Ashes 2015: The Urning desire
SO fervent is the fad to write eulogies about Test cricket these days, that it might turn into someone’s vocation soon. But if there’s one period during a cricket calendar that even the naysayers refrain from tuning up the death knell for the game’s traditional format, it’s the Ashes. While the onus will be on Alastair Cook & Co to regain the urn that they surrendered Down Under two years ago, no Aussie unit has won in England since Steve Waugh’s immortals in 2001. We take a look at some of the upcoming contest’s interesting aspects.
Age No Bar
Though nobody would dare call them Daddy’s Army, it’s arguably the oldest Australian squad in recent times to make it to the Ashes with an average age of 30, as compared to England’s 27. While the top-7 in the visitors’ batting line-up consists of 5 in the 30+ bracket, only Cook (30) and Bell (34) have crossed over into the fourth decade of their lives. Incidentally though there’s not much of a difference in terms of their experience. Both sets of seven batsmen have scored 62 Test centuries each, and it’s England who have the upper-hand in terms of experience with both Cook and Bell having played over 100 Tests.
Surprise Pace Packages
While all the pace talk in the build-up has been about the menace of Mitchell Johnson, the swing of James Anderson and the retirement of Ryan Harris, the unheralded duo of Josh Hazlewood and Ben Stokes could well make the crucial difference for their teams.
Hazlewood
Despite the riches in their pace unit, Australia have longed for a like-for-like replacement for Glenn McGrath. In Josh Hazlewood, they might have found something similar. He wheels away tirelessly at 130-140 kph tempting batsmen to drive at deliveries leaving them, but also has the ability to jag it back once the ball loses its sheen.
Stokes
Like Ben Stokes, who could well be the enforcer England have been looking for since Andrew Flintoff’s departure. Stokes bowls a heavy ball, and can get the ball to leap off a bounce as Kane Williamson found out at Lord’s. His wide delivery stride—akin to Makhaya Ntini—is another unique facet, as he can straighten the ball off the pitch despite the vivid angle, which would work wonders against Steve Smith, who has a tendency to get opened up.
