After losing back-to-back matches in the ongoing Ashes 2023, England skipper Ben Stokes stated that his team will give everything in order to bring back the coveted ‘Urn’. Edgbaston was a classic thriller and Manchester was supposed to stitch the gap between the two teams. However, Manchester and its monsoon completely shattered the home team and its fans as the umpires were forced to call it a day, helping the match finish on level terms.
With that, Australia managed to retain the Ashes. Ahead of the series, there were a lot of talks regarding England’s revolution in Test cricket and how the visiting team can face the heat in the upcoming summer. However, the Pat Cummins-led side was ready for any challenge as Australia took a comfortable 2-0 lead after clinching victory in the first two games. They suffered a three-wicket defeat in the next and were on the verge of suffering from the same fate but rain saved them.
Batting first, Australia posted only 317 runs on the board. On a wicket that was tailor-made for the batters to succeed, the Kangaroos failed to capitalise as Mark Wood was sensational in the middle. Chris Woakes supported him well as England had the edge after the first innings. In the second, their batters showed their worth, as Zak Crawley hit 189 runs while Jonny Bairstow, who faced a lot of criticism leading up to the match hit 99* runs off 81 deliveries. Courtesy of their sensational batting, the home team posted 592 runs on the board and took a lead of 275 runs.
In order to save the Test, the visiting team needed something special with the bat. However, both Usman Khawaja and David Warner failed to make a mark yet again and Steven Smith too got out rather cheaply. Marnus Labuschange however was at his best, hitting a much-needed century but soon after that, he had to walk back to the pavilion. Australia lost Travis Head on Day 3 itself and things were not looking good for them in the middle but Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh kept hanging. Post that, it was all rain. England was very close to levelling the series but unfortunately, this is something that might bug them for the next few years.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to verdict of rain-hit fourth Ashes Test:
If Australia doesn’t win next test then they should consider themselves lucky to retain Ashes.
— Barkha Joshi (@bindasbarkha) July 23, 2023
Unfortunate for England
Congrats Australia to retain the Ashes ⚱️
— Great Gughan (@GreatGughan) July 23, 2023
Gutting!! #Ashes2023
— Ian Bell (@Ian_Bell) July 23, 2023
Congratulations Australia 🎉
There seemed to be narrative building that aus don’t deserve to retain the ashes.
Rain are part and parcel of the game, this has favoured England on various occasions too (2013 ashes).
If anything luck has favoured England this series massively.
— FurReal (@FurReeall) July 23, 2023
This is Andy Burnham’s fault. #Ashes
— Chris Ward (@yorker129_7) July 23, 2023