It couldn’t be more obvious what one big battle we are looking forward to in the upcoming days.
The build up had started from the time Australia trounced their old enemy down under the previous series. Not that the hosts England hold a significant edge this time – given their share of vulnerabilities against the pace bowlers – however, the James Anderson-led bowling attack will start as marginal favourites.
England’s mauling of Australia in the semi-final of the World Cup – and succeeding them as the world champions – further spices the clash.
Tim Paine’s men have been under the hammer since their shattering loss to Virat Kohli’s men in the most extended format at home earlier this year.
It also happened to be the first-ever Test series defeat that the baggy greens endured to an Asian nation on their home soil. Kohli – who has had Australia’s number in all formats for a long time now – entered the Australian shores with an affluent reputation.
Much as the expectations from this Indian side arose with each game, the Aussie bowling attack possessed the venom to single-handedly win games.
Alas, the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner from their ranks hurt them in a way so that no other batsmen looked listless against the Indian bowlers.
Make no mistake – Kohli is someone who Australians may love to hate. He is also someone who’s Australian-ness has him better prepared against the verbal confrontations and the mind games from opposition, especially against Australia. Amidst this, his advice to crack the code on beating England could be throbbing in the tourists’ minds ahead of the Ashes.
After winning the Test series down under via a 2-1 margin, the Indian captain’s blunt message to the Aussie batsmen was to leave their egos behind if they are to succeed in England.
(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
The world’s leading Test batsman opined that patience is the crucial factor in thriving in the English conditions. He said that the Australian batsmen would have to play an old-school style of cricket, which meant grinding games out in the middle to achieve those precious runs.
The Dukes ball – as pointed out by Kohli – can sink egos quite rapidly, and thus slogging it out would be critical for Australia to achieve triumph for the first time since 2001.
The Delhi batsman – who had been under immense pressure on landing in England – ended the 2018 Test series in the UK as the highest run-scorer.
On the contrary, the right-hander tasted a substantial failure in 2014, mainly exposed against James Anderson and Stuart Broad on the English green tops. Despite an abject failure of batting which lead India to lose the Test series last year, the 30-year old shone against the Dukes ball amassing 593 runs across five Tests.
Australia’s problems with the moving ball isn’t a new story, but something that traces back over a decade. Despite cleaning out the English batsmen relatively cheaply, Australia relinquished those advantages and failed to show the mettle in testing conditions.
If the tour match against the English Lions is anything to go by, we could witness some more strings of batting collapses from the visitors.
Sam Curran’s stocks have been on the rise ever since he led his side to some unlikely wins against India. The left-armer’s burst at Canterbury would only encourage the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad to replicate their performances from The Oval back in 2009, from Trent Bridge in 2015, from Lord’s in 2009 and from Trent Bridge again in 2013.
Undeniably, the return of Steve Smith and David Warner will boost the tourists’ growing batting stocks. However, the perennial antagonistic welcoming by the English crowds is also something that the entire side would have to deal with.
Simoc
Guest
I'm not sure where you get marginal favourites for England from. They should be overwhelming favourites given that, apart from Smith, Warner and maybe Khawaja, Lyon all their players are better in this format and they're home with a swinging Dukes ball. Did you note the difference in Australias Sheffield Shield when the Dukes ball came in. Batting became near impossible. It will take a huge performance from our guys to match it with the Poms in this series. We'll soon know how good the wanna be test players are (Burns, Harris, Patterson, Laborchagne etc). If they win the win this series it will be greatest of all time but I doubt they will come close.
Paul
Roar Guru
I just hope Australia doesn't go back to being dependent on Warner & Smith to make a decent score, Neel. Guys like Head, Harris/Burns, Kawaja, etc really need to step up. They showed glimpses of wht they could do when these two were out and that should stand them in good stead going into the First Test. Hopefully we'll be reading about these blokes all having great series and Warner & Smith only doing their part in total team effort.
Aayushman Vishwanathan
Guest
Yeah, they did wipe the floor when playing Sri Lanka, but it counts for nothing if they can't replicate that sort of performance or something closer to that against England at their home. Similarly, Sri Lanka lost to Australia but beat England. Does that make them a champion side. Coming to Kohli, yes that was a horrid series; however, it may be considered just as a blip. Since then the two sides met in one Test series and three one-day series, and I think he has performed well in those.
Neel
Roar Guru
Kohli learnt quickly how to adapt to English conditions after that horrid Test series he had on 2014. Last time India went there, he was India’s standout player by a big margin. He did have his fair share of luck via England’s dropped catches, but he made the most of his chances and had a great series with the bat last time around one England. Smith and Warner along with Head might prove to be the key batsmen for the Aussies in the upcoming Ashes series.
Neel
Roar Guru
I remember that 2017 series so well, Paul. Steven Smith and Cheteshwar Pujara had pretty good series. Kohli struggled in that series like crazy. It was surprising. Steven Smith will be essential if the Aussies are to win the Ashes and start of the Test Championship campaign in a positive manner.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Sometimes you need the tried and true method pointed out to you and Kohli and Shastri have modelled their game plans on the rampant Aussie sides under Taylor, Waugh. Their ability to bat and bat and bat produced phenomenal success and Kohli is pointing out what he learned from Shastri. Sometimes innovation has to be tempered by common sense and the current Aussies could do worse than take on some of Kohli's advice.
Paul
Roar Guru
"Tim Paine’s men have been under the hammer since their shattering loss to Virat Kohli’s men" hi Smudge, do you really believe that? Paine and the guys might have been "shattered" for a day or two, but then managed to beat a Sri Lankan team who went on the beat the Proteas at home. All of this with guys either injured, missing or down in form. You then go on to say "Kohli – who has had Australia’s number in all formats for a long time now". Again you've been very selective in your recollections of his batting so I will too. His figures in the Tests in India against us in 2017 read "3 Test, 5 innings, 46 runs, highest score 15 and an average of 9.20". The one thing you have right is the need to value wickets and not throw them away with extravagant shots. There's also a need to only play what has to be played early on. It was noticeable in the last series in England against India, guys were getting out playing deliveries more than 6 inches outside off stump. It's not a crime to let them go. Pujara showed this team how to bat in the last two Tests of our summer series - show patience then, when the bowling is tired, cash in. Waugh, Langer and Ponting would no doubt be saying very much the same thing to all 25 guys in contention for the squad