Australia beat England in 5th Test, win the Ashes 4-0
Australia claimed a comprehensive victory against England in the fifth and final Ashes Test at Bellerive Oval, Hobart (Day/Night). The Aussies successfully defended 270 after bowling out England on 124. Skipper Pat Cummins, Scott Boland, and Cameron Green picked three wickets each. Australia have won the five-match Ashes series 4-0. They have extended their winning streak in pink-ball Tests to 10.
Australia compiled 303 in the first innings after England elected to field. Middle-order batter Travis Head slammed a phenomenal century. England managed just 188, with Cummins taking four wickets. A six-wicket haul by Mark Wood helped England bowl out Australia for 155 in the second innings. However, Australian bowlers shone on the third day, restricting England to 124.
Australia have won their 10th consecutive Day/Night Test match. They haven't lost a pink-ball fixture since its inception. They have beaten New Zealand (twice), South Africa, Pakistan (twice), England (thrice), Sri Lanka, and India. Last year, Australia had bowled out India for their lowest score in Test cricket (36), in the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval.
Travis Head, who missed the fourth Ashes Test due to COVID-19, made a resounding return. He smashing his fourth Test ton (101) in the first innings. The left-handed batter slammed his second ton of the 2021/22 Ashes. He became the seventh Australian to score a century in D/N Tests. Head was adjudged the Player of the Series after finishing as the highest run-scorer (357).
Australian opener David Warner registered two ducks in the Hobart Test. Broad outfoxed him on the third delivery of the second innings. Ollie Robinson had dismissed Warner in the first innings. The latter faced 22 deliveries. Notably, Warner was the last Australian to record a pair in Test cricket. He registered two ducks in the 2019 Old Trafford Test.
England pace spearhead Stuart Broad took three wickets for 59 runs in the first innings. By taking Warner's wicket on Day 2, Broad broke the long-standing record of Sir Ian Botham. He raced to 131 wickets in the Ashes, the most by an English bowler in the prestigious series. Botham had accounted for 128 wickets from 32 Tests in the Ashes.
England fast bowler Mark Wood took six wickets in the second innings. He (6/37) registered the best bowling figures for England in D/N Tests. Wood claimed the second-best figures in an innings at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart after former Aussie legend Shane Warne (6/31 vs New Zealand). Wood is the seventh bowler at this venue to take a six-wicket haul in an innings.
As per ESPNcricinfo, it was the sixth-shortest Test in terms of balls (1312) since 1910 where all 40 wickets fell. Joe Root suffered his eighth Test defeat in Australia as captain, the joint-most defeats as a visiting skipper in a country with Brian Lara (lost eight in South Africa). Meanwhile, Cummins has won his first Test series as full-time captain of Australia.
Cummins was the standout performer of the series with the ball, having finished as the highest wicket-taker. He accounted for 21 scalps at an incredible average of 18.05. Cummins, who missed one Test, registered the best figures of 5/38.
