Twelve months ago, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy began in Perth, with India stunning Australia under the leadership of talisman bowler Jasprit Bumrah at Optus Stadium.
However, four Tests later, India returned home with a 3-1 series defeat – a loss that cost them a place in the 2025 World Test Championship final, ultimately won by South Africa, who defeated Australia.
The Border-Gavaskar series marked the resurgence of Australia’s prolific run-scorer Steven Smith, who went on to lead the side to a series win in Sri Lanka and continued his fine form through the WTC final and the West Indies series, adding more than 700 runs in the last year.
Yet, Australia’s top order remains a concern following David Warner’s retirement. Usman Khawaja struggled against Bumrah during the India series.
Khawaja averaged 20.4 in the Border-Gavaskar series, and his lack of runs in the WTC final and the West Indies tour has further compounded the team’s batting issues.
Jake Weatherald, at 31, is a conservative selection ahead of the more flamboyant Sam Konstas, whom the selectors previously felt was ready for Test cricket.
He responded with a fine 60 in a famous innings that included reverse lapping Bumrah and taking on giants of Indian cricket in verbal alteractions.
But after failures against the West Indies and with the Ashes at stake, Australia have opted for the Sheffield Shield’s leading run-scorer in Weatherald.
He scored 906 runs in the 2024-25 Shield season at an average of 50. The Darwin-born left-hander will make his Test debut.
Allrounder Beau Webster is unlucky to miss out – he has shown great promise in crunch moments. In the final Test against India, he scored a vital 50 on debut and took important wickets.
His impressive all-round performance continued in the WTC final and against the West Indies, which will make dropping him a tough call.
Marnus Labuschagne has regained form with consistent runs in domestic cricket. A lot isn’t talked about regarding Travis Head, but he could do an Adam Gilchrist for Australia.
Jamie Smith. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
The Australian tail will be long in the absence of Pat Cummins but Alex Carey has been Australia’s crisis man in crunch moments, and against top-class England bowling, he will need to fill that role again.
England’s batting comes with its own challenges, especially away from home. At home, England’s win rate has gone up to 68% since 2022 when Brendon McCullum took over, but their away record isn’t great, with series losses in India and Pakistan.
Often it was Bazball – reckless cricket – that has been their undoing. A 4-332 became 367 all out in a chase, costing England a series win against India.
Ben Duckett spoke about the intent to play smarter cricket in crunch moments, and so did Joe Root, who emphasised in a talk with Geoff Boycott about being more astute in their approach looking to win. Perhaps a Bazball 2.0. We will wait and see.
Coming to England’s batting, Zak Crawley, who averages 31 after 50+ Tests as an opener, has been persisted with for his attacking, stand-and-deliver approach. McCullum thinks of Duckett’s impact as close to Virender Sehwag’s.
Ollie Pope’s place has been under scrutiny for quite a while and Harry Brook averaged 40 in the 2023 Ashes with 363 runs at a strike rate of 78.
His quick four half-centuries rattled Australia. He will be looking for his first Ashes hundred on his first tour Down Under.
Joe Root. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Should Brook tick off that box before Joe Root, the tag of England’s best batter will shift towards Brook, and perhaps the debate will stir up on whether he should be promoted up the order.
Talking about Root, this Ashes series will decide whether he will go on to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most Test appearances and most Test runs or fade away like many batting greats after the Ashes.
Irrespective of how the series turns out for Joe Root, he has cemented himself as one of the all-time generation greats.
Young keeper Jamie Smith showed glimpses of what he can offer against India at home. The conditions are different, but he would want to do what Matt Prior did in the 2010-11 Ashes.
Irrespective of which team you support, as a cricket lover, a 2-2 scoreline heading into Sydney would be a great endorsement for Test cricket in an increasingly crowded calendar filled with T20 leagues worldwide.
The first Test is England’s to lose with Josh Hazelwood and Cummins out injured.
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