Having won the two previous Ashes series, England retained the urn once more in the summer of 2013.
The first Test match, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, however, might have gone either way. Australia were initially on top, despite England winning the toss and batting. Jonathan Trott made 48, but Peter Siddle’s 5-50 helped restrict them to just 215. At 117/9 Australia were on the ropes, but No. 11 Ashton Agar smashed 98 off 101 balls, including 2 sixes, helping them reach 280. James Anderson took 5-85.
England, batting again, made 375, Ian Bell top-scoring with 109, and Kevin Pietersen making 64 and Alastair Cook 50.
That left Australia 311 to win. They seemed on course until a middle-order collapse saw them lose three wickets for the addition of just three runs. In the end, despite 71 from Brad Haddin, they were dismissed for 296.
England had won by 14 runs.
It was off to Lord’s for the second Test match, where again England batted, having won the toss. Ryan Harris took 5-72, but, despite his efforts, England still managed to mrale 361. Bell was again to the fore with 109, while Jonny Bairstow scored 67 and Trott 58.
Then Australia collapsed to just 128, Graeme Swann claiming 5-44. Only two batters scored more than 20, and the innings lasted less than 54 overs.
With a healthy first-innings lead, England set about consolidating that when they batted again.
This time Joe Root led the charge. Opening with Cook, Root made 180, and with Bell adding 74 to his Test aggregate, England were able to declare on 349/7.
That meant Australia needed a massive 583, a task well beyond them. Usman Khawaja and captain Michael Clarke both scored half centuries, but, in the end, they could muster only 235. Swann took four more wickets as England won by 347 runs.