Australia's thrilling chase, Usman Khawaja's marathon batting
Stats highlights as Australia pull off their biggest Ashes chase in 75 years
Sampath Bandarupalli20-Jun-2023281 Target successfully chased by Australia against England in Birmingham. It is their fourth-highest successful target chase in the Ashes and their highest since chasing down 404 at the Headingley way back in 1948. Australia had not won any of the 31 Ashes Tests between 1949 and 2022, where the fourth-innings target was 250 and more, which includes 18 defeats.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2011 The last instance of Australia chasing down a target of 250-plus runs before they did it at Edgbaston was against South Africa in 2011. Pat Cummins, making his debut, scored the winning runs with a boundary off Imran Tahir in Johannesburg, like he did off Ollie Robinson on Tuesday. Australia lost 19 out of 21 Tests when the target was 250-plus runs between 2012 and 2022.26 Consecutive innings where England bowled out the opposition in Tests before failing against Australia in the fourth-innings in Birmingham. It is the joint-third longest streak for a team in bowling out the opponents in Test cricket, behind England’s 59 innings between 1885 and 1896 and Australia’s 33 innings between 1999 and 2001.
8 Test matches won by Australia with two or fewer wickets to spare. The 2011 Johannesburg Test against South Africa was their last such win, having chased down 310 after losing eight wickets. It is only the fifth time England lost a Test after picking up eight or more wickets in the fourth innings.2 Previous instances of a team declaring the first innings of the match and ending up on the losing side in the Ashes before England in Birmingham. Australia lost by 18 runs in Leeds in 1981 after declaring at 401 for 8, while England lost by six wickets at Adelaide in 2006 despite 551 for 6.55* Partnership between Cummins and Nathan Lyon for the ninth wicket. It is the seventh-highest stand in Test cricket for the ninth or tenth wicket in a successful fourth-innings chase. It is also the second-highest for Australia, behind the unbeaten 56-run stand between Tibby Cotter and Gerry Hazlitt for the ninth wicket in 1907 at Sydney in pursuit of a 274-run target.
796 Minutes batted by Usman Khawaja in this match. It is the second-longest any Australian has batted in a Test match, behind Mark Taylor’s 938 minutes against Pakistan in Peshawar in 1998. It is also the fourth longest any batter has batted in an Ashes Test and the highest for an Australian, surpassing the 767 minutes by Bob Simpson in Manchester in 1964.13 Players to have batted on each of the five days of a Test match, including Khawaja in Birmingham. He is only the second Australian to achieve the feat, after Kim Hughes against England at the Lord’s in 1980.ESPNcricinfo Ltd518 Balls faced by Khawaja in this match. He is the first Australian to bat 500-plus balls in a Test match since Ricky Ponting against India in 2012 at the Adelaide Oval. He is also the first batter to face 500-plus balls in an Ashes Test since the 596 balls by Alastair Cook at the Gabba in 2010.35 Runs between Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith at Edgbaston. These are the third-fewest runs scored by a duo batting at No. 3 and No. 4 for Australia in both innings of a Test match they won. Harry Trott and George Bonnor contributed 17 runs in their 61-run win against England at Lord’s in 1888, while Billy Murdoch and Tom Horan scored 27 runs between them in Sydney in 1882, also against England.