We might have expected the next in the line of great England allrounders to stamp his name all over the 2023 edition, but a dicky knee and the hidden demands of captaincy stole the title from him. Of course, there were heroics that came mainly with the bat and his unwavering message of cricket without inhibition but in the end Ben Stokes gave way to Chris Woakes as gamebreaker writ large across three Tests that so nearly did something only Don Bradman's Australians managed 87 years ago.The show-stopper, however, was neither Stokes nor Woakes but Stuart Broad, whose sense of theatre is very Beefy and Fred; not that even those two gargantuan figures of the English game could finish in a front of a full house at The Oval by hitting their final ball faced in Test cricket for six and take the wicket that squared the series the following evening* with the last ball they ever bowled in first-class cricket. You couldn't make it up. This stunning triumph and the amazing scenes that followed were nothing more than England deserved. The cricket played by Stokes' team brings pride to its supporters and inspiration to the generation now growing up with so much else to grab their attention. Various sessions, not least the last two hours yesterday, have been as electrifying as anything in the arena of sport, and some of them more so. It is risk and reward in a way most professional sportsmen look to avoid for fear of the wheels coming off. It is exemplified by names such as Botham, Best and Ballesteros; Flintoff and Federer; Stokes, Senna and Sobers. Only, this time Stokes has press-ganged a whole team to walk in the steps of its leader. Over-analysing this period in English cricket history is not so much futile as it is unnecessary. Rather, we must applaud the light, the hope, the faith and the brilliance. Probably England deserved the 3-2 margin in their favour simply because of the extent of their ambition. It is one thing to entertain, quite another to avoid becoming only a Harlem Globetrotter. There is a practicality to winning cricket matches otherwise known as game management, and as the series progressed, so England began to log in. When the free spirit joined forces with clear thinking, it became an unstoppable force. As it was, rain in Manchester denied this result and in a strange sort of way it doesn't now seem to matter too much. Sure, Australia retained the Ashes but everyone knows what happened and who made it so. Two fine teams went at it with an iron will and by the end could not be separated. One took the game to a soaring new height of expressionism, the other did it by the book of words long written into history. This contrast was in itself a fascination There has been controversy throughout the series and the sense, from afar, that the players have been more on edge than they have revealed. For once, dignity has not been the first to leave. Probably, the IPL is to thank for players who understand each other better then at any time previously. A few names from the past have grumbled about how "nice" everyone is to one another on the field, but rather there be a kind face for our game than a sneer. Probably England deserved the 3-2 margin in their favour simply because of the extent of their ambition. It is one thing to entertain, quite another to avoid becoming only a Harlem Globetrotter. Truth be told, by throwing all signs of caution to the wind, England made a surprising number of mistakes. Australia judged these to be the cause of an unsustainable method and chose to play more pragmatic cricket themselves. Game management is a skill, albeit an unglamorous one. Self-awareness is an attribute. At various times in the series England have missed the mark on both, and costly it has been. The second-innings freefall with the bat and dropped catches cost them Edgbaston; a first-innings slide into chaos and further missed chances cost them Lord's. But does one come with the other? Is the corollary of inhibition the fallout from consistency? The same happened at The Oval. Four wickets were lost for 28 on the opening day and five for 35 in the second innings - most of them to batting that was, not so long ago, perceived as madness. But when the free spirit kicked in and the clear thinking held its own - think Woakes and Mark Wood bowling and batting at Headingley, and specifically, the manner in which they ushered England over the finish line - well, the potential of cricket seemed to have become endless. For that, captain, we thank you.
England 2 Australia 2 Drawn 1
England 2 Australia 2 Drawn 1