The Ashes 2013

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The 2013 Ashes in England produced a dominant home victory that flattered to deceive about England's true position at the time. England won 3-0 — not a single Test slipping to Australia — in what was the first Ashes series since 1977 in which Australia had failed to win a match. Ian Bell was the standout performer for the hosts, accumulating 562 runs with four centuries that demonstrated his technical brilliance at home. The Nottingham Test opened the series with an England victory. Graeme Swann's off-spin proved particularly effective in English conditions, taking 26 wickets across the five matches. England won at Lord's in the second Test and then at Riverside before the final two matches at Old Trafford and The Oval were drawn. The context of this 3-0 win makes it bittersweet in retrospect: just months later, England toured Australia for the return series and were demolished 5-0 — demonstrating how differently the two teams performed in each other's home conditions. Australia arrived without some key personnel and never found their best form in the English summer. For England captain Alastair Cook, the win was the peak of his leadership — three consecutive Ashes series wins was a remarkable achievement that no England captain had managed since Mike Brearley in 1977-81.

Key Highlights

• 1England won 3-0 — the first time since 1977 that Australia had not won a single Test in an Ashes series
• 2Ian Bell scored 562 runs including four centuries — the outstanding batting performance of the series
• 3England won three consecutive Ashes series for the first time since 1981
• 4Graeme Swann took 26 wickets to lead England's spin attack
• 5The victory set the stage for England's catastrophic 5-0 defeat in Australia later that same year

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