ASHES 2023

'Luck hona chahiye like Australia' - Fans react as Australia retains Ashes as rain dashed England's comeback hopes on final day of fourth Test

Australia retained the Ashes as rain dashed England's comeback chances on final day of fourth Test in Manchester.

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Akshay
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Ben Stokes and Pat Cummins

Ben Stokes and Pat Cummins (Source: Twitter)

Ben Stokes and Pat Cummins Ben Stokes and Pat Cummins (Source: Twitter)

England displayed the pinnacle of 'bazball' in Manchester, nearly outplaying Australia to level the series, but they were unable to overcome the English weather. It could have been an intriguing final day with England holding the upper hand, but the rain had the final say, favoring Australia to retain the Ashes 2-1 in the five-match series.

England captain Ben Stokes made the right call by deciding to bowl first on a good batting wicket, and his bowlers did not disappoint, restricting Australia to 317. Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh scored half-centuries to take the team to a respectable total, while Chris Woakes wreaked havoc with a five-wicket haul.

The bowling efforts were well complimented by their batters who put up a highly aggressive batting display. They lost Ben Duckett early, but his partner, Zak Crawley, led the 'bazball' unit with a magnificent knock. The right-handed opener struck 189 runs off 182 balls, forming a huge partnership with Moeen Ali (54 off 82 balls) and Joe Root (84 off 95) for the second and third wickets.

The onslaught was continued by Harry Brook and Jonny Bairstow, bringing England's first innings total to 592. Brook smashed 61 off 100 deliveries, while Bairstow remained unbeaten on 99 off 81 balls. With a massive lead of 275 runs, England would have had the game in their pocket, but it appeared that rain did not want them to win.

Following Australia's Ashes victory, both captains said the following:

Ben Stokes said it's a tough one to take but it's part of the journey and the aim is to end the series on a high when the two meet at The Oval.

"It's a tough one to take, you know. The kind of cricket we played on the first three days and to be on the wrong side of the weather, it's a tough one. But it's a part of the journey. I think coming into this game, it was a do or die game for us. Bowling them out for 320 and scoring 590, we couldn't do much. We'll have a lot of pride to play the next game. We know what the last game means to us as a team and we want to finish off on a high. Want the crowd to come out and support us," the English all-rounder said.

Pat Cummins has had an incredible run as Test captain, winning the previous Ashes, the Test Championship 2021-23, and now retaining the Ashes as well. However, the pace bowler said they are focused on winning the series 3-1.

"Our preference is to come over here and win the Ashes. Not the greatest of circumstances but happy to retain it now. What happened today doesn’t really change how we look at the next game. It’s been an amazing group, we all turned up here very motivated. We all turned up here to win the series, retaining the Ashes is nice but we’re fully focused on winning it," Cummins said.

Here's how fans reacted to Australia retaining the Ashes: 

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