Missed opportunities and drawn series on English soil dampen Aussies’ Ashes celebration
History will show that Australia retained the 2023 Ashes, but our cricketers are disappointed they couldn’t win a series on English soil for the first time in 22 years
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Australia’s Test team has been left to regret a month of missed opportunities after its push to win an Ashes series in England for the first time in 22 years collapsed in a heap at the weekend.
On a seesawing* final day to what has been one of Test cricket’s greatest ever series, Australia was bowled out for 334 with 18.3 overs left on Monday at The Oval in London as it sunk to a 49-run loss.
Up 2-0 in the series after their dramatic win at the famous Lord’s ground in London earlier this month, the Australians have now been forced to settle for a 2-2 series draw for the second trip in a row to England.
History will show Australia retained* the urn* after last week’s washed-out draw in the fourth Test meant England could no longer win the series, but the Aussies were disappointed to see its own chance of winning the series disappear.
Australia’s mood was summed up in the post-match ceremony, where captain Pat Cummins lifted the urn beside his team with little celebration.
“It was probably just a feeling of missed opportunity,” Cummins said.
“It felt like we got ourselves into some really good positions winning the first two games.
“In Headingley and this week we got into match-winning positions and just didn’t quite capitalise*. That happens.
“Once we reflect, we will be proud we retained it. It’s been a wonderful tour. But we all turned up today hoping to get up and win 3-1.”
Attempting to pull off the second-biggest fourth-innings chase in Australia’s Test history, the Aussies were always fighting an uphill battle.
But with 120 runs to win after a lengthy rain delay and Steve Smith and Travis Head in control with seven batsmen still to take the crease*, the match looked there to be won for Australia.
Then disaster struck.
Head was caught at slip trying to cover-drive a turning ball from English bowler Moeen Ali for 43. Smith followed in the next over when he edged a Chris Woakes ball to a slip fielder on 54, before Mitch Marsh was caught behind off Moeen by a brilliant one-handed Jonny Bairstow catch.
And when Mitchell Starc edged Woakes to Zak Crawley in the next over, Australia had lost four wickets in 19 balls to see their hopes of a series victory slip away.
Cummins was caught soon after, but Australia threatened one more twist in the tale when Toddy Murphy (18) and Alex Carey (28) got the required runs down to 55.
Eventually, they became Stuart Broad’s final wickets in Test cricket and a mighty Ashes series was completed.
“I think 2-2 is genuinely a fair reflection of two very, very good teams going at it,” England captain Ben Stokes said.
For Australia, they must now wait until 2027 for another chance to win an Ashes series in England.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- seesawing: going the way of one team and then the other
- retained: held on to something
- urn: the Ashes trophy, which is a tiny urn with burnt cricket bails inside
- capitalise: build on something to improve it
- crease: the area where the batsman stands to bat
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QUICK QUIZ
1. How many runs did Australia lose the fifth Test by?
2. How did the Aussies retain the Ashes even though they lost this match?
3. What is the trophy the teams play for in the Ashes?
4. How long since Australia have won an Ashes series on English soil?
5. Who is Australia’s Test captain?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. News: condensed
Identify the most important pieces of information in this article and write a condensed version of it using 50 words or less.
Draw a picture or diagram to support your condensed news story.
Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Sport
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Compare your condensed news story with a classmate. Did you both include the same information or are your stories quite different? Discuss your choices and then work together to create a final condensed version of the story that you both agree tells the important parts that a reader would need or want to know.
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Curriculum Links: English, Sport
VCOP ACTIVITY
1. Creative vocabulary
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any ‘said’ words with more specific synonyms?
Have you outdone yourself and used some really great vocabulary throughout your writing? Firstly, well done. Secondly, let’s ensure everyone can understand it by adding a glossary of terms. Pick three of your wow words and create a glossary for each word to explain what it means.