Australia held their nerve to defeat England by two wickets in a thrilling first Ashes Test at Edgbaston that saw them vanquish the demons of 2005 in equally dramatic circumstances.
England v Australia, first Test: Final scores
Australia win by two wickets
- England 1st inns: 393/8 declared (Root 118no, Bairstow 78, Crawley 61; Lyon 4-149)
- Australia 1st inns: 386 (Khawaja 141, Carey 66, Head 50; Broad 3-68, Robinson 3-55)
- England 2nd inns: 273 (Root 46, Brook 46; Lyon 4-80, Cummins 4-63)
- Australia 2nd inns: 282/8 (Khawaja 65, Cummins 44no; Broad 3-64)
Day four report | Day three report | Day two report | Day one report
The Aussies looked on the brink of defeat when captain Pat Cummins came to the crease at 209/7 with 72 still required but he was there at the very end to hit the winning four to complete a remarkable success.
After heavy rain wiped out the morning session on the fifth day, the tourists finally resumed the fifth and final day at 2:15pm on their overnight score of 107 for three in pursuit of a challenging 281.
With 67 overs possible, the only result nobody was predicting was the draw although the possibility of a tie even began to loom deep into the final session when Cummins got the tail wagging alongside the resolute Nathan Lyon at 227/8, still 54 runs short of the target.
Cummins unleashed a couple of lusty blows for six as well as three fours to get some valuable momentum going while Lyon provided a resolute supporting role to pretty much silence the previously raucous Hollies stand.
The home fans were about to explode into life once again when Stokes almost pulled off a stunning catch to dismiss Lyon off the bowling of Broad with 37 runs required but the ball agonisingly popped out of his hand.
That proved to be the last real chance as Cummins (44no) and Lyon (16no) finished the job with nerves of steal and real grit to give the tourists a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
