The Ashes

The much awaited Test series, “The Ashes” are back. The most notable rivalry between England and Australia that started in 1882, where after every two seasons there are 5 test matches between the two countries.

If there is anyone who thinks test matches are boring after the introduction of the T20 (twenty- twenty) format of cricket, they obviously haven’t been watching “The Ashes” series. With the first match of the series resulting in a draw, it shows quite clearly that neither side are going to give up that easy and are going to fight tooth and nail for the trophy and the title.

The Australian side has never made many friends in the game of cricket, with their competitive nature and their constant complaining they have managed to infuriate players like even MS Dhoni ,who is known for his cool head.

But one thing they have done is managed to bring in a drive in the game which wasn’t there before. When a team plays Australia their body language changes. The likes of VVS Laxman are known to perform best when playing against the Australians.  It is due to these facts that there are so many of us waiting for the Australians to fail. With their ICC test rankings getting lower and lower, Ricky Ponting is heading the team from the front and is starting “The Ashes” after having three consecutive Test defeats from Pakistan and India.

England mean while are going to take as much advantage of the low morale and the disastrous bowling side. England know as well as everyone else that Australia is facing major problems when it comes to the bowling attack, having tried 9 spinners since Shane Warne retired in 2007 they still haven’t managed to find someone with the same skill or maturity.

So now, with the first match at Gabba (Brisbane, Australia) resulting in an effortless draw, the England team captained by Andrew Strauss definitely came out on top breaking records with Alastair Cook scoring a double century and Jonathan Trott scoring a century and declaring at 517-1 leaving 41 over’s to be faced by Australia.

The question on everyone’s mind after this test match is that, does England have the psychological edge over Australia? The second test match at the Adelaide on the 3rd of December will give us the answer.

One can only imagine the amount of sledging that might happen in the next few matches and how many things Ricky Ponting will blame for his failure, because if there’s something Australia will always be good at ,it is playing the blame game as well as mind tricks.

Tags: Australia, Cricket, England, Ricky Ponting, Test Series, The Ashes