Travis Head vs. Harry Brook
Before Bazball, there was Travis Head. He was the one who played fast-forward during the 2021/22 Ashes, sprinting to 152 at the Gabba in a career-changing innings. The southpaw has since spilled tons in two finals against India, excelled in challenging Australian conditions and can break out of a lean area with a chainsaw swing. Never mind his three consecutive single-digit scores during Australia’s 3-1 win over India a year ago. He had already hit consecutive hundreds to change the direction of the series.
Harry Brook, Head’s counterpart at number 5, is playing a similarly wild game. This modern duel feels more important than the legendary battle between Steve Smith and Joe Root, especially when they’re faced with seam-friendly scenes that make mediocre counterattacks decisive. Brook has had remarkable consistency, with seven hundreds away after four Test tours (albeit in two countries: Pakistan and New Zealand). Head has fame, averaging over 53 in Australia since the start of 2022. Both will be pelted with the short ball and suffer comical dismissals. They will probably decide the series as well.
Pat Cummins vs Joe Root
Pat Cummins’ absence from the first Test due to injury will end an impressive run of fast bowling resilience. The Australian captain has played in 19 of the past 20 Ashes Tests and only missed Adelaide four years ago due to his close contact with a positive Covid case. Leading the way in his highlight are the deliveries to Root, Cummins’ ruthlessness in and around off-stump helping him to eleven dismissals from the England batsman. The choice of them remains a rattler at Old Trafford in 2019, beating Root despite having the right-most bat.
Scott Boland will be primarily responsible for finding Root’s outside edge in Perth, but Cummins will undoubtedly appear down the line and resume a fairly simple rivalry: Australia’s best bowler against England’s best batsman. The ball we should be looking out for is the one Cummins sent to Lord’s two years ago, when he found some serious lift to turn the right-hander’s backfoot strike into a fatal jab. Root will have to deal with that threat and the noise over his existing record in Australia. Should he approach the country’s elusive first Test hundred in the 1990s, you know Cummins will return at the other end and refuse entry.
Usman Khawajav Jofra Sagittarius
It took Jofra Archer three balls to strike on his Test comeback in the summer: across the wicket, pinching away, taking the lead from left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal, an opener with quite a record. Usman Khawaja also brings prestige, having topped the scoring charts in the 2023 Ashes. His revival over the past four years has been exciting; Since being recalled at the age of 35, he has doubled his Test hundreds to 16.
But a drop in returns married to his age – he will be 39 in the third Test – has raised questions about his future. In addition to the Jasprit Bumrah treatment against India, a lack of stability at the other end certainly hasn’t helped. Jake Weatherald will be his sixth opening partner since the retirement of David Warner. Archer is in a strong position to benefit from this volatility; his threat increases when he moves the ball away from lefties. Only two of his nine wickets against India in the summer were right-wing. It feels heavy to burden Archer with so much expectation as he prepares for his first away match in almost five years, but his breakout 2019 series still lingers in the memory.
England vs five match test series
The two-Test tour is a blot on the world game, but it also means that, after three tense days in Calcutta, South Africa are on the brink of a famous triumph in India. England will be far removed from history even if they win in Perth; three victories are probably the requirement to capture the urn.
For all the talk surrounding their supposed lack of preparation, Ben Stokes’ side have won the first Test on their past five tours. Instead, England have struggled to go the distance as they have not won a five-match series since 2018, wasting their lead in the last two games against India. In addition to staying fit, their group of seamers – excited for their pace – face the challenge of maintaining their speed in Sydney. It would be a victory of sorts if England don’t have to call for reinforcements and especially if Stokes stays the course.
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