1948 Ashes series

The 1948 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 10 June 1948, England and Australia played five Tests. Australia had not lost a Test since the Second World War and were strong favourites. Their captain Don Bradman had publicly expressed his ambition of going through the tour without defeat, and Australia won 10 of their 12 lead-up matches, eight by an innings. The England team, however, had several notable players themselves, including Len Hutton, Denis Compton and Alec Bedser. Nevertheless, the final result was a 4–0 series win for Australia, with the Third Test being drawn. They thus retained The Ashes. The Australians remained undefeated for their entire tour of England, earning them the sobriquet of The Invincibles. The First Test set the trend for the series as England's batsmen struggled against the Australian pace attack and, despite attempting to stifle the Australian scoring with leg theory, fell to an eventual defeat. Failure to contain the Australian batsmen, particularly Bradman himself, plagued the English bowlers, while their batsmen were prone to struggling and collapsing on key occasions, with rain petering the Third Test into a draw. The series saw a number of notable cricketing feats, including a 301-run partnership between Bradman and Arthur Morris, aided by many dropped catches and missed stumpings, during the Fourth Test, and Australia's heaviest win of the series in the Fifth Test, where England were bowled out for 52 in half a day. Australia then made 389, with Bradman making a famous duck in his final innings. England were then bowled out for 188 to lose by an innings and 149 runs in less than three days' playing time.