In the last week, three major international cricket tournaments commenced.
The much-anticipated five-Test-match Ashes series between England and Australia opened on June 16 at Edgbaston, Birmingham. In Zimbabwe, the final qualifying stage for the 2023 ODI World Cup started on June 18 and on June 22 the women’s Ashes between England and Australia started at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
There are other events taking place between countries not normally associated with cricket. A T20 tournament was in play in sub-Saharan Africa, with the final seeing Uganda winning by one run against Kenya.
It is the Ashes series that holds the greatest global interest and fascination. The first-ever Test match between England and Australia was in 1882. Since then, Australia has won 140 of the 340 Tests, England 108, with the balance of 92 drawn. As of Tuesday evening in Birmingham, Australia has added another victory to its dominance. The number of series won by Australia is 34 compared with 32 by England, whose hopes of narrowing the gap has been dented.
The current series has been much anticipated, via a combination of England’s new attacking approach and Australia’s position as World Test Champions. These were fully in evidence at Birmingham. Having chosen to bat first, England scored 393 for eight in 78 overs, at five runs per over. Its finest batter, Joe Root, was in full swing but, unexpectedly, his captain decided to declare the innings. Commentators, spectators and even his own team were taken by surprise. The rationale was that this would send an attacking message to the Australians, whose openers would have to negotiate a difficult half an hour before close of play. This they did successfully, causing England’s gamble to fail.
Australia’s approach to batting was much more measured throughout the match. Even at injudicious moments, fortune favored them, with England’s wicketkeeper missing a straightforward stumping and a catch offered by Australia’s wicketkeeper when he was on 26. This assisted Australia to total 386, scored in 116 overs at 3.3 runs per over, much lower than England’s. In order to set Australia a challenging target for victory, England needed to build a second innings score of between 300 and 350 runs. However, cricket’s nemesis, rain, intervened in the middle of the afternoon on day three. After an hour’s delay, play resumed in gloomy, bowler-friendly conditions. In 20 minutes, England lost both openers, before play was ended for the day by more rain.
The difference in approach by the teams was underlined the next day when Australia appeared to believe that their bowling and fielding capabilities would prove to be good enough to rein in England’s belligerent batting. It can be argued that they did, as no England player scored more than 46 in a total of 273, which could be regarded as disappointing. It proved to be insufficient. Australia patiently wound its way at three runs per over to a knife-edge 227 for eight, chasing 281. At this point, Australia’s captain, Pat Cummins stepped up to the mark, bludgeoning an undefeated 44 in an unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 55. Comparisons have been made with the Edgbaston match in the famous 2005 Ashes series when Australia chased 282 runs to win and lost by two runs. This time, Australia’s victory represented its most successful run chase in England since 1972. Needless to say, in the wake of defeat, England’s ultra-attacking approach has attracted criticism.
In particular, the first innings declaration and the frantic batting in the second innings, may have left the door open for Australia. England has lost its last two matches after declaring. The approach is unlikely to change, nor is Australia’s, except that Cummins’ aggression showed a level of adaptability that may prove crucial. It is unusual for a fast bowler to be made captain of a Test team, but he has proved to be a more than capable leader, with his batting being an unexpected bonus. England’s captain bowled only 14 overs at Edgbaston compared with the Australian captain’s 32. The performances and fitness of the respective captains may well determine the outcome of the series.
On June 22, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, the captains of the England and Australian women’s teams led their sides into the first-ever women’s five-day Test match in England. This is something that the respective captains of England and Australia have been lobbying for over a number of years. All but one of the 144 previous women’s Tests have been of four days duration, the exception being in Sydney in 1992. This Ashes series is being played in a multi-format, consisting of one Test, three one-day internationals and three T20s, a structure which has been suggested for some countries in the men’s game. Four points are awarded for a Test victory and two points for wins in the shorter formats.
In Zimbabwe, the ODI World Cup qualifying tournament has generated a feast of runs and several upsets. Nepal set the pace in the opening match scoring 290 against Zimbabwe, which passed the target for the loss of only two wickets with six overs to spare. The West Indies then posted 297 which proved too much for the US. Sri Lanka hammered 355 against the UAE, who were dismissed for 180. Ireland were stunned by Oman, which overhauled a target of 281 in 48 overs. The Netherlands equaled its highest ODI total of 315 only to be outgunned by Zimbabwe, which reached the target with nine overs in hand. It is too early to identify the potential tournament winner, although Zimbabwe’s blistering start will cause the favorites, Sri Lanka and the West Indies, to look over their shoulders.
All of this activity underlines the fact that cricket is in good health, being played in entertaining, even exhilarating fashion across all formats and gender. Its teams need to continue to do that in order to maintain current levels of support and attract new audiences. The first men’s Ashes Test has set the standard.
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