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| Image Design: Bala Kumar |
Hello friends,
Did you enjoy the best of test cricket in the recently concluded the Ashes series? What an incredible series it was. A time when the talks of end of test cricket due to the emergence of T20 being heard more often than not quality test matches like these will definitely hold the fort for the oldest version of cricket. The Ashes has always created quite a buzz especially in Australian & English cricketing circle. But this time the buzz was a bit more than the usual because of the recent success that both the opponents have enjoyed coming to this series. England were flying high with their newly adopted brand of cricket famously termed as Bazball whereas Australia came to the series after their maiden World test championship victory after a successful couple of years in test cricket.
The Ashes has always been an epic battle between two of the oldest arch rivals. But this time it was about the fight between two contrasting styles of cricket. Throughout the series that contrast was clearly visible. England believed in the age old saying of attack is the best form of defence whereas the Aussies continued with their own method which brought them fruitful results over the years. Even though at times they seemed clueless in front of an English carnage, but fair to say that they did reasonably well to retain the urn. The final scoreline of 2-2 might seem to be the apt result after a fierce battle across five test matches but it would definitely hurt Australia a bit more as they really missed quite a few opportunities to win an upright Ashes.
Playing five test matches in a span of six weeks is never an easy task considering the players' fitness is a major factor. Throughout the series both the teams had to cope with several injury concerns to their key players. For Australia loosing their lead spinner Nathan Lyon was a big blow which ultimately affected their chances of a series victory too. Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Mitchel Starc continued giving their best match after match despite struggling with injuries. It's the ultimate battle in test cricket after all. Kudos to all the players for putting their country ahead of their own health. Moments like Lyon coming to bat with an injured calf when he was struggling even to stand properly will be remembered for ages.
At the same time there were moments which created quite a stir among the players and fans. Bairstow's runout in the Lord's test match and Steve Smith's debatable not out decision in the Oval test match were couple of them. Whether as players or fans we need to accept the decisions made by the umpires. Everybody can have their own opinion on a certain decision but it doesn't make any sense to misbehave with the players because of that. English crowd behaved with the Aussie players in a really disrespectful manner specially after Alex Carry's involvement in Bairstow's run out at Lord's. Even the cricket administrators have to come hard on the wrongdoers immediately to prevent further damage. The crowd continuing to boo the Aussie players or not even acknowledging any of their personal milestones is not something one would like to see in a series like this. It's a gentleman's game after all.
Not to forget the performance of the women's team too. Australia could retain the the urn there too despite some inspirational performances by the English women during the white ball series. Alyssa Healy did a reasonable job as captain in the absence of regular skipper Meg Lanning. Some noteworthy performances from both the sides in red ball as well as white ball leg of the tournament made it a memorable year for the Ashes fans. England women can particularly be proud of their efforts to beat the Aussies in both the white ball series after a tough fight. Though the format is different in women's Ashes including a test match followed by ODI &T20I series, the fierce competitiveness throughout the series makes it one of the best in women's cricket. Beaumont, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Sutherland came up with some match winning performances during crucial moments of the series. Considering the quality and competitiveness of the Ashes cricket over the years it is fair to say that it's the best cricketing tournament played between two strong teams. Let's now quickly have a look on the top stories of the series including some of the instances of inspirational leadership.
Uzzy The Relentless Warrior
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| Image Credit: www.davidmolloyphotography.com from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
An opener's role is very crucial in any form of cricket. It becomes even more important when it comes to test matches in England. One needs to be technically and mentally solid to succeed in this role in extreme bowler friendly conditions in England. This series saw completely contrasting approach by openers of both sides. England openers were on the attacking mode from the word go whereas their counterparts were following more of a traditional approach to see through the initial spells and then go for the runs. Needless to say that their approaches did work in their respective teams' favor. Even though there have been discussions regarding David Warner's form throughout the series considering he was unable to convert his starts to substantial long innings, his partnership with Khawaja at the top was one of the factors behind Australia's success in the series.
But despite all the focus on hard hitting English openers and changed approach of warner, one man who silently continued doing his job to end as the leading run scorer of the series is Usman Khawaja. He like his opening partner seems to be heading towards the end of his career and doing all things right at the moment to prolong his test career. He never deviated from his plans and reaped the rewards for his efforts throughout the series. In a series where England batters were getting into the one day or T20 mode frequently Khawaja played 1200+ balls across five tests and scored 496 runs.
England hasn't been his happy hunting ground over the years. But this time he made sure that he changes his stats over there. His contribution at the top of the order proved to be a major factor in Australia retaining the urn. He had been in scintillating from in recent past being the top scorer for his team in the last WTC cycle. This year too he has been in good form so far. Khawaja's resilience amidst tough English conditions was a treat to watch. He could have easily tempted to play shots as well but he trusted his process and that brought him fruitful results. In the age of Bazball he is still the epitome of slow but steady wins the race. His performance is a perfect example of how to stay focused towards your goals despite all sorts of temptations and distractions. We don't know whether Khawaja will be there for the next away Ashes in England in four years time or not. If not then he definitely did enough to make his last epic battle in England a memorable one. A series win would have been the icing on the cake for this relentless warrior though.
A Journey Too Broad
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| Image Credit: Ben Sutherland, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
This Ashes marked the end of an era in English cricket with legendary bowler Stuart Broad deciding to bid adieu to international cricket. What an incredible career it was. He became the 2nd English seamer to take 600 test wickets during the series and by the time one of the phenomenal series coming towards the conclusion he decided to conclude his international career too. There couldn't have been a better farewell for him than taking the final wicket to clinch another test victory for his country and that also against his favourite opponents. Kind of performance Broad put in this series will be remembered for a long time. Running in for long spells, at times on extremely batting friendly conditions and against top quality batters he just gave it his all to be a part of yet another memorable Ashes. Over the years his combination with his good mate Jimmy Anderson has brought lot many significant victories for his team. In the modern era amidst the talks of workload management when bowlers are struggling to cope with the ever increasing demands of international cricket here is an example of a genius who could prioritize the format he wanted to play.
300+international matches, 800+ wickets(Across formats), 4000+international runs are probably a fair enough indicator of what he has achieved over the years on a cricket field. With 604 test wickets and 3500+ runs he is one of the best English allrounders to play the game. Lot of times he is recalled more for getting hit for six sixes by Yuvraj Singh rather than his breathtaking achievements especially in test cricket. His passion, determination and that killer instinct to nail the opposition down makes him a tough competitor. An Ashes victory probably could have been better but signing off against the Aussies with a test match victory at home is no less than a fairy-tale finish to an outstanding career.
A Series Of Comebacks
This series will also be remembered for a number of incredible comebacks by individual players. Mark Wood & Chris Woakes' comeback after the second test match played a big role in denying Australia a series victory. Wood's raw pace and Woakes' accuracy troubled the Aussies throughout the series. Someone like Woakes who kind of had no hope of returning to the test side made a remarkable comeback to be adjudged as the player of the series . Not to forget Mitchell Marsh who made that brilliant counter attacking hundred on his comeback to the test side. Continuously struggling with injuries he himself wouldn't have thought of making a comeback of that sort. It was undoubtedly one of the best innings of the series. How can we forget the contribution of Moeen Ali in changing the fortunes of his team. Coming out of a retirement, missing out on a test due to injury and contributing substantially in the final test with a groin injury have shown the toughness of his character. These comebacks are definitely noteworthy ones as they are delivered on the back of setbacks in most of the cases. All these stories are there in the history book now and definitely going to inspire many in the future.
Battle Of The Captains
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| Image Design: Bala Kumar |
A series like the Ashes drains the players mentally . That's why the captain's role becomes very important on and off the field. Being a long series players get tired both physically and mentally. Captain needs to be on the forefront most often than not and setting examples. This time it was a battle between two captains who have created their own paths in contrasting manner. Stokes is leading a revolution in the way test cricket can be played. His combination with coach McCullum has produced some extraordinary results so far in the longest format of the game. Don't think people will get surprised if he changes the fortune of the England test team in the similar manner Eoin Morgan did with the white ball side. On the other hand Pat Cummins is a captain with a blend of aggression and composure. He had already tasted quite a bit success during his short tenure before this series with a home Ashes victory and WTC triumph. This series was being termed as the ultimate test for both the captains. Scoreline may indicate that it was an equal battle between the two but there were definitely moments where at times they excelled or failed to grab the edge.
Ben Stokes is an aggressive batter and he brought the same intent to his captaincy too. With attacking mode of cricket, unusual field placements at times and out of the box strategies he has already made a name for himself in the test arena as a captain. Though at times this new approach of English team has been brutally criticized, the result talks otherwise. The memory of his batting heroics four years back is still fresh in fans' memory. He was in the midst of something similar this time too during the second test match at Lord's. But this time the Aussie bowlers could stop him well before crossing the finishing line. With bat he has been a powerhouse throughout the series with 400+ runs. Despite his struggle with his knee he did bowl during some of the crunch moments of the series too. He certainly stretched himself in every aspect of the game in a tough series like this. We never know had the Manchester test not been washed out big Ben could have very well walked away with the urn.
Cummins too had a great start to the series but this time with the bat when he earned a hard fought victory in the first test. There are always a few challenges that a bowling captain faces. Cummins also had to face them. He confronted with one of the biggest challenges of his captaincy career so far to deal with the English onslaught with the bat throughout the series. Persisting with the set bowling plans both as a bowler and captain would have been felt tough at times. And that did reflect at times in his body language and decision making on the field. Despite all that it is fair to say that he has done a decent amount of justice to his role as a leader to manage his resources efficiently specially in the face of absence of a key bowler like Lyon and batting collapses at the the critical junctures. It's debatable whether he was at his best as a bowler or not but playing six consecutive test matches with long spells is definitely going to take a toil on his body. Still returning back home with WTC mace and the urn is too good a result. Missing out on an upright victory despite being in comfortable positions for a number of times will hurt him though.
A Triumph For The Speedsters
This post wouldn't have been completed without a special mention for the bowlers of both the sides. Kudos to all the bowlers who played their part during the series for such incredible performances despite extreme fatigue and pressure. Some of them continued to run hard inspite of feeling the pain. It's a fair ending that player of the series from both sides has been bowlers. There is no doubt that Woakes (Player of the series for England) and Starc(Player of the series for Australia) have been terrific in their individual crafts but not to forget that bowling also works well in partnerships. That's why this is a series to be remembered with a special mention for the bowlers.
Image Credit:
Australia cap: Image Credit:National Museum of Australia, CC BY 3.0 AU <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons
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