It seems very strange to be writing a preview to another Ashes series, with the events of the summer still so fresh in mind. Nevertheless, we are already two games in to England’s campaign Down Under, so we must start looking ahead to the five Test series that begins on 21 November.
Though this year we have lost something of the normal long term build up to an Ashes series – normally, our appetite for Ashes cricket is given a full two years to reinvigorate itself, but in this case, we have had barely two months – what we have gained is a short term Ashes fix, a salivating prospect for most cricket fans.
For this return series will not only provide us with the unique chance to assess both teams home and away, but will also allow for the battles that began to simmer last summer to reach boiling point over the next couple of months. Let’s first look at a few of the key players, the men who are already proven Ashes performers, who will once again be crucial in deciding the fate of their team this time around:
Ian Bell – 2013 Ashes: 562 runs @ 62.44
Coming into the start of last summer’s Ashes, some were questioning this man’s right to a place in the team. For, though Bell was already a proven Test Match performer, he had not quite shaken the tag of being an attractive batsman who avoided tough situations. By the end of the summer, however, he had written himself into Ashes folklore, having scored three brilliant hundreds when England needed a player to step up.
He was the difference between the two sides last summer, and if he emulates that performance this winter, he will earn the right to be viewed as a true Ashes legend; what a turnaround it would be from those tentative beginnings in 2005, back when he was cannon-fodder for McGrath and Warne.
Alastair Cook – 2013 Ashes: 277 runs @ 27.7
Most are in agreement that, if England are to win the Ashes Down Under, we need much-improved performance from captain Cook. Let’s not forget that, in the 10/11 series, which England won 3-1, Cook scored a phenomenal 766 runs, at a Bradman-esque average of 127.66.
We know that the recipe for success in Australia is to make huge first innings totals and then squeeze the opposition, and for this to happen, we cannot see a repeat of England’s top order frailties from last summer. Cook will have to lead from the front.
Kevin Pietersen – 2013 Ashes: 388 runs @ 38.80
Still the most feared player in the England batting line-up, Pietersen will want to end his outstanding Ashes career on a high. A veteran of five Ashes series, Pietersen has played memorable innings against the Aussies, not least his electric second innings 62 at the Oval last summer which so nearly granted England an unlikely victory.
The first Test at Brisbane will be his hundredth, and it would be so fitting if he could mark it with a KP classic – something like his memorable 158 in the Oval Test of the 2005 series, or the double hundred he scored at Adelaide in 06/07.
James Anderson – 2013 Ashes: 22 wickets @ 29.95
Another hero of the past two England Ashes victories, Anderson remains the undisputed leader of England’s attack. The highlight of his summer was undoubtedly putting in a superb performance at Trent Bridge, where, on a flat, dead wicket, he utilised his exceptional skills with the old ball to run through the Aussie batting, finishing with 10 wickets in the match and giving England a 1-0 lead.
That said, like Cook, Anderson will have to replicate his stellar performance in the 10/11 Ashes, in which he took 26 wickets on the same tracks that England’s batsmen made hay on, if England are to win this winter.
Graeme Swann – 2013 Ashes: 26 wickets @ 29.03
Unquestionably the finest English off-spinner since Jim Laker, Swann, as usual, gave the Australian left-handers a nightmare last summer. Though the Australians will try to negate his effect by preparing non-turning pitches, Swann has a huge part to play this winter, even if it be a more holding role à la the 10/11 series.
In England’s case, there are several more players that could, and should, be mentioned here – Trott, Prior, Broad to name a few – but only two of this current Australian side have performed consistently enough in Ashes cricket to warrant a mention in this section:
Michael Clarke – 2013 Ashes: 381 runs @ 47.62
Clarke is the only world-class batsman in the Australian line up; put simply, if they are to win this winter, he will need to score a lot of runs. He is also the only member of the current Australian side to have taken part in a series victory over England, having played in the 06/07 retribution whitewash, and will have to draw on all his experience to galvanize this browbeaten squad into a series-winning unit.
Ryan Harris – 2013 Ashes: 24 wickets @ 19.58
Harris – the man who, alongside Ian Bell, enhanced his own reputation the most last summer – is now regarded as one of the premier fast bowlers n the world. His Test record was always outstanding – averaging in the low twenties – but before the 2013 Ashes he had struggled to string together more than a couple of Tests before breaking down.
For this reason, Australia will be praying that Harris’s body holds together for the majority of the approaching five match series; if it does, his swing and pace will once again provide a tricky challenge for England’s batsmen.
Ben Pullan, Sports Team
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