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Even if they lose this series, if it is done while throwing everything at Australia, then it will not lead to the usual pearl clutching of an Ashes defeat. It feels like it will either be a glorious triumph or a glorious failure. Stokes has done his best this week to not be different, to ensure his players are preparing as if for any other series, but there was a sense of relief on Thursday that the hype was over and the day “finally here”. What can we expect in 2025? “From the Vulture Street End … Jimmy Anderson.” However, it is the turnover of players between now and then that will make it so fascinating; a whole new cast who have a lot to live up to given the decade of Ashes champions on both sides we’ve just witnessed. Bravo. Barney Ronay The wise commentators, the former captains and legends, raise their brows as they pass in the corridors - a look that says "here we go" without needing to speak. What can we expect in 2025? It’s helpful to think of the Ashes as two separate contests: one a closely matched battle of equals, the other a kind of organised bloodsport. Unless England can unearth at least three genuine pace bowlers – or somehow get the 30-year-old Jofra Archer fit again – Australia are going to win so hard. Andy Bull If it does not work here, he will rightly or wrongly shrug his shoulders and commit to doing the same thing all over again.
On the one hand, it was un-Australian. Not fighting fire with fire, but trying to avoid it by diligently completing a risk assessment. On the other, pragmatism can be seen as a sign of strength, having enough confidence in your team to adapt to the situation. Zak is a very witty guy, and he plays more attractive shots than me. We haven’t properly fired yet this series but I said over a couple of beers: ‘Me and you, let’s do a session or longer, because if we do, we will put the team in such a good position.’” What does it mean? Were Australia frightened? The debate will continue throughout the day and again when Australia wakes.
For a hat that has become more synonymous with high fashion, it will not be surprising to learn that baseball caps started life on the sports field. “It was originally known as the Brooklyn cap in the late 1800s/early 1900s, with its origins traced to the local baseball team,” says Dalrymple. But they have become just as apt for the front row of fashion shows or the boardroom as for the pitcher’s mound. Player of the series There were a couple of superb innings from him, but Stokes’s leadership has been more impressive still. He marshals his players expertly on the field, brings passion and empathy to the role, his side have a real collective mindset and everyone has completely bought in to his vision. Farewell to … The northern Test venues, Warner, any pretence of trying to make the players get through their stipulated 90 overs in a day, Khawaja, Stokes’s career as a Test match all-rounder, Robinson’s reputation as the next great English seam bowler, Broad, of course, oh and Lord’s air of grace and civility, if not, apparently, its divine right to host two Tests a year.
At that point, Stokes made his breathtaking intervention, a declaration after 78 overs the earliest in a first innings in Ashes history and third-earliest ever by England.Bazball verdict Like Louis Armstrong said when they asked him to define jazz, “if you have to ask, then you’ll never know”. The old rivalry will be ignited across five tests this summer as Ben Stokes' side will look to reclaim the Urn from the hands of the Australian's who have been in domineering form in recent years. However, Stokes has insisted his side will play without fear and with the Australian's not winning an Ashes series on English soil since 2001, this could be a successful summer for England. Bazball verdict It did not regain the urn but it did exactly what it promised, so you can’t really argue against it. Thrills, spills and an Ashes that threatened to explode our brains on a daily basis. Failure doesn’t matter, it turns out, when you fail this entertainingly. Farewell to … Low-key retirements. Sure, Broad deserved a send-off but the mawkish buildup to his guard of honour felt longer than Oppenheimer.
Sir Alastair Cook, who has swapped playing on these mornings for talking about them, carries out the famous urn flanked by flames. Player of the series Khawaja has been the most consistent batter but this has not been a Khawaja series. It has not been unshowy. It has not been a bit slow. Its skillset was not to be a consistent series. It was to be exhilarating at times, disappointing at others, but always entirely of itself. It has, in other words, been a Crawley series. David Warner v Stuart Broad. Steve Smith's path to becoming the most prolific Ashes run-getter since Don Bradman. Broad and James Anderson's final stab at the Aussies. Moeen Ali's return. Travis Head's moustache. Zak Crawley's outside edge.What can we expect in 2025? Two new captains, probably. Stokes’s body seems highly unlikely to make it to the rematch and the pressure on Cummins’s leadership in the second half of this series was telling. Simon Burnton There's also an array of training gear available from long sleeved zip tops to hoodies and joggers. Men's boxer shorts, baseball caps and t-shirts branded 'The Ashes 2023' are also on sale now. Anticipation is building ahead of the first test and the Castore range could be the ideal way to show your support for England this summer. Is this happening? Both Australia bowlers hit to the boundary with their first Ashes balls? It never has before.
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