Published: Jun 25, 2015, 06:30 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 23, 2015, 03:49 PM (IST)
Australia return to England in July in their quest to retain The Ashes. Two years after the previous contest in England, a lot has changed for both teams. Sudatta Mukherjee looks at the cricketers who are likely to play stellar roles for their sides in Ashes 2015.
Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Michael Carberry, Ed Cowan, Phil Hughes, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Ashton Agar. Do the names sound familiar? These are among the men who donned the whites for their respective sides when Australia flew to England to battle it out over five Tests for the Ashes urn. A lot has changed since then for both the sides. While Trott, Prior, and Swann have retired, Pietersen was shown the door. For Australia, what struck hard the most was the passing away of young Hughes.
Australia came back strong after that Test series. They played five Test series in between: they whitewashed England at home, beat South Africa in their den, beat India at home, and blew apart West Indies recently. They only lost one series in between — against Pakistan in UAE. Australia must tackle ‘problem of plenty’ in an astute manner
For England, things have been less merrier. They lost to Sri Lanka at home, beat India (again at home) and drew against both West Indies and New Zealand. Of 22 Tests they have played, they have won only 8, lost 9 and drew 5.
So who will be the star performers for the sides?
Let us look at the top 10 batsmen for England in the last two years.
| Player | M | R | HS | Ave | 100s | 50s |
| Joe Root | 21 | 1849 | 200* | 57.8 | 5 | 9 |
| Alastair Cook | 22 | 1476 | 162 | 37.8 | 2 | 13 |
| Ian Bell | 22 | 1429 | 167 | 37.6 | 5 | 7 |
| Gary Ballance | 13 | 1096 | 156 | 52.2 | 4 | 5 |
| Ben Stokes | 11 | 683 | 120 | 34.2 | 2 | 2 |
| Kevin Pietersen | 10 | 682 | 113 | 34.1 | 1 | 5 |
| Stuart Broad | 22 | 609 | 65 | 19.6 | 0 | 1 |
| Jos Buttler | 8 | 474 | 85 | 52.7 | 0 | 5 |
| Moeen Ali | 11 | 456 | 108* | 28.5 | 1 | 2 |
| Matt Prior | 12 | 419 | 86 | 22.1 | 0 | 2 |
Going by the table Joe Root, Gary Ballance, and Jos Buttler have been exceptional in the last two years. However, Root and Buttler’s brilliance have gone beyond the realm of Tests. In the last five matches across all formats, Root has scored two half-centuries and 106 not out. Buttler has not been any different. His average speaks for himself. Recently, Ballance became the third-fastest Englishman to reach 1,000 Test runs. He may not have got as many chances as Root, but given the chances, he can be a big match player. England cricket on the rise with emergence of new talents
Not to forget is Ben Stokes. His 92 and 101 at Lord’s in the first Test against Lord’s portrays his all-round capabilities. Of course, there is the ubiquitous presence of Alastair Cook at the top.
| Player | M | R | HS | Ave | 100s | 50s |
| Steven Smith | 21 | 2167 | 199 | 65.66 | 9 | 8 |
| David Warner | 19 | 1968 | 145 | 53.18 | 9 | 7 |
| Chris Rogers | 19 | 1516 | 119 | 40.97 | 4 | 11 |
| Michael Clarke | 18 | 1236 | 187 | 42.62 | 5 | 1 |
| Shane Watson | 17 | 1102 | 176 | 35.54 | 2 | 5 |
| Brad Haddin | 21 | 929 | 118 | 29.03 | 1 | 8 |
| Shaun Marsh | 7 | 558 | 148 | 42.92 | 1 | 3 |
| Mitchell Johnson | 15 | 487 | 88 | 25.63 | 0 | 3 |
| Ryan Harris | 15 | 391 | 74 | 24.43 | 0 | 2 |
| Mitchell Marsh | 4 | 262 | 87 | 37.42 | 0 | 1 |
Steven Smith and David Warner have been unstoppable for Australia. Smith has been destructive across all formats. Probably it was the unbeaten 138 in the fifth Ashes Test in 2013 that had inspired Smith to take his play to the next level. Probably the pain of scoring big and losing The Ashes paid off for the all the success he has had achieved in the next 24 months. England’s only Ashes hope lies in ‘doctored’ pitches
What is more strikingly similar between Root and Smith has been their growth since the Ashes 2013. Runs, playing big roles, donning the cap of the captain and vice-captain, and guiding the team forward and motivating them from time to time, Smith and Root have been uncannily similar. Probably, in some other dimension (a la Christopher Nolan), they have been brothers-in-arms.
| Player | M | R | W | Ave | Econ | 5WIs | 10WMs |
| Mitchell Johnson | 15 | 1687 | 86 | 19.61 | 2.99 | 5 | 1 |
| Nathan Lyon | 19 | 2550 | 70 | 36.42 | 3.17 | 4 | 1 |
| Ryan Harris | 15 | 1547 | 66 | 23.43 | 2.71 | 3 | 0 |
| Peter Siddle | 15 | 1522 | 42 | 36.23 | 2.82 | 1 | 0 |
| Mitchell Starc | 8 | 911 | 30 | 30.36 | 3.09 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 5 | 458 | 24 | 19.08 | 2.51 | 2 | 0 |
| Shane Watson | 17 | 615 | 13 | 47.3 | 2.44 | 0 | 0 |
| James Pattinson | 3 | 446 | 11 | 40.54 | 3.25 | 0 | 0 |
| Steven Smith | 21 | 493 | 11 | 44.81 | 4.6 | 0 | 0 |
| James Faulkner | 1 | 98 | 6 | 16.33 | 3.54 | 0 | 0 |
For Australia, the transformation of Mitchell Johnson has probably been the best thing that has happened to them in the last two years. Johnson single-handedly helped Australia win the Ashes Down Under and the Test series in South Africa. Josh Hazlewood will also be observed closely in the upcoming Ashes. However, he needs to play more Tests to actually prove his worth. Chris Rogers issues apology for selling Ashes 2015 tickets through partner company
The man who can create most impact among the men in the top, however, is Mitchell Starc. He has been in excellent form since ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, and with his ability to move the new ball prodigiously, he might turn out to be the deciding factor.
| Player | M | R | W | Ave | Econ | 5WIs | 10WMs |
| James Anderson | 22 | 2603 | 96 | 27.11 | 2.92 | 4 | 1 |
| Stuart Broad | 22 | 2511 | 92 | 27.29 | 3.12 | 5 | 1 |
| Moeen Ali | 11 | 1076 | 33 | 32.6 | 3.62 | 1 | 0 |
| Graeme Swann | 8 | 1315 | 33 | 39.84 | 3.36 | 2 | 0 |
| Ben Stokes | 11 | 1254 | 29 | 43.24 | 3.8 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Jordan | 8 | 752 | 21 | 35.8 | 2.94 | 0 | 0 |
| Liam Plunkett | 4 | 620 | 18 | 34.44 | 3.31 | 1 | 0 |
| Tim Bresnan | 5 | 502 | 15 | 33.46 | 3.27 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Wood | 2 | 299 | 9 | 33.22 | 4.09 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Root | 21 | 325 | 8 | 40.62 | 2.51 | 0 | 0 |
James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been England’s premier bowlers for many years now. However, compared to their Australian counterparts, their averages have not been as impressive. However, the most surprising thing for England has been the rise of Moeen Ali as the premier spinner. Following the retirement of Swann, England experimented with James Tredwell and Scott Borthwick, but it was Moeen who dismantled India and other oppositions across formats. James Anderson calls for sledging-free Ashes
It is likely to be Smith vs Root with the bat. With the bat, Johnson can be expected to wreck havoc, evoking memories of the 2013-14 Ashes. However, conditions will be different, and Starc may emerge as Australia’s hero. The Barmy Army will be waiting and Australia, on the other hand, will be looking to play some serious cricket and avenge all the past loses.
(Sudatta Mukherjee is a reporter with CricketCountry. Other than writing on cricket, she spends penning random thoughts on her blog. When she is not writing, you will catch her at a movie theatre or watching some English television show on her laptop. Her Twitter handle is @blackrosegal)
