Cricinfo | Wisden Almanack
The last series in England for a decade was one dominated by batsmen, aided by some pitches which offered nothing but heartbreak to bowlers, and it pitted the two batting giants - Bradman and Hammond - against each other as captains. Both sides scored heavily in the first two Tests, notable for McCabe's 232 (rated by Bradman as the finest innings he saw) and 20-year-old Denis Compton's 102 at Trent Bridge, and Bill Brown carrying his bat for 206 in Australia's first innings at Lord's. With Old Trafford washed out completely, Australia retained the Ashes with a five-wicket win in the one low-scoring match at Leeds with Bradman making a hundred for the sixth successive Test. For the fourth time in a row, The Oval was a timeless Test, and England exploited a pluperfect pitch to the full. Len Hutton batted 13 hours and 17 minutes for a record 364 as England remorselessly ground out 903 for 7. Australia, without Bradman, who had broken an ankle, and Fingleton, went down to an innings-and-579-run defeat. While England celebrated, it was confirmation that a combination of flat pitches and timelessness was not one that appealed to anyone other than statisticians. That was confirmed the following winter at Durban and there were no more.
Australia 1 England 1 Drawn 2
The last series in England for a decade was one dominated by batsmen, aided by some pitches which offered nothing but heartbreak to bowlers, and it pitted the two batting giants - Bradman and Hammond - against each other as captains. Both sides scored heavily in the first two Tests, notable for McCabe's 232 (rated by Bradman as the finest innings he saw) and 20-year-old Denis Compton's 102 at Trent Bridge, and Bill Brown carrying his bat for 206 in Australia's first innings at Lord's. With Old Trafford washed out completely, Australia retained the Ashes with a five-wicket win in the one low-scoring match at Leeds with Bradman making a hundred for the sixth successive Test. For the fourth time in a row, The Oval was a timeless Test, and England exploited a pluperfect pitch to the full. Len Hutton batted 13 hours and 17 minutes for a record 364 as England remorselessly ground out 903 for 7. Australia, without Bradman, who had broken an ankle, and Fingleton, went down to an innings-and-579-run defeat. While England celebrated, it was confirmation that a combination of flat pitches and timelessness was not one that appealed to anyone other than statisticians. That was confirmed the following winter at Durban and there were no more.
Australia 1 England 1 Drawn 2