3 hours ago
7
It's the season for excitement.
John Lewis dropped its Christmas advert before Bonfire Night, John Cena's final opponent is due to be revealed and the Ashes hype train is careering down the tracks.
All of which is absolutely fine. Christmas is brilliant, Cena is the GOAT and if we can't hype this upcoming Ashes series, we might as well knock Test cricket on the head forever.
There are still 16 days to go until meaningful action on the field, so there is a vacuum to be filled.
Decisions to pore over, front pages to splash, predictions to make.
Last week it was England's one-day series defeat in New Zealand; next week it will be their limited red-ball preparation in Australia. On Tuesday it was Ben Stokes' arrival in Perth; on this Wednesday it is the announcement of the Australia squad for the first Test.
Do not be fooled by suggestions Australia have unveiled a list of geriatrics, ready to shuffle off to a cricketing retirement home, tending the garden in their baggy green caps. They remain an outstanding team.
Chief selector George Bailey has not randomly assembled a bunch of old-timers. This group of cricketers have collectively eased into their 30s because of the success they have enjoyed over the past decade.
Australia were world champions in Test and 50-over cricket two years ago. They have not lost an Ashes series since 2015 and the aggregate scoreline from England's past two tours down under is 8-0 to Australia.
Whatever the outcome of this series, this Australia team is likely to break up. At 38, opener Usman Khawaja is closest to the finish line and stand-in captain Steve Smith, 36, has previously said he is unlikely to tour England again. Pace bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood turn 36 and 35 respectively in January.
Not that England are set to see the back of all their tormentors. Nathan Lyon has said he wants to extend his career until he wins away series in India and England. Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey should make the Ashes series in the UK in 2027.
Australia's succession planning is bordering on non-existent. England took hard decisions over James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leach, decisions which legendary Australia captain Steve Waugh said Bailey does not have the "appetite" to make.
Looking at the squad for this series, one wonders who may still be around to face England the next time they travel down under in 2029.
At 26, all-rounder Cameron Green is the only player under the age of 30, but his body is fragile. Sam Konstas, the 20-year-old Bazball imitator, peaked with 60 on debut against India on Boxing Day and has not passed 25 in his other nine Test innings, so has been left out.
When it comes to selection, Australia pay more attention to domestic performances than their English counterparts.
Labuschagne's form demanded a recall, while uncapped Jake Weatherald was the leading run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season.
If the left-hander gets the nod in Perth, he will be Khawaja's sixth different opening partner since David Warner retired in January 2024.
Facing Jofra Archer and co at Optus Stadium would be far removed from last year's stint with Great Witchingham in the East Anglia Premier League, where Weatherald was a team-mate of Monty Panesar.
As confirmed last month, there is a Pat Cummins-shaped hole in the Australia attack. Cummins may return for the second Test, and for now Scott Boland is a capable fill-in with an outstanding record in Australia.
As back-ups, Sean Abbott has almost 60 caps in white-ball cricket and Brendan Doggett is an experienced Sheffield Shield standout.
In terms of selection, Australia have more questions to answer than England, yet remain favourites to retain the urn. Just six of England's squad have previously played a Test in Australia and the touring party of 16 has one Test hundred down under between them, belonging to Stokes. Only the captain and Mark Wood have laced up their bowling boots in Australia before.
England's collective inexperience in Australian conditions will fuel questions over their limited preparation time. They play one red-ball three-day warm-up match, against an England Lions team at Lilac Hill, from next Wednesday.
Veterans of Ashes tours past are aghast, though critics have perhaps not been paying enough attention to England's away trips under Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
Since the captain and head coach took charge in 2022, tour preparations have been scaled back to one or no warm-up matches. England have won the first Test on all five of their overseas tours under Stokes, including all-timers against Pakistan in Rawalpindi and India in Hyderabad.
It is reasonable to want to keep the same method for this tour - they deserve the benefit of the doubt.
In any case, extended preparation does not guarantee success. England's triumph in 2010-11, when they won three warm-up matches before beating Australia 3-1, is held up as an example, but is also an outlier.
On plenty of other tours England have played warm-ups until the kangaroos come home and been subsequently hammered in the Tests.
If England can control their preparation, they cannot control the rough ride they will get from the Australian press, which began with The West Australian labelling Stokes "Cocky Captain Complainer".
The jibes are unlikely to unsettle someone as thick-skinned as Stokes, and England will know the press can quickly turn on the home side if England get on top.
Therein lies the rub. For all the talk of selection and preparation, judgement will come through results and the identity of the captain holding the urn in Sydney in January.
It is the unpredictable nature of this series that fuels the excitement - a compelling case can be made for so many different scorelines. The uncertainty is glorious and will remain until 21 November, after which we will know a little more than we know now.
Until then, enjoy the hype.
