Comparing the 2006/07 Ashes to the 2013/14 series

The 2006/07 Ashes series and the 2013/14 Ashes series featured many scenes which were almost identical to each other – and that’s not even counting the 5-0 scoreline in both.

Here are ten symmetrical points in the adjacent series:

1. Captains make big centuries in the first two Tests
In 2006/07 Ricky Ponting started off his quest to regain the Ashes superbly by making an astonishing 196 on the first day of the first Ashes Test at Brisbane, which his team won by 277 runs.

In the second Ashes Test at Adelaide, he did scored 142 at Adelaide after the Englishmen scored a mammoth 6/551 declared in their first innings.

In 2013/14 Michael Clarke only scored a run in the first innings of the first Ashes Test, but rebounded brilliantly to score 113 at Brisbane, which the Aussies won by 381 runs.

In Adelaide, Clarke guided Australia to the perfect start. With Australia batting first, Clarke scored a majestic 148 in a great Test for the Aussies, which they won by 218 runs.

2. Young batsmen touted as future captains shine
In 2006/07, Michael Clarke had just made his return to a strong Australian team.

For over two years he had been touted as the next Australian cricket captain, an honour he finally received in 2011.

In 06/07, in the second Ashes Test at Adelaide, he scored a big 124 to help the Aussies to an incredible win. In the third Test in Perth, Clarke scored 135* to help build up a huge Australian lead.

In 2013/14, Steve Smith is being talked up as the next captain after Clarke after a brilliant return to the Australian team, which included a 111 at Perth in the third Ashes Test to help Australia secure the Ashes, and a fantastic 115 on the first day of the fifth Test at Sydney.

Only time will tell whether he will succeed Clarke as the next Test captain.

3. Aussie wicketkeepers make a century during the series
2006/07 saw Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist score a quick fire 102* in the second innings of the third Ashes Test at Perth, a knoch which helped secure the Ashes for Australia.

In 2013/14 Brad Haddin came close to man of the series after a superb series with both the gloves and bat, which was highlighted by a brilliant 118 on the first couple of days in the second Ashes Test at Adelaide.

4. Scintillating spells by an Aussie bowler at Adelaide
In 2006/07 the Englishmen were one wicket down and had a comfortable lead before the fifth day of the second Ashes Test at Adelaide.

Enter Shane Warne.

The legendary spinner took a fantastic 4-49 off 32 overs to spin Australia towards an amazing victory on the last day of an amazing Test match.

In 2013/14 Australia batted first in the second Ashes Test match at Adelaide and batted superbly, before Mitchell Johnson set up the match for Australia with an astounding spell of 7-40 to bury England.

Australia completed a brilliant victory not long afterwards.

5. Unpopular bowlers are the bowlers of the series
In 2006/07 not many people knew who Stuart Clark was. They may have heard of him after a fantastic tour of South Africa, but his real claim to fame came in the 2006/07 Ashes series, where Clark took 26 wickets for 443 runs at an average of 17 runs per wicket.

In 2013/14 Mitchell Johnson was known as a spent force for Australia. A few years back he was known as an erratic bowler who could produce an odd spell of excellence.

But he was dropped and didn’t come back into the fray until a great series of One Day Internationals in India saw him in the Australian team for the first Ashes Test.

He came in and took 37 wickets for 517 runs at an average of 14 runs per wicket to become a huge part of Australian cricket history.

Now Mitch and his moustache will never be forgotten.

6. Quick-fire centuries in Perth
In 2006/07 the man known perhaps as the best ever wicketkeeper to play cricket, Adam Gilchrist, produced a scintillating knock of 102* off 59 balls to guide Australia to an Ashes win.

In 2013/14 Shane Watson was known as an all-rounder who hadn’t lived up to his potential. But Watson scored one of a handful of Test centuries to bury England by scoring a quick 103 off 108 balls in Perth.

7. Openers set the tone at Brisbane
After Steve Harmison’s first ball wide, Justin Langer kicked off the 2006/07 Ashes series with an attacking 82 in the first innings, before scoring a drought breaking 100* in the second innings in a big Aussie win.

2013/14 saw the return of David Warner, the expert T20 blaster who could shake up Test cricket if he stopped punching and tweeting.

He did stop entering bars and going on his smartphone in the first Ashes Test though, where he scored 49 and a blistering 124 in the second innings to help set up an emphatic victory.

8. The other opener makes a Boxing Day hundred
After a pretty dismal series for Matthew Hayden in 2006/07, he came into his own to make a fantastic 153 in his most successful Test ground, the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

He resurrected Australia to help set them up for an excellent three day win.

Chris Rogers had all the pressure put onto him going into the 2013/14 Boxing Day Test. Even though Australia had already regained the urn, he needed to mark his territory in the Australian team.

He did that with a brilliant 116 at his home ground in Melbourne to help make a difficult run chase look easy.

9. England change their wicketkeepers ahead of Melbourne
Ahead of the 2006/07 Boxing Day Test, England swapped their disappointing keeper, Geraint Jones, for the fresh Chris Read.

Read took a record six catches in the first innings in that match, but he didn’t last much longer after the Ashes series.

Entering the 2013/14 Ashes series, Matt Prior was regarded as the best wicketkeeper batsman in the game at the time. But other than a fighting 50 in Adelaide, he was shown up completely by Brad Haddin, and was dropped for the Boxing Day Test for Johnny Bairstow.

Bairstow kept out the rest of the series, but his place in the team is far from permanent.

10. English batsmen leave tour early
Even before the 2006/07 Ashes series begun, England opener Marcus Trescothick had to leave after an excruciating few months travelling.

He was never the same, and the great English opener had to retire not long afterwards.

After the First Ashes Test in the 2013/14 Ashes series, Jonathan Trott had some behind-the-scenes troubles, and after falling cheaply to a Mitchell Johnson short ball twice and some Aussie sledging, Trott decided to pack his bags and leave for his home early.

It is still unknown whether Trott will ever resume playing for England again.

Before researching this, I didn’t think there was that much similar between the two series other than the scoreline, but if the same scoreline occurs, there will be some more similarities if you look closer.