Australia captain Pat Cummins led his side to a dramatic two-wicket win over England in the first Test at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
The Ashes holders were 209-7, still 72 runs shy of a victory target of 281, when fast bowler Cummins came in to bat after first-innings century-maker Usman Khawaja fell for a painstaking 65.
And after Alex Carey was out to leave Australia 227-8, the tourists still required another 54 more runs.
But Cummins and Nathan Lyon’s unbroken stand of 55 saw Australia home in a match to rival the tension of England’s two-run win in a celebrated 2005 Ashes clash at Edgbaston.
Cummins, who finished on 44 not out, hit the winning boundary when he edged Ollie Robinson to third man where a diving Harry Brook knocked the ball over the rope.
Lyon, whose missed run out contributed to England’s stunning one-wicket win at Headingley in the drawn 2019 Ashes series in England, was 16 not out.
Victory left World Test champions Australia 1-0 up in the five-match series as they bid for a first Ashes campaign win in England in 22 years.
Cummins had promised Australia would stick with their traditional game rather than get caught up in the hype surrounding England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach.
Australia’s method was exemplified by player of the match Khawaja, with Cummins saying: “He showed composure in both innings, playing at his own pace, playing his own method and didn’t get caught up in anything else.”
This was just England’s third defeat in 14 Tests under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.
England were left to rue a series of missed chances throughout the match, none more so than when Lyon was dropped on just two by Stokes at square leg, after the skipper failed to hold a one-handed diving chance from a pull off Stuart Broad as he hit the turf.
Here’s a look at the reactions to Australia’s win:
Good morning Australia, we've got some pretty good news for you 😉#Ashes pic.twitter.com/kRgNnusl38
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) June 20, 2023
That winning feeling 🙌 📱
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 20, 2023
Australia’s day at Edgbaston 🇦🇺 🏏 pic.twitter.com/EUC39ctLJA
Test cricket eh 🤯
— Carlos Brathwaite (@CRBrathwaite26) June 20, 2023
What a game , hats off to both teams . Well done @benstokes38 @patcummins30 you have bought test cricket back to life. Love test cricket ❤️ @TheBarmyArmy @CricketAus @ECB_cricket
— Darren Lehmann (@darren_lehmann) June 20, 2023
Wow! What a fantastic game of Cricket. Run rate still good😉😄
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) June 20, 2023
Well played both team! Test Cricket at its best #Ashes23
2005 Ashes feel to this test series so far. #Ashes2023
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) June 20, 2023
That was a special game .. Loved every minute of the whole game .. We are in for a very special series .. Well done Australia this week but I am sure England can bounce back .. #Ashes
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 20, 2023
#Ashes
— Samreen (@SamreenRazz) June 20, 2023
Cricket, you’re crazy. 🫶🏼
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) June 20, 2023
Birmingham, 2023: Khawaja top scores with 65, Australia win 8 wickets down, Cummins hits the winning boundary.
— Brydon Coverdale (@brydoncoverdale) June 21, 2023
It's Australia's highest successful chase since...
Johannesburg, 2011: Khawaja top scores with 65, Australia win 8 wickets down, Cummins hits the winning boundary.
Khawaja since making his comeback in the New Year Test last year (Sydney 2022), has avged 67.66 having scored 7 hundreds & 8 fifties. And in this period, he has made sizable contributions in away wins in Lahore, Galle, Indore & Edgbaston. Was actually AUS's best bat in India.
— Gurkirat Singh Gill (@gurkiratsgill) June 20, 2023
PATRICK CUMMINS!
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) June 20, 2023
LEADER. LEGEND.
Captain leafing from the front. Chasing 281. Superbly aided by Lyon and England tried hard but eventually Australia dug in and found a way. England were enterprising no doubt.
Well led. #Ashes
Khawaja's traditional old school test match innings defeating Bazball would carry immense symbolism.
— Prithvi (@Puneite_) June 20, 2023
Pat Cummins in the dressing room in a few minutes from now. pic.twitter.com/fBxlIigwDu
— Aaditya Narayan (@AadityaN_28) June 20, 2023
Brilliant from Cummins all match. Restrained, smart, patient, low-ego. Hell of a player.
— George Dobell (@GeorgeDobell1) June 20, 2023
Pat Cummins, that’s one of the all-time captain’s Ashes performances.
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) June 20, 2023
Cummins has been spectacular 🙌🏼#TheAshes
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) June 20, 2023
Far from this being the death of umm Bazball, surely this is a game that helps define it. Ridiculous gambles & some extraordinary play ultimately put Eng in a position they cud have won from, against the world’s just crowned best team. They had no right (imo). #mashes
— Isabelle Westbury (@izzywestbury) June 20, 2023
You only have to see how many great games of cricket this England Test team have been involved in to be a Bazball convert. They will probably lose a few games. But boy, win or lose, everyone watching will have had a wild ride..
— Hemant (@hemantbuch) June 20, 2023
With text inputs from AFP