It has been a funny Ashes Series thus far with furious weight shifting. England took the first test in what looked like a comprehensive victory. At Lords, Australia literally destroyed England by a 405-run victory and at Edbaston, Australia’s collective total in both innings could only reach 401. It could have been much worse, if Peter Nevill and Mitchell Starc had not batted the way they did. In the morning, the overnight not out batsmen; Nevill and Starc came out to lengthen Australian tail from 168/7 onwards. After spending 9 overs together on the third day and 64 runs in the partnership, Nevill finally departed to a terrific catch by Buttler far down on his leg side. That wicket was also Steven Finn’s sixth. Nevill spent three hours on the crease and played 147 balls for his invaluable 59 runs. Starc continued with Hazlewood and added 28 runs for the ninth wicket and another 20 with Nathan Lyon for the tenth. His 58 in 108 balls helped Australia take a 120 run lead over England. If only the other Australian batsmen had contributed, England could have been in trouble.
With all the time in the world, England came on to chase 121 required for victory. After spending almost 2½ hours on the crease with the bat, Mitchell Starc was back immediately with the ball in the opening over. He didn’t allow any liberties to Adam Lyth and walked off with a maiden. After another over from Josh Hazlewood, it was lunch time with England 4/0. Things changed after the teams came out. In the 5th over, Starc produced an express delivery and even as Alastair Cook was shaping into a defensive pose, the ball went through and crashed on the stumps. The silence at Edgbaston was stunning and it was over only when new batsman Ian Bell slapped Starc for four off the next delivery. In the 12th over, Hazlewood accounted for the other opener and England were 51/2. Bell was joined by Joe Root and together they carried England to an eight-wicket victory with more than two days remaining.