Australian captain Pat Cummins admitted that they hadn't exactly achieved what they set out to after losing the 5th and final Ashes Test at the Kia Oval in London. However, the 30-year-old underlined that the 2-2 scoreline was a better reflection between two quality and competitive teams battling for the urn.
After being 2-0 up in the five-Test series, Australia led England off the hook as the hosts bounced back to level it. Ben Stokes and co. levelled it 2-2 with a thrilling 49-run win at the Kia Oval as they defended 384 successfully. Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali joined hands to take 7 wickets between them.
Speaking after a close defeat at the Oval, Cummins reckons Australia can be proud of retaining the urn, but lamented that the 2023 Ashes turned out to be similar to 2019 as they fell short of their goal. As quoted by the BBC, he stated:
"Two-two seems fair and it was a wonderful series. It was two high-quality teams. It seemed like every session we shared the honours. From the start we said we were over here to win the Ashes. We can be hugely proud of retaining the Ashes - it's no easy feat against a high-quality England in their own conditions - but of course we wanted to come over here and win. It is a similar group to 2019. and we just fell a little bit short of the goal."
"You get everything thrown at you" - Pat Cummins on Ashes tours
Cummins further suggested that it's the most exciting series he has been part of and relishes playing the Ashes away from home, given the stakes involved. He added:
"There were so many moments throughout this series. That is what makes playing in an Ashes, particularly away from home, so difficult. It is not just what happens on the field but the crowd and the media. You get everything thrown at you. It's great, you wouldn't want it any other way. Going one further would have been nice but we can be really proud of retaining the Ashes and the way we have played and also winning the World Test Championship too."
Australia have now kept the Ashes urn after four consecutive Ashes series.
