English party begins
England players celebrate after winning the five-match Ashes series 3-0 at the Oval on Sunday—AFP
England and Australia drew the fifth Test as the Ashes series ended in a dramatic draw on the final day at The Oval on Sunday.
England, set a target of 227 to win after Australia captain Michael Clarke’s bold declaration, needed 21 more to win off 24 balls with five wickets left when the umpires decided the light, even with the floodlights on, was too dark to continue and ended the match at 7.35pm local time.
The draw meant England, who’d already retained the Ashes, finished the five-match contest as 3-0 winners having triumphed in three successive Test series against Australia for the first time since the 1950s.
Jonathan Trott (59) and Kevin Pietersen (62), who both scored their maiden Test hundreds in Ashes matches at The Oval in 2009 and 2005 respectively, kept England in sight of an improbable win, in a match where they had largely been outplayed, after Clarke closed Australia’s second innings at 111/6.
This result saw Australia fail to win a single Test in an Ashes series for the first time since their 3-0 loss in England in 1977 and meant they’d failed to win a Test for the ninth match in a row following a 4-0 loss in India earlier this year.
It was slightly strange but I’m proud of the way the lads played and in the cold light of day we’ve won the Ashes 3-0,” said England captain Alastair Cook at the presentation ceremony.
“It’s very hard as there are certain guidelines in place — if it’s that dark on day three you come off and no-one says anything.”
Clarke added: “We’re here to try and win, credit to England they played well today. It was worth a crack.
“We got outplayed throughout the series and again we couldn’t get over the line today. England deserve a lot of credit for the way they played.”
We are a tough nut to crack: Cook
England captain Alastair Cook has warned Australia that his Ashes winners will prove a tough nut to crack when the bitter rivalry resumes later this year.
“If you go right back to the start of the series a lot of questions were asked of the England team and people wondered if we would be able to handle the pressure of being favourites. To be able to deliver on that means we can enjoy a few well deserved beers,” Cook said.
“We’ve had some tough times but we’ve shown character. When runs needed to be scored and wickets need to be taken we’ve done it.
“We have been through some tough times and good times and we know when to draw on it.”
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