‘Weakest’ Australian team beat ‘strongest’ English side: Internet reacts to Ashes result

A lot was said ahead of the just-concluded Ashes, with former England great Stuart Broad calling this Australian side the ‘weakest’ unit assembled in over a decade, while dictating how good the touring English team under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes was. The result – Australia thrashed England 4-1 to retain the urn. Despite England having all the players they wanted on this tour Down Under, they failed to deliver their promise of a series win in Australia in 15 years. However, the best they could do was to end their 18-match losing streak on the Aussie soil with their Boxing Day Test wins inside six sessions.

Also Read | Australia beat England in Sydney Test to win Ashes; Carey hits winning runs, Khawaja bows out in style

From Travis Head to Mitchell Starc, the Aussies were all over this English side, leading them in almost every facet of the game in this series.

Australia, however, was without its regular Test captain, Pat Cummins, in four of the five contested Tests, seamer Josh Hazlewood (in four Tests) and Nathan Lyon for the remaining two. And despite not having their premier and first-team bowlers, they emerged victorious, leaving England Cricket and its future in the mud.

The fifth Test at the SCG concluded on the final day, with Australia chasing 160 with five wickets remaining. Alex Carey hit the winning runs, while Usman Khawaja, playing his final Test for Australia, bowed out with a series win. Although he failed to perform across both innings, getting out cheaply, he admitted feeling emotional for the last time representing his country.

Also Read | ‘Grateful for one last win,’ Emotional Khawaja bows out with Ashes victory in final appearance

The stand-in captain Steve Smith scored his 37th Test hundred in the first inning, but could manage only 12 in the second. Carey, who made a wicket-keeping record for the second-highest dismissals in an Ashes series (28), finished the five-series as the fourth-highest run-getter (323 in eight innings).

Here, let’s check out how the internet reacted to Australia’s crushing win over England.