The Ashes in England is over for another 4 years with Australia retaining the prized Urn after the series finished at 2-2. There was plenty of good cricket played yet I can't help but feel a little bit disappointed. After the series started in such great spirit there were numerous significant controversies over the course of the 5 games that took away from the contest and likely left a few fans (maybe even players) a bit jaded. The Final Test was marred by a dubious ball change on the last day and this time it was Australias turn to cry foul. It’s not worth going into that other than note that it was a controversy quite typical of this series overall. I also understand the players did not have a drink together after the series (as is tradition) and I find this specifically to be quite tragic.
At the Macro level England would be entitled to feel like this was a series that got away. If you added up all the session tallies you’d be justified in claiming that England won more sessions than Australia did over the course of the series. They were very unlucky with the weather even though they were lucky with the coin tosses (winning 4) and were given a real shot at victory after the unlucky injury to Nathan Lyon had ruled him out after Australia had already won the first 2 Tests. England almost pulled the series out of the fire after that key injury but couldn’t quite do it.
As a cricket lover putting aside my own patriotism (it’s not hard these days) there is definitely a part of me that wishes England had won. I really like the style that England is playing and I have huge respect for the culture that is being fostered amongst the team by Stokes and McCullum. At times I have felt McCullum was a bit of a grub in his early playing days, but as a captain and now a coach I can see that he is inspiring the best of his team with a positive aggressive winning attitude. I really hope that these guys get continued support in the Old Dart because I really think England is on a sharp upward trajectory and this era of “Bazball” could well revolutionize (and even save) Test Cricket from obscurity. It genuinely would not surprise me if people look back at these times and declare that this period is where the game of Test Cricket was changed.
If I could bet on England winning the next World Test Championship (the Final is due in 2 years) then I’d be all over it. If there is a threat to that bet coming off it’d be the English media, former players and stalwarts who are hyper-critical and resistant to change. Sometimes these types can bring about the downfall of revolutionary teams so I sincerely hope they don’t this time because I think this could be just the beginning - not the end - of Bazball.
On my personal Betting Front the series was also a bit disappointing. The last game was a total wash for me and my mixed fortunes in the earlier games sees me carrying a loss which I am not happy, nor proud of. Of course I console myself with the notion that I still got a lot of calls right and was a bit unlucky at times but that also sounds like loser talk so I’ve just got to suck it up and move on. The next big cricket event is the One Day International World Cup in India this October so I probably won’t write about cricket again until then. That gives me a bit of time to lick these wounds and come back fresh.