Don Bradman was the subject of the first adult book I remember reading. In the mind of a primary school student, the injustice of an English captain ordering his countrymen to hurt a brilliant Australian was unfathomable. And so, like many, I came to hate England.<\/p>\n
Anticipation for the Ashes? It goes without saying. Cricket\u2019s calendar makes this a rare treat to watch two of the world\u2019s best teams test and taunt and tease each other for what we hope will be 25 days of interrogation with the red Kookaburra.<\/p>\n
As Ian Botham reminded us last week at the launch of the ballot for 2027\u2019s 150th anniversary Test, the Ashes has a unique appeal. \u201cHistorically, everyone in the cricketing world watches the Ashes,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the tradition, it\u2019s the competition, you know that\u2019s it all flat out.\u201d<\/p>\n
In England, those two recent drawn series \u2013 marked by Steve Smith\u2019s mountain of runs and Ben Stokes\u2019 Headingley masterpiece in 2019<\/a>, and the Lord\u2019s Long Room disgrace of 2023<\/a> \u2013 have met the expectations of what an Ashes contest should be. However, they have not had the same cultural impact on the other side of the world when half of Australia nods off before the end of the lunch interval.<\/p>\n In home Tests, the Ashes has been less flat out than just flat for more than a decade. Australians expect their team to win and win handily, as it has been since the 1990s. Scott Boland\u2019s 6-7 at the MCG wasn\u2019t wrought in a furnace of competition, it was English tragicomedy confirming a worldview. A true rivalry should not be this way.<\/p>\n Cricket\u2019s town criers must now crouch down at the Ashes\u2019 waning embers and whistle oxygen, hoping to rekindle the flame. The English team were met in Perth by a tired headline on the front of the local tabloid, \u201cBaz Bawl\u201d, supported by a description of the widely respected Ben Stokes as \u201ccocky\u201d. The paper then had a go at \u201cAverage Joe\u201d Root, aka \u201cDud Root Down Under\u201d. It was enough to prompt a predictable Fleet Street reaction, allowing the media to squeeze what juice is left in the days before the first ball is bowled. (May I recommend the Guardian\u2019s 100 best players in the history of the men\u2019s Ashes<\/a>?)<\/p>\n In contrast, last year\u2019s Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India sparked something all by itself. The spiritual peak was that MCG experience<\/a>, a memory that cannot be extinguished. The metrics, too, overwhelmed. 838,000 attended the five Tests, the fourth most for any series in Australia and the highest for any non-Ashes contest. Audiences were entranced, not unlike the TV bump for India\u2019s tour of England this year<\/a>, and eight sessions averaged more than 2m television viewers.<\/p>\n In recent weeks, the emotional if unofficial farewells of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the SCG made one-day cricket actually mean something. Compare the headline following the last time England came here for a white ball tour: \u201cRecord-low MCG crowd for Australia-England ODI raises fears for future of 50-over format\u201d.<\/p>\n Indian supporters celebrate the wicket of Australia’s Travis Head at the MCG last year. Photograph: Martin Keep\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Although rain ruined the T20 series with India, what play we saw suggests Australia are some way off the short form\u2019s global benchmark. In women\u2019s cricket, at the World Cup last month, the home side knocked off the defending champions. The multi-format series starting in Sydney in February-March is primed as a de facto world championship.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to dismiss the adoring blue, orange and green crowds that flock to India\u2019s matches \u2013 and not just Tests \u2013 as a simple reflection of the vast diaspora of the world\u2019s most populous nation. But to bean counters and television executives, they are an elixir.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers’ thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week\u2019s action<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The world\u2019s largest democracy now means more to Australia than its motherland, given the countries share an ocean, colonial parallels, and increasingly their peoples. India is set to surpass the UK, according to ABS migration data, as the source of the largest group of foreign-born Australian residents as early as this year. The failing Aukus relationship is driving an recalibration of defence interests respecting the growing influence of Asian powers, a shift that long ago happened in the cricketing world.<\/p>\n Greg Chappell, the former Australian captain and India coach, said last week England was \u201cour biggest traditional rival\u201d, but also that \u201cto be fair, without India, cricket wouldn\u2019t be the same\u201d.<\/p>\n Until Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last summer, India had held it for a decade. On the subcontinent, Australia haven\u2019t won in more than 20 years. Even if the home side reclaim the Ashes easily this summer, losing the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India in early 2027 would leave the Cummins era unfulfilled.<\/p>\n That elusive victory on the subcontinent remains the final proving ground for this generation, and a blip against England this summer \u2013 put down to unfortunate bowler injury, just like 2005 and Glenn McGrath\u2019s freak rolled ankle \u2013 would only add to the narrative.<\/p>\n The tourists have not won an Ashes Test in Australia for almost 15 years, and as rich as the lore may be, it cannot sustain a one-sided contest forever. So with a gaudy, engrossing India having only just flown out, Ben Stokes\u2019s players have much to play for. Win the series and stay relevant. Or lose the urn and with it something that can\u2019t be won back: the claim to Australia\u2019s greatest rivalry. Please England, just be good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Don Bradman was the subject of the first adult book I remember reading. 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