Before the fifth test of the Ashes 2023, England’s pace bowler Stuard Broad said this game would be his last match for England. It has been a fantastic farewell to the legendary Stuard Broad as England beat Australia in the 5th test. Pacer Broad picked up the last wicket of Australia to secure the famous victory in his very last game for England.
As it happened
After the first innings of the 5th test, Australia had a lead of 12 runs. But England made a good response in their second innings. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett built a strong basement for the team as they picked up 79 runs in the opening partnership. Before losing the wicket to Mitchel Starc, Ben Duckett scored 41 runs for the team.
However, Zak Crawley didn’t miss the half-century and made another partnership of 61 runs with the captain, Ben Stokes. Zak Crawley stopped in 73 runs, while the captain scored 42 runs before leaving the crease.
However, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow played vital roles in the middle order. Their partnership led England towards a big score. Joe Root was so close to smashing a century. But he was very unfortunate as he lost his wicket in the nervous ninety. On the other hand, Bairstow added 78 runs on the scoreboard. Relying on their bats, England scored 395 runs in their second innings and set a target of 384 runs for the Aussies.
David Warner and Usman Khawaja had a flying start in chasing the target. Both openers were ruling the English bowler and added 140 runs together on the scoreboard.
However, Chris Woakes break their partnership by taking the wicket of David Warner. Chris Woakes also picked up Khawaja in his following over. Khawaja added 72 runs before leaving the crease.
After that, Steve Smith and Travis Head were carrying the team and were looking very good. It seemed Australia could win the game as they were getting closer to the target. But everything changed when Moeen Ali picked up Travis Head in the 73.3 over. A few moments later, Steven Smith also followed the same path. He lost his wicket to Woakes after scoring 54 off 94 balls.
Unfortunately, Australia couldn’t fight back again and conceded the defeat. England got the result when Stuart Broad picked up Alex Carry. As a result, England won the fifth game by 49 runs and leveled the Ashes Series.
Getting a wicket to win an Ashes Test is amazing – Broad
Stuart Broad, who has retired from international cricket, praised his teammates. He said, “It was absolutely wonderful. Woakes and Moeen set the tone after the rain break. Woakes has been such a wonderful player to play with all these years. The Oval crowd was fantastic. To come and pick up the last two wickets was fantastic. You think when you announce your retirement what your last ball is going to be but to get a wicket to win an Ashes Test is amazing.”
