Ashes 2023: Draw at Manchester indicative of extra work rather than Wild celebrations, says Pat Cummins

Australia retained the Ashes urn during the 2023 edition as they managed to escape with a draw which was actually looking like a loss in the 4th Test at Old Trafford. Rain played a major part for Australia as they keep the series 2-1 with a Test to go and Aussie captain Pat Cummins thinks there are not many reasons to celebrate as they avoided a major embarrassment coming their way.

The Kangaroos are searching for their first Test series win in English soil since 2001 when Steve Waugh led a fierce Aussie side to a 4-1 series win. Its been exactly 22 years since their triumphant tour to England and Australia have seen a number of captains come and go without delivering success at their rival’s land.

Australia did start off well in Ashes 2023, clinching the First 2 Test quite comfortably on the back of WTC win against India. England retaliated in the 3rd Test at Leeds with Chris Woakes scoring the winning runs. In the 4th Test, England were pretty close to a historic win but Weather conditions prevented them from doing so.

With the Ashes Urn already out of their reach, they are likely to be even more lethal in the final Test at Oval 3 from July 27. On that note, Australian Captain Pat Cummins, whose own performance has been colorless, called upon the team to not celebrate and try to find a way to stop England from equalling the series and win an Ashes series in England for the first time in 22 years.

“I don’t think there will be huge celebrations. Maybe a bit of a pat on the back for retaining the (Ashes). There’s been a lot of work gone into putting us into a position where a draw does make us retain the Ashes. But there’s a Test match starting in three days so that’s going to be our full focus.” – Pat Cummins said.