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| Image Design: Bala Kumar |
Hello Sports lovers,
I hope 2026 would have started on a great note for all of you. I am sure cricket fans must be eagerly waiting for this year which has both men's & women's T20I World cup scheduled. For the Indian fans the excitement should be more as last couple of years has been great for both men & women in blue who have collected three ICC titles in total ( T20I World Cup & ICC Champions Trophy by men and ODI World cup by women). But prior to both the global events plenty of exciting cricket lined up too which includes yet another season of Women's Premier League (Ongoing) & recently concluded oldest test cricket rivalry between arch rivals Australia & England, the Ashes. Like any other year this year too the marquee test series between two cricketing giants created lot of buzz. Though on field this year we kind of missed the intense battle for the urn since the visitors could not live upto the expectations, still it was a series with some memorable moments concluding with an Aussie legend bidding goodbye to international cricket.
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| The Ashes countdown Image Credit: DaHuzyBru, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
To be honest this year's Ashes didn't seem to be competitive at all. Scoreline of 4-1 indicates sheer dominance of the home side and they were indeed the dominant side among the two. Like any other year pre series buzz was really high and it was expected to be one of the closely fought series of recent times considering England were arriving for the first time down under with their ultra aggressive style of batting display popularly known as Bazball. Coming with a reputation of the aggressors and surrendering the urn within just 11 days of cricket shows how the visitors performed in this series.
Those who follow this rivalry regularly would have experienced how the Englishmen gave a tough fight in the last Ashes back in the UK where they came back really strong after loosing the opening two tests. The scenario was similar here too after loosing the first two tests but that fighting spirit was missing. English captain Ben Stokes was visibly frustrated multiple times on field courtesy some disappointing performances by his troop across all three departments of the game.
England team management specially the head coach received plenty of criticism during the series for consistent poor performances by his men. Whether a complete makeover follows or only few tough decisions, English cricket is once again braced for a transformation for sure. One particular aspect of Stokes-McCullum adopted style has been criticized many a times in past by cricket pundits and that is the players' inability to read the situations and play accordingly. Whenever they had been confronted with challenging circumstances be it in spin friendly Asian conditions or pace dominated Australian pitches they have crumbled big time.
It's a fact that most of the Bazball heroics have surfaced on batting friendly flat pitches. Interestingly they are yet to defeat India or Australia, two of the dominating forces in test cricket either in home or away series. Same can be read about their performances in WTC cycles too where they have been a consistent poor performer and unable to reach the finals in three attempts so far (Two attempts under Stokes-McCullum tenure).
If England lacked both individual as well as collective brilliance the hosts were riding high on confidence specially with some outstanding bowling performances. Despite most of the batters barring Head & Carey being unable to perform at their best the collective effort across three departments saw the Aussies clinching yet another Ashes and with surprising ease to be honest. Most of their plans seemed bang on target and the execution was near perfect.
Some tactical moves like keeper standing up to the bowlers like Boland & Nesser to restrict opposition batters' movements reflected deep thinking of the Australian team management. It seemed like the home team's homework for their opponents included lot of planning along with back up plans. Interestingly before the series Aussies were in spotlight too specially for selecting an aged side and not testing the bench strength appropriately with some of the big guns due to retire. Injury concerns with captain Cummins & Hazlewood seemed like a decisive blow. But the hunger of this overly criticized Aussie side is second to none and they proved that once again. England will be more disappointed with the result because of the fact that they didn't have to face the regular playing XI of the Aussies throughout the series as someone or the other missed out a match or two mainly due to injuries. That's why this win seems sweeter than ever for the home team. Let's now take a look on some of the series defining moments.
The Aussie Juggernaut
One important factor that kind of differentiates both the teams in the series being the collective effort of the home team compared to the lack of substantial individual or team effort by the visitors. If we look at the Aussies their preparation seemed prolific, execution of the plans were nearly perfect and most importantly every individual showed up at some point of time to make a difference even with smallest of efforts. Inglis' run out of Stokes during the Brisbane test, Weatherald running out Jamie Smith in Sydney test, Labuschagne taking the wicket of Smith in the 1st innings of Sydney test, Webster getting his opportunity in the final test and contributing with both bat & ball and of course Travis Head taking up the opener's role in the first test to score a series defining century were some of the moments that changed the momentum of the series completely in favour of the home side.
On the other hand visitors too had their moments in every game. Grabbing majority of them would have scripted a different story altogether for the series. Young Jacob Bethell's fighting century in Sydney test though in a loosing cause was probably one of the shining spots for the visitors in rather yet another disappointing outing down under.
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| Australian team at home has been a real force over the years Image Credit: Calistemon, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
Some of the Aussie stars would have liked to have a better series from an individual perspective be it Smith, Labuschagne or Cameron Green. But what was important here was that they contributed in one or the other aspect of the game that made a difference in the series and that is the hallmark of a champion team. Australia has always been that team which believed in having eleven heroes on the field rather than relying on individual superstars. Backing of their team management for the senior pros who might be undergoing a short term dip in the form is something of a lesson for the rest of the world.
They are always very careful in terms of managing their players be it their decade long match winner or a newcomer. Despite plenty of talks before & during the series in the media about the team's transition plans Australian team management didn't react instead focussed on the job in hand. That's how they have built formidable sides over the decades. There is no doubt that the personnel at helm will have a close eye on the future and successfully build teams that will follow the same methodology of fielding a superstar team rather than a team of superstars.
Lethal Dose Of Fast Bowling
If one unit that deserves a special mention for this victory is the Aussie bowling group which was without Cummins & Hazlewood and brilliantly spearheaded by veteran Mitchell Starc. At the beginning of the series when the news of injuries to two of the main pillars of Aussie bowling attack & their potential absence from the series came English team certainly felt relieved. Little did they know what's in store for them. Instead of getting bogged down by this setback Australia like a true champion team utilized this adversity in their favor rather. Boland, Doggett, Nesser, Lyon, Green, Richardson combined throughout the series to combat the ultra aggressive batting tempo of the opponents. And it would be fair to say that the bowling group's load was relatively lightened courtesy some fierce bowling by Mitchell Starc. The way he kind of single handedly demolished the England batting was outstanding. His back to back player of the match performances in the first two test matches delivered such a denting blow on the opponent team which they could hardly recover from in the rest of the series. There couldn't have been a better choice for the player of the series award.
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| Mitchell Starc was phenomenal with the ball throughout the series Image Credit: Calistemon, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
It was Starc's brilliance well supported by the rest of the bowlers that prompted captain Cummins not to take further part in the series after his solo appearance in the Adelaide test which also marked the retention of the urn by the home side. Starc, with 31 wickets in the series delivered one of the all time best Ashes performances. Not to forget how he took the responsibility of bowling long spells throughout the series in the absence of two of the fellow members of the famous pace trio. Lot of work behind the scenes prior & during the series would have gone to maintain such a fitness level for a veteran of 100+ tests. In addition to his bowling duties he played a couple of important innings down the order with the bat too. This Ashes was truly a remarkable one for the left armer from New South Wales.
If we talk about the rest of the bowling attack everybody played their part to the best of their abilities. Boland, Nesser, Doggett despite not having prolonged exposure to international cricket utilized the home conditions perfectly. Credit to captain Smith too for managing his resources effectively. Their performance was a commanding response for all those who still raise doubts on the bench strength of Australian cricket. How can we speak of Australian bowling attack without the mention of spin legend Nathan Lyon whose limited appearance too produced substantial outcomes. Though he was visibly upset for being omitted for the second consecutive day night test for Australia after playing a limited role in the first test too, his decisive spell in Adelaide which was also his last appearance in the series due to injury considered as a major contribution in his team's series triumph.
New Heroes With Old Impact
Ideally every Ashes series is an intense battle between bat & ball. Sometimes either of them dominates and at times it turns out be an equal battle. If we talk about last 8-10 years in terms of series defining performances by batters, Steve Smith's name comes on top without a doubt. He has always scored tons of runs with able support from the rest of the batters. But this time around the story was different. Steve Smith, the designated captain for the majority part of the series played the second fiddle since there was a new hero who kind of emerged as the top Aussie batter across formats in last few years and is well placed on his way to be one of the batting greats.
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| Travis Head simply nailed the role as an opener in the Ashes 2025-26 Image Credit: Calistemon, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
The Ashes 2025-26 will be remembered for Travis Head's phenomenal success as an opener in the longest format of the game. An accidental opportunity that came across courtesy Usman Khawaja's injury in the first test was grabbed by Head and there was no looking back since then. 600+ runs with an average of 66 with 3 mammoth centuries was his best effort in the oldest rivalry in test cricket. In fact after Steve Smith he became the second batter to score 600+ runs in an Ashes series since 2019.
Was it one of an occasion when Travis Head contributed so immensely ? Certainly not. He has been an outstanding performer for his team for last 2-3 years across formats. Prior to this series he was kind of hot & cold for a while which is bound to happen considering the amount of cricket is being played and the toll both physically and mentally it takes on an individual. In recent times he had to adapt his game as well since most of the teams started targeting him with short pitched bowling. Despite all such obstacles once again he chose the big stage to prove his mettle. Indian team probably would not have forgot his heroics in the 2023 ODI World Cup final & 2023 WTC final where he scored match winning hundreds. Now England too will have to think about him separately going forward. The way he started the series with that blazing century at Perth stadium was a clear indicator that he's gonna make it big this time.
He looked free flowing in his newly adopted role of a test opener which he performed on few occasions in past specially in sub continent conditions. But in front of a huge home crowd performing against arch rivals was a different feeling altogether. Icing on the cake was a hundred on his home ground at Adelaide. The way he handled his new role and now with the retirement of Khawaja it should be an interesting call for the team management to decide whether they would want him in that role in red ball cricket too in addition to white ball cricket or not. Adaptability is such an important ingredient in modern day cricket and Head's transformation in this series from an middle order aggressor to a dependable opener is a testament to that. Whether he continues to open or goes back to his previous role in the middle order, the way he is performing there are plenty of reasons for the Australian team and its fans to rejoice.
Over the years successful cricket teams have produced players who mostly stay away from limelight and yet contribute towards team's success immensely. One such individual in the current Australian team is Alex Carey. He is hardly talked about or taken notice of. But he has been a pillar of this Australian lower order batting line up. He has always been a quite accumulator be it in test cricket or ODIs. But this South Australian keeper-batter had a big role in this series victory. In recent times we have noticed that he has been replaced by fellow keeper Josh Inglis in the white ball formats. But his consistent performances throughout the last year in red ball cricket where he ended up being among the top three scorers for Australia in test cricket has definitely created a different niche for him. 300+ runs with a hundred on his home ground Adelaide & few important knocks in addition to his brilliance behind the stumps which saw him getting involved in a record 28 dismissals in the series, speaks about his contribution . He became only the second wicket keeper after fellow countryman Adam Gilchrist to register 300+ runs & 25+ dismissals in a test series.
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| Alex Carey, the keeper was at his best Image Credit: Calistemon, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
A calm & composed character on & off the field Carey is known to possess a sharp cricketing brain. He was brilliant behind the stumps. At times standing up to the stumps against bowlers bowling at a pace of 130 kmph+ was a courageous move which earned fruitful results too. Australians were brilliant on the field specially when it comes to catching efficiency. At the same time Carey played a pivotal role in an outstanding fielding effort for his team with some sharp catches & stumpings. A leader doesn't always need a title to exhibit his leadership qualities. Alex Carey is a prime example of that and no surprise why he is such an important asset for his team.
Contrasting Fortunes Of Two Captains
In a big series like this captain's role always takes the spotlight. This series was not too different in that aspect. If Australia's stand in captain Steve Smith who captained the side in 4 out of 5 test matches received applauds for his leadership skills, opponent skipper Ben Stokes had to face lot of criticism for his team's performance, preparation, overall strategy, his own performance & what not. A big series like this is so gruelling for any individual both on & off the field. Criticism of performance is necessary for course correction but at the same time what also needs to be remembered is that this same England team & their game plan was receiving plenty of claps when they were chasing big targets to win test matches or bringing an approach of result oriented test cricket. Suddenly after five test matches that same team or strategy can't be thrown out completely. Performance of the English team must be analysed but with a mindset of correcting the wrongs rather than just an overhaul or termination of jobs.
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| Steve Smith, the captain was at his usual best Image Credit: WikiWanderer261, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
Steve Smith the captain definitely doesn't need any introduction. World knows how good he has been as a captain over the years and still is. He has been accurate with his execution of plans. He has always been an inspirational leader who believes in keeping things simple. The way he managed a rather depleted bowling attack and still being able to take 20 England wickets in four out of five tests was commendable. He is a well respected figure in that group of so many veterans and shares an excellent rapport with each of them too. Hence getting the best out of his long term mates is something he really enjoys. That's the reason he has such an outstanding record as a captain.
As a batter he would have definitely liked to score some more runs. But the way the series panned out where he played some short but important knocks he can't be blamed much. But an Ashes series without a Steve Smith hundred (Multiple hundreds in fact) is a rarity. His hundred in his home ground Sydney was a delightful new year gift for his fans and also a great start to yet another year which might very well be the one of the last few years of this legend's cricketing career.
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| Ben Stokes had a tough series with the bat Image Credit: Ben Sutherland, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
Coming back to Stokes, results might have not come in his team's favour. But his efforts as a captain can't be diminished. For a change he was seemed visibly frustrated many a times during the series for the performances of his teammates. It would be fair to say that England team has let down their captain big time in this series. He took additional loads of bowling long spells throughout the series considering the fact that the rest of the bowlers weren't that experienced in Australian conditions. His bowling was definitely better than his batting this series. Ideally his team would have loved to witness some more Stokes' heroics of past. But what also needs to be considered is that most of the times he was trying to save a sinking ship since the batting group really didn't click more often than not. Hence he had to play the role of consolidation rather than being aggressive. It was a brave effort from him to take the field during the Sydney test despite being injured while bowling.
The idea of a captain is as good as his team applies to both the captains this series. Stokes has led this team with lot of passion since being appointed as the test captain. At the same time he has worked really hard on his fitness to go through the grinds of test cricket. He is not the part of the white ball setup anymore. Even in franchise cricket too he is not a familiar name either these days. His wholehearted focus has been on developing England test team as one of the best. Someone with that sort of passion specially for test cricket should ideally not be judged on the basis of one poor series. There is no denial that his combination with coach McCullum & the brand of cricket played by their men has definitely given a new lease of life to test cricket. It would be interesting to see how English cricket administrators react to this loss and how the future pans out for the inventors of Bazball.
Uzzie Retires
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| Usman Khawaja ends a successful international career Image Credit: Prime Video AU & NZ, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
This post should be concluded with the mention of conclusion of a successful & fighting test career. Usman Khawaja one of the most successful opening batters for Australia in red ball cricket has been a pillar of the current batting group which climbed several mountains in their success journey together. Retiring on a happy note with your team emerging victorious in a tough series like the Ashes and that also in front of a packed home crowd could probably be something that every cricketer dreams of at the beginning of their career. Over the years he has been proved to be a real fighter while contributing for his team in challenging circumstances. His career graph definitely saw an upwards movement in last five years or so. But even prior to that too he has always been a rock solid member of this team. Majorly known as a red ball champion he did substantially well in his brief ODI career too specially during the phase when Australian cricket was going through a rough patch post suspensions of Smith & Warner back in 2018.
Khawaja was a prolific performer not only at home, but also in foreign conditions. A specialist operator against quality spin bowling, he has got hundreds in India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka against some real good spin bowling. A true team man, Khawaja honestly performed the job assigned by his team. Even in his final series too he performed in a middle order role as per the demand of team combination without a qualm. A character like Uzzie as he is fondly called makes Australian cricket so successful.
He has never been an aggressor like his long term friend and opening partner in test cricket David Warner. He has been more of that dependable character on whom the team can rely even in the most difficult circumstances.His partnership with Warner at the top of the order was a formidable one over the years which used to provide a solid base to the likes of Labuschagne, Smith & Head to go about their business nicely. First Warner & now with Khawaja's retirement the opening slots will be up for grabs unless Head continues to fill one slot permanently for few more years. But either way next generation Australian batters have a tough ask to fill the shoes of someone like Khawaja's calmness & ability. But as the saying goes the show must go on, we would hope that Khawaja does stay involved with cricket in different capacities with similar success and Australian cricket continues to produce gems like him in future too.
That's all for this post. With plenty of exciting cricket coming up stay tuned here for more interesting posts.
Cover Image Credit:
SirWellsy99, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
WikiWanderer261, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Calistemon, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
www.davidmolloyphotography.com, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
danielgreef/Dan, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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