The fourth test of the oldest rivalry in cricket is all set to begin at the iconic Old Trafford, Greater Manchester from July 19. The third match of the Ashes 2023 was much hyped and interesting. It went through to the very last day. Australia won the first two Tests and were on the verge of retaining the Ashes before England bounced back to win the third Test to keep the series alive. It was another cracker of a contest at Headingley in Leeds.

Mitchell Marsh smashed a brilliant century for Australia. Ben Stokes led from the front to help England get closer to Australia's first-inning total of 263. The Aussies set a target of 251 for the hosts. Harry Brook played an impressive knock of 75 to help England chase down the total with three wickets in hand. Mitchell Starc scalped a fifer but it couldn't stop England from registering their first victory at the Ashes 2023 series. England would be desperate to make another comeback and equal the series.

Read Also: Saud Shakeel scores a double century as Pakistan are in the lead by 135 runs over Sri Lanka after the end of Day 3

The Ashes 2023: England vs Australia 4th Test

Match Details

• Match: England vs Australia 2nd Test
• Date: 19/07/2023 – 23/07/2023
• Time: 3:30 PM IST
• Venue: Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Greater Manchester
• Where to watch: Sony Sports Network & Sony LIV app

Venue | Pitch Report | Weather

The pitch at the Emirates Old Trafford will most likely favor batters. It is dry naturally and we can expect the spinners will come into play as the game progresses. The pacers may get some assistance from the surface with the new ball and the batters will have to be on their toes early in their innings. There will not be huge totals. Lower scores, with an average of 225 in the third innings and 168 in the fourth innings can be expected.

There is a 40% chance of rain predicted on the opening day of the fourth Test in Manchester. The temperature is expected to be below 20 degrees Celsius. Also, there is heavy rain predicted on the final two days of the Test.

England vs Australia | Head to Head

• Matches Played: 359
• ENG won: 111
• AUS won: 152
• Drawn: 96

Read Also: James Anderson will be back for the fourth Ashes Test

The Ashes 2023: England vs Australia | Team News

England

Harry Brook will remain at number five while Moeen Ali will come to bat at no 3 just like he did in the Headingley. Anderson, who has the third-highest number of Test wickets of all time, was dropped for the third Test after taking just three wickets for 226 runs in the first two matches of the series. Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, and Stuart Broad will be in the rest of the bowling lineup, alongside Anderson.

Wood and Woakes both made their first appearance in the series in the third Test match and had a brilliant outing. Wood took seven wickets and scored 40 runs off 16 balls in the match, while Woakes took six and scored 42 including the winning runs. England will hope that Anderson is able to get back to the rhythm at his home ground during the fourth Ashes Test.

Australia

There are no other changes to the team with the rest eight keeping their places. Also, this will be the first time in 11 years that an Australian cricket team will play a Test match without a specialist spinner in their ranks. The last time this happened was when the Aussies faced India at the WACA in January 2012.

The visitors have loads of batters for the 4th Test at Old Trafford. Green is listed to bat at seven, which might push wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey to eight. This will be followed by Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood. Australia have players who can bat until ten, where Starc might come.

England vs Australia | Possible XI

England: 

• Zak Crawley
• Ben Duckett
• Harry Brook
• Joe Root
• Jonny Bairstow (wk)
• Ben Stokes (c)
• Moeen Ali
• Chris Woakes
• Mark Wood
• Stuart Broad
• James Anderson

Australia:

• David Warner
• Usman Khawaja
• Marnus Labuschagne
• Steven Smith
• Travis Head
• Cameron Green
• Mitchell Marsh
• Alex Carey (wk)
• Pat Cummins (c)
• Mitchell Starc
• Josh Hazlewood

The Ashes 2023: England vs Australia | Dream XI Team Prediction

Deepti Sharma scored an unbeaten 62 from 64 balls in the first ENGWvsINDW ODI to help India chase 259 with ease in Southampton on Wednesday.

India chased down England's total with four wickets in hand. Along with Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues scored an important 48 off 54 for India.

What happened in the match?

India were coming from a historic maiden T20I series win on English soil and as a team looked confident, as the reharshal for the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 continues for them.

India struck early but lost the momentum

Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and decided to bat first. Her decision took a back seat when Kranti Goud dismissed Amy Jones (1) in her first and inning's second over. Soon, Tammy Beaumont (5) became Goud's second hunt in the fourth over of the match.

At 20/2, England needed a partnership, and Emma Lamb and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt provided that for them. A 71-run partnership for the third wicket bailed them out.

India did miss their chances as Smriti Mandhana dropped Nat Sciver-Brunt on 34, but soon England lost Emma Lamb on 39. Sneh Rana came to the rescue for India with the wicket.

Rana again struck for India in the next over as Jemimah Rodrigues took a sharp catch at short midwicket. The England captain went back to the dressing room on 41 from 52 balls.

Dunkley and Davidson-Richards add 106 for the fifth wicket

When India were hoping to keep the hosts under 200, Sophia Dunkley and Alice Davidson-Richards' 106-run partnership poured water on that plan.

Both Alice Davidson-Richards (on 16) and Sophia Dunkley (on 23) were dropped by Goud and Jemimah in consecutive overs to help England build that partnership.

Dunkley went on to complete her 6th WODI fifty while Davidson-Richards scored her second WODI fifty. Davidson-Richards was finally outfoxed by Shree Charani on 53 from 73 as she looked to get going with the run rate.

Sophie Ecclestone gave Dunkley a good hand with an unbeaten 23 from 19 balls. Meantime, Dunkley (83 from 92) was bowled in the last ball of the inning as England scored a modest 258/6 in the first inning.

Read Also | Why can't Indian Women's Cricket team win any trophies? Here are the reasons and solutions to that

Strong start from India, but England struck back

During the chase, India got off to a strong start with the bat, thanks to a solid opening partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal.

However, India lost Mandhana in the 8th over as Amy Jones took a good catch to dismiss her on 28 from 24 balls.

India lost Rawal (36 from 51) in the 19th over, but till then the run rate had reached close to run-a-ball. 

Soon, an inept run from Harleen Deol (27 from 44) put India under more pressure. A casual run out and India her in the 22nd over. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur (17 from 27 balls) also returned to the dressing room after Charlie Dean trapped her in front of the wicket.

Deepti and Jemimah add 90 for the fifth wicket for India

But, a 90-run partnership for the fifth wicket bailed India out of the danger. 

Jemimah played a solid inning of 48 from 54 balls before perishing against Lauren Filer in the 42nd over. With India needing 45 from 51 balls, Deepti remained calm under pressure to take India over the line.

Amanjot Kaur again proved her all-around skill with an unbeaten 20 from 14 balls. 

Kaur hit back-to-back boundaries to seal the match, while Deepti watched from the other end on 62 from 64 balls. 

Deepti Sharma was named player of the match for her excellent inning. India now lead the three-match series 1-0. Not to forget India won the WODI series 3-0 last time on English soil. The second ENGWvsINDW WODI will be played at Lord's on 19th July 2025.

Despite a great fight on the last day at Lord's, India suffered a heartbreak defeat by 22 runs in the third Test against England. Along with this, the discussion has intensified about the batting order of the team, especially the batting at number 3.

After the defeat at Lord's, the Indian men’s cricket team would like to come up with a big show in the fourth Test to level the series. The fourth red-ball match of the ongoing ENG vs IND five-match series will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester from July 23 to 27. For the match at Old Trafford, Indian team management could make multiple changes to the playing XI.

Also Read: England penalised two WTC points for slow over-rate in Lord’s Test

Sudharsan may replace Karun Nair

Karun Nair looked solid whenever he was on the pitch in the 6 innings so far. But he could never take his innings beyond 50. Nair scored 0, 20, 31, 26, 40 and 14 runs in the 6 innings so far. During this time, he got out unlucky many times. But it is possible that the team management may now plan to try talented and young cricketer Sai Sudharsan in his place.

23-year-old Sai Sudharsan from Chennai got a chance to debut in the ENG vs IND Leeds Test. But the first opportunity slipped from his hands like sand from his fist. He played innings of 0 and 30 runs in Leeds. The team lost the Test and he was also dropped from the playing XI.

Kuldeep can make a return

Discussions have once again intensified about the inclusion of 30-year-old left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has taken 56 wickets in 13 Tests, in the playing XI. This tour could prove to be a good opportunity to include Kuldeep in the team.

Bumrah and Rishabh Pant out

Before the start of the series, chief selector Ajit Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Shubman Gill, and even Bumrah himself confirmed that he will play only three matches in England, and since the pacer has already featured in two matches out of three played so far, there is a high possibility that he will miss the game in Manchester to return for the final fixture at The Oval in London from July 31 to August 4.

In addition to Bumrah, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant could also miss the match in Manchester. Pant suffered a finger injury during the first day’s play of the Lord’s Test, and as a result, he didn’t keep after 34 overs in the first innings. There is still no clarity over Pant’s injury. If he misses out, then Dhruv Jurel will replace him in the playing XI.

The 24-year-old stumper from Agra impressed with his glovework during the third Test, and he has amassed a total of 202 runs in six innings of four Tests played so far. Jurel’s best score in Test cricket is 90, which he registered against the English team in Ranchi last year.

Akash Deep likely retain Bumrah's place

Akash Deep could only manage to take one wicket in the third Test, but if Bumrah misses out due to workload management, then he is likely to retain his place.

Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav are the other four bowlers in India’s Test squad for the England series, and for the game at Old Trafford, Arshdeep could come in for Bumrah. Arshdeep is a left-arm pacer, and his inclusion will bring variety to India’s bowling attack.

Also Read: "Find this ridiculous": Stuart Broad slams ICC's call on Siraj, while Gill's behaviour goes unpunished

India’s predicted playing XI for the ENG vs IND 4th Test

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.

England have been fined 10 per cent of their match fee and penalised two ICC World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow over-rate against India in the third Test at Lord’s.

In the last WTC cycle, too, England suffered a few points due to slow over rates. In England, where pace bowlers bowl more often than or not, teams would bowl pacers, which generally takes more time. 

In the recent past, experts have been saying that the ICC must find a balance between conditions to help teams where pacers come into action more. 

England, though, went on to win the third test of the Anderson-Tendulkar series at Lord's in a dramatic manner by 22 runs and are leading the series by 2-1.

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Richie Richardson of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after England were ruled to be two overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.

Read Also | "Find this ridiculous": Stuart Broad slams ICC's call on Siraj, while Gill's behaviour goes unpunished

In addition, as per Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions, a side is penalised one point for each over short. Consequently, two World Test Championship points have been deducted from England’s points total.

England captain Ben Stokes pled guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, third umpire Ahsan Raza, and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd levelled the charge.

[Created from a press release by ICC]

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc scripted history in the third Test against West Indies in Jamaica as he grabbed the fastest five-wicket haul in Test history, in just 15 balls. No player in world cricket has ever managed to take a 5-wicket haul in fewer deliveries. With this Starc also surpassed Chaminda Vaas in terms of taking most wickets in tests by left-arm seamers. 

In this article, we will take a look at those left-arm bowlers with most wickets in tests.

Also Read: 5 wickets in 15 balls! Mitchell Starc creates record for the fastest five-wicket haul in test cricket

Most Wickets in Tests by left-arm seamers

7. Neil Wagner | 260

Neil Wagner, the former New Zealand fast bowler, claimed 260 wickets in 64 Tests at an average of 27.60 for New Zealand, from 2012 until his international retirement in February 2024, earning plaudits along the way for his indefatigable left-arm line of attack. 

He was a key member of the team that reached number one in the world and won the inaugural Test world championship in 2021. Among career highlights were his roles in famous victories over England in 2018 and last year's one-run win over the same opposition in Wellington.

6. Zaheer Khan | 311

Zaheer Khan, India’s finest left-arm seamer, has played 92 tests and took 311 wickets with 11 five-wicket hauls. Known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, Zaheer was a key figure in many of India’s overseas wins. His standout performances in England and South Africa helped India win Test matches in challenging conditions. 

5. Mitchell Johnson | 313

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who struck fear into batsmen around the world but especially on the bouncy pitches of his homeland, took 313 wickets in 73 tests at an average of 28.40.

He was a pretty decent bowler throughout his career, but during his peak, he was one of the terrifying bowlers in the world. One of the most notable performances from him was the 2013-14 Ashes in Australia, where he ripped apart the English lineup, match-after-match, innings-after-innings.

4. Trent Boult | 317

Trent Boult is a New Zealand cricketer who is known for being a threat to batsmen all over the world because of his ability to swing the ball on both sides. Boult debuted in Test matches in 2011. He’s the fourth-highest wicket-taker as a left-arm seamers in Tests as he took 317 wickets in 78 matches. He owns 18 four-wicket hauls, 10 five-wicket hauls and 1 ten-wicket haul.

His best bowling figures in Test innings are 6 for 30 runs and a single Test match 10 wickets for 80 runs. He was a part of the winning squad of the ICC World Test Championship in 2019-2021.

3. Chaminda Vaas | 355

In a time when Murali was taking all the plaudits, Vaas was undoubtedly Sri Lanka’s greatest fast bowler, picking up 355 wickets in 111 Tests at an impressive average of 29.58. He’s the only seamer from the island nation to have over 200 wickets and took career best figures of 7/71 with his deceptive swing and persistent line and length.

2. Mitchell Starc | 402

Australian speedster Mitchell Starc set several records in the 3rd and final Test against West Indies in Kingston. In his 100th Test appearance, Starc took seven wickets, including six in the final innings. He recorded a fifer off just 15 balls. 

Starc returned figures worth 6/9 from 7.3 overs in the fourth innings, his career-best in the format. This was his 16th Test fifer. Starc, who became the 16th Aussie to complete 100 Test appearances, has now 402 wickets as a left-arm seamers in test at an average of 27.02.

Also Read: West Indies vs Australia: West Indies register second lowest test score in an inning by a team

1. Wasim Akram | 414

Regarded as one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers to have played the game, Wasim Akram represented Pakistan in 104 Tests between 1985 and 2002, claiming 414 wickets at an average of 23.06. He also took 25 5-wicket halls. Among these, he took two Test hat-tricks. His best bowling figures in a test match were 7/119. 

West Indies just registered their lowest test score in their history after registering only 27 in the fourth innings of the third West Indies vs Australia test in Kingston. While chasing only 204 in the last inning of the test match, West Indies were bundled out for 27 after Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland ran through them. 

For the West Indies, only Justin Greaves could reach the double-figure (11) mark. 7 of 11 batters of the West Indies team were dismissed for ducks.

Australia started the inning on a fiery note, with Mitchell Starc taking three wickets in the first over. He then went on to break the record for the fastest five-wicket haul in a test inning as he reached the landmark in just 15 balls. West Indies once were 6 for 11, but a small partnership from Alzarri Joseph and Justin Greaves helped them reach 26.

But from 26/6, Scott Boland took a hat-trick to reduce them to 26/9. Mitchell Starc then wrapped up the inning with his sixth wicket as he finished with a bowling figure of 7.3-4-9-6. 

What is the lowest test score in history?

New Zealand in 1955 registered the lowest test score in history when they were bundled for only 26 in the third inning against Australia in Auckland. Bert Sutcliffe could only reach the double-figure mark (11) for the Kiwis. 

Frank Tyson started the attack for Australia, taking the first two wickets. But it was Brian Statham and Bob Appleyard who finished the job for the team from down under. Statham returned with 9-3-9-3 while Appleyard had the bowling figure of 6-3-7-4. 

Although New Zealand had played 27 overs to score those 26 runs. They lost the test match by an innings and 20 runs.

10 lowest test scores in test cricket

Along with New Zealand in 1995 and the West Indies in 2025, South Africa features in the top five of the lowest test scores in test cricket. 

In 1896, South Africa were bundled for 30 against England in Gqeberha, which was the lowest test score for nearly 59 years.

South Africa again matched their record when England bowled them out for 30 again, this time in Birmingham in 1924. In 1899 and 1932, South Africa registered 35 and 36, respectively, against England and Australia.

Then comes India's 36 all-out against Australia in 2020 in Adelaide. India comes on the list again with their 42 against England in 1974 at Lord's. 

However, before all of these, Australia had the record for the lowest test score, before New Zealand broke the record. In 1888, Australia were bundled out for 42 against England at their own turf in Sydney.