The Ashes 2013–14
2013 · 2 teams · Test cricket
Tournament Overview
Series Overview
The 2013-14 Ashes in Australia was a series of almost total domination by the home side, and it was built on one extraordinary individual performance. Mitchell Johnson, who had been dropped from the Australia squad after the 2013 series in England, returned to Australian conditions in the form of his life and was virtually unplayable. His 37 wickets at 13.97 — with a combination of left-arm pace, lift, and swing that recalls the legendary attacks of Lillee and Thomson — put England's batsmen through an ordeal that they could not overcome in any of the five Tests. Australia won the opening Test in Brisbane by a crushing margin and never looked back. The second Test in Adelaide, the third in Perth, the fourth in Melbourne, and finally the fifth in Sydney all went Australia's way — a historic 5-0 whitewash, the third of its kind in Ashes history and Australia's first complete series win since 2006-07. England arrived with a squad that had won the Ashes at home just months earlier, but the Australian pitches and atmosphere exposed the limitations of their batting. Michael Clarke, captaining with authority, scored 488 runs at an average of 61.00. David Warner was explosive at the top. But this series belonged to Mitchell Johnson — he was awarded the Compton-Miller Medal as Player of the Series and elevated his status to that of one of the great Ashes bowlers of all time.
Key Highlights
- 1Australia's 5-0 whitewash was only the third 5-0 Ashes result in history
- 2Mitchell Johnson took 37 wickets at 13.97 — one of the most devastating bowling performances in Ashes history
- 3Australia reclaimed the Ashes for the first time since 2006-07
- 4Michael Clarke captained Australia to a series that was never in doubt after the first Test
- 5England's batting lineup had no answers to Johnson's pace and aggression throughout the series