Stuart Broad reflected the emotions in the stands when summing up his own on his last day of cricket: “My lasting memories will be of pure joy and happiness, and that’s exactly how I feel right now.”

Once again Broad provoked an immediate breakthrough by turning the bails at one end – his final tally of 604 Test wickets might have been even more impressive had he only discovered this trick a few years earlier – with Todd Murphy this time the victim. “Amazing that worked twice in the game, just completely freakish,” Broad said.

Two overs later he snared Alex Carey to seal England’s 49-run win and ensure a compelling Ashes series ended with honours even at 2-2. “It proved that I still love taking wickets, because I just ran around like a headless chicken,” he said. “To take a wicket to win an Ashes Test match with my final ball was something that will make me smile for the rest of my life.”

For Ben Stokes the result ensured the series ended one draw from perfection. “From being 2-0 down, to sit here saying we’ve managed to level the series, playing in the way in which we did, I couldn’t be any more proud,” he said. “We continued everything in the style of play we’ve done over the last 15 months and it’s basically been everything I think I could have asked for, minus getting the urn back.”

In its final throes an always compelling series ratcheted the drama to a new level. Chasing a record-obliterating target of 384 Australia looked to be on the path to victory when rain fell immediately after lunch, but eventually the clouds cleared, the skies brightened and the wickets tumbled.

Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali after winning at the Oval. It was also Moeen’s final Test. Photograph: Visionhaus/Getty Images

When Travis Head edged Moeen Ali to slip it started a remarkable sequence of four wickets for 11 runs in 19 balls and from 264 for three they slipped to 275 for seven. Win predictors that had given England a 32% chance of victory before Head’s dismissal had them on 92% just 15 minutes later. And after Moeen and Chris Woakes had taken England to within two wickets of victory Stokes decided Broad’s moment had come.

“I’m not going to lie, in the back of my mind when we got to the position we did when they were eight down, it would have taken an almighty train wreck if we didn’t win that game,” Stokes said. “So I thought I chose my moment quite well to bring Broady back into the attack. He had a lot of plays and misses in his first two or three overs and I kept telling him: ‘Keep bowling the same ball over and over again because you’ll eventually get that wicket.’ Seeing him run off and the slips go up to celebrate, it was one of those moments that was always going to happen.”

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Woakes ended with four wickets – being named player of the series despite being picked only for the last three games – and Moeen with three after putting in a mammoth shift from the Vauxhall End through the afternoon. “Mo got picked because I knew what he could do on his best days and today was his best day in this series – and what a day to produce it,” Stokes said.

Moeen, tempted out of international retirement after Jack Leach was ruled out of the series with injury, confirmed after the conclusion that it would be his last Test. “To come back was a little bit daunting because I’ve never played that well against Australia but when Stokesy asked me I though: ‘Why not? I’m going into a brilliant side and I still believe I can do all right.’

“I’m so glad I came back and said yes. It’s been amazing and I’m chuffed that I can finish with a bit of a helping hand in a win against Australia.”