England v Australia 5th Ashes Test: 5 Talking Points

England v Australia 5th Ashes Test: 5 Talking Points: So finally the Ashes 2015 is over which was dominated by the hosts who won the series 3-2 and regained the Ashes series. The fifth and final Test match was a dead rubber as England had regained the beloved Urn in the 4^th Test match at Trent Bridge. Though, the Australian camp would be somewhat happy to end the otherwise disappointing Ashes campaign on a winning note. The Oval Test also witnessed that for the first time Michael Clarke enforced follow-on while captaining his side in Test cricket.

In the match Australia retained its ruthless colours as it won the match with abrupt domination. Australia won the match by an innings and 46 runs. It was one of the rare series in Ashes history in which not even single match went into the fifth and final day.

Here is the England v Australia 5th Ashes Test: 5 Talking Points:

1. Steven Smith ’s 143 run knock:

Steven Smith whose weakness against moving deliveries was exposed well throughout the series came good in this Test match. He played a brilliant 143 run knock in the 1^st innings and helped Australia to post a humongous total of 481 runs on the board. Firstly he added 146 runs for the 4^th wicket with Adam Voges and then added 91 runs for the 9^th wicket with Mitchell Starc to put Australia on path of ascendancy.

2. Warner and Roger’s opening partnership:

The opening pair of Chris Rogers and David Warner which has been one of the best ever in the Australian history ended their glorious run of partnership in Test cricket on a high. In the 1^st innings the duo of Rogers and Warner set the tone for the match as they accumulated 110 runs for the 1^st wicket. As Australians didn’t get to bat in the 2^nd innings it proved to be their last partnership in international cricket as well.

Also Read – England vs Australia 5th Test: Statistical Review

3. Root’s rare failure:

Failure is a word which you rarely associate with the English run-machine Joe Root. But in this Test match Root faltered in both the innings which was one of the crucial factors behind England’s loss in the match. In the 1^st innings the wibbly-wobbly bowler Mitchell Marsh deceived him with his shortish ball. While in the 2^nd innings Mitchell Johnson got better of him with his quick bouncer as Root miscued the pull shot and was caught at the long-leg region. Root ended up as the leading run-scorer for his side in the series.

4. Australia’s disciplined bowling:

In the last 2 Ashes Tests apart from Australia’s lackluster performance with the bat, their bowling was also below par. But in this Test match they put up a commanding show with the red cherry in hand. The comeback man Peter Siddle took 6 wickets in the match while the Aussie all-rounder Mitchell Marsh grabbed 5 scalps. Overall it was a herculean effort from the pace attack as it was a big thing to get the in-form English side out after enforcing follow-on. The bowlers ensured that the Aussie batsmen didn’t have to bat in 2^nd innings.

5. Clarke and Roger’s retirement:

Finally with the end of the Oval Test it was curtains on the international cricket career of Australian skipper Michael Clarke and opener Chris Rogers. Though Clarke’s illustrious career didn’t ended as well as he would have liked as his team lost the Ashes series. But for Chris Rogers who amassed majority of his Test runs after the age of 35, it was a fairy-tale ending as he was the second leading run-scorer in the Ashes 2015. Clarke accumulated 8,643 runs in 115 Tests while Rogers scored 2,015 runs in 25 Test matches.