Thrill to thrill, Ashes to Ashes

By Rajadhyax

There can be absolutely no doubt that India playing Pakistan and Australia playing England are the two most exciting rivalries in the game of cricket and one of those is about to turn a new chapter in July with the first test match starting on the 12^th of the month. Australia has already landed in England and are going through their warm-up games while the Englishmen are undergoing rigorous training to prepare for the battle in their backyard. Some guys like Andrew Flintoff, Kevin ‘KP’ Petersen and Brett Lee are recuperating from injuries and only time will tell who will end up licking the wounds of the vanquished.

If gossip columnists are to be believed, the Aussies have added even rugby routines to their regimen while the Poms are travelling to Belgium for motivation and brinkmanship. The initial salvoes have been fired; name calling and psychological warfare is just starting. Outright mudslinging will start later, gear up folks, the ‘Ashes’ are about to start.

An England-Australia test series – famously known as the Ashes Series – comes with a long history. On 15^th March 1877, the two countries faced in a cricket match at Melbourne and the rivalry built up instantly. In 1882, the Aussies won for the first time in England at Oval and a satirical obituary was published for English cricket in The Sporting Times. It said that English cricket had died and after cremation the ashes will be taken to Australia. Later, in the same year, England toured Australia and the media dubbed it as their mission to “regain the ashes”. Some Australian women presented the English captain, Ivo Bligh with an urn containing ashes as England won the series. The exact nature of ashes in the urn is a bit of an enigma but it is most probably charred remains of some cricket equipment, in all probability a ball. The original urn is in a Museum in UK and never given as a prize, but a replica is presented to whoever wins the series. Since that time the media graced series has braced many an obstacle from political gamesmanship to Jardine-Larwood’s infamous “bodyline” series in 1932 that even rocked the House of Commons. Controversies and scandals notwithstanding, the traditional face-off has grown from strength to strength developing into a towering section of the annals of cricketing history.

No cricket fan worth his love of the willow can afford to miss the Ashes clash. Goes without saying that casual leaves will reduce man-hours in July in both nations as people stay away from work and academics. 1998-99 onwards a Waterford Crystal replica of the original urn is being given to the winner and fans will be glued to TV screens or will be at the stadium to see who lifts it this time.

This is probably the first time in their last 5-6 clashes that the two teams are more or less evenly matched. Australia comes from a demoralising defeat at the just concluded T20 World Cup (where they did not make it to the Super 8) and though it was a different format, a loss like that hurts and leaves its own scars. With just a few changed faces the team remains virtually the same and no brave comments at press conferences can entirely hide the unease in their ranks. For the first time Ricky Ponting’s leadership skills have been questioned and strategies criticised. His main strike bowler Lee comes from a bad injury layoff that briefly threatened to finish the paceman’s career. With no McGrath, Warne, Gilchrist and Hayden, the side is packed with new hands just about entering the international arena. Mike Hussey’s magical form has been abruptly dented and the skipper’s own batting has hovered between miraculous and miserable in the last fifteen months.

The Englishmen are in no great shape either. As stated earlier, bowling spearhead Flintoff and big-blaster KP are returning from injuries, with the former’s entry still being under some clouds. The English batting line-up is the obvious weak link and Ponting’s men are sure to have read it. Apart from Collingwood and, to some extent, their captain Andrew Strauss no one has been among the runs consistently. In the bowling department Monty Panesar’s sudden draught of wickets and Freddie’s injury prone career has dealt a cruel blow as was clear in their last test series against the West Indies. So too much depends on the charismatic KP and a clutch of new bowlers assisted by comeback-man Ryan Sidebottom to get them on the winning track.

“Australia challenges you every time they play you, in every session, and we have to be ready for that this summer,” says KP and no truer words could have been spoken.

The spat among officials is a thing of the past according to the England team. The T20 debacle is history according to the team from down-under. They are both trying to put their best foot forward. A lively test match series is in the offing. Tempers could flare, as they always do in Ashes. Field officials will be on their toes. The media will devour the event and milk it for all it can offer. For you and me, guys, here is a cracking ‘Ashes’ test series coming up for our entertainment.