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Cardiff, July 7: After what seems an even longer than usual ‘phoney war’, England and Australia will get down to the actual business of contesting the Ashes when the first Test here starts Wednesday.
Much of the build-up has focused on the vexed issue of ‘sledging’ or verbal abuse of opponents.
Hard-hitting Australia opener David Warner, fined twice by the ICC in the last 18 months, is walking an
especially fine line.
“I’m on my last warning (before possible suspension) from the ICC,” Warner had stated recently. “These rules are being clamped down now. If you walk towards a player, the umpires are going to fine you. But in a series like this at times, tempers do tend to get frayed a bit.”
However, England director of cricket, Andrew Strauss stressed there was more to being competitive than ‘mouthing off’ at the opposition. “I think we can over-hype an Ashes series, which may put the players under pressure to be really aggressive,” Strauss told ‘BBC Radio Five’. “You can be very aggressive with the way you play but you don’t necessarily need to do it, with the way you speak to the opposition.”
Meanwhile, Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin clearly stated that he will not be averse to sharing a word or two with the opposition to irritate them. “Healthy sledging is a part of modern cricket. You can’t stay on the field for six hours without saying anything to the oposition,” stated Haddin who will be playing his last Ashes series.
Michael Clarke would like to win the Ashes on English soil after three unsuccessful tours to the country, which would fill a gap in his
illustrious CV. Meanwhile for England, in their first series under new Australian coach Trevor Bayliss, the challenge is to see if they can
continue playing the aggressive brand of cricket that served them so well against New Zealand.
Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc stated that England’s top order containing seven southpaws could work in Mitchell Johnson’s and his favour. “I have worked a long time for my stock delivery being at a left-hander,” said Starc. “The consistency is getting to where it needs to be and I’m starting to see results.”
Starc also warned the English batters that there will not be any respite for them. “Hopefully, Mitch (Johnson) will terrorise them once again as he did in 2013,” stated Starc. “Then both Josh (Hazlewood) and I are expecting to work up a decent pace. We will keep going at them.”
Former England all-rounder Ian Botham however warned England against preparing placid wickets for the series. “If flat decks are
prepared for the series, then it’s better to send the Aussies home at this moment only because that would be bread and butter for them,” Botham said.
“We should look to produce lively tracks so that we can hit them hard and the bowlers can get the
maximum out of the wickets.”
