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Follow UsIn just two days' time, Trent Bridge, England Cricket’s spiritual home that first witnessed a new awakening for them in the 50-Over format, will host Trent Rockets and Southern Brave for a 100-ball match. It will not go unnoticed because all the players, currently plying their trade in the Ashes, will migrate in a jiffy and don some colours to welcome the third iteration of English cricket’s newest crowning jewel.
At the same time, Brendon McCullum, perhaps the most popular and influential cricket coach in a long, long time, will board a flight back to Dunedin to spend some family time there. And the way English media works, the stories of how England has been robbed of the Urn will be floated for a while, and new books and documentaries will be unveiled, saluting the daunting spirit of Ben Stokes’ men. But that’s English media. There is never a dull moment around them.
But quickly retract yourself from all of the drama and reflect upon some imaginary situation.
Imagine England are not the reigning world champions in both white-ball formats. Imagine there is no Hundred. Imagine that Ben Stokes is yet to recover from the nadir of the 2016 T20 World Cup and is yet to do the charismatic miracle that has continued to redefine his legacy since 2019.
Then where does all of this stand? Is there any clear answer to it? Irrespective of which side of the schism you stand on, you’d admit that England have never had it better. The brilliance of this English side is majestically intertwined in such a way that despite not taking the Ashes home, they have ensured the moral victory would be theirs.
For a mere moment, when Zak Crawley smashed the first delivery of the second innings at The Oval for a four, leaving Mitchell Starc damned for the execution, one could feel the sound that would reverberate through the glass chambers in London. Three deliveries later, when Ben Duckett got to the base of the overpitched delivery to send the ball past Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh like a tracer bullet, it was another validation of why cricket is always better at innovating and then challenging preconceived notions.
Forget Bazball for a moment; the third day’s play of the fifth Ashes Test was another dazzling reminder of why it is important for us, as followers of the sport, to wait for days like these when everything seemed so easy to the eye, and there’s no cry for irrelevant stuff like made-up theory on “spirit of cricket”, yet cricket doesn’t seem to be boring for a minute. It is exactly what is the difference between India’s incredible dominance at home for the better part of the last 10 years and England’s recent run to the top of the pyramid.
Anirudh Suresh has made an excellent account of Death by Bazball and then Aakash Sivasubramaniam has a vivid account of why Joe Root remains the prime enforcer of the modus operandi. Add to that a touch of rage from Jonny Bairstow and Duckett’s eagerness to prove that the struggles of 2016 don’t define him anymore. It is the classic case of a whole system standing up to let the archrivals know that their desperate attempt to ‘entertain’ is not to keep the ‘win’ out of the equation.
This was billed as one of the most-anticipated Ashes in a long time. And it has truly lived up to the billing. It is set for a grand finish as Australia know that in the brief and incandescent moment of patience, they can bury the idea of 2-2 and take home what’s rightfully theirs. It is 22 years already. But like many things with this English side, Bazballing their way to glory is just another synonym for legacy. Then how could they live it like that? Brace for a fine ride for the last two days of what has been one heck of a series.
