This series is genuinely what Test cricket needed: Ben Stokes

The Ashes 2023 will go down as one of the best Test series played in recent times. The series had everything – nail-biting finishes, controversies, drama, rain and all the thrill. England skipper Ben Stokes reckons this series is genuinely what Test cricket needed after winning the fifth and final Test by 49 runs at Kennington Oval, London on Monday to level the series 2-2.

Australia took a 2-0 lead in the series after winning the first and second Test by two wickets and 43 runs respectively. However, England bounced back in the third Test match at Leeds, Headingley as they registered a three-wicket victory.

But the fourth Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester ended in a draw after rain played spoilsport, with the hosts being in a dominating position. England then won the fifth and final Test to level the series.

The series had all the ebbs and flows and will be remembered for a long time. Both the teams brought their A-game to the table and had their moments throughout the series. England were the dominant team in the second half of the series whereas Australia were able to clinch the crunch situations in the first two Test matches.

Furthermore, there were some virtuoso performances from both teams with both bat as well as the ball.

“I think that over the last seven weeks, in particular, we’ve managed to drag a new audience towards Test cricket,” Stokes said after the Oval Test. “I think this series is genuinely what Test cricket needed. Two high-quality teams going at it toe-to-toe and the cricket has been something you couldn’t take your eyes off. Every session has been its own game. We’ve been in control, then Australia have been in control.

“Everyone who’s turned up to the games and bought a ticket has really enjoyed their days of cricket. That’s all you can ask for as someone who pays money to come and watch an international sport. I really hope we’ve inspired a new generation. I look back to 2005 and what that series did for me as a young person, and I really hope there’s someone who’s the age I was then and says: ‘That’s what I want to be doing when I’m 21 or 22’.”

England backed their aggressive approach throughout the Ashes whereas Australia adopted a more sedate strategy to get the desired results. In the end, both Pat Cummins and Ben Stokes admitted 2-2 was a fair result.​​

“The series as a whole, I think 2-2 is genuinely a fair reflection of two very, very good teams going at it over a five-match series,” he said. “The cricket that’s been on show has been of the highest quality. Being 2-0 down is a very hard task to come back from, so being sat here able to say that we’ve levelled the series, knowing we had to win the last three.

“Coming here and playing the way we did, I couldn’t be any more proud of the team in what they did. We continued everything in the style of play we have over the last 15 months and it’s been everything I could have asked for minus getting the urn back.”

England will next host New Zealand for four T20Is and as many ODIs.