Indian spinner R Ashwin took a funny dig at the Australian team for not being able to win the Ashes 2023 despite having a 2-0 lead early on. England made a dramatic comeback in the third Test and almost had the fourth Test in the pocket, only for rains to save Australia.
Then in the fifth and final Test, which was also the farewell match for Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali, England showcased tremendous fightback to win the encounter and level the Ashes 2023.
However, having won the first two Tests and the fourth match ending in a draw, Australia did manage to retain the Ashes urn.
However, their dream of winning a Test series in England since 2001 continues to be a dream for now.
On his YouTube channel, R Ashwin dissected the Ashes 2023 series and shared his thoughts on the same.
"A mistake that Australia made in the last three Tests is that, when your foot is on the pedal, you should not even think about hitting the brake or think to play it safe. That's what England showed to Australia. The same Australia when they played India at the same Oval, they scored excess of four runs per over. I don't know whether their DNA got mapped this way or whether their ego took over to prove England by playing too slowly. They lost the plot in all three Test matches playing too slowly," he said.
"Australia retained the Ashes, but England have shown yet again that they are playing a form of cricket that is entertaining," the 36-year-old added.
He further pointed out that Australia missed the services of Nathan Lyon, who injured his hamstring in the Lord’s Test and was ruled out of the remainder of the series.
"Even in the first Test, England played at the same tempo. But somehow, Nathan Lyon ended up picking eight wickets. It looked like England batted well, but they would have scored only 270-280. You can't score 6-7 runs in his overs consistently. Mitchell Starc picked up wickets in the last four Tests, but it's not easy to be as accurate as Nathan Lyon, pitching the ball consistently and getting turn.
Nathan Lyon was more like an important cog in the wheel. It's not easy to replace the cog in the wheel. This Ashes is a prime example of that. Once Lyon got injured, their attack became one-dimensional,” Ashwin signed off.
