Ashes cricket 2023: Australia to tone down celebrations in bid to win fifth Test, erase 2019 demons

Australia won the fourth Test in Manchester in 2019 retaining the Ashes, but the party that followed may have cost them a series win. Four years on, they’re intent on not repeating history.

Just as they did in 2019, Australia retained the Ashes on day five – a Sunday – at Old Trafford, taking a 2-1 lead into the fifth and final Test at The Oval.

That is pretty much where the similarities end.

Four years ago, the Aussies bounced back from the devastation of Ben Stokes’ Headingley heist to grind down England in a Manchester Test that went deep into the fifth day.

It was the first Test series since Steve Smith and David Warner’s ball tampering bans had ended, and would be the first time Australia would leave an away Ashes series holding the urn in 18 years. There was a sense of a mountain climbed, a major achievement.

And the team partied like it too. That night in Manchester remains one of the looser evenings in living memory for the Australian men’s team.

Australian batsman Marcus Harris ambushes a live cross with the Today Show during Australia's celebrations after securing the Ashes in 2019.

Marcus Harris, Travis Head and Matthew Wade crashed a live television cross, Harris yelling into the mic that “we shit it in” and Head spraying champagne in the vicinity of presenter Tony Jones.

Smith sported glasses and pretended to bat left-handed. Officially he was pretending to be former teammate and Test opener Chris Rogers, though many assumed he was mocking England’s bespectacled spinner Jack Leach.

Harris’ night got more interesting from there. Out celebrating, a group of Australian players ran into retired world champion boxer Ricky Hatton. Egged on by Wade, Hatton threw a punch – thankfully not too heavily – that landed on Harris’ chin.

"CHOMPERS, YOU BEAUUUUUTY!"

TJ gets ambushed by the Aussies live on the @TheTodayShow after their #Ashes triumph 🤣😂#9WWOSpic.twitter.com/xhjEUptHGc

— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) September 8, 2019

Within four days the Aussies were playing again in London. Tim Paine decided to bowl, Jofra Archer ran amok and England levelled the series.

It was an outcome that has continued to rankle.

“Drawing a series, whether it keeps the questions coming from media or that little bit of doubt, or not bitterness, but you haven‘t quite gotten over the line,” Mitchell Starc told CODE Sports before the Aussies departed for this tour.

“So yeah, to win in Manchester was pretty cool, certainly enjoyed retaining the series, but it sort of left a bit of a sombre feel to The Oval when you‘re sort of receiving the Ashes after a drawn series. So no, it’d be nice to certainly finish group with you know, the majority of us have been around for a while now if we could.”

Australia’s celebrations were more subdued after retaining the Ashes on Sunday. Picture: Getty

Harris, speaking in May, downplayed the impact of the frivolity on The Oval result but accepted that Australia had wasted its chance.

“I don‘t think you can blame the celebrations because none of the bowlers came out or anything like that,” Harris said.

“We had a good break between the next Test and the last one finishing so you can‘t blame it. But that was definitely a good opportunity that we probably let slip to win the series.”

This time around there is no risk of Australia’s celebrations getting out of hand.

When this sodden encounter was finally taken off life support at 5:23pm local time, a tiny group of Aussie fans cheered as they convened around the team viewing room of a 99 per cent empty ground.

It was a world apart from the jubilation when the final English wicket fell in 2019.

The Aussies are relieved to ensure they have kept the urn out of England’s reach for at least another couple of years, but as of yet not much has been achieved.

England's captain Joe Root (L) and Australia's Tim Paine shared the Ashes trophy after the 2019 series. Picture: Getty

Australia ticked the retention box four years ago. Nothing short of an outright win was going to be acceptable this time for a generation of great players who have never won an away Ashes series.

Whereas on the balance of play Australia had deserved its 2-1 lead in 2019, the picture is less clear this time around. The first three Tests seesawed, Australia having its nose in front in two of them, and there is some irony that it is the most one-sided of the matches to date that ended without a winner.

Determined to dodge another 2-2 scoreline, the Aussies had much to ponder on the journey to the capital.

Steve Smith was one of several Australian batsmen to struggle in Manchester. Picture: Getty

Having regularly struggled to stymie England’s late-innings kamikaze batting, the tourists also have their hands full stopping the rampant Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, whose combination of blistering pace and devilish skill have curtailed the Australian top order across the last two Tests since they were introduced into the series.

Pat Cummins, who played probably the worst Test of his career, will have to summon one last effort both physically and mentally, having already played five Tests in seven weeks as a fast-bowling captain.

But having repeatedly stressed throughout this tour that Australia was not here to draw, fans can rest assured there is no threat of the party getting in the way this week.

“I don’t think there’ll be huge celebrations. I think there’ll be maybe a pat on the back for retaining the series,” Cummins said.

“In some regards, whatever happened today, wouldn‘t really change how we look at next week.

“We want to win it.”