Birmingham: The Ashes — the most famous test cricket battle of them all — is here once again, England up against Australia, the encounter that could be among the wildest since the first one was played in 1882.
Under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, whose nickname is “Baz,” England has gone all-out attack and won 12 of its last 17 tests. Always chasing a win — even at the risk of losing — England has not been defeated in a series over the past year. It’s a remarkable turnaround in form for a national team which had won just one of its previous 17 tests before the Stokes-McCullum partnership was formed.
It has reached the stage where England’s players will chase quick runs and fast wickets or adopt aggressive field placings whether they’re playing a cricket minnow or the world champion.
In Australia, they are taking on just that: The newly crowned world test champion.
And the message from the Australians, who beat India in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s Sunday? Bring it on.
“I said it initially when Bazball’ started, that I’m intrigued to see how it goes against our bowlers,” Australia batter Steve Smith said.
“They’ve obviously done well against some other attacks but they haven’t come up against us yet. It’s been exciting to watch, I’ve enjoyed watching the way they’ve played and the way they’ve turned things around in the last 12 months, but we’ll wait and see how it comes off against us.”
Stokes, who has played a central part in some of the most memorable matches in England’s cricketing history, has insisted there will be no backward step from the English just because they are playing the best test team in the world in the most storied test series in cricket.
“As captain, I’m not going to be chewing people out in press conferences or in the media for trying to play a big shot,” Stokes said in a column in “The Players’ Tribune.”
“And behind the scenes, you’re not gonna get a slap on the wrist from me or Brendon McCullum about it. The bottom line is, everybody fails at some point, so you might as well go out batting the way you want to. That won’t change just because it’s the Ashes.”
Indeed, Stokes said, the Ashes is the best platform to showcase a style of play he hopes will become commonplace in cricket, for its own good.
“I really want boards across the world to get their heads around this, which they seem to be having a hard time doing,” Stokes added.
“Rather than fight against it, we need to embrace it. Yes, we may lose a few talented players along the way, but the best way to keep test cricket alive and at the pinnacle of the sport is to work harder to show players something that excites them and inspires them.”
Starting Friday at Birmingham’s Edgbaston ground, which is known for its soccer-style atmosphere, the series will likely be much closer than the last when Australia — as host — demolished England 4-0 in 2021-22.
Winning margins included nine wickets (first test, Brisbane), 275 runs (second test, Adelaide), an innings and 14 runs (third test, Melbourne) and 146 runs (fifth test, Hobart).
England drew the fourth test at Sydney thanks to its bowlers hanging on at 270-9 in the second innings but it was a grim few months Down Under which led to a slew of dismissals in the coaching staff and higher up — and, ultimately, a change in approach that led to the respective appointments of McCullum and Stokes.
James Anderson, England’s most successful bowler, thinks it could be close.
“Both teams are strong in all departments,” the 40-year-old pacer said. “I can’t really split the teams.”
ENGLAND
England’s exciting batting lineup has been strengthened by the return from injury of wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow, who replaces Ben Foakes, and goes extremely deep since Moeen Ali has come out of retirement to cover for injured spinner Jack Leach.
The bowling department has issues, though. Leach’s absence is a huge blow, given he has been England’s go-to spinner for some time, as are injuries to quick bowlers Jofra Archer and Olly Stone. There are question marks over the fitness of fellow pacers Ollie Robinson and the enduring Anderson.
Stuart Broad is unlikely to play every test at age 36 and there remains doubts over Stokes’ ability to bowl as well as bat given his recent ailments.
AUSTRALIA
Meanwhile, Australia’s bowling resources could hardly be stronger, with Scott Boland — a revelation since his test debut in the last Ashes series — adding to a stock of fast bowlers containing captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
Hazlewood should be fit for the start of the Ashes despite a side injury sustained in the Indian Premier League, but maybe there’s no need to rush him back given Boland’s form.
In Marnus Labuschagne and Smith, Australia has two of the top three batters in the world test rankings and Travis Head appears able to play “Bazball” as well as England. David Warner will hope to do better against Broad, who dismissed the left-handed opener seven times in 10 innings in the 2019 Ashes series.
HISTORY
England and Australia first played each other in a test match in 1877 but the name of the most famous fixture in cricket dates to a mock newspaper obituary and cremation — often thought to be a cricket bail — after England lost at home to Australia in 1882.
An impassioned rivalry between the countries — and mostly good-natured taunts between supporters — has since kept the series relevant even at a time when test cricket is losing prominence to Twenty20 franchise tournaments.
For sure, the teasing will begin if England starts winning. After all, the country’s Royal Mail released stamps celebrating the 2005 Ashes series victory which just happened to have the same value needed to post a letter from England to Australia.
Australia gives as good as it gets with Queensland police reacting to England’s disastrous start of 11-3 in the first test of the last Ashes series by “launching an investigation into a group impersonating a test batting order at the Gabba.”
That match was Cummins’ first test as Australia captain. As England lost that series, it needs to win the upcoming series to reclaim the Ashes.
AP