 McCabe followed his efforts at Trent Bridge with 38 and 21 in the drawn Second Test at Lord's. He bowled heavily in the match, sending down 43 overs and taking a total of 2 / 144 as Bradman's specialist bowlers struggled to make inroads. In the first two Tests, McCabe had taken a combined total of 2 / 208 from 64 overs. The Third Test at Old Trafford was abandoned before it started due to rain, and McCabe contributed only one and 15 as Australia scrambled to a five-wicket win to retain the Ashes in the low-scoring Fourth Test at Headingley after chasing a target of 105 on the third day. It was part of a three-week run in which McCabe failed to pass 15 in six innings and did not take a wicket. McCabe made fifties in the two first-class matches before the Fifth and final Test at The Oval, where Australia played an extra batsman, meaning that McCabe opened the bowling. He took 0 / 85 from 38 overs, and with Bradman and Fingleton injuring themselves during the match, McCabe was left in control of a nine-man team. England piled on 7 / 903 declared in three days before defeating Australia by an innings and 579 runs, the largest winning margin in Test history. This included a world record score of 364 by Len Hutton, who was dropped by wicket-keeper Ben Barnett from McCabe's bowling before reaching 50. Neither Bradman nor Fingleton were able to bat. McCabe made 14 and two, and finished the series with 362 runs at 45.25. McCabe scored 91 and 58 in tour matches against an England XI and the Leveson-Gower's XI to finish the English summer.
