Ashes ratings: How England and Australia players performed
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A thrilling 2023 Ashes series came to a fitting end on Monday as England beat Australia by 49 runs at The Oval to secure a 2-2 series draw.
Here we assess all the players who featured in the five-match series and give our Ashes ratings for both teams.
England
ZAK CRAWLEY: Repaid England’s faith in spades. His sensational 189 at Old Trafford was an instant Ashes classic and his final stats told a story – 480 runs at 53.33 and a relentless strike-rate of 88.72. Stood up superbly to a strong attack and caught brilliantly at slip. 8/10
BEN DUCKETT: Missed out on a century by two runs at Lord’s but, given England’s top-order travails in the previous Ashes series, 321 runs at 35.66 represents a decent return. His busy approach at the crease helped set the tone. 6
OLLIE POPE: Promoted to vice-captain at the start of the summer but will not remember this series fondly. Attracted a couple of brilliant deliveries and was sent for surgery after dislocating his right shoulder in the second Test. 3
JOE ROOT: Cracked an unbeaten century on the first day of the series and signed off nine runs short of another at The Oval. The heart of England’s batting. Bagged another six wickets with his unpredictable off-spin. 8
HARRY BROOK: Banked four half-centuries but peaked with 85 in the final match and sold his wicket too cheaply at the start of the series. Learned quickly enough to see carry England’s chase at his home ground of Headingley and is inked in as a middle-order mainstay. 7
BEN STOKES: Almost conjured another miracle with his 155 at Lord’s and kept England in the game with 80 at Headingley. Knee problems restricted him to just one meaningful spell but his single-minded, ultra-aggressive captaincy set the entire tone of the summer. 7
JONNY BAIRSTOW: Not the same wicketkeeper he used to be before his horrific leg break. The decision to hand him the gloves cost England at crucial times early on but he managed to pull off a couple of diving catches as the momentum shifted. Played some handy lower-order knocks with 322 runs at 40.25. 6
MOEEN ALI: Came out of retirement to fill a Jack Leach shaped hole and departed once again as soon as the last ball was bowled. His return was a rollercoaster of blisters, groin strains, journeys up and down the order and a crucial three-wicket haul at the eleventh hour. 6
OLLIE ROBINSON: Wound up Australia with his off-field talk and on-field send-offs but ultimately under-delivered on expectations. Took 10 wickets in three games but familiar concerns over his fitness recurred at Headingley and he watched the series play out from the sidelines. 5
STUART BROAD: The perfect end for an England great. Stayed fit and fresh enough to play all five Tests and led the way with 22 wickets. Hit his last ball as a professional cricketer for six and took a match-winning wicket with his final delivery. 8
CHRIS WOAKES: The ultimate team man stepped into the limelight and picked up the Compton-Miller Medal as player of the series, and he tops our Ashes ratings too. Overlooked as England lost the first two matches, then revitalised the side with his some magnificent seam bowling that delivered 19 wickets at 18.14. Vital knock at Headingley. 9
MARK WOOD: Like Woakes, a late but unforgettable addition to the story. Not quite fit enough until the third Test, he brought searing pace to the home attack and put the frighteners on the Australian batting line-up. 8
JAMES ANDERSON: England’s record wicket-taker was a curiously peripheral figure despite playing four Tests. He was quiet with the new ball, managed only five wickets at more than 85 apiece and went unused in key moments. Declined to follow Broad into retirement but, at 41, his time may be coming. 4
JOSH TONGUE: Leapfrogged Matthew Potts in the pecking order and shone at Lord’s, where he took five wickets and dismissed Steve Smith twice. Unlucky not to get another go but did his future prospects no harm at all. 6
Australia
USMAN KHAWAJA: A triumph of old school Test cricket values in the ‘Bazball’ era. Khawaja ground out 496 runs to top the series charts from both teams and used up 1,263 deliveries, doing more than anyone else to wear the England bowlers down. 8
DAVID WARNER: Fended off retirement speculation to hold his place but never really found his old touch. Fell three times to his old foe Stuart Broad and will bow out without an away Ashes century. 5
MARNUS LABUSCHAGNE: Arrived as the world’s number one ranked batter but left with an unsatisfactory body of work. His century at Old Trafford held England off long enough to salvage a rain-assisted draw but precious little of note elsewhere. 5
STEVE SMITH: It says much for the pain he has caused England over the years that one century and two fifties feels like a very light summer. Decisive at Lord’s but found ways to get out when set. 6
TRAVIS HEAD: A much-needed attacking spirit in a batting line-up full of more methodical players. Three half-centuries but never kicked on for a big one. 6
CAMERON GREEN: Saw his towering reputation chipped away as he struggled to justify his spot. Timid and uncertain with the bat and nothing more than handy as an extra seamer. Injured at Headingley, dropped at the Kia Oval. 3
MITCHELL MARSH: Initially described himself as a holidaymaker as he prepared to play back-up to Green but reeled off a brutal century at Headingley in his first Test knock for four years. Returns diminished and his bowling was only just up to par. 7
ALEX CAREY: Will forever be remembered for the opportunistic stumping of Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s that caused a ‘spirit of cricket’ row and saw him targeted for abuse for the rest of the series. Kept well but batting fell off a cliff after that incident. 5
MITCHELL STARC: Top wicket-taker in the series despite missing out at Edgbaston. His 23 scalps were testament to his enduring quality and attacking style. Went at 4.86 an over as England never backed down from the challenge. 8
PAT CUMMINS: Looked on top of the world after following up a World Test Championship win with an ice-cool match-winning innings at Edgbaston. Looked a little rattled as the crowd turned against him at Lord’s and saw his bowling and his captaincy stretched too thin as a long series took its toll. 6
NATHAN LYON: It speaks volumes about the veteran off-spinner that Australia looked a completely different side the moment he tore his calf. Crucial wickets and important runs during the series-defining win at Edgbaston. 7
JOSH HAZLEWOOD: Never quite seemed at his best and struggled to impose himself. Nicked a five-for at Manchester but went around the park just as much as his colleagues. 5
SCOTT BOLAND: Wrecked England Down Under in 2021/22 but saw the tables turned in emphatic fashion. Battered out of the attack in both appearances and finished with two wickets that cost 115.50 each. 2
TODD MURPHY: Lyon’s injury presented an unexpected chance, but he was under-used in the third Test and overlooked for the fourth. Stood up well in the final Test, taking six wickets, and will be a better player for the experience. 6
