Australia captain Pat Cummins led his side to a remarkable two-wicket victory in the Ashes opener at Edgbaston, holding his nerve in a heart-pounding chase that left Ben Stokes and his England team distraught.
The shadow of the famous 2005 Test between the old rivals had loomed large over this final day but where England edged that one in a dramatic two-run win, Cummins exorcised some of those ghosts as he ushered the tourists home amid unbearable pressure.
Cummins made an outstanding, unbeaten 44 as he led a match-winning stand of 55 with number 10 Nathan Lyon, who clung on for 16 not out. Between them they ensured Australia successfully completed their second highest chase in England, reaching a target of 281 that had seemed beyond them less than an hour earlier.
Stokes looked to have dealt the decisive blow when he landed the key wicket of Usman Khawaja, defying the aches and pains of his chronic knee problems to dismiss the man who seemed to hold the result in his hands.
But the England skipper’s Midas touch evaded him when he leapt to pluck an outrageous one-handed catch out of the sky, only for the ball to slip through his fingers as he fell to earth. Lyon, on two at the time, was able to breathe again and kept his captain company until the climax.
The end came in agonising fashion at 7.20pm – 80 minutes after the scheduled close due to morning rain – when Cummins steered the ball to deep third and a sprawling Harry Brook parried the ball for four.
After the victory Cummins said: "Both teams spoke a lot about playing your own style. And that's the beauty of this series. Two contrasting styles, playing to our strengths and that made for great entertainment.
"Usman Khawaja showed incredible composure in both innings. He didn't get caught up in anything. He has been a class player the last few years and I'm really happy for him.
"The plan was everyone to bat at their own pace. Having had a good first innings he had a good feel for the wicket but everyone chipped in."
On Lyon, Cummings said: "He's huge. You just put him down one end and forget about him. He takes key wickets. He is an absolute superstar. He just calmly goes about his work. A captain's dream."
"When you're playing and you're in, you're fine but when you're watching up there – I can only imagine how the fans felt."
Opener Khawaja said after picking up the player of the match award after following his 141 in the first innings by top scoring with 65: "That was an unbelievable game. I watched Edgbaston 2005 on TV as a kid, I stayed up late.
"I was there was Stokesy played that unbelievable innings at Headingley in the last Ashes but this has definitely got to be one of my favourite Test matches I've ever played in."
England captain Stokes said of the contest: "Unbelievable. That’s why you play it. I think in terms of everything we have spoken about constantly for a long period of time. It came down to the end of today. Everyone was on the edge of their seat.
"We are not a results-driven team. We are, of course, absolutely devastated. The lads are in pieces up there. But if that’s not attracting people to the game we love then I don’t know what will.
“You have never won a game until you have won it. It was still massively in the balance. We had to come up with different ideas, keep changing things. And it just comes down to small margins in the end. A few chances go our way, there were a few drops as well. But we have four matches to go.”
On the first innings declaration, Stokes said: “I thought that was a time to pounce. I am not going to change the way I have gone about my cricket because it is the Ashes. Who knows we could have got an extra 40 runs or lost two wickets in two balls. I am not a captain who gets by on what ifs.
“We were in control of most of the game and managed to produce a result. Obviously we wanted to be on top. We are devastated but that’s sport. It is great and an emotional rollercoaster.”
England bowler James Anderson said: "We are gutted not to get over the line but over the next few days when we look back at what we have done we can be really proud. We have tried to dominate from ball one. The declaration was really positive. We fought and fought on a really placid pitch. But credit to Australia they were just too good for us.
"There's areas we can improve. There always is and in tight games those chances do get put in the spotlight. But we will let it soak in, get over the disappointment and look at the positives.
"We have played some great cricket. We have had five sold-out days and everyone has gone home happy. Both sets of fans can go home saying they have been to one of the great Test matches."
Ashes first Test - day five in pictures
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Australia's captain Pat Cummins celebrates after hitting the winning runs against England on day five of the Ashes first Test at Edgbaston on June 20, 2023. Getty -
Pat Cummins of Australia celebrates after beating England. Getty -
Pat Cummins of Australia celebrates after hitting the winning runs with teammate Nathan Lyon. Getty -
England captain Ben Stokes reacts. AP -
Joe Root of England celebrates with Ben Stokes after catching Alex Carey of Australia off his own bowling. Getty -
England captain Ben Stokes celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Australia's Usman Khawaja. PA -
Ollie Robinson of England celebrates after taking the wicket of Cameron Green. Getty -
Australia's Cameron Green is bowled by Ollie Robinson. AFP -
England's Ollie Robinson celebrates after taking the wicket of Cameron Green. Getty -
Australia's Cameron Green is bowled by England's Ollie Robinson during day five of the first Ashes test match at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Picture date: Tuesday June 20, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story CRICKET England. Photo credit should read: Mike Egerton/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. No commercial use without prior written consent of the ECB. Still image use only. No moving images to emulate broadcast. No removing or obscuring of sponsor logos. -
Moeen Ali of England celebrates with Ben Stokes after taking the wicket of Travis Head. Getty -
England's Moeen Ali celebrates after dismissing Australia's Travis Head. AP -
England's Stuart Broad celebrates after taking the wicket of Australia's Scott Boland on day five of the first Ashes Test match at Edgbaston on June 20, 2023. PA -
Australia's Scott Boland after being dismissed by England's Stuart Broad. PA -
Australia's Scott Boland ducks under a short ball. AFP -
Travis Head of Australia hits out. Getty
