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Cricket fans from the Prime Minister down are bleary-eyed but ecstatic on Wednesday morning after Australia’s remarkable win in the first Ashes Test in Birmingham.

At the end of the final day at Edgbaston on Tuesday, Australia won by two wickets after captain Pat Cummins made an unbeaten 44, combining in an unbroken 55-run ninth-wicket partnership with Nathan Lyon.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was one of the many staying up to watch the win for Australia, tweeting a photo of Cummins on television at 4.11am, posting “tense finish to great match #AUSvENG”.

Nineteen minutes later, Albanese again posted about the win, hailing the “great partnership” by Cummins and Lyon which secured the 1-0 series lead.

Former England captain and commentator Michael Vaughan tweeted that it was a special game and that we are in for a ‘very special’ series.

“Well done Australia this week but I am sure England can bounce back,” he wrote.

Legendary Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle was among those hailing the untouchable drama of Test cricket, while former Australian coach Darren Lehmann saluted both sides for bringing the game’s traditional format back to life.

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag said the match was one of the best he had seen in recent times and that the partnership between Cummins and Lyon would be long remembered.

English football legend Gary Lineker kept his analysis simple, while Indian spinner Ravi Ashwin was among those comparing Australia’s win to England’s famous victory at the same ground in 2005, which set up a drought-breaking Ashes win for the hosts.

Even English broadcaster Piers Morgan took his hat off to the visitors, tweeting “Cummins & Lyon were superbly defiant at the end. What a game, what a start to the Ashes series”, while Australian snooker player Neil Robertson also offered his support.

Watch every ball of the 2023 Ashes series live and exclusive on Channel 9 and 9Now.

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