Australia will face England in the first Test of the five-match series between the two fierce rivals at Edgbaston on Friday the 16th of June.
The Australian side will be going in as favourites to retain the urn, whilst England will be looking to regain the trophy for the first time since 2015.
Huge crowds are expected for the clash between the two most exciting sides in World Cricket.
Australia will be coming in full of confidence after most recently claiming the World Test Championship against India in English conditions.
We look at the potential deciding factors of the first Test below:
Teams:
Australia (Predicted):
David Warner
Usman Khawaja
Marnus Labuschagne
Steven Smith
Travis Head
Cameron Green
Alex Carey (WK)
Pat Cummins (C)
Mitchell Starc
Nathan Lyon
England:
Ben Duckett
Zak Crawley
Ollie Pope
Joe Root
Harry Brook
Ben Stokes (C)
Jonny Bairstow (WK)
Moeen Ali
Ollie Robinson
Stuart Broad
James Anderson
Key Match-Up:
Stuart Broad vs David Warner
The two combative superstars will face off one final time for cricket’s most famous trophy.
Over his career, David Warner has been rated by many as one of the best batsmen in history in Australian conditions.
His record away from home has been the sole issue preventing Warner from going down as a ‘legend’ opposed to a ‘great’.
Stuart Broad has proven to be Warner’s biggest rival over his career by consistently troubling the attacking left-hander around the wicket.
Over his career Warner has averaged only a touch above 27 runs against Broad in all conditions, however it was his recent Ashes tour in England in 2019 where Broad dominated the Australian.
In what proved to be a horror tour for Warner, he scored only 95 runs over his 10 innings, with 7 of those dismissals coming directly from Stuart Broad.
The battles have gone the way of Stuart Broad, however the Australian opener will have one final chance to win the war.
Can ‘Bazball’ hold up against the best attack in World Cricket?
The hottest ticket in cricketing circles over the past 12 months has undoubtedly been any test involving the English men’s side.
‘Bazball’ a term honouring their coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum, references the ultra-aggressive style in which the English play.
Since captain Ben Stokes and McCullum have taken over, the team have scored at a monstrous rate of 4.85 runs per over, a number which simply seems mind-blowing.
That’s 436 runs on the board if they bat a whole day.
This swashbuckling style of cricket has not only brought numbers through the gate, but also brought them great success winning 10 of their last 12 tests.
If this style holds up against the best attack in world cricket, we could see a rapid change in the way test cricket is played by nations all around the world.
That, however, is an enormous IF.
The Australian bowling line-up has consistently been the best attack across all conditions for the past 10 years.
Australian skipper, Pat Cummins, leads the best attack currently in world cricket.
The sheer pace and swing of Mitchell Starc, the uncomfortable length of Cameron Green, the spin and bounce of Nathan Lyon, plus the metronomic accuracy of Scott Boland and Josh Hazlewood is enough to make most sides nervous.
This England side have proven time and time again, they aren’t like ‘most’ sides however.
Fasten your seatbelts ladies and gentleman, this series is going to be one hell of a rollercoaster.
First Innings Best Bet:
Odds correct as of 16th of June:
Marnus Labuschagne – Over 31.5 runs – $1.83
It feels like this is Marnus’ time to reach yet another level of greatness.
The number 1 ranked batsman in world cricket has proven form in English conditions and shouldn’t have an issue whatsoever with the English bowling lineup.
With his best mate Steve Smith sneaking up into 2nd spot on the ICC rankings, expect Marnus to make sure he’s still at the top at the end of the series.
Prediction:
The first ball, let alone the first test has the potential to shape the entire series.
We saw Mitchell Starc bowl Rory Burns on the first ball of the most recent Ashes series in Australia, from that moment on, the Australian side never looked back and romped to a 4-0 series win.
Let’s not forget about the Steve Harmison ball that ended up in slips without the batter going near it, which ended in a 5-0 series whitewash in favour of Australia.
With the English side playing such an attacking brand of cricket, there will be times in which they look unstoppable combined with dismissals that belong at village level.
This is why they are loved.
However, the Australian middle order simply looks too powerful for the English bowling line-up.
Australia to go 1-0
Ashes Dates and Venues:
June 16-20 – 1st Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham
June 28-July 2 – 2nd Test at Lord’s, London
July 6-10 – 3rd Test at Old Trafford, Manchester
July 19-23 – 4th Test at Headingley, Leeds
July 27-31 – 5th Test at Oval, London
How to watch:
Every Test Match of the 2023 Ashes series will be shown live and free on Channel 9 and streamed on 9now
Time: 8pm AEST
