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Ashes 2019, fourth Test: Australia beat England in a thriller at Old Trafford

Australia battled England resistance until the final hour of a gripping Fourth Test to retain the Ashes | WATCH

Peter Lalor and Tom Crystal
14 min read
4:46AMSeptember 09, 2019.
Updated 11:35AMSeptember 09, 2019
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Australia celebrate after the final wicket was confirmed by the TV umpire. Picture: Getty Images
Australia celebrate after the final wicket was confirmed by the TV umpire. Picture: Getty Images

Australia vs England, fourth Test from Old Trafford. Australia have won by 185 runs to take a 2-1 series lead and retain the Ashes.

Peter Lalor 3.35am: Aussies win a thriller

Australia have won at Old Trafford and retained the Ashes after a thrilling win secured in the final hour of play.

England took it the distance, Australia grew more anxious by the minute, but with the sun gone and time running out the visitors reversed the tide of recent history, eking out a resistant tail.

Josh Hazlewood claimed the final wicket, trapping Craig Overton lbw as Australia dismissed England for 197 to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Part-time leg-spinner Marnus Labuschagne removed Jack Leach to end a 64-minute, eighth-wicket stand that had given the home fans hope of a famous draw.

England, who started day five on 2-18, were six wickets down at lunch and eight down with a scheduled hour left to play but with the lights already on.

Pat Cummins finished with 4-43, while opener Joe Denly top-scored for England with 53. The fifth and final Test of the series starts on Thursday at The Oval.

Paine’s men hold their nerve

Australia had not brought the Ashes urn home since 2001 and they celebrated the last wicket like they had won the series.

The team, especially Tim Paine, were emotional after the victory. The captain, appointed when Steve Smith was suspended, achieved what Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke could not.

“I didn’t think it would be this emotional,” Paine said. “The amount of work that’s required to go on into retaining the Ashes has been enormous and I’m really proud of this group and how we bounced back from Headingley.

“The atmosphere, I was just saying to the guys, at every ground has been unbelievable. The noise they make here and the passion they have for cricket makes this moment all the more special.

“We’re thrilled. This is what we came here to do, to take the Ashes home. We’ll have a bloody good night tonight together and celebrate but we’ll be back on deck next week. We want to win the Ashes 3-1.”

Australia's players after the final wicket. Picture: AFP
Australia's players after the final wicket. Picture: AFP

Hazlewood: ‘heart was beating’

Paceman Josh Hazlewood said: “They made us fight hard to the end. Credit to England, but this is an awesome feeling.

“The heart was beating fast near the end, but once we got Jos (Buttler), we felt we had the time. The Ashes retained for now, but let’s go and win the series.”

England were said to be on the rise after a miracle win at Headingley and the visitors said to be broken, but Paine’s side stuck to their task and completed the victory thanks to the brilliance of Steve Smith and Pat Cummins.

The bowler, playing his first series in England, took the first four wickets to fall, two late on day four and two more in the first session of the last day.

His probing, searing accuracy was too much for the top order but the tail proved a little more resistant.

Cummins is the only Australian seamer to play in all four Tests and is the leading wicket taker. His 4-34 set up the win. He has 24 wickets at 17 this series.

Marnus Labuschagne removes Jack Leach. Picture: Getty Images
Marnus Labuschagne removes Jack Leach. Picture: Getty Images

Overton (21) was the last man to fall. The tall bowler had faced 105 deliveries before being trapped in front with England still 185 runs in arrears.

England skipper Joe Root was upset to be the first England captain to not defend the Ashes since 2001.

“I’m bitterly disappointed,” he told the BBC. “I thought the way we fought today, the character we showed, every single one of them can be proud of that today. To come so close to taking it to The Oval is hard to take. we’ve still got to look forward and make sure we level the series.

“I think its been a good Test wicket, an important toss to win, and we were not quite at our best in the first innings. We fought hard and bravely throughout the game, but we’re in the position we are now.”

Root complimented Smith, who was the man of the match.

“Steve Smith has played very well,” he said. “He’s a world-class player. You need to take any chance you get at him early. The first Test is probably the difference between the two sides.

“They’ve bowled well. I think the way we went about our business today was impressive. The guys will take a lot from that.

“You learn a lot about your team and players in situations like this and we stood up to the challenge and fought bravely.”

England batsman Craig Overton was last man out. Picture: Getty Images
England batsman Craig Overton was last man out. Picture: Getty Images

Smith caps epic comeback

“It feels amazing to know the urn is coming home,” Smith said. “I’ve been here a few times when things haven’t gone our way. This was always one to tick off my bucket list. It’s extremely satisfying.

The batsman had played two series in England without success before this.

Australia had lost a game at Headingley they should have won last week with England nine down and while there was no chance of losing this one, a draw would have felt like a loss.

Smith watched the bowlers complete the victory he had set up from slip.

Back after missing the third Test with concussion, he contributed 293 runs in the two innings here and has an extraordinary 671 at an average of 134 from the five innings he has played in this series.

The batsman would need 323 runs at The Oval next week to match Don Bradman’s record of 974 runs against England in 1930.

Smith’s efforts stand in stark contrast to almost every other batsman in the series. The top order in both teams has struggled against the moving ball. Ben Stokes (354) and Rory Burns (323) are the only other players to have scored more than 300 run, but both have played three more innings than the Australian.

The going has been brutal for David Warner, who has scored ducks in his past three innings and an average below 10. Root has also been dismissed for 0 three times.

Australia have not won a series in England since 2001, failing in 2005 and 2009 under Ponting, then in 2013 and 2015 under Clarke.

The series has captured he imagination of the English public with ticket sales for yesterday’s play spiking on news of the win at Headingley and the stands sold out before a ball was bowled on the last day.

England's Jack Leach and Steve Smith. Picture: AFP
England's Jack Leach and Steve Smith. Picture: AFP

Match blog below — how day five unfolded:

3.20am: Brave resistance falls short

Australia’s 185-run win has put them up 2-1 up in the five-Test series ahead of this week’s finale at the Oval. England, set a mammoth target of 383 to win, were dismissed for 197 on the fifth day. Last man out Craig Overton batted for 105 balls.

Josh Hazlewood takes the final wicket. Picture: Getty Images
Josh Hazlewood takes the final wicket. Picture: Getty Images

3.15am: AUSTRALIA WIN!

Josh Hazlewood wraps it up, trapping Craig Overton lbw. The batsman asks for a review but the decision is quickly confirmed. A brave innings by Overton comes to an end.

3.05am: WICKET!

Who else but ... Marnus Labuschagne? A gamble by skipper Tim Paine pays off. The part-time leg-spinner immediately has the ball turning a long way back into left-hander Jack Leach. The fifth ball of Labuschagne’s first over bounces and smacks into Leach’s bat. Matthew Wade swallows it at short leg.

3am: Bowling change

Mitchell Starc is summoned to try and break this partnership, which has lasted an hour and is edging England toward safety. We have 16 overs left to play, the crowd is riding every ball.

The scene at Old Trafford late on day five. Picture: Getty Images
The scene at Old Trafford late on day five. Picture: Getty Images

2.40am: England hanging on

Craig Overton and Jack Leach look solid against the second new ball, defending solidly. Cummins and Hazlewood are steaming in. The crowd is cheering every ball and getting louder.

2.22am: New ball taken

Pat Cummins (4-41) takes the new rock at 80.1 overs, just one ball beyond its availability. He has the chance to take his first five-wicket haul in Ashes Test.

2.10am: Close!

Josh Hazlewood and the Australians think they have another wicket, as an inswinging yorker almost bowls Craig Overton and runs away for four. Tim Paine asks for a review, which shows the ball hitting back leg and missing leg stump.

1.58am: WICKET!

Jofra Archer cops a Nathan Lyon ball that barely bounces and hits him plumb in front. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena raises the finger, Archer ponders a review but Craig Overton shakes his head firmly — no point challenging that one.

1.50am: WICKET!

Huge moment as Josh Hazlewood produces some magic to remove Jos Buttler, bowled without offering a shot. With two fielders in close the batsman expects something short but Hazlewood gets a short-of-a-length ball to tail back and smash into the top of off stump. Brilliant!

1.30am: Final session begins!

Nathan Lyon takes the ball, now with a silly point in place. The first over after tea is a good one, as Lyon gets some menacing turn and bounce.

Peter Lalor 1.20am: New ball could swing matters

They couldn’t could they? Surely they won’t, but then again, Headingley has taught us anything is possible.

Australia need to take four wickets to secure the Ashes, England must survive 36 overs on a wearing pitch.

They have done well to survive this far.

Nathan Lyon removed Joe Denly (53) and Pat Cummins bowled Jonny Bairstow (25) in the second session to have England 6-166 at the break.

The new ball is due in 10 overs and will be critical. If England can survive that they should hold on and the game at The Oval will decide the series, if not then Australia go to London 2-1 up and the Ashes locked away.

Australia’s players react to a successful review for Craig Overton. Picture: AP
Australia’s players react to a successful review for Craig Overton. Picture: AP

1.10am: Tea

Craig Overton and Jos Buttler ensure this is going to the final session — the tension factor is about to be turned up a notch or two.

12.51am: Drama!

Pat Cummins has Craig Overton out lbw but the batsman asks for a review, which appears to show a big inside edge, as the bat hits the pad. TV umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge, however, says he can’t see any reason to overturn the original decision ... except ball tracking shows it’s pitched outside off stump. Phew! Right decision, but for the wrong reason.

12.42am: Testing spell

We have 30 minutes to play before tea, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins sharing the bowling duties.

Umpires Marais Erasmus and Kumar Dharmasena wait for a replacement ball. Picture: AFP
Umpires Marais Erasmus and Kumar Dharmasena wait for a replacement ball. Picture: AFP

12.35am: New ballgame

Australia have managed to get the ball changed, in time for the 58th over, and all of a sudden we’re getting increased swing and movement; batting has become decidedly more difficult.

Mitchell Starc, right, broke a stubborn partnership. Picture: AFP
Mitchell Starc, right, broke a stubborn partnership. Picture: AFP

12.20am: The Paine gang

Credit to Tim Paine, who hasn’t been afraid to mix it up as Australia press for victory. He’s made nine bowling changes in 14 overs — including a change of ends for Mitchell Starc before his wicket, and giving part-timers Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne a trundle.

A disappointed Jonny Bairstow after being given out lbw. Picture: AFP
A disappointed Jonny Bairstow after being given out lbw. Picture: AFP

12.02am: WICKET!

First ball after drinks Mitchell Starc traps Jonny Bairstow lbw for 25. Bairstow asks for a review — it does look a fraction high. Ball tracking, however, returns an “umpire’s call” verdict, sparking a huge celebration from the Australian fielders.

11.57pm: Midway point

Drinks are taken in an extended second session. Australia, with five wickets, are halfway to victory, England the same distance from saving the game.

11.40pm: Ringing the changes

Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow see off a Josh Hazlewood spell with textbook defence, then work Lyon for a boundary apiece; Bairstow driving well and Buttler flicking with the spin out to mid-wicket. Marnus Labuschagne is thrown the ball to see if he can change things up with some orthodox leg spin. He has nine Test wickets at a tick under 29.

England's killer Bs: Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler during a break in play. Picture: AFP
England's killer Bs: Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler during a break in play. Picture: AFP

11.20pm: Lyon’s line in question

Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting, in commentary for Sky Sports, believe Nathan Lyon is bowling just a little too straight, allowing the batsmen to pick him off to the leg side. A little further outside off stump, they believe, would trouble the right-handers.

11pm: WICKET!

Welcome to the party Nathan Lyon! The off spinner takes his first wicket for the match, that of Joe Denly for 53 after getting some extra bounce and striking the glove of the batsman. Australia are halfway to victory. Jos Buttler is next in.

10.50pm: 50 for Denly!

The opener has shown plenty of fight, giving England at least some hope of saving this Test, and he drives Pat Cummins down the ground beautifully to notch his second half-century of the series.

Joe Denly salutes the crowd upon reaching 50. Picture: Getty Images
Joe Denly salutes the crowd upon reaching 50. Picture: Getty Images

10.40pm: Second session underway

Pat Cummins resumes, looking to add to figures of 4-23 from 11 overs. We’re at 71 minimum overs remaining today.

Peter Lalor 10.15pm: Cummins to the fore

Another brilliant spell from Pat Cummins has pushed Australia closer to a win and the retention of the Urn at lunch on the last day.

The bowler took the wickets of Jason Roy (31) and the dangerous Ben Stokes (1) in the morning session and England are 4-87.

The home side need to bat out 71 overs to save the match or make an unlikely 296 more to win.

Stokes, the hero at Headingley, walked after he got an edge to a delivery that followed his attempted leave.

Tim Paine took an excellent diving catch but umpire Marais Erasmus’s vision was obscured as the ball almost collected the bat behind the batsman.

Stokes did not, however, wait for DRS and walked off.

Cummins has all four England wickets and is bowling beautifully. His ball to Joe Root last night was as good as anything you will see.

Nathan Lyon is still yet to take a wicket in the match and is being repeatedly jeered by the crowd whenever the ball is returned to him as reminder of the run-out he missed at Headingley.

A tight-knit Australian team gather after Ben Stokes’s exit. Picture: AFP
A tight-knit Australian team gather after Ben Stokes’s exit. Picture: AFP

10pm: Lunch

Two wickets to Australia will make the visiting dressing-room a much calmer place. They had to work for the first wicket but the second followed soon after, and it was the one they wanted: Ben Stokes.

9.42pm: WICKET!

Third Test hero Ben Stokes is out — a huge moment — after feathering an inside edge off Pat Cummins to keeper Tim Paine. The Aussies appeal but umpire Marais Erasmus doesn’t appear too interested ... until Stokes walks. A review would have confirmed the edge, but that’s still a fine show of sportsmanship from the Englishman.

No heroics, but some sportsmanship from Ben Stokes. Picture: AFP
No heroics, but some sportsmanship from Ben Stokes. Picture: AFP

9.20pm: WICKET!

Pat Cummins again, ripping through Jason Roy (31) and knocking over off peg. A big gap between bat and pad, and the paceman found it with some movement off the pitch. Aussie fans breathe a little easier now that there’s a breakthrough. Cummins has 3-14.

Jason Roy can’t believe what Pat Cummins has produced. Picture: Getty Images
Jason Roy can’t believe what Pat Cummins has produced. Picture: Getty Images

9.01pm: Drinks

One hour down for England, five hours to go. A minimum of 84 overs remain on the schedule.

Nathan Lyon rues a close call. Picture: AFP
Nathan Lyon rues a close call. Picture: AFP

8.55pm: Falling safely ...

So far, so good for the batsmen, who’ve been helped by a few half-chances landing short of the fieldsmen, or flying over their shoulder (in the case of Jason Roy’s inside edge off Nathan Lyon). Roy pushes Lyon through cover to bring up the 50 partnership. Huge roar from the crowd.

8.35pm: Bowling change

Mitchell Starc comes into the attack. Starc’s unlikely to maintain the same discipline as Cummins and Hazlewood, but he had the ball hooping about dangerously on day four, when he made the key breakthroughs. Jason Roy is working so hard in defence he looks like toppling over occasionally.

8.25pm: Tight lines

Joe Denly and Jason Roy are digging in, leaving well and defending stoutly. Both batsmen have been beaten outside the off stump, and Denly has had a couple of close lbw shouts. Tim Paine will bank on this pitch doing enough to make survival beyond England. The odd ball is keeping low enough to be a problem.

Pat Cummins goes up for an lbw appeal against Joe Denly. Picture: Getty Images
Pat Cummins goes up for an lbw appeal against Joe Denly. Picture: Getty Images

8.10pm: So many positive waves

The home fans are getting right behind the batsmen — loudly applauding ball one and then chiming in on several occasions in the first two overs. Pat Cummins is bowling in tandem with Josh Hazlewood.

The St George's Flag is waved before play on day five. Picture: Getty Images
The St George's Flag is waved before play on day five. Picture: Getty Images

8pm: Off we go!

Day five begins with Josh Hazlewood operating to Joe Denly. The weather won’t be a problem today — it’s 15C at the moment, with just a little bit of cloud about, heading for a top of 17C.

Gideon Haigh 7.55pm: Odds stacked against England

On the arduous nineteenth of a possible twenty days, Australia look set today to retain the Ashes, with 98 overs available to obtain eight wickets on a pitch skidding and spinning under skies cold but clear.

Jason Roy, right, and Joe Denly walk out to bat. Picture: AFP
Jason Roy, right, and Joe Denly walk out to bat. Picture: AFP

England, meanwhile, need 365 to win from those remaining batsmen, but their two most adhesive performers, Joe Root and Rory Burns, are onlookers, having been prised out in Pat Cummins’ first over of the second innings. The hapless Root was bowled by just about the perfect delivery, seaming away at high speed to cuff the outside of the top of off stump.

Tim Paine’s declaration, which came a little late for some, thus paid immediate dividends. Jason Roy’s ungainly lunge averted the hat trick, but he and Jason Denly, with a single Ashes fifty between them, hardly fill Australian hearts with foreboding.

The main obstacle is, of course, Ben Stokes, insurmountable at Headingley and sizeable at Lord’s. Root elected not to bowl him yesterday, protecting Stokes’ sore shoulder and general energy level, although it is asking a lot for lightning to strike twice in the same series.

Batting, confirmed Steve Smith, on the basis of his innings of 82 in 92 balls yesterday, is also a difficult proposition: “I think it will be difficult, particularly while the ball is hard. I found when I first went out to the middle, when you bowl a good length, there was enough up and down and sideways movement. My first 20 or 30 balls, I felt pretty vulnerable when they were bowling that good length.” You’d not have known it, of course: Smith expanded his three Tests’ work to 671 runs at 134.20. By the afternoon, he should receive his next man-of-the-match award, and Australia ratify its tenure of the urn.

7.40pm: Defiant England hold out hope

7.30pm: Aussie pair light up Old Trafford

Steve Smith rescued Australia from a perilous position at 4-44 before Pat Cummins tore through England’s top order on a dramatic day four. Recap here

Gideon Haigh 7.20pm: Rivals relish Warner’s struggle

The waning of David Warner is very nearly as remarkable as the waxing of Steve Smith — perhaps even more so, as Smith had a pre-existing history of big scores, and Warner has never known batting times as tough as these. Read more here

David Warner leaves the field after being dismissed on day four. Picture: AP
David Warner leaves the field after being dismissed on day four. Picture: AP

7pm: Series win within Paine’s reach

Australia are in sight of an Ashes-retaining victory on a pitch that made even Steve Smith feel vulnerable, AAP reports.

Smith and Pat Cummins, the world’s top-ranked batsman and bowler, lived up to their mantle on Saturday to bust the contest open as their side stalked a 2-1 series lead.

Manchester’s weather is notoriously fickle but there is no rain forecast for Sunday.

Smith extinguished an England fightback in yet another incredible innings, scoring a quick-fire 82 that prompted Tim Paine to declare at 6-186. Cummins then blasted out Rory Burns and Joe Root, the most imposing roadblocks in England’s first innings, for ducks with the second and third balls of the innings.

Jason Roy survived the hat-trick delivery but the out-of-form batsman and his middle order have a mountain to climb as they seek to salvage a draw. “It will be difficult,” Smith said.

“My first 20 or 30 balls, I felt pretty vulnerable when they were bowling that good length.

“It’s pretty clear what we need to do tomorrow ... it’s just about relaxing and enjoying it.” Coach Trevor Bayliss pointed to England’s one-wicket win in Leeds as proof that “anything is possible”.

“They believe they are good enough to bat for 98 overs and save the game,” Bayliss said. “I’m always positive, I think we can do it.”

Australia haven’t retained the urn in England since 2001 but none of those squads boasted a batsman of Smith’s calibre.

The tourists crashed to 4-44 on Saturday, when tensions bubbled as Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer both struck twice in marathon opening spells.

Rather than go into his shell, Smith fastidiously counterpunched in a 105-run stand with Matthew Wade to give their side the best chance to secure victory.

— AAP

Additional reporting: Gideon Haigh and Agencies

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cricket/ashes-2019-fourth-test-live-scores-news-from-day-5-at-old-trafford/news-story/5a4e93c7395b57e18cb18f423b4d5459