And so the games begin – all over again! This is the third Ashes series in just two years. The scars of the last Ashes in Australia haven’t healed yet for England and they find themselves thrust into another Ashes. Are they up to the challenge?
Well, half of the old England side that played the last Ashes is gone. There is no Kevin Pietersen, no Jonathan Trott, no Matt Prior and no Graeme Swann. Instead, we have a young bunch, who are arguably just as talented – the brilliant Ben Stones, the solid Joe Root, the fast and furious Chris Wood and the dashing Jos Butler.
The youngsters in the England set up are actually the ones leading the side, with the older players – James Anderson, Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Stuart Broad playing second foil. There is also a lot of pressure on Alastair Cook given that the last time he captained England in the Ashes, England lost 5 to nothing.
When asked about the pressure he was under, Cook says, “There is a lot written about my captaincy and it is important I sometimes get on the front foot. If you look back at previous teams, they were more methodical. Maybe there’s more opportunity to be on the front foot with the players we’ve got now.”
For Australia, they are called “Dad’s Army” by their critics – a tag they wear all too proudly. The Australian team may well be much older than the English outfit, but they have the wealth of experience under their command. They are also a highly talented bunch of cricketers who are playing at the top of their game. And in Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc, they probably have the best young batsman and bowler in the game right now.
As captain Michael Clarke explains, “We’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of success as a team, winning away from home has been the area we’ve addressed and said we want to be more consistent. Beating teams in their own backyard is always the toughest part of our game and I’m sure this series will be no different.”
The last Ashes had a plenty of sledging done by the Aussies, and there were several ugly scenes on the field, such as Clarke threatening Anderson about getting Mitchell Johnson to break his arm. Will we witness more of the same this time? You never know, but the contest gets really right all bets are off. But as of now, it does seem that Australia are the clear favorites.
As for the teams, we expect England to play the same side that played so well against New Zealand, while Australia are likely to play Shane Watson in place of Mitchell Marsh for the all-rounder’s slot.
The Teams
England: 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Adam Lyth, 3 Gary Ballance, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Joe Root, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Moeen Ali, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Mark Wood, 11 James Anderson
Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Chris Rogers, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Shane Watson, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon
Match Conditions
Pace, seam and bounce – that’s what we expect the track at Cardiff to offer. The weather looks perfect and we should have 5 days of excellent Ashes cricket. The spinners will play a role on the 4th and 5th days of the Test match as well, provided it goes so far.
Watch England take on Australia in the first Test of the Investec Ashes live on Star Sports at 3:30 PM IST on Wednesday!
