What happened the last time England hosted Australia for an Ashes Test at Edgbaston?

The fierce rivalry between England and Australia is set to renew when the two sides take the field at the Edgbaston Stadium for the first of the five-match Ashes Test series from June 16-20.

The hype for the upcoming Ashes is palpable as it is considered as one of the most heated rivalries in cricket, taking place roughly every two years.

With a number of world-class players on their rosters, both England and Australia established strong teams.

Led by Ben Stokes, the hosts have transformed themselves into a dominant force in Tests. Their 'Bazball' approach has been highly effective and the side is expected to continue to assert their dominance.

Australia, meanwhile, have all the momentum on their side after lifting their first-ever World Test Championship last week. The Pat Cummins-led side beat India by 209 runs in London to bag the WTC title for the 2021-23 cycle.

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Steve Smith single-handedly decimated England the last time Edgbaston hosted an Ashes Test

England v Australia - 1st Specsavers Ashes Test: Day One

The world witnessed Steve Smith at his best the last time Australia faced England at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham in 2019.

After England asked Australia to bat first, they had the visitors staring down the barrel at 122/8. However, Smith stood in England's way to bail Australia out of the hole.

Smith added 88 and 74 runs for the ninth and tenth-wicket partnership, respectively. Scoring 144 runs in 219 balls, Smith took Australia to a first-innings total of 284 runs.

In reply, England had great outing with the bat, taking a 90-run lead on the back of a terrific century by Rory Burns (133).

Australia needed an inspired performance from their batting department in their second innings and once again Smith proved to be a thorn in England's flesh as he notched up another century in the second innings.

This time he also had support from Matthew Wade (110) and Travis Head (51), as Australia made 487/7 and set England a target of 398 for the fourth innings.

Nathan Lyon was expected to do most of the damage on Day 5 and he didn't disappoint, ending up with 6 wickets in the second innings and nine scalps in total in the match.

Lyon was superbly supported by Pat Cummins from the other end and finished with 4 wickets for 32 runs as Australia bowled England out for 146 to win the match by 251 runs at Edgbaston.

It was Australia's first Edgbaston Ashes Test win after a wait of 18 long years.