🔗 Share this article

The legendary Australian batsman was the focus of the first adult book I recall going through as a youngster. To a primary school student, the injustice of an England's skipper instructing his countrymen to hurt a talented Aussie was unfathomable. And so, similar to countless others, I came to hate England.

Excitement about the Ashes? It goes without saying. Cricket’s calendar makes this a rare treat to observe two of the top cricketing nations challenge and provoke each other over what we anticipate will be five Tests of intense competition with the red Kookaburra.

According to Ian Botham reminded us last week at the announcement of the ticket draw for the 150th anniversary Test, the Ashes has a unique appeal. “Historically, fans globally tunes into the Ashes,” he said. “It's about heritage, the rivalry, it's always full throttle.”

Across the UK, those two recent drawn series – marked by Steve Smith’s mountain of runs and Ben Stokes’ Headingley masterpiece in 2019, and the Lord’s Long Room disgrace of 2023 – have met the expectations of what an Ashes battle should be. However, they have not had the same cultural impact on the other side of the world when many locals nods off before the end of the lunch interval.

In home Tests, the Ashes has been more subdued than just flat for more than a decade. Australians expect their team to dominate easily, as it has been since the 1990s. Boland's stunning figures at the MCG wasn’t born from a fierce duel, it was English tragicomedy confirming a worldview. A true rivalry should not be so one-sided.

Cricket’s Town Criers Need to Lean In at the Fading Glow and Fan the Flames

England's squad were met in Perth by a tired headline in the local tabloid, “Baz Bawl”, supported by a portrayal of the highly regarded Ben Stokes as “arrogant”. The paper then had a dig at “Average Joe” Root, also known as “Flop Root in Australia”. It was enough to elicit a predictable Fleet Street reaction, enabling the press to squeeze what juice is left in the days before the first ball is bowled.

On the other hand, last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India ignited excitement on its own. The spiritual peak was the Melbourne match, a moment that will linger forever. The metrics, also, impressed. 838,000 were present across the series, the fourth most for any contest in Australia and the highest for any non-Ashes contest. Audiences were entranced, not unlike the ratings surge for India’s tour of England this year, and eight sessions averaged more than two million TV fans.

Lately, the touching send-offs of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the SCG made ODI matches actually mean something. Compare the news title following the last time England visited for a limited-overs series: “Record-low MCG crowd for an ODI match sparks concerns for ODI cricket's survival”.

India’s Rising Influence

Even though bad weather disrupted the T20 series with India, what play we saw indicates Australia are some way off the T20 international standards. For the women's game, at the global tournament last month, the home side knocked off the title holders. The all-format contest kicking off in February-March is shaping up as a unofficial world title decider.

It’s easy to dismiss the adoring blue, orange and green crowds that gather at India’s matches – and not just Tests – as a mere result of the vast diaspora of the planet's largest country. However, to financial analysts and broadcast bosses, they are an boon.

The world’s largest democracy now means more to Australia than its historical roots, given the countries share an ocean, colonial parallels, and growing cultural ties. India will likely overtake the UK, per ABS migration data, as the origin of the biggest contingent of immigrants as soon. The failing Aukus relationship is driving a recalibration of security priorities respecting the rising power of Asian powers, a shift that long ago happened in the cricketing world.

The former Australian skipper, who also led the Indian team, noted last week that England was “our biggest traditional rival”, but added “honestly, without India, the sport would suffer”.

The Final Challenge

Until Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last summer, India had retained it for ten years. In India, Australia haven't triumphed in more than 20 years. Should the home side win back the urn comfortably this summer, failing to secure the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India in the coming years would make this period unfulfilled.

The long-awaited win on the subcontinent remains the ultimate test for today's players, and a blip against England this summer – attributed to unfortunate bowler injury, similar to 2005 and Glenn McGrath’s freak rolled ankle – would only add to the narrative.

The tourists have not won an Ashes Test in Australia for nearly fifteen years, and as rich as the lore may be, it won't support a lopsided rivalry indefinitely. Therefore, with a gaudy, engrossing India having only just flown out, Ben Stokes’s players have much to play for. Triumph in the Ashes and stay relevant. Alternatively lose the urn and with it something that can’t be won back: the right to Australia’s greatest rivalry. Please England, just be good.