The first Test of the Ashes 2023 was a thrilling encounter as the visiting Australia managed to scrape through for a historic last-day win at Edgbaston to take a 1-0 series lead. But on the Day 5 of the Test match, a lookalike of England men’s national football team manager Gareth Southgate was spotted rallying the English fans as the Three Lions were fighting for the win.
This lookalike is Neil Rowe, from Surrey, who has been famous for imitating the England boss and was in the news during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Similarly on Day 5, Rowe was spotted at Edgbaston, cheering on the English fans with some chants wearing Gareth Southgate’s classic waistcoat. He first started chanting 'Football's coming home again' with the fans before switching to different one in the Hollies Stand.
Watch the video here:
Coming back to the game, Australia registered a thrilling two-wicket win as they chased down a target of 282 runs in the fourth innings. Starting off the match, England posted a massive 393 on the back of a massive Joe Root century before declaring at the end of Day 1. Then Australia responded with a great batting effort posting 386 with a Usman Khawaja 141.
The Three Lions built on their short lead and set a 282 which was chased down in thrilling fashion by the Aussie lower-order along with another Khawaja 68-run knock. Reacting to this win, Australia captain Pat Cummins, speaking in the post-match interview, talked about believing the team can pull off the win before praising Nathan Lyon and Alex Carey for their crucial performances.
He said, “Honestly, pretty good. That wicket didn’t have too many demons and Carey was batting beautifully. I looked at him and he walked past me, then I said ‘Nice shot, Gary.’ Both teams spoke about playing their styles, we played to our strengths and we don’t know which is better, but makes for good entertainment.”
