Written by: Waseem Abbas
Posted on: June 16, 2023 | 
| 中文
Australia's Pat Cummins celebrates against England in 2021-22 Ashes
After being crowned as the champions of the recently concluded World Test Championship (WTC) (2021-23), Australia will be looking to pounce on the resurgent English side in the historic Ashes Series, starting on June 16th. No bilateral cricket series in the world has as long and an interesting history as the Ashes, which was first played in 1882. Ashes Series, scheduled in both countries alternately, a Test match series played between the Aussies and the English side biennially. Historically, the number of matches varied between one to seven, but since 1998, the Ashes have been a five-match series, which attracts cricket aficionados from around the world who are glued to their television sets for hours. The hype that the English and the Australian media create around the Ashes before the start of the series, is quite extraordinary.
Team Australia, ICC WTC 2021-23 winners
Australia recently thrashed India in the final of WTC and will be eager to claim yet another Ashes Title this summer. However, it will not be an easy task this time for the Aussies, because the English side has noticed a dramatic resurgence under Ben Stokes, who champions the attacking style of cricket, nicknamed ‘Bazball’ after Stokes and the English Coach, Brendon McCullum. England’s scoring rate has been around 4.90, after Stokes took the reins of the team, which is quite unheard of in Test cricket's 146-year history. This becomes quite evident if we put it into perspective: England's scoring rate in the last ten matches before Stokes took the captaincy was 2.97, and the second-best scoring rate after England in the Bazball era is Australia’s 3.56 runs per over. England’s run rate of 4.13 in 2022 was the highest in a year in Test cricket’s history, and they have bettered their own record so far this year. England, after adopting ‘Bazball’, has won 11 out of 13 Tests, and before that, they had only won 1 out of their last 17 Tests under Joe Root. It is quite a remarkable turnaround, as the fearless approach has fetched immediate results for England. Ben Stokes has vowed that they will not shy away from playing attacking cricket regardless of the results in the Ashes 2023. Moreover, England has a home advantage, which they would like to exploit.
England team in the last match of Ashes 2021-22
Barring the devastating times of World War One and Two, Ashes has continued uninterrupted in its history spanning 141 years. Australia has the upper hand with the title of 34 series, while England is lagging with 32, as six out of 72 Ashes Series have been drawn. Out of 340 Ashes Tests, Australia has won 140 (41.2 %), England has 108 (31.8%), while the remaining 92 matches (27.1%) were drawn. Whether England upsets Australia to bridge the gap, or Australia further widens the gap between the two archrivals, is yet to be seen, but from my observation, Aussies are favorites this time as well.
Australia's Steven Smith and England's Staurt Broad
Australia, who last lost an Ashes in 2015, will be testing England’s attacking brand of cricket with their pace attack consisting of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood, Mitchel Starc and Scot Boland. While Australia’s batting unit is consistent and experienced, hence it would be very difficult for English bowlers to get them out cheaply. If England’s attacking brand of cricket (Bazball) succeeds against the Aussies, which is very unlikely though, there is no stopping it from ruling the cricketing world in the coming years.
Michael Vaughan plays a pull shot in the 2nd Ashes in 2003
Like the series, there is an interesting historical story behind the name of 'Ashes', dating back to the early '1880s. Sporting Times published a mock obituary after England lost to Australia for the first time on its home ground in 1882, with the headline "The body (of England cricket) will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia". The term 'Ashes' instantly became popular, as the English captain of the time, Hon Ivo Bligh, embarked on Australia's journey the next winter to ‘bring back the Ashes’ by defeating Australia. The winner of the Ashes series is presented the ‘Ashes Urn’, a small urn believed to contain the ashes of the burnt cricket bails.
Late Shane Warne completed 700 Test wickets in 2007 Ashes
After losing the first Ashes (1882), England won the successive eight Ashes Series, before facing its first series defeat in 1891-92. England counterattacked in successive years, but the Aussies became an invincible by the ‘1920s. The series is not only a cricket tournament for the Australians and the Englishmen, it is part of their culture and history. The 1932-33 Ashes Series, known as the ‘Bodyline Series’, is probably the most famous of all the Ashes Series. Named as 'Bodyline Series' because of the English team's tactics to bowl at the bodyline of the Aussies' batters, by placing fielders on the legside of the batters, so that they have difficulty in facing the incoming fast deliveries targeted at the body. As cricket was played without protective gears and any field restrictions in the ‘1930s, the English tactics were quite effective and were praised in England, but were stigmatized in Australia. Many Aussies batters were injured, and the Australian captain, Bill Woodfull, said to the Englishmen’s manager: “There are two teams out there. One is trying to play cricket and the other is not." England won the series 4-1 and the Australian maestro Don Bradman averaged 56 with the bat, the lowest in his career in an Ashes Series, who has a Test average of 99.96.
Bill Woodfull evades a bodyline ball in the Bodyline Series
Don Bradman is the highest run-getter in the history of the Ashes Series with 5028 runs at 89.78 in 37 Test matches, followed by Jack Hobbs (3636), Allan Border (3222), Steve Waugh (3173) and Steven Smith (3044). If Smith, Australia’s modern-day great, scores 500 runs in this year’s Ashes, he will be the second-highest run-getter in the Ashes history, only behind Bradman. Amongst the active English cricketers, Joe Root has amassed 2016 Ashes runs with a below-par average of 38 for someone with the Root’s caliber. The bowling charts are topped by, not surprisingly, Shane Warne (195 wickets), followed by Gleen McGrath (157), Hugh Trumble (141), Stuart Broad (131) and Dennis Lille (128). England’s S. Broad is the only active bowler in the top five highest wicket-takers in the Ashes, who is playing this year’s tournament. England’s evergreen James Anderson (112 wickets) and Australia’s spin maestro Nathan Lyon (101) are the only other active cricketers playing in this Ashes, who have taken over 100 wickets in the Series.
Joe Root and Steven Smith, highest Ashes run getters amongst active players
Perhaps series like Ashes keep the spark in Test cricket alive and garner the attention of cricket fans from around the world. In a time when modern-day cricketers are more interested in franchise-based T20 cricket to make big bucks, and no one really likes to be exhausted in a five-day match, the commitment and dedication of the cricketers participating in the Ashes is commendable. It is pertinent to say that in order for the game's premium format to flourish and expand, series like Ashes play a central role. Countries like Pakistan and India can arrange an annual or biennial series like Ashes, which can compete with the popularity of the Ashes given the passion for cricket in both countries. Series like Ashes have historic significance, as players who perform in a series like this, leave a legacy behind and inscribe their name in history books.
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