England aims to end Ashes drought in Australia
Ben Stokes and his England line-up won that test at The Oval in South London but it wasn't enough to reclaim the Ashes from the Aussies, who won the first two tests and drew the fourth in a five-match series to retain the old urn.
Image credit: AFP
PERTH: The build-up to the Ashes series starting Friday began at the end of July 2023 following one of the more acrimonious test cricket series between England and Australia.
Ben Stokes and his England line-up won that test at The Oval in South London but it wasn't enough to reclaim the Ashes from the Aussies, who won the first two tests and drew the fourth in a five-match series to retain the old urn.
Cue to Perth Stadium, Day 1 of a possible 25 spanning seven weeks and five cities.
Stokes knows the record: 13 losses, two draws and no wins in England's last 15 tests Down Under. He's thinking more about the 2010-11 squad that beat the Australians 3-1.
“I've come here absolutely desperate to get home on that plane in January as one of the lucky few captains from England who has come here and been successful,” he said. “A lot has been spoken of about the history and how it has gone for England — this is our chance to create our own.”
In a bid to break the drought, England is likely to start a pair of express pace bowlers in conditions expected to suit them. Jofra Archer is primed to do well in Australia and 35-year-old Mark Wood recovered from a minor hamstring strain to be included in the 12-man match squad for the first test.
“He's flying,” Stokes said of Wood, who took 17 wickets in the last Ashes series in Australia. “He's had all his injury troubles and all that kind of stuff ... but he's been bowling for a long, long time.”
Australia captain Pat Cummins and fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood will be missing the first test because of injuries, leaving Australia's attack without half of its frontline bowlers.
The remaining half — left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc and offspinner Nathan Lyon — are confident that the team can win on what is expected to be a fast, bouncy pitch in Perth. Brendan Doggett is set to make his test debut alongside fellow fast bowler Scott Boland; making it the first time the men's test XI will contain two players with Australian Indigenous heritage.
The 36-year-old Smith will lead Australia for the third time this year and the seventh time since his era as full-time captain ended with the Sand-paper-gate scandal in 2018.
He filled in as skipper the last time England toured Australia in 2021-22, after Cummins was forced to isolate for the Adelaide test during the COVID-19 pandemic.