The Spin | A coronation amid austerity and an Ashes to remember: omens of 1953

England’s game-changing play 70 years ago was nothing like Bazball, but it regained the Ashes in a summer of royal pomp

Are you excited for the biggest royal event since the last one? Have you downloaded your official quiche recipe and your print-at-home bunting? The Spin may not be about to stand in the street shouting oaths of allegiance to a new king, but that’s because The Spin was taught not to stand in the street swearing at anyone. And be you a coronation watcher or dodger, it’s impossible to ignore the prime cricketing omens embedded in this weekend’s celebrations.

The last summer a monarch was crowned, England won back the Ashes by playing an entirely new brand of cricket. Admittedly, the style they adopted 70 years ago was rather less dynamic than Bazball. The 1953 Ashes is mostly remembered for the incredible stonewalling of Trevor Bailey, the dead-bat-dick of England-Australia contests, a man whose face launched a thousand forward-defensives. Bailey’s string of tenacious innings led him to be dubbed The Barnacle, which was an improvement for someone whose previous nickname was The Boil.