England endured a heartbreaking two-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia in the Ashes 2023 opener at Edgbaston on Tuesday (June 20).

Chasing 281 to win, Australia were 107/3 at the close of play on Day 4 with Usman Khawaja (34*) and Scott Boland unbeaten in the middle.

Heading into the final day, the hosts needed seven wickets and the tourists required 174 more runs to win the contest. As it turned out, the match went down to the wire.

Boland, who was unbeaten on 13 overnight, managed to add 7 more runs to his tally before being dismissed by Stuart Broad on Day 5. The likes of Travis Head (16), Cameron Green (28) and Alex Carey (20) got out after getting set while Khawaja fell for 65 as Australia slipped to 227/8.

With England inching closer to victory in the final session, Australia skipper Pat Cummins was joined by Nathan Lyon in the middle. They had a tough task at hand as the visitors still needed 54 runs to get over the finishing line.

Amid the pressure situation, Cummins struck an unbeaten 44 and was well supported by Nathan Lyon who made 16 not out in an unbroken partnership of 55 runs for the ninth wicket to take Australia home.

As soon as Cummins hit the winning boundary against Ollie Robinson, former England skipper Alastair Cook had his hands on his head in the commentary box.

Cook was visibly distraught after the narrow defeat and was seen shaking his head in disappointment. 

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With this victory, Australia took a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series. The second Test is scheduled to get underway on June 28 at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.