Once every two years Test cricket, for a brief period of about 2 months, hogs the cricketing limelight with the Ashes: the jostle for that little urn with a huge history behind it, fought between two of the oldest countries to play Cricket: England and Australia.
And while Test cricket per se hardly draws huge crowds these days, especially in the sub-continent, it is creditworthy to see that the administrators of Cricket in these two countries have made sure that it remains the pinnacle of the game. It helps when the teams play attacking, high-quality cricket as has been since in the past few years, especially since the famous 2005 Ashes when funky hairdo sporting Kevin Pietersen and burly yet pleasing figure of Andrew Flintoff, sent an entire nation into raptures by winning the Ashes for the first time in---many, many years.
So, as Indians, why do we get fascinated by Ashes cricket? To be able to answer it let me make it very clear that i talk of a very selected group of people who are ardent and true followers of the longest format. We have passion, patient and knowledge of the game and hence appreciate it. It is true that the slam-bang version of 50 over cricket and instant-gratification of Twenty20 have badly dented the enthusiasm of Test cricket, but we still like to see the bowlers steaming in to bowl at batsmen surrounded by a strong slip-cordon and working them out.
However, i would like to stress that same feeling does not come with as much intensity when test cricket is played in the sub-continent. There are valid reasons of that. Dead pitches, not helped by the fact that climate usually is baking hot which makes the surfaces even more batting-friendly. However it has ti be said that the kind of cricketers required to come together to make test cricket exciting are genuinely lacked by the Asian teams. A group of 3-4 good, attacking, high quality fast bowlers that both England and Australia possess, virtually every time they go out for the battle, is the primary reason for Ashes to be highly exciting. When there is a genuinely even contest between bat and ball, it make for gripping viewing and results of test matches in the last few Ashes series will vindicate what i say.
Ever since i started watching cricket, from the mid-90s, till 2005 there was only one team playing Ashes and that was Australia. Their sheer domination of and utter pummeling of the English cricketers used to make Ashes boring, but that was only because England did not have good enough players. Even then because of climatic conditions and good sporting pitches in both England and Australia, the quality of cricket on view was never low. In spite of having some good quality individuals like Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe, Darren Gough and Graeme Hick, England as a team just could not match up with the Aussie might. Australians on the other hand possessed such gifted individuals like the Waugh brothers, Ponting, Warne (to name a few), who as a team just brought the best out of each other.
The 2005 Ashes was a watershed series in the history of the Ashes. Played in England, Australia, despite having heavyweights such as Warne, Mcgrath, Lee, Gilchrist and their world class batsman Ponting, they lost the series 1-2 to a dynamic and determined England led by their talented skipper-batsman Michael Vaughan, Since then, England have gone on to win the Ashes 3 more times, but have also suffered two 0-5 mauling, both down under.
As we wait eagerly for the next edition of Ashes to begin, we can expect some high quality cricket again. While England had to contend with a 1-1 series result against New Zealand, Australia have started their test series against West Indies with a resounding win in Dominica and look set to have the edge going into the Ashes. With high quality players in both sides like Clarke, Johnson, Starc, Smith, Cook, Stokes, Bell and Anderson amongst many others this series will again ignite the passion for the purest form of the game. May it be another exciting an closely fought series.
PS: Before i end this piece it would be worth mentioning my favourite 5 Ashes moments from the last few years:
Shane Warne- 40 wickets Ashes 2005
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96tevBt8jpA
Mitchell Johnson- 37 wickets Ashes 2013-14
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mitchell+johnson+37+wickets+ashes+2013
Adam Gilchrist-57 -ball century (2nd fastest) Ashes 2006-07
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn6gPE_jnBk
Ashes 2005 second test 2005 Edgbaston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_UVhZEnDo
Alastair Cook -235 Ashes 2010-11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jlJ5NmTKGE
And while Test cricket per se hardly draws huge crowds these days, especially in the sub-continent, it is creditworthy to see that the administrators of Cricket in these two countries have made sure that it remains the pinnacle of the game. It helps when the teams play attacking, high-quality cricket as has been since in the past few years, especially since the famous 2005 Ashes when funky hairdo sporting Kevin Pietersen and burly yet pleasing figure of Andrew Flintoff, sent an entire nation into raptures by winning the Ashes for the first time in---many, many years.
So, as Indians, why do we get fascinated by Ashes cricket? To be able to answer it let me make it very clear that i talk of a very selected group of people who are ardent and true followers of the longest format. We have passion, patient and knowledge of the game and hence appreciate it. It is true that the slam-bang version of 50 over cricket and instant-gratification of Twenty20 have badly dented the enthusiasm of Test cricket, but we still like to see the bowlers steaming in to bowl at batsmen surrounded by a strong slip-cordon and working them out.
Ever since i started watching cricket, from the mid-90s, till 2005 there was only one team playing Ashes and that was Australia. Their sheer domination of and utter pummeling of the English cricketers used to make Ashes boring, but that was only because England did not have good enough players. Even then because of climatic conditions and good sporting pitches in both England and Australia, the quality of cricket on view was never low. In spite of having some good quality individuals like Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe, Darren Gough and Graeme Hick, England as a team just could not match up with the Aussie might. Australians on the other hand possessed such gifted individuals like the Waugh brothers, Ponting, Warne (to name a few), who as a team just brought the best out of each other.
The 2005 Ashes was a watershed series in the history of the Ashes. Played in England, Australia, despite having heavyweights such as Warne, Mcgrath, Lee, Gilchrist and their world class batsman Ponting, they lost the series 1-2 to a dynamic and determined England led by their talented skipper-batsman Michael Vaughan, Since then, England have gone on to win the Ashes 3 more times, but have also suffered two 0-5 mauling, both down under.
As we wait eagerly for the next edition of Ashes to begin, we can expect some high quality cricket again. While England had to contend with a 1-1 series result against New Zealand, Australia have started their test series against West Indies with a resounding win in Dominica and look set to have the edge going into the Ashes. With high quality players in both sides like Clarke, Johnson, Starc, Smith, Cook, Stokes, Bell and Anderson amongst many others this series will again ignite the passion for the purest form of the game. May it be another exciting an closely fought series.
PS: Before i end this piece it would be worth mentioning my favourite 5 Ashes moments from the last few years:
Shane Warne- 40 wickets Ashes 2005
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96tevBt8jpA
Mitchell Johnson- 37 wickets Ashes 2013-14
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mitchell+johnson+37+wickets+ashes+2013
Adam Gilchrist-57 -ball century (2nd fastest) Ashes 2006-07
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn6gPE_jnBk
Ashes 2005 second test 2005 Edgbaston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_UVhZEnDo
Alastair Cook -235 Ashes 2010-11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jlJ5NmTKGE
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