The greatest rivalry in sport returns, and the Ashes are less than a week away – a series preview

Mark Wood’s historic battle against his own body returned this week as England men’s cricket team warm up prior to the small matter of the opening Ashes Test in Perth on Friday. Ahead of what promises to be a spectacular series, injury woes cover the headlines with Australia’s depleted and aging squad leaving many, mostly English, pundits believing that that England win the Ashes down under for the first time in 15 years. The fighting talk has already begun with former Aussie quick Glenn McGrath predicting 5-0 to Australia; whereas, former English all-rounder David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd said England can win by the same scoreline. With all this speculation and uncertainty, one thing is sure: it will be another nail-biting series. Here’s all you need to know:

England captain Ben Stokes will be keen to maintain England’s good form in Tests after a highly entertaining summer series against India which finished 2-2, including a 5-wicket victory at Headingley in Leeds. Less than a month ago, however, England’s ODI side lost 3 nil at home to New Zealand. Worse still, many key Test players struggled against the Kiwis such as opener Ben Duckett, who scored just 11 runs across the series. England’s batting came under heavy scrutiny in what was, for many Test players, their last competitive action before the Ashes.

By contrast, most of the Australian side have been playing in the Sheffield Shield in the last month or so – getting competitive Test action in Australian conditions – and doing very well. Marnus Labuschagne is back with a vengeance having scored 5 centuries in his last 8 matches for Queensland (including one-day games). Similarly, Scott Boland took 8 wickets for Victoria against New South Wales in mid-October, and the seam-bowler averages just 12.63 in Tests held in Australia. Test Match Special commentator Simon Mann said that ‘England will be under serious pressure’ if Boland maintains this good form. 

It isn’t all doom and gloom for England, with their bowling attack all fit for the first Test – skipper Stokes has also looked sharp when bowling in the warmup net sessions and his ability to make things happens with the ball may be pivotal. With Australia missing both Cummins and Hazelwood from their ‘Big Three’ alongside the omnipresent Mitchell Starc, much of their hard bowling yards will be covered by Boland, the uncapped Brendan Doggett, all-rounder Cam Green, and 37-year-old spinner Nathan Lyon.

But the stats don’t lie, Lyon’s ability to tie up an end will be crucial: he has taken 110 wickets in 30 Tests against England and will be looking to continue this form in what will probably be his last Ashes. Similarly, the now 35-year-old Starc will be hoping to maintain his good record against England – the left-arm pacer famously bowled Rory Burns ‘first ball’ in the 2021-22 series. Starc has dismissed Stokes 9 times in Ashes series; however, questions still remain over this aging Australian side with only 1 player, Cam Green, being under 30. Hopefully Perth has enough space in its retirement homes when England bring out their infamously aggressive ‘Bazball’ play-style in the 1^st Test…

Question marks still loom over Zak Crawley’s place in the England side with the Kent batter averaging the lowest of any opener who has played at least as many Tests as he has (59, averaging 31.55). Yet, the controversial stroke-maker contributes when it matters, and has a style suited to Australian conditions – he actually plays better against faster bowling. Crawley also makes up half of the highest scoring opening partnership in Test cricket, batting alongside Ben Duckett, since 2022 when they first opened together. England fans will be hoping to see more of Crawley’s elegant shot selection, and less of his somewhat attention-seeking outside edge. England will no doubt want a reprise of his masterful 189 in the 2023 Ashes – a series where he was England’s top run scorer – and I’m tipping him as England’s player to watch this series. 

So, for all these stats, what-ifs, and speculation, there really is no way of knowing which way the Ashes will go. If you’re anything like me then the only way we will find out is by staying up all night, ruining the sleep schedule and going MIA for 5 days straight. At 2.20am, Friday 21^st November, in the Optus Stadium in Perth (or on some dubious stream in bed) the action will commence. Buckle up. 

Words by James Morgan