In the hours and days after the 2019 Ashes in England had finished as a drawn series, the careful wording from the touring country was all about retention. That was the focus of the congratulatory press release from Cricket Australia. Those around the camp who before the fifth Test had talked up victory had to temper it and explain that their primary job had been to hold on to the tiny urn, and that ultimately they were satisfied. “Retain” was pasted in for “win”, with the audible hint of an invisible asterisk.
Much about the effort was extraordinary. Start with Steve Smith’s 774 runs despite missing the third Test with concussion, after 16 months out suspended. Only Donald Bradman, Everton Weekes, and Viv Richards have exceeded that series tally without playing more innings. Australia had withstood Jofra Archer’s fiercest to draw at Lord’s, taken a first-innings advantage after enduring the season’s toughest batting conditions at Headingley, lost that match to a once-in-a-lifetime performance, then collected themselves to recover and win in Manchester.
Yet it was Smith who first broke ranks. As weeks became months, perhaps fed up with being feted, he suggested more than once that he didn’t take as much satisfaction out of those 774 runs as people might expect, given they had come in a shared scoreline. He really wanted his best work to be in a series win. It was never a secret, more an acknowledgement of an imperfect reality, but as the next England trip grew nearer, others too become more candid.
By the time the current captain, Pat Cummins, was standing on the Edgbaston turf ahead of the series about to start , he was explicit. “After the other day there was a bit of talk that we’d ticked off the World Test Championship, the T20 World Cup, a one-day World Cup, but we still don’t feel like we’ve ticked off an away Ashes series. It’s the aim for our group this time.”
So it begins again. Whatever the semantics and satisfaction around retaining, the Australian men’s team has not won an Ashes in England since 2001. In that series Glenn McGrath was steadying the crosshairs, Shane Warne windmilling his shoulder at slip, Brett Lee sprinting in, Steve Waugh doing a solo demolition of the other team while batting on one leg – it seemed like England would never win again. Instead, at least at home, it has gone the other way.
The current Australia team are a much better version than the one in 2019. Back then, in the middle order, Travis Head was unproven and non-keeping wicketkeeper Matthew Wade was filling a gap. Now they have Head near the top of the world rankings and a two-metre fast bowler with a barn-door forward defence in Cameron Green. Alex Carey has kept wicket cleanly and offers more with the bat than Tim Paine.
Marnus Labuschagne has gone from bench rider to top of the world. Usman Khawaja remains unproven in England but has turned around his troubles everywhere else. Smith may be less totemic than he was back then, but a team with multiple contributors at a normal level is stronger than a team with one on a higher plane. And if Smith can’t possibly perform as well as last time, David Warner can’t possibly go any worse.
Add to that the luxury of having the same three frontline fast bowlers who did so well last time. Cummins is probably at his peak for age, condition, and experience, with his ability to hit the perfect length. Mitchell Starc has improved as a Test bowler as years have passed. Josh Hazlewood is short of a gallop but has the pedigree. Scott Boland has emerged as the back-up who now demands a starting place. Michael Neser was built to bowl in England. Then there’s Nathan Lyon, eyeing the milestone of 500 Test wickets, an off-spinner with at least some warm weather and dry surfaces ahead.
That contingent should be able to cope with England’s batting aggression. The hosts are better than 2019 too, and certainly more entertaining, but still have question marks hovering over them. Two openers yet to prove themselves, a first drop finding his way in the position, an all-rounder struggling to bowl, a wicketkeeper coming off a shocking injury whose best work before that came without the gloves, a spinner who doesn’t see himself as one, and a pace group whose best configuration is rarely clear.
It could all come together for England – over the past year of living adventurously. If they fail but the effect is entertaining, their current credo says that is enough. It’s refreshing, in a world where dour pursuit of victory is otherwise sacrosanct. But the current Australians play with no shortage of flair, even if hewing more closely to convention. We are due a spectacle. And after all of this talking up, if the first day is a grim scrap to 190 for three at stumps, our subverted expectation will be entertainment itself.
