by batsmen and bowlers. Furthermore, there were records broken and there were comebacks from the losing side.
The series saw the emergence of a few young players who impressed everyone with their skills. The series was a shot in the arm for Test cricket after the World Cup was criticized for being too one-sided and too dependent on the batsmen.
That is why there is so many key moments in Ashes History. The competition has been made up for so many batmen and players to take on the biggest stage. Mind you, it has been a dream maker and destroyer for many English and Australian cricket players. We hope that you have enjoyed finding out more about ashes history in this article.
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