Don Bradman was the focus of the first adult book I remember going through as a child. To a primary school student, the unfairness of an England's skipper ordering his teammates to hurt a brilliant Australian was unfathomable. Thus, like many, I came to hate England.
Excitement about the Ashes? It goes without saying. The sport's schedule makes this a special occasion to observe two of the world’s best teams test and taunt and tease each other over what we anticipate will be 25 days of interrogation with the traditional red ball.
According to the celebrated all-rounder reminded us last week at the announcement of the ballot for the historic 2027 match, the Ashes has a unique appeal. “Historically, fans globally watches the Ashes,” he remarked. “It's about heritage, the rivalry, it's always full throttle.”
Across the UK, those two tightly fought contests – marked by Smith's prolific scoring and Stokes' heroic innings in 2019, and the controversial Long Room incident of 2023 – have lived up to the hype of what an Ashes contest should be. However, they have not had the same cultural impact on the Australian shores when many locals nods off before the end of the lunch interval.
On Australian soil, the Ashes has been less flat out than just flat for more than a decade. Fans down under anticipate their team to win and win handily, as it has been since the nineties. Scott Boland’s 6-7 at the MCG wasn’t born from a fierce duel, it was a comical English collapse confirming a worldview. A true rivalry should not be so one-sided.
The Sport's Commentators Must Now Lean In at the Fading Glow and Fan the Flames
The English team were met in Perth by a tired headline in the local tabloid, “Baz Bawl”, accompanied by a portrayal of the highly regarded Ben Stokes as “cocky”. The paper then had a dig at “Mediocre” Root, also known as “Dud Root Down Under”. This sufficed to prompt a predictable Fleet Street reaction, allowing the press to squeeze what juice is left in the days before the first ball is bowled.
In contrast, the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India sparked something all by itself. The spiritual peak was that MCG experience, a moment that will linger forever. The numbers, too, impressed. Over 800,000 attended the five Tests, the fourth highest for any contest in Australia and the highest for any non-Ashes matchup. Viewers were captivated, similar to the ratings surge for India’s tour of England this year, and multiple periods averaged more than two million TV fans.
In recent weeks, the emotional if unofficial farewells of two Indian legends at the Sydney Cricket Ground made one-day cricket actually mean something. Compare the headline following the previous occasion England came here for a limited-overs series: “Smallest attendance for an ODI match raises fears for ODI cricket's survival”.
The Growing Clout of Indian Cricket
Even though bad weather disrupted the short-format games with India, what play we saw indicates Australia are some way off the T20 international standards. For the women's game, at the World Cup last month, the host nation defeated the defending champions. The all-format contest starting in Sydney is shaping up as a de facto world championship.
It’s easy to overlook the adoring blue, orange and green crowds that flock to India’s matches – across all formats – as a mere result of the huge expat community of the planet's largest country. But, to financial analysts and television executives, they are an elixir.
The world’s largest democracy now matters more to Australia than its motherland, given the countries share an sea, shared colonial history, and increasingly their peoples. India is set to overtake the UK, per ABS migration data, as the origin of the biggest contingent of foreign-born Australian residents as soon. The failing Aukus relationship is driving a realignment of defence interests respecting the growing influence of Asian powers, a shift that long ago happened in the cricketing world.
Greg Chappell, who also led the Indian team, noted last week that England was “the classic foe”, but added “honestly, without India, the sport would suffer”.
The Final Challenge
Until Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last summer, India had retained it for ten years. In India, Australia haven't triumphed in more than 20 years. Should the hosts win back the urn comfortably this summer, losing the multi-match series in India in early 2027 would make this period unfulfilled.
The long-awaited win on the subcontinent remains the ultimate test for this generation, and a setback against England this summer – attributed to unfortunate bowler injury, just like past incidents – would only add to the narrative.
England have not won an Ashes Test in Australia for nearly fifteen years, and despite the history, it cannot sustain a lopsided rivalry forever. So, with a vibrant Indian team having only just flown out, the English squad have much to play for. Triumph in the Ashes and remain significant. Alternatively lose the urn and with it something that can’t be won back: the right to Australia’s greatest rivalry. We beg the English, raise your game.
