Opinion
It is the month of June in 2023, the same month where we will see Australia taking on England, in a must-watch Ashes series.
The Ashes are where reputations are made, players’ weaknesses are exposed and careers are ended. After the obliteration of the England cricket team just 18 months earlier in a 4-0 defeat down under, England is out for revenge.
Since then Brendon McCullum has taken over as England’s senior coach and has reinvented the team from a dour side on low confidence to a now aggressive cricket team, who are feared.
In the last 18 months, England has defeated Pakistan 3-0, South Africa 2-1, New Zealand 3-0 at home and India in a postponed series. The team have been referred to as playing ‘Bazball’ adopting the aggression McCullum acquired in his own career. Batsman Harry Brook typified this new attacking edge averaging 80.90 in his first 10 innings in Test match cricket, with a strike rate of 98.77.
Meanwhile, Australia have had tough battles in Asia, the most recent series against did not go to plan, losing the series 2-1 to India.
Nonetheless, the Aussies have smashed any nation that has gone up against them at home including South Africa and the West Indies last summer. Australia has finished first in the world Test championship table – deservedly so.
England Bowler Stuart Broad recently called the last 4-0 series loss in 2021 “void”, due to the quarantine restrictions the squad had to endure.
“Nothing was harsher than the last Ashes,” he told the Daily Mail. “But in my mind l don’t class that as a real Ashes.”
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc was quick to reply to Broad’s comments when he said on The Grade Cricketer Podcast: “The funniest thing out of that was they called it quarantine on the Gold Coast.
“The Poms had the pool, the gym, they were in a resort on the Gold Coast, they trained at Metricon [now known as Heritage Bank Stadium], weren’t confined to their rooms and had their families there.
“Was this even Quarantine?”
Always on the eve of an Ashes series, there seems to be byplay between the two teams. Has England done enough to get Australia off their game?
The Australian cricket team have decided on having any tour matches ahead of the Ashes series and are focusing their attention on the World Test Championship battle against India first.
This is a divisive move made by the team, who copped backlash in the India series earlier this year for doing the same thing.
The Australian cricket team’s batting collapses in the Indian series were largely linked to not having a tour game. These collapses include Australia losing 9-47 on day three of the second Test in Dehli after being 1-61 earlier.
Australia Cricket legend Allan Border said, “I don’t care how hard you work in the nets, nothing replaces game time.”
Only time will tell if Australia needed some tour matches beforehand and victory will silence the critics.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
It is fair to say most of the England bowlers in the previous Ashes lowered their colours from Jack Leach’s extremely high economy rate to Ollie Robinson’s poor fitness resulting in him bowling off-spin, with speed dealers on.
Veteran Jimmy Anderson is 40 years of age, whilst Stuart Broad is 36 years old, so there is no doubt they will not play the whole series.
As good as the two have been together there are several clouds over how their bodies will pull up, with Anderson missing the Ireland Test match due to a groin injury.
England has also been hit another blow, with their big wildcard bowler Jofra Archer already being ruled out for the whole English summer, due to a recurring elbow injury. This blow is deflating for the side and gives further emphasis on the importance for the two veterans to keep fit.
Another issue is their lack of depth in spin bowling stocks, with England’s spinner Leach out for the entire series, suffering a back stress fracture. This is a huge concern for England, who have brought back retired all-rounder Moeen Ali in desperation.
In Ali’s 11 Test matches against Australia, he manages to average just 64.65 with the ball. Given his last Test was in 2021, this is a huge gamble from England.
This is contrasted Australia, who have a reliable off-spinner, Nathan Lyon, a proven wicket-taker in England taking 45 wickets in his 13 matches there.
Many questions have been raised about Australian opener David Warner and England opener Zak Crawley.
Zak Crawley of England bats. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Warner’s form in England is a concern after a horror Ashes campaign in 2019, where he averaged 9.50 for the series. Nine out of his 10 dismissals were bowled by Stuart Broad, and the right-arm bowlers going over the wicket appears to be a clear weakness.
Only twice in 12 innings in England since the start of the 2019 Ashes have Australia put on more than 36 for the first two wickets.
Cameron Bancroft seems to be a great option following a stellar Sheffield Shield for WA, hammering 761 runs for the season and averaging 63.91. Matthew Renshaw remains another option if Warner misfires.
This Ashes series is an intriguing one. Is this ‘Bazball’ cricket a whole charade, or can England take it up to the No.1-ranked Test team in the world? For all the talk from England, can they actually walk the talk or will the Aussies take home the urn?
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