The England side that toured Australia in 1950/51 was regarded at the time as one of the weakest ever to visit Down Under. And, although Lindsay Hassett had replaced the then retired Don Bradman as captain, Australia still had greater reserves of talent.
The first Test was played at Brisbane in a match that was affected by rain.
Australia won the toss and batted first, making 228, Neil Harvey with 74, while Alec Bedser took 4-46.
England batted and had reached 68/7 on a wet wicket when their captain Freddie Brown declared 160 runs behind. His reasoning was that he wanted to get the Australians into bat again on the pitch before it dried out. One part of his gamble paid off, because Australia were 32/7 when they too declared.
What Brown could not have anticipated though is that his side would then be bowled out for 122. Len Hutton held back until very late, scored 62, while Jack Iverson, the mystery spinner with the iconic unusual grip, claimed 4-43. Australia had won by 70 runs.
The second Test in Melbourne was even closer. Australia again won the toss and batted first, Hassett top-scoring with an unbeaten 52 out of a total of 194, while Trevor Bailey and Bedser took four wickets each.
In reply, England took a very small first-innings lead of three, largely thanks to captain Brown’s 62, Iverson with four more wickets to his name.
The second time around, Australia made 181, Ken Archer with 46, while Brown took four wickets.
But needing just 79 to win, England crumbled to 150, with Bill Johnston finishing with 4-26 and Ray Lindwall 3-29.
England finally won the toss and batted first in the third Test in Sydney. And they, at last, put some runs on the board, Brown with 79 and Hutton with 62, although Keith Miller took four wickets to restrict them to 290.
Australia, though, produced a strong performance of their own, Miller scoring the first century of the series, making an unbeaten 145, well supported by Ian Johnson with 77 and Hassett who made 70.
And then a disappointing England side was bowled out for just 123, Iverson this time finishing with 6-27. England lost by an innings and 13 runs. The defeat meant that the series was lost and the Ashes had been retained by Australia.
Australia side rubbed in their superiority in the fourth Test in Adelaide. Batting first they made 371, 206 of them coming from the bat of vice-captain Arthur Morris.
Hutton then made England’s highest individual innings of the series to date, an unbeaten 156. But three wickets each for Lindwall, Johnston, and Iverson still meant that England were all out for 272.
Australia then put the match beyond England by declaring on 403/8 second time round, Jim Burke making 101 not out, Miller 99, and Harvey 68.
Set 503, the task proved beyond England. They were bowled out for 228, despite a defiant 61 from Reg Simpson. Johnston took 4-73 this time and Miller 3-27, as Australia cruised to victory, winning by 274 runs.
The fifth Test, though, was different, as England beat Australia for the first time since 1938. It was also the first time that Australia had been beaten by any side since the Second World War.
Australia won the toss in Melbourne, but despite 82 from Hassett and 50 from Morris, England were able to restrict them to 217, Bedser taking 5-46 and Brown 5-49. When it was England’s turn to bat, Simpson’s 156 not out and Hutton’s 79 helped them accumulate 320.
Bowling second time round, Bedser took another five wickets as England bowled Australia out for 197, meaning that they needed only 95 to win. Hutton’s unbeaten 60 ensured they reached their target for the loss of just two wickets.