Can England regain the Ashes by playing their most aggressive “buzzball” brand of cricket or will they struggle against a battle-hardened Australia?
The answer will come in the coming weeks, starting with the first Test of the five-match series at Edgbaston on Friday.
Since captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum joined forces last year, England have made the rest of the world sit up and take notice with 11 wins in 13 Tests.
But doubts remain whether their all-out attack policy can work against arch-rivals Australia, who beat India by 209 runs at the Oval last week to win the World Test Championship final.
Steve Waugh, the last Australian captain to win an Ashes series in England in 2001, is not alone in questioning whether Stokes’ side have an alternative plan.
“Do they have a plan B?” Waugh told JEE News. “They have shown that they are good enough to carry this style of cricket but the ultimate test will be against the world-class bowling attack that Australia have.”
England had won just one of 17 Tests before newly appointed England cricket chief Rob Kay brought in McCullum and Stokes to oversee a dynamic transformation of their longer-format game, known as the “Baz”. Ball”, a reference to former New Zealand captain McCullum’s nickname.
And all-rounder Stokes is adamant that he has no intention of changing his approach.
“Nothing is going to change because we’ve had incredible success with it,” the 32-year-old told JEE News.
“If we were to change anything from the last 12 months because we find ourselves in an Ashes series, anything in the last 12 months would be absolutely meaningless.”
Strike rate
England have scored 4.85 runs in an over last year.
And England great James Anderson, Test cricket’s most successful fast bowler, said it had benefits for bowlers too.
“(Bowling) run-rate is particularly irrelevant for Ben,” Anderson explained.
“He’s like, ‘I don’t care how many runs you score, I want 20 wickets as soon as possible’. As a bowler, you’re constantly thinking, ‘How am I going to take my next wicket?’ ?
A more immediate concern for England fans than Stokes’ philosophy is his fitness.
Stokes, a lively fast bowler, opted to bowl himself in England’s recent 10-wicket win over Ireland after struggling with a knee injury.
He has since declared himself fit to bowl and with Anderson and fellow paceman Ollie Robinson out injured, the hosts will hope he can make good on those words.
England will be without Jack Leach for the entire Ashes after the left-arm spinner was ruled out with a back problem.
Moeen Ali has been recalled in his absence and the off-spinner’s two-year Test retirement could end at his Edgbaston home ground, although he averages an expensive 64.65 in Ashes cricket.
Ashes holders Australia, by contrast, have a proven world-class off-spinner in Nathan Lyon, who is on his way to 500 Test wickets.
Captain Pete Cummins is in the fortunate position of deciding whether either Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood is likely to include Scott Boland in the pace attack.
Boland’s fine WTC final display – he took five wickets in the match – left him with 33 wickets in eight Tests at a stingy average of 14.57.
Second-ranked Australia drew the last Ashes series 2-2 in England in 2019 and beat the old foe 4-0 on home turf in 2021/22.
But they have not won a series in England for 22 years, with many of their batsmen, barring the brilliant Steve Smith, struggling to adapt to English conditions.
Australia have now played 12 Test innings in England after enjoying a first-wicket stand of 20 or more, while under-pressure opener David Warner, 36, now has just one in his last 34 Test innings against all opposition. They have been able to score a century.
With Tests at Lord’s, Headingley, Old Trafford and The Oval to follow the curtain raiser in Birmingham, his battle with his nemesis, the fast bowler Stuart Broad, will be one of many interesting subplots.
“Winning an Ashes (in England) is very difficult. It’s been 20 years so it won’t be easy,” said Cummins, 30. “If we win, it’s legacy-defining stuff. “
