Australia defeated England 4-1 in the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney on Thursday by five wickets after a demanding series, sending retiring Usman Khawaja out on a high note.
The hosts lost five wickets while chasing their goal of 160, which they achieved after lunch on day five with Alex Carey on 16 and Cameron Green not out at 22.
Australia lost openers Travis Head (29) and Jake Weatherald (34), skipper Steve Smith (12), and Khawaja (who hit six in his farewell knock before retiring after an 88-Test career).
After being dropped on 20, Marnus Labuschagne amassed 37 before needlessly exhausting himself to give Ben Stokes’ team a glimmer of hope as they reduced Australia to 121-5. But after England were bowled for 342 after a stylish 154 from Jacob Bethell, victory was never really in doubt.
After losing the first two Test matches in Perth and Brisbane by eight wickets and the third in Adelaide by 82 runs, the visitors’ lengthy tour swiftly devolved into a horror show. Despite jokes that the hosts had their worst team in 15 years, Stokes’s team had come optimistic they could win their first series in Australia since 2010–11.
In the fourth Test in Melbourne, they pulled off an incredible four-wicket comeback victory despite being heavily criticized for their preparations, discipline, and ultra-aggressive “Bazball” style of cricket.
It was their first win in 18 Test matches on Australian soil, and it gave them some pride back. However, after the loss in Sydney, even if it was close, they would face a difficult investigation when they return home, with coach Brendon McCullum’s future at stake.
Veteran spin king Nathan Lyon had a limited role in Australia’s triumph, even though they were without pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood for the series and Pat Cummins for all but one Test. Nearly 860,000 spectators watched the series, with a record 211,032 passing through Sydney’s turnstiles.
In the first over of the chase, Weatherald hammered Josh Tongue through the covers to get underway, while Head signaled his intention by sending Brydon Carse to the ropes twice.
When Weatherald survived a review for being caught behind on 16 despite the contentious Snicko technology—which has proven inaccurate throughout the series—appearing to detect a faint murmur, tensions erupted.
Stokes had to drag an irate Carse away from the on-field umpire after the bowler and Weatherald got into a furious argument.
When Weatherland top-edged the same bowler to Matthew Potts and Head swiped Tongue to Carse at midwicket, England finally had their reward.
After receiving a guard of honor from England as he left the game for the last time, Khawaja was bowled by Tongue and Smith was tricked by a twisting ball from spinner Will Jacks.
With a 119-run lead, England resumed on 302-8, determined to deliver a late flurry but only adding 40. Precocious number three Bethell, hailed as the future of English cricket, padded up on 142.
Ball tracking indicated it was going high, but he was given out lbw to Scott Boland after scoring just one more run after reaching 150 with two off Mitchell Starc. After a brief respite, he ended a breakthrough innings with a long 265-ball stay that included 15 fours by edging Starc to wicketkeeper Carey shortly after.
Potts was undefeated on 18, and Tongue was the final man out for 6, once more to Starc.
Starc finished with 31wickets in the series, more than any bowler on both sides.
