Finally, the most awaited sporting event in test cricket is here. England and Australia going for the prized possession of Ashes. The greatest test series between two cricketing nations.
Last time England were in Australia: (2013-14) Relief. That was the state of mind of England players last time when they visited Australia and lose inside 3 days at SCG completing the whitewash. Second whitewash in three visits to the country. But, the times have changed. This is no longer the Australia, which played in 2013-14. Apart from a few players, most of them haven't even played in an Ashes test. Australia won 5-0. I think 2013 ashes was a very good indication of what was to follow. England managed to hang on by winning 3-0 there, but later that year, Australia completely destroyed England in their home. Both Johnson and Harris were like hounds looking for a sniff to get English batsmen out. England couldn't catch a break. Losing inside Sydney inside 3 days was almost a relief for them. This series also ended some great England players to have ever played the game. Kevin Pietersen was sacked, Graeme Swann was forced to retire. Jonathan Trott flew back home after the first test. He only played 3 tests after that. The scars left on England's players were just too much. Johnson ended up with 37 wickets in 5 games.
Second last time England were in Australia: (2010-11) England won 3-1 (all 3 wins were by an innings) First time in history, Australia lost more than 1 test by an innings in one home season. This was the Ashes which redefined England completely. They broke Australia apart. On a ground, which is said to be the cauldron for visitors, England were 517/1. Cook averaged 127, while Trott averaged 89 in this Ashes. KP masterpiece of 227 gave them Adelaide test match. Rest was formality. Australia were thrashed on their home soil by England for first time in 28 years. The only sole victory came when Johnson ran through England at WACA. When next time England visited this country, he will murder them.
Third last time England were in Australia: (2006-07) Australia won 5-0. England captain: Andrew Flintoff. Australian Captain: Ricky Ponting. Other than one game at Adelaide oval, which was a horror loss for England, rest of them were straightforward hammerings. This series brought upon the retirements of some great players like Justin Langer, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath etc. England were simply not good enough. Australia were buzzing with skilled players and England simply had no answer to them.
Last time Australia played England (It was in England): Ashes 2015: England won 3-2. Redemption to Cook after 599 days. He found himself again. This was a series of swinging pendulum. No team seemed to seize the momentum. In first test at Cardiff, Brad Haddin dropped Root and Root made them pay by a brilliant hundred. England went 1-0 up. Then, at Lords at flat deck, England were hammered by Smith. Third and fourth tests England won inside three days by a series of 6-fors by Finn, Stokes, Anderson and Broad's dream spell of 15-8. England did to Australia what Australia had done to England 18 months ago. This series brought an end to some illustrious career of Australian players. Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers all took a call on their test careers.
Ashes 2013 (In England) England won 3-0. The series was actually closer than the scoreline suggested. Cracks were beginning to form in England team. They managed to hang onto the crucial moments. Australia were rubbish in Trent bridge when debutant Agar saving them from humiliation. At Lords, they were abysmal. Then, they played some good cricket before being annihilated by Stuart Broad's magic at Chester-le-street. At oval, bad light resulted in a draw when England needed 17 off 4 overs. All in all, England were way ahead of Australia.
Ashes 2009 (In England) England won 2-1. England managed to hang onto a draw by 10th wicket partnership between Panesar and Anderson. Then, defeated Australia at Lords after 75 years. Freddie became Jesus and then lastly at Oval, Broad blew them apart while England unearthed another talented batsman in Jonathan Trott who notched up a ton on debut.
Ashes 2005 (In England) England won 2-1. England captain: Michael Vaughan leading England to victory after 19 years of humiliation. Last time England won the Ashes was in 1986-87. Australian captain: Ricky Ponting. His first Ashes loss against England. He will go on to lose two more. England got a few superstars in the form of Kevin Pietersen. Andrew Flintoff finally broke the drought of Ashes for England.
Statistics: Last 6 Ashes. England won 4 (all 3 at home, 1 away from home) Overall: Australia and England have won 32 series each and five series have been drawn.
Now, here we are. Near Ashes 2017-18. Verbal battles never cease to stop before Ashes. Warner has called it a "war" and would like to create "hatred" for England players in his mind. Hayden has called England "a rabble". Nathan Lyon has stated that "Matt Prior was scared to face Australia and wanted to return home in 2013-14 series". Handscomb has said that "He would like to hear chirps from barmy army". Cummins has said that "they would like to inflict the same pain like they did in 2013-14". Warney has given the advantage to "England". McGrath as usual must be chanting "5-0" somewhere.
Everyone is busy making predictions. KP says that Australia will win, though closely. Bell, Vaughan, Swann and a lot others have other ideas that England are going to pull this off.
England team selection: Ben Stokes is a huge miss. Lower middle order of England is arguably the best in the world. Top order, though immensely fragile seems to be finding form in the warmups. Cook: The best opener in test cricket right now. Root is the best batter in England. Bairstow has come up of age. Ali is the trump card. Woakes is perfect number 8. Anderson and Broad are the current best opening ball pair. Mark Stoneman has passed score of 50 in each outing on this tour. Malan has got a hundred in warmup too. James Vince remains a work in progress. England are a strong force by all means and I would certainly expect them to fight till the end.
Australian team selection has been a bit bizarre. Tim Paine has been given the nod ahead of Matthew Wade. Last time he made a first class century was in 2006. To put that in perspective, Darren Lehmann, the australian coach last made a first class hundred in 2007. That speaks volumes of the confusion Australia are going through. Other than Starc, Hazlewood, and Cummins, the bench strength of Australian bowling seems very ordinary. Lyon has brought pressure upon himself by constant blabbering. Handscomb, Bancroft, Marsh remain unproved in highly intensed Ashes matches. If Smith and Warner fail, they may fail to win a single test match. Player by player comparison, England stand out over Australia, though home advantage is something which plays heavy roles in such series.
My gut says England are going to win Ashes 2017-18. Prediction: England winning 3-1.
Last time England were in Australia: (2013-14) Relief. That was the state of mind of England players last time when they visited Australia and lose inside 3 days at SCG completing the whitewash. Second whitewash in three visits to the country. But, the times have changed. This is no longer the Australia, which played in 2013-14. Apart from a few players, most of them haven't even played in an Ashes test. Australia won 5-0. I think 2013 ashes was a very good indication of what was to follow. England managed to hang on by winning 3-0 there, but later that year, Australia completely destroyed England in their home. Both Johnson and Harris were like hounds looking for a sniff to get English batsmen out. England couldn't catch a break. Losing inside Sydney inside 3 days was almost a relief for them. This series also ended some great England players to have ever played the game. Kevin Pietersen was sacked, Graeme Swann was forced to retire. Jonathan Trott flew back home after the first test. He only played 3 tests after that. The scars left on England's players were just too much. Johnson ended up with 37 wickets in 5 games.
Second last time England were in Australia: (2010-11) England won 3-1 (all 3 wins were by an innings) First time in history, Australia lost more than 1 test by an innings in one home season. This was the Ashes which redefined England completely. They broke Australia apart. On a ground, which is said to be the cauldron for visitors, England were 517/1. Cook averaged 127, while Trott averaged 89 in this Ashes. KP masterpiece of 227 gave them Adelaide test match. Rest was formality. Australia were thrashed on their home soil by England for first time in 28 years. The only sole victory came when Johnson ran through England at WACA. When next time England visited this country, he will murder them.
Third last time England were in Australia: (2006-07) Australia won 5-0. England captain: Andrew Flintoff. Australian Captain: Ricky Ponting. Other than one game at Adelaide oval, which was a horror loss for England, rest of them were straightforward hammerings. This series brought upon the retirements of some great players like Justin Langer, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath etc. England were simply not good enough. Australia were buzzing with skilled players and England simply had no answer to them.
Last time Australia played England (It was in England): Ashes 2015: England won 3-2. Redemption to Cook after 599 days. He found himself again. This was a series of swinging pendulum. No team seemed to seize the momentum. In first test at Cardiff, Brad Haddin dropped Root and Root made them pay by a brilliant hundred. England went 1-0 up. Then, at Lords at flat deck, England were hammered by Smith. Third and fourth tests England won inside three days by a series of 6-fors by Finn, Stokes, Anderson and Broad's dream spell of 15-8. England did to Australia what Australia had done to England 18 months ago. This series brought an end to some illustrious career of Australian players. Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers all took a call on their test careers.
Ashes 2013 (In England) England won 3-0. The series was actually closer than the scoreline suggested. Cracks were beginning to form in England team. They managed to hang onto the crucial moments. Australia were rubbish in Trent bridge when debutant Agar saving them from humiliation. At Lords, they were abysmal. Then, they played some good cricket before being annihilated by Stuart Broad's magic at Chester-le-street. At oval, bad light resulted in a draw when England needed 17 off 4 overs. All in all, England were way ahead of Australia.
Ashes 2009 (In England) England won 2-1. England managed to hang onto a draw by 10th wicket partnership between Panesar and Anderson. Then, defeated Australia at Lords after 75 years. Freddie became Jesus and then lastly at Oval, Broad blew them apart while England unearthed another talented batsman in Jonathan Trott who notched up a ton on debut.
Ashes 2005 (In England) England won 2-1. England captain: Michael Vaughan leading England to victory after 19 years of humiliation. Last time England won the Ashes was in 1986-87. Australian captain: Ricky Ponting. His first Ashes loss against England. He will go on to lose two more. England got a few superstars in the form of Kevin Pietersen. Andrew Flintoff finally broke the drought of Ashes for England.
Statistics: Last 6 Ashes. England won 4 (all 3 at home, 1 away from home) Overall: Australia and England have won 32 series each and five series have been drawn.
Now, here we are. Near Ashes 2017-18. Verbal battles never cease to stop before Ashes. Warner has called it a "war" and would like to create "hatred" for England players in his mind. Hayden has called England "a rabble". Nathan Lyon has stated that "Matt Prior was scared to face Australia and wanted to return home in 2013-14 series". Handscomb has said that "He would like to hear chirps from barmy army". Cummins has said that "they would like to inflict the same pain like they did in 2013-14". Warney has given the advantage to "England". McGrath as usual must be chanting "5-0" somewhere.
Everyone is busy making predictions. KP says that Australia will win, though closely. Bell, Vaughan, Swann and a lot others have other ideas that England are going to pull this off.
England team selection: Ben Stokes is a huge miss. Lower middle order of England is arguably the best in the world. Top order, though immensely fragile seems to be finding form in the warmups. Cook: The best opener in test cricket right now. Root is the best batter in England. Bairstow has come up of age. Ali is the trump card. Woakes is perfect number 8. Anderson and Broad are the current best opening ball pair. Mark Stoneman has passed score of 50 in each outing on this tour. Malan has got a hundred in warmup too. James Vince remains a work in progress. England are a strong force by all means and I would certainly expect them to fight till the end.
Australian team selection has been a bit bizarre. Tim Paine has been given the nod ahead of Matthew Wade. Last time he made a first class century was in 2006. To put that in perspective, Darren Lehmann, the australian coach last made a first class hundred in 2007. That speaks volumes of the confusion Australia are going through. Other than Starc, Hazlewood, and Cummins, the bench strength of Australian bowling seems very ordinary. Lyon has brought pressure upon himself by constant blabbering. Handscomb, Bancroft, Marsh remain unproved in highly intensed Ashes matches. If Smith and Warner fail, they may fail to win a single test match. Player by player comparison, England stand out over Australia, though home advantage is something which plays heavy roles in such series.
My gut says England are going to win Ashes 2017-18. Prediction: England winning 3-1.
