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The wise commentators, the former captains and legends, raise their brows as they pass in the corridors - a look that says "here we go" without needing to speak. Australia could punch a hole in the ‘Bazball’ phenomenon and bask in a ‘told you so’ smugness that would go beyond just winning their first series in England for 22 years. Bazball verdict Like Louis Armstrong said when they asked him to define jazz, “if you have to ask, then you’ll never know”. On the one hand, it was un-Australian. Not fighting fire with fire, but trying to avoid it by diligently completing a risk assessment. On the other, pragmatism can be seen as a sign of strength, having enough confidence in your team to adapt to the situation. Mike Atherton's team steamrollered Australia for 118 on the opening day of the 1997 series at Edgbaston, but then lost 3-2.
One day in and the most hyped Ashes series in a generation has started by more than living up to expectations. Where on earth do we go from here? What can we expect in 2025? Something completely different. England’s bowling group will be transformed by then and Australia could have lost half their first-choice side. There are big transitions coming and the next Ashes will test who has handled theirs the best. Emma JohnBut, to question England's method would be to miss the point. For them, aggression is not a choice, it is a necessity. It is how they play because that is their best chance of being successful. Joe Root knows a thing or two about Ashes plans after three series captaining England against Australia. What can we expect in 2025? It’s helpful to think of the Ashes as two separate contests: one a closely matched battle of equals, the other a kind of organised bloodsport. Unless England can unearth at least three genuine pace bowlers – or somehow get the 30-year-old Jofra Archer fit again – Australia are going to win so hard. Andy Bull What we know is it is 22 years since Australia have won in this country. In that time, England have never failed to win at least two Tests in a home Ashes. For any team to win an Ashes series away is incredibly difficult, even if that team does happen to be the world champions. Sir Alastair Cook, who has swapped playing on these mornings for talking about them, carries out the famous urn flanked by flames.
Predicting what will happen is more difficult than ever, even if the Test Match Special team have given it a good go. The run-rate of 5.03 was England's second-fastest in a total of more than 300 against Australia, beaten only by the first-day 407 on this ground in 2005. Even on a pitch that looks flat, 393-8 is a healthy total. Australian Florence Morphy gave the small terracotta urn to England captain Ivo Bligh as a trophy and symbol of her love. The pair would eventually be married, while the two rival teams had something tangible to compete for.
What can we expect in 2025? “From the Vulture Street End … Jimmy Anderson.” However, it is the turnover of players between now and then that will make it so fascinating; a whole new cast who have a lot to live up to given the decade of Ashes champions on both sides we’ve just witnessed. Bravo. Barney Ronay It did mean Travis Head and Nathan Lyon were chosen to spend pretty much all day on the fence, closer to the rowdy England fans than their own team-mates. At that point, Stokes made his breathtaking intervention, a declaration after 78 overs the earliest in a first innings in Ashes history and third-earliest ever by England. Their buccaneering batting is made all the more thrilling by the risk of it going spectacularly wrong, like watching a tightrope walker tiptoe between skyscrapers. England are likely to fall in a heap at some point this summer, but when? The longer they delay the collapse, the more chance of lifting the urn. Key also knew Stokes was set to hit the task hard as the clouds of bubble life and his mental health problems the previous summer lifted. Had he sought to offset the captain’s returning flame with an intense “drill sergeant” head coach or one who was overly technical and fastidious, the result of this fire and ice, to quote the Spinal Tap bassist, Derek Smalls, would have been lukewarm water.
Moment of the series Has to be Woakes hitting the winning runs at Headingley. When Woakes walks out, the series is basically disintegrating towards an ill-tempered anticlimax. When he walks off triumphant, you can tell from the noise alone that it’s alive again. Stokes always says that results come at the bottom of his list of his priorities and, perhaps, at this very moment in the history of the game, the result of this particular Ashes series is not as important as the style with which it is achieved. Farewell to … Low-key retirements. Sure, Broad deserved a send-off but the mawkish buildup to his guard of honour felt longer than Oppenheimer. There's also an array of training gear available from long sleeved zip tops to hoodies and joggers. Men's boxer shorts, baseball caps and t-shirts branded 'The Ashes 2023' are also on sale now. Anticipation is building ahead of the first test and the Castore range could be the ideal way to show your support for England this summer. In 2017-18 he went down under without Stokes because of the Bristol incident. In 2019, Root watched James Anderson limp out of the series after bowling only four overs.Moment of the series Lyon limps out to bat at Lord’s. There was the comedy of him having to leave the dressing room alongside the previous batter to have a chance of not being timed out, the shame of a brilliant player being ruled out of the series through injury, the sheer grit involved in forcing himself through the pain barrier and the knowledge with hindsight that Lyon’s departure contributed to Australia surrendering a 2-0 lead. Ben Stokes plays a shot during England’s Test series against Pakistan in December 2022. The 3-0 series win is a high point in his reign as captain. Photograph: Fareed Khan/AP Head got serenaded for dropping an admittedly tough chance off Harry Brook, Lyon the subject of a rude comparison with Moeen Ali from the Hollies Stand. Harry Brook, pictured in action in the Test against New Zealand in February 2023, has been one of the emerging stars under Stokes and McCullum. Photograph: Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images What does it mean? Were Australia frightened? The debate will continue throughout the day and again when Australia wakes.
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