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As Ashes draws closer, we are witnessed some shocking selection in the teams from both sides.
Shaun Marsh and Tim Paine have come out of nowhere and gotten ahead of some highly rated contenders like Glenn Maxwell, Hilton Cartwright and Peter Nevill, and only time will tell whether the young Cameron Bancroft can handle the Ashes pressure. His form this season so far reads 228* followed by 76* and 86.
On other hand England too has had their share of surprises, with Tom Curran being preferred over Liam Plunkett and Gary Ballance. James Vince is making a comeback. With so many new players in the squad this Ashes looks wide open, with each team matching each other on paper and providing many loopholes to be exploited.
For Australia, like always, David Warner and Steve Smith will be key. Similarly, England’s most prolific batsman, Alastair Cook, and superstar Joe Root will look to negate Australian pacer trio Mitch Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Usman Khawaja, after not playing international cricket for months, will look to prove himself, and therein lies England’s opportunity. Bancroft will obviously have his stomach full of butterflies in his opening Ashes match. Similarly Tim Paine, who is returning to Test colours after seven years, will have a point to prove to nail his spot for next three to four years.
Shaun Marsh, supposedly the cat with nine lives, is now making his eighth comeback into the team, with his inconsistency showing no signs of dusting off. This could be his last chance, and what a better series to back up the selectors’ faith.
Mitch Starc, after his great run in last two years and now coming off two consecutive hat-tricks, will be expected to do a Mitch Johnson of 2013, while Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood provide the backup.
The ever-reliable Nathon Lyon had a wonderful year or so on the Subcontinent, and you can expect him to win a match on his own in venues like Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide.
(AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
For England Joe Root and Alastair Cook will be expected to shore up things, with Mark Stoneman, David Malan and James Vince expected to fire in as well.The firepower of Ben Stokes in batting, bowling and fielding will be sorely missed. Johny Bairstow and Moe Ali will look to make important contributions lower down the order.
The inexperienced middle order along with the ageing Alastair Cook, James Anderson and Stuart Broad will have a thing or two to prove given their average record Down Under compared to their standards.
Despite the home conditions, the teams looked evenly matched thanks to the average summer Australia has had. Even Steve Smith hasn’t scored a hundred since his last big one at Dharamshala, and the Ashes is a great place to stage a comeback.
David Warner will look to continue the form that got him a twin century in Bangladesh, and Peter Handscomb at number five will want a summer like last year when he scored runs at an average of 99.75. But against James Anderson, who is still going from strength to strength, and Stuart Broad, who is firing in his spells, it will be a tough challenge. But given the home advantage, expect the Aussies to come out on top.
The young England side will no doubt come out all guns blazing, but Australia on home soil will be a tough mountain to climb, doubly so with the absence of Ben Stokes, a key performer for England in last two years. It really is a shame not to have Stokes around – the Barmy Army would have absolutely loved ripping him apart as 12th man on the field. Knowing Stokes, he wouldn’t have backed down, which would have made the contest much more entertaining.
The series will probably end with scoreline of 3-2 or 2-1 in Australia’s favour. Expect some exciting cricket, close calls, tight finishes, lots of fireworks and some brilliant displays with the bat and ball throughout the series from both teams.
The Ashes has always been notorious for ending a few careers, so expect some of that too once all is done and dusted. It could last time Cook plays his masterful knock or Anderson displays his swing bowling, so you don’t want to miss it.
An upset is possible if England start the series well, so come Thursday, tune in to The Roar for updates throughout the day.
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