All members of England’s Unforgiven chipped in, with Mark Wood producing a thrilling spectacle across three spellsThe best part was probably the celebration, the ball clamped in the outer webbing of Jonny Bairstow’s right glove, legs splayed, arms wide. For a few moments England’s wicketkeeper just sat there like a very happy life-sized gingerbread man, emitting an extended roar of triumph.It was perhaps the central moment of a day when England’s oldest ever five-man bowling attack – combined age: 180 years – just kept on refusing to die away, that liver-spotted hand clutching at Australia’s elbow every time they seemed to be easing clear. Continue reading...
Women’s cricket has grown in incremental steps for a long time – this series shows making the leap to big grounds is the best tacticThe Women’s Ashes has a long history of close contests, drawn series and match-defining moments that have kept spectators on the edge of their seats. But in 2011, only a handful of people were at Bankstown Oval to witness Alex Blackwell’s bold declaration and Rene Farrell’s decisive hat-trick that swung the match in Australia’s favour and secured their first Ashes win since 2003.What has changed most since then is not the cricket itself, but the number of people paying attention and, crucially, the number of spectators through the gates. Ground upgrades to venues such as the...
The tourists played three specialist slow bowlers to beat England, learning a lesson from their male counterparts in 2005With one ball to come in the 100th over of the match, it was Natalie Sciver-Brunt on her haunches holding the handle of her bat, puffing for air. She needed six to win, four to tie and force a super over. After her final swing of the match, one that didn’t connect cleanly enough to find either variety of boundary, it was the whole ground that was short of air, one long exhale from the England-supporting crowd. Taking back the trophy had still been a chance, then it was gone.As the men’s and women’s Ashes series have unspooled side by side across...
As England head into the fourth Test, fans are being confronted with the very same questions the skipper has set his playersIt’s the week after Christmas 2021 and England’s men have just lost the Ashes. Again. After two years of preparation and planning, they have been beaten out of sight in 12 days’ play, the last three at the MCG, where they have been bowled out for 185 and 68, and gone down by an innings and 14 runs to a team who made only 267 themselves.Covid has spread among the squad: three of the coaches have tested positive and so have four family members, despite all the precautions. They have been living in a so-called bubble for much of...
The idea of hosts beating all-conquering tourists five times in a row seemed absurd – but now the series is truly up for grabsAfter Australia won the lone Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in June, Alyssa Healy would have been keen to celebrate. She had spent her rare Test appearances across years playing out draws on surfaces that offered drudgery between thunderstorms: North Sydney in 2017, Taunton in 2019, hosting India on the Gold Coast in 2021, even the Canberra Ashes Test of 2022 where a close finish relied on Australia manufacturing a target.Now she was unexpectedly captain, filling in for the absent Meg Lanning, and celebrating a bona fide Test win in a match that was given the...