Australia v England - Series Summary

AUSTRALIA WON THE SERIES 2-1
England started and finished the tour in spirited fashion, but a disastrous slump in form in the middle part ultimately cost them the Ashes, and in four ATG series against Australia England are still to get their hands on the urn. Injuries took a tough toll on Hutton's squad, with Fred Trueman's ankle problems severely compromising the attack after he had bowled so well in the first Test, and Hutton himself missed the final game amid mounting speculation that he will step down from the captaincy some time before England's next series.

Ted Dexter - who captained the side in Hutton's absence - batted well in his first series, and both Cowdrey and Botham were in the best form of their ATG careers, their partnerships in Melbourne and Sydney likely to live long in the memory. There was little other support with the bat though, and with Trueman injured there was simply not enough penetration with the ball; Underwood was consistent but rarely threatening, and the fact that England's bowlers could take only nine wickets between them in Perth and Adelaide went a long way to consigning the tourists to defeat in both those matches and the series as a whole.

For Australia, everything revolved around Bill Woodfull, who occupied the crease for more than thirty five hours during the course of series, blunting England's pace attack and setting the stage for Bradman who, like Woodfull, averaged in the nineties and batted for over twenty four hours himself. Steve Waugh also scored heavily in what was a breakthrough series for him, and Ian Healy's batting down the order was a persistent thorn in England's side. The hosts' bowling attack lost its potency as the series progressed, but the decisive damage had been done in the early stages, and Richie Benaud's team did enough over the course of the five Tests to reclaim second spot in the rankings, whilst England plummeted to fifth, their lowest ever position.

Test averages
(click to enlarge)

Full tour averages
(click to enlarge)

Players of the Series: WM Woodfull & IT Botham