Cummins inspires thrilling 2 wicket win over England: 1st Test, Day 5 (Edgbaston)

Skipper Pat Cummins was the hero as Australia clinched a dramatic two-wicket victory in the 1st Test in Birmingham.

England, opting for an aggressive Bazball approach, declared their first innings at 393/8, with Joe Root scoring a superb unbeaten 118.

Australia responded with 386, led by Usman Khawaja’s patient 141.

England set a target of 281 after scoring 273 in their second innings, thanks to strong contributions from Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes.

Chasing under pressure, Australia were 227-8 and staring defeat. The visitors were steered to the win by Khawaja’s 65 and a calm, match-winning 44 not out from Cummins. Cummins shared a crucial ninth-wicket stand of 55 runs with Nathan Lyon (16 not out) to seal the win on the final evening.

Australia 386 (Khawaja 141, Carey 66, Head 50) and 282 for 8 (Khawaja 65) beat England 393 for 8 dec (Root 118, Bairstow 78, Crawley 61, Lyon 4-149) and 273 (Cummins 4-63, Lyon 4-80) by two wickets.

June 2023.