Before you begin to read about interesting Ashes shaping up for Australia, please read the first part of this two-part blog interesting Ashes shaping up for England.
Australia are tremendously confident at the moment. The fact that they have always performed quite well in England will boost their already high confidence. Pieces are finally beginning to fall in place for them nicely. Khawaja’s runs at the top and Head’s belligerence at the middle followed by Alex Carey maiden hundred, Australia believe that this time around, they will be able to defeat England. Not since 2001, have they been able to win the Ashes in England. They came within a whisker of winning the last time around but faltered because of one poor review.
Things will not be the same. Australia generally are pumped up whenever they are up against England in any format in any sports. It is not going to be different this time around. The new captain, Pat Cummins, who has already won an Ashes will want to be the first Australian captain since 2001 to win an Ashes series in England. His has got all the means to achieve that feat.
The Aussie openers
Where England will have an opening is at the top of the Australian order. David Warner. He has aged now but even during his best years, he has struggled for runs in England. Stuart Broad was his nemesis in 2019 and he is very much part of the squad. Warner can bat against Archer but he will be rooted to the crease against Broad and Anderson, one of whom is sure to play. Advanced age is not going to be of any help to Warner. His partner however, is in the form of his life.
Khawaja played a pivotal role in Australia’s series win in Pakistan and against South Africa, he remained unbeaten on 195. He is usually good on slow pitches. Much by way to bounce is not expected in any of the venue because England will be wary that the Australian bowlers will capitalise on such pitches. These are conditions on which Khawaja thrives.
If Australia gets off to a decent start everytime around, they will invariably post a huge total because the middle order is packed with stroke makers and with batsmen who are all the time hungry for runs.
The middle order
This is an incredible middle order. Two of them are averaging over 60 and atleast one of them has averaged that over a long period. Steve Smith. When it comes to Test cricket, look no further than Smith. The man is born to play Test cricket. How he has transformed himself from a leg-spinner who can strike a few blows to a great batsman itself is worth a limited TV series. He will be playing in final Ashes series in England and he will be itching to make it count. He is among those Australians that have never won the Ashes in England. The extraordinary run that he had in 2019, it will be difficult to replicate that but discount Smith at your own peril.
Marnus Labuschagne is another who loves batting and batting long. He hates to lose his wicket cheaply. He has modelled his batting along the lines of Smith. The 2019 Ashes series saw the making of Marnus. He has only gone onto achieve levels of consistency that the great Smith will be proud of. Two unorthodox batsmen in the middle order and it will be tough for England to bowl to them. One has hurt them enough and now they will have to deal with two.
Travis Head has suddenly transformed his game into a belligerent batsman. Someone McCullum and Stokes will be proud of. He does not really mind the situation or the conditions. If he feels that a ball is there to be hit, he will go in with complete conviction. Only problem might be the swing in England. As I have written above, the pitches are unlikely to be bouncy which might well run into the hands of Head.
The wicket keeper and allrounder
Cameroon Green has a lot to prove. He has already played sufficient number of games but is yet to score a hundred. Australia have invested a lot on him. Being young and thought of as the next big talent in Autralia, he will be given time to settle down and utilise his talent. Unless Australia lose this series and badly at that and if Green underperforms, he is unlikely to be overlooked in the near future.
Alex Carey is a naturally aggressive batsman along the lines of a certain Gilchrist. This being his first tour of England as a fulltime player, he will be nervous.
The bowlers
In Cummins, Starc, Boland, Hazlewood and Lyon, Austrlia have a mouth watering attack. Australia have made the mistake of going in with raw pace when a steadier bowler will be enough. This is where I think Boland will make a big impact. Australia’s only problem is that they are in need of atleast one swing bowler.
Wrapping up interesting Ashes shaping up for Australia
England will sincerely wish that Australia lose the series in India which will dent their confidence a little bit. They will be overjoyed if Australia lose pretty badly. On the otherhand, if Australia do manage to win in India, they will be unstoppable in England. Overall, it promises to be an absorbing contest. Something only seen sporadically in exchanges between both the teams.